Boxing Archives

Canelo vs. GGG 3: Perfectly Calculated Risk

Analysis, Boxing | 22 September 2022

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is in an interesting spot in his career. He’s in his prime at the age of 32 and is one of the most technically interesting fighters in boxing today. He tried to capture the light-heavyweight world title only to be upset by Dmitry Bivol, who turned out to have the perfect game plan against Canelo’s style. Having taken the second loss in his career, he set out to prove that he’s still the king of middleweight not by fighting the other top contenders of the division, but by completing a trilogy with a 40-year-old Gennady Golovkin. I can’t promise much with this analysis of Canelo vs. GGG 3, but it’s a nice conclusion to what had been an exciting trilogy. (more…)

Dipping Jab: The Noob Tube of Fighting

by: Sonny Go

Analysis, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts | 04 August 2022

Jack Slack is one of the best combat sports writers out there, known for insightful analysis. He never fails to educate even veterans who have been training for decades, and I recently experienced the Jack Slack effect for myself. His analysis of Julianna Peña’s upset victory over Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title greatly informed my viewing of their rematch. The way Peña flummoxed Nunes in that first fight was ridiculous, especially for Nunes. Let’s talk about the dipping jab, a technique that borders on cheesy. (more…)

Canelo Alvarez Does Muay Thai… Sort Of

by: Sonny Go

Analysis, Boxing | 24 July 2022

It has been a while since I wrote a blog post about boxing, and especially Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He has since been pulled a couple of notches down the P4P rankings due to his decision loss to WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. But while most would say he lost due to being too small for light-heavyweight, that takes away from Bivol’s performance. The answer he came up with for the Canelo question is something I’d like to talk about here, especially its connection with Muay Thai footwork and rhythm. (more…)

Amir Khan: Glass Cannon

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Features | 17 March 2022

If boxing is a role-playing game with character stats, wherein you can make any boxer you want by min-maxing their stats, you can put all of your available points into hand speed and nothing else for that sweet DPS. Doing so gives you one of two guys — Ryan Garcia or Amir Khan. The latter is our focus in this blog post due to his now advanced age. Let’s look at the reason why Amir Khan is likely the greatest glass cannon we’ve ever seen in boxing. (more…)

Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado: Testing the Next Mexican Superstar

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 18 November 2021

Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado Boxing Main Event on DAZN

The upcoming showdown between Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter may have overshadowed this fight that took place a week prior. However, I had high hopes for it, even if it was just for an intercontinental title, because of the man who holds it. Jaime Munguia defended his WBO Intercontinental Middleweight title against 15-year veteran Gabriel Rosado. (more…)

Technique and Conditioning: Two Sides of the Same Coin

by: Sonny Go

Articles & Content, Boxing, Combat, Mixed Martial Arts | 01 October 2021

Two exciting championship fights in two different combat sports with different results took place last weekend. One fight had a more skilled fighter dismantle a bigger and stronger opponent to become a new champion. The other fight saw a better conditioned athlete shake off everything his opponent could threw at him and set a blistering pace every round to retain his title. (more…)

Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs — Red-Headed Problem

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 09 May 2019

It took me a while to find a way to watch Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs, but my patience was rewarded as I got to watch a pretty high level fight with two world champions vying for middleweight supremacy. The story was mostly Daniel Jacobs trying to find a way to get through this brick wall known as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The solutions he tried to employ to do that were interesting, but to no avail. (more…)

Pacquiao vs. Matthysse — Don’t Look to Counter

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 18 July 2018

Having left the tutelage of Freddie Roach for the first time in almost forever, Manny Pacquiao’s latest career decisions as far as boxing is concerned are still questionable. However, results can’t be refuted. His first knockout win in nine years doesn’t get by without some suspicion, but that’s what happens when he has the closest thing to home advantage in this card and winning a world champion at 39 years old. Pacquiao vs. Matthysse was an odd duck of a spectacle—technically interesting yet didn’t feel like that big of a deal. (more…)

Mayweather vs. McGregor — Kid Gloves

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 28 August 2017

With the announcement of Mayweather vs. McGregor, I had planned to write about it here. Never mind how it has been a circus show with a ton of dosh on the line, it was still a circus show. Since it did happen anyway, let’s do something most aren’t willing to do—take it (kind of) seriously. Conor did something most wouldn’t, and Mayweather did what he needed to even at 40 to bring his record up to 50-0. I watched it (because I had to) and it was entertaining while it lasted. I then turned off the stream as soon as the referee stopped the fight. (more…)

Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko — Rising Star

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 02 May 2017

Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko — Uppercut in the 11th

It took me a while, but I finally got to watch Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko. I already had a lot to say about it when I got wind of the results, but I had to see the whole boxing match for myself before I even think about writing this. After over a decade of stagnation, the heavyweight division is exciting again. This is the first step to Anthony Joshua’s rising star, and all he has to do is to fight Deontay Wilder (or maybe a hopefully rejuvenated Tyson Fury) and get a big deal with a brand to become a household name. (more…)

Golovkin vs. Jacobs — Double Robbery

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 20 March 2017

Golovkin vs. Jacobs and Gonzalez vs. Sor Rungvisai

While the dream Golovkin-Alvarez match-up has yet to materialize, Golovkin vs. Jacobs was announced a few months ago, and it got me intrigued. On one hand, I’m an avid GGG fan and wanted to see him in his best form prior to the Kell Brook fight, wherein he looked sloppy after taking that big shot from Brook. On the other hand, you can never count out Danny Jacobs’ heart; this guy came back to boxing after battling bone cancer and possible paralysis, after all. (more…)

Haye-Bellew and Thurman-Garcia Double-header

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 07 March 2017

David Haye vs. Tony Bellew, Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia

It’s quite the weekend with two good boxing cards and one slightly disappointing UFC card. That just shows that boxing isn’t dead and the UFC isn’t always the bee’s knees, even when the casuals can’t agree. (But what do they know?) The first one ended weirdly, while the second one lived up to my expectations, so I guess it was a mixed bag of sorts. While neither were superfights like Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, they were definitely more exciting to watch. (more…)