In the past boxing's super power has been America with a high number of big fights and top fighters all hailing from the states. In recent years however boxing has grown in popularity across Europe with Germany now becoming a major player in both the top fights and top fighters.
Germany has become a bit of safe haven for not only boxers from around Eastern Europe, such as the Klitschko's from the Ukraine or Arthur Abraham from Armenia, but also boxers from around the world, such as Cuban Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Brit Ola Afolabi. Despite this Germany also has a crop of their own, home grown fighters and one such fighter is the very promising youngster Tyron Zeuge (3-0, 3).
The 20 year old Zeuge, a talented Super Middleweight turned professional earlier this year following an excellent amateur career that saw him winning various national and international championships. Included in those competition victories were the 2009 European Youth Championships (75KG) and the 2010 German National Championships (81KG) (amongst many others) as Zeuge became one of the most highly sought after amateurs in Germany.
After missing out on a place at the World Amateur Champions in 2011 Zeuge seemed set to turn professional however he remained an amateur until the end of 2011 allowing him to compete at the 2011 German National Championships (where he was controversially beaten in the semi final). In early 2012 he finally made the long awaited move over to the professional ranks and in March Zeuge made his professional debut by stopping the over-matched Yauheni Bohdanouski in just 74 seconds.
Just weeks after his professional debut Zeuge secured his second victory as a professional by stopping Venezuelan born Italian Santo Drago in 3 rounds, becoming the first man to stop Drago in 7 bouts. More recently Zeuge stopped Spanish based Ecuadorian Carlos Caicedo, also in 3 rounds. Whilst Caicedo might not be anything special, the fact that Zeuge, in just his 3 bout as a professional, did a quicker job on him than the much more experienced "world level" Dimitri Sartison is rather impressive (it took Sartison 5 rounds).
Zeuge is looking for his fourth professional win this coming weekend when he faces unbeaten Belgian Matingu Kindele (3-0). Hopefully a win over Kindele will help Zeuge progress on to more meaningful bouts as he continues his development, however at just 20 years old he has a lot of time to develop and the natural ability to really become something special.
Showing posts with label Amateur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amateur. Show all posts
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Friday, 26 October 2012
Tremaine Williams
Over the past few years people have been declaring boxing in the US a dying sport. This is despite the high profile success of fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr and the rise (and rise) of Adrien Broner and Andre Ward. Another fighter expected by many to follow in their foot steps is teenager Tremaine Williams (3-0, 2) who many insiders are tipping as one of the sports genuinely elite talents.
The 19 year old Williams first came to prominence in the amateur side of the sport where he was a genuine super talent despite being so young. In fact it's fair to say that the first glimpse of Williams' superstar potential came back when he was just a 16 year old at the 2009 USA Junior National Championships. Despite failing to win the tournament Williams shone in the 52KG division making his way to the final before losing by a single point to Ray Ximenez.
After his success in the 2009 Junior championships a lot was expected from Williams going in to the 2010 US National PAL Championships, though sadly his tournament came to an early end after just a bout as he suffered a walk-over "loss" in the Quarter-Finals to John Herrera before Rau'shee Warren eventually won the tournament.
With the disappointment of the 2010 PAL Championships behind him, Williams had an outstanding 2011. He was sensational in the US National Golden Gloves winning the tournament in the 56KG division beating Gary Russell III (the younger brother of professional prospect Gary Russell) along the way. Sadly, despite his Golden Gloves triumph, Williams did fail at the Olympic Qualifiers, losing twice to O'Shanique Foster (the eventual runner up).
Having missed out on his Olympic dream, Williams wouldn't wait long to start his professional career and in April 2012 he made his debut in the paid ranks. On debut Williams was sensational stopping Jesse Anguiano in just 141 one sided seconds as he looked every bit the star in the making. Whilst it was one sided, no one could have asked to have seen more from Williams than what he showed with poise, patience and lightning quick speed.
