2013 has already started in explosive fashion. The one punch knock-out Walter Matthysee administered to Mike Dallas Jr obviously is in the running for KO of the year. Dallas Jr started fast, double jabbing the slower Matthysee to keep him at bay. It was obvious within the first minute his game plan was to keep Matthysee on the outside and Mattysee realized this. Within the final minute of the first round, Matthysee threw a straight right on top of the first jab and put Dallas Jr to sleep before he hit the canvas. Matthysee will always have trouble with the quicker boxer, but he is smart enough to know when to counter and how to time his punches. This, coupled with his KO power has elevated him to the upper echelon of the 140 lb division and a stake on the claim as the most avoided man in boxing. Currently Matthysee is campaigning for a fight with current WBA and WBC Champion Danny Garcia, which I feel he deserves……. but Danny Garcia is slated to fight Zab “Super” Judah at the Barclays center in April and he is not guaranteed a win (Zab also has a win over Matthysee). Regardless, it looks like it will be a great year for boxing. Floyd Mayweather is scheduled to fight twice and as of now, no opponent has been named. Pacquiao and Marquez will get it on for the fifth time, possibly in Mexico. Tim Bradley is coming out of hiding soon. Emerging stars like Broner, Mikey Garcia and Canelo Alvarez are looking to solidify their soon to be Mega Star status. Then we have the wild cards, where the only thing to expect is drama also fighting this year, Amir Khan, Victor Ortiz, and JuanMa. Boxing is on the upswing and hopefully the promoters can put the best product (fights) for the consumers (fans). There is no other sport in the world where the absolute goal is to administer a concussive event on the opposition.
That brings me to my next topic, as boxing fans we see the “KnockOut” as the bases loaded home run, the 21 point touchdown all for our enjoyment, but it comes as a grave consequence to the person on the receiving end. With the increasing awareness of CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in Football players and the link to bizarre behavior and suicides, what is the Boxing community doing to help protect our boxing warriors? Who is going to step up and take the lead? The boxing commisions? The sanctioning bodies? Or even the promotional companies, regardless, as an organization there are many changes that need to be implemented in boxing in order to protect our fellow human being. We know through documented cases that CTE is predominately caused by repeated blows to the head. It literally kills brain tissue and is a potential factor in early onset alzheimers, Lou Gherigs Disease/Syndrome and dementia. I don’t know what the answer is, but I know that we can not ignore it any longer. We as humans are very resilient in the amount of punishment we can take, history has proven that. That does not mean we should allow our fellow human absorb punishment for our enjoyment and forget about the lasting effects boxing creates. CTE is deadly and you can read more about some famous athletes who have died because of this preventable disease right here -> http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/24/cte-detected-in-living-ex-nfl-players-junior-seaus-family-sues-what-now-for-football-and-concussions/
Here is a video on CTE as it relates to boxing and MMA -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9YwXgWou0
That brings me to my next topic, as boxing fans we see the “KnockOut” as the bases loaded home run, the 21 point touchdown all for our enjoyment, but it comes as a grave consequence to the person on the receiving end. With the increasing awareness of CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in Football players and the link to bizarre behavior and suicides, what is the Boxing community doing to help protect our boxing warriors? Who is going to step up and take the lead? The boxing commisions? The sanctioning bodies? Or even the promotional companies, regardless, as an organization there are many changes that need to be implemented in boxing in order to protect our fellow human being. We know through documented cases that CTE is predominately caused by repeated blows to the head. It literally kills brain tissue and is a potential factor in early onset alzheimers, Lou Gherigs Disease/Syndrome and dementia. I don’t know what the answer is, but I know that we can not ignore it any longer. We as humans are very resilient in the amount of punishment we can take, history has proven that. That does not mean we should allow our fellow human absorb punishment for our enjoyment and forget about the lasting effects boxing creates. CTE is deadly and you can read more about some famous athletes who have died because of this preventable disease right here -> http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/24/cte-detected-in-living-ex-nfl-players-junior-seaus-family-sues-what-now-for-football-and-concussions/
Here is a video on CTE as it relates to boxing and MMA -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9YwXgWou0
Dark spots show tau protein – which is found in the brains of dementia sufferers
· Left: Brain of a normal 65-year-old
· Middle: Brain of a 45-year-old American football player with CTE
· Right: Brain of a 73-year-old former world boxing champion with CTE
The Standing 8 Count:
1. 2012 KO of the Year: Juan Manuel Marquez KO over Manny Pacquiao
2. 2012 Round of The Year: Orlando Salido vs Juan Manuel Lopez RND 9
3. 2012 Fight of The Year: Mike Alvarado vs Brandon Rios
4. 2012 Upset of the Year: Timothy Bradley DEC over Manny Pacquiao
5. 2012 Fighter of the Year: Nonito Donaire
6. 2012 Beast Mode Fighter: Adrian “The Problem” Broner
7. I see Zab Judah giving Danny Garcia problems in their rescheduled fight….
8. CTE is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Right now there is no definitive answer, but the first step to solving any problem, is acknowledging there is a problem….a short CTE Video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9YwXgWou0
· Left: Brain of a normal 65-year-old
· Middle: Brain of a 45-year-old American football player with CTE
· Right: Brain of a 73-year-old former world boxing champion with CTE
The Standing 8 Count:
1. 2012 KO of the Year: Juan Manuel Marquez KO over Manny Pacquiao
2. 2012 Round of The Year: Orlando Salido vs Juan Manuel Lopez RND 9
3. 2012 Fight of The Year: Mike Alvarado vs Brandon Rios
4. 2012 Upset of the Year: Timothy Bradley DEC over Manny Pacquiao
5. 2012 Fighter of the Year: Nonito Donaire
6. 2012 Beast Mode Fighter: Adrian “The Problem” Broner
7. I see Zab Judah giving Danny Garcia problems in their rescheduled fight….
8. CTE is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Right now there is no definitive answer, but the first step to solving any problem, is acknowledging there is a problem….a short CTE Video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9YwXgWou0