Since his debut Williams has fought twice, defeating Theo Johnson (KO3) and Jazzma Hogue (UD4) to progress his record against limited opposition. This coming weekend Williams is set for yet another test of his professional abilities as he fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks. A win here is almost certain and will hopefully progress Williams to facing tougher fighters that won't be shell shocked by his speed and natural ability.
Whilst we've yet to see Williams tagged by anything notable it's unlikely that any opponent he is likely to face in the next 24 months will really be too testing. Expect him to be developed well by manager James Prince who knows how to guide a young fighter very well, and hopefully by the age of 22 Williams will have managed to get the attention of a major promoter and maybe even some TV exposure on ESPN.
The 19 year old Williams first came to prominence in the amateur side of the sport where he was a genuine super talent despite being so young. In fact it's fair to say that the first glimpse of Williams' superstar potential came back when he was just a 16 year old at the 2009 USA Junior National Championships. Despite failing to win the tournament Williams shone in the 52KG division making his way to the final before losing by a single point to Ray Ximenez.
After his success in the 2009 Junior championships a lot was expected from Williams going in to the 2010 US National PAL Championships, though sadly his tournament came to an early end after just a bout as he suffered a walk-over "loss" in the Quarter-Finals to John Herrera before Rau'shee Warren eventually won the tournament.
With the disappointment of the 2010 PAL Championships behind him, Williams had an outstanding 2011. He was sensational in the US National Golden Gloves winning the tournament in the 56KG division beating Gary Russell III (the younger brother of professional prospect Gary Russell) along the way. Sadly, despite his Golden Gloves triumph, Williams did fail at the Olympic Qualifiers, losing twice to O'Shanique Foster (the eventual runner up).
Having missed out on his Olympic dream, Williams wouldn't wait long to start his professional career and in April 2012 he made his debut in the paid ranks. On debut Williams was sensational stopping Jesse Anguiano in just 141 one sided seconds as he looked every bit the star in the making. Whilst it was one sided, no one could have asked to have seen more from Williams than what he showed with poise, patience and lightning quick speed.
Since his debut Williams has fought twice, defeating Theo Johnson (KO3) and Jazzma Hogue (UD4) to progress his record against limited opposition. This coming weekend Williams is set for yet another test of his professional abilities as he fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks. A win here is almost certain and will hopefully progress Williams to facing tougher fighters that won't be shell shocked by his speed and natural ability.
Whilst we've yet to see Williams tagged by anything notable it's unlikely that any opponent he is likely to face in the next 24 months will really be too testing. Expect him to be developed well by manager James Prince who knows how to guide a young fighter very well, and hopefully by the age of 22 Williams will have managed to get the attention of a major promoter and maybe even some TV exposure on ESPN.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Yordenis Ugás
On the whole Cuban defectors haven't been hugely in the professional ranks, with only really Yuriorkis Gamboa and Guillermo Rigondeaux making any major waves so far (other than the waves Odlanier Solis makes every time he goes for a swim). Despite this Cuban's have got the potential to turn professional boxing on it's head, the talent from Cuba is amazing with the likes of Erislandy Lara and Yunier Dorticos climbing the ranks quickly. Another man who is worth take a note of is former amateur star Yordenis Ugás (10-0, 5) who may emerge as one of the real top Cuban's.
The 25 year old Ugás is like many of his compatriots, a very well schooled amateur, in fact his accomplishments in the unpaid ranks say it all as he's won World Cup Silver (2005), World Amateur Gold (2005), Central American and Caribbean Games Gold (2006), Pan Am Games Gold (2007) and Olympic Bronze (2008). Like many Cuban amateurs he was incredibly technical and used his skill and natural ability well to cover up what was repeatedly referred to as a shaky chin.
Despite winning the 2009 Cuban National title at Light Welterweight Ugás was overlooked for the World Amateur Championships later that year and elected to defect to the USA to turn professional. Ugás would make his professional debut on July 9th 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia where he defeated fellow debutant Dino Dumonjic over a 4 round shut out. Just 3 later Ugás was out again, this time stopping DeJuan Jackson in just 88 seconds.
In just his third bout Ugás made his television debut and made a swift impact in stopping Marqus Jackson in just 2 rounds on ESPN Friday Night Fights in August 2010 as his handlers kept him busy. Ugás used his chance to show off his ability on television and looked impressive with incredibly fast hands, solid defence and very good shot selection after he settled into the fight. The bout ended in the 2nd round as Ugás piled on the pressure and Jackson repeatedly went to the canvas as Ugás moved to 3-0 (2) and by the end of the year that had become 5-0 (3).
Whilst 2010 had been a busy year for Ugás with 5 fights in around 5 months 2011 wouldn't see him as active though it did see him stepping up to face better competition with the stand out win being over New Yorker Kenny Abril. Like the previous year Ugás would fit in 5 fights as he moved to 10-0 (5) and began to slowly show that he genuine skills to go with his amateur reputation. To start 2012 and really keep the bandwagon moving Ugás will face Esteban Almaraz (10-4, 4) in a bought that will be shown on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights alongside the meeting of Teon Kennedy and Christopher Martin in what appears to be a real cross rounds fight.
Although not strictly speaking a prospect I would like try and give all you fans a heads up that former world title challenger Javier Maciel fights on TYC Sports in Argentina soon after the ESPN2 card finishes. I'm a firm believer that Maciel is a real danger man at Light Middleweight and one to watch out for in the next year or two, so he may be worth staying up and watching.
Video of Ugás' television debut can be seen below thanks to damit305
The 25 year old Ugás is like many of his compatriots, a very well schooled amateur, in fact his accomplishments in the unpaid ranks say it all as he's won World Cup Silver (2005), World Amateur Gold (2005), Central American and Caribbean Games Gold (2006), Pan Am Games Gold (2007) and Olympic Bronze (2008). Like many Cuban amateurs he was incredibly technical and used his skill and natural ability well to cover up what was repeatedly referred to as a shaky chin.
Despite winning the 2009 Cuban National title at Light Welterweight Ugás was overlooked for the World Amateur Championships later that year and elected to defect to the USA to turn professional. Ugás would make his professional debut on July 9th 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia where he defeated fellow debutant Dino Dumonjic over a 4 round shut out. Just 3 later Ugás was out again, this time stopping DeJuan Jackson in just 88 seconds.
In just his third bout Ugás made his television debut and made a swift impact in stopping Marqus Jackson in just 2 rounds on ESPN Friday Night Fights in August 2010 as his handlers kept him busy. Ugás used his chance to show off his ability on television and looked impressive with incredibly fast hands, solid defence and very good shot selection after he settled into the fight. The bout ended in the 2nd round as Ugás piled on the pressure and Jackson repeatedly went to the canvas as Ugás moved to 3-0 (2) and by the end of the year that had become 5-0 (3).
Whilst 2010 had been a busy year for Ugás with 5 fights in around 5 months 2011 wouldn't see him as active though it did see him stepping up to face better competition with the stand out win being over New Yorker Kenny Abril. Like the previous year Ugás would fit in 5 fights as he moved to 10-0 (5) and began to slowly show that he genuine skills to go with his amateur reputation. To start 2012 and really keep the bandwagon moving Ugás will face Esteban Almaraz (10-4, 4) in a bought that will be shown on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights alongside the meeting of Teon Kennedy and Christopher Martin in what appears to be a real cross rounds fight.
Although not strictly speaking a prospect I would like try and give all you fans a heads up that former world title challenger Javier Maciel fights on TYC Sports in Argentina soon after the ESPN2 card finishes. I'm a firm believer that Maciel is a real danger man at Light Middleweight and one to watch out for in the next year or two, so he may be worth staying up and watching.
Video of Ugás' television debut can be seen below thanks to damit305
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