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In This Corner |
Top
10 Pound For Pound List From Philly,
And It's A Dilly As Fast Eddie
Chambers Leads Pack
EDITOR'S NOTE: No self-respecting
boxing web site should be without a
boss scribe covering America's
greatest boxing city, Philadelphia.
Today we proudly introduce young
veteran Keith McMenamin as our
correspondent from the City Of
Brotherly Love. -- MICHAEL MARLEY)
By KEITH
MCMENAMIN - Staff Writer
FightNightNews.com
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Philly's top 10 pound for
pound list
Philly is the world's No. 1
fight town; only a fool
would argue that. Our local
fight circuit is the best in
the world; only a fool would
argue that, too. Our fans
are beyond a shadow of a
doubt the toughest, most
loyal and knowledgeable
crowd this business has ever
seen. They pay $35 for a
ticket just to sweat your
ass off at the Blue Horizon
in the dead of summer. They
will give a journeyman a
standing ovation and will
boo a stinker right out of
the building. They love a
good fight and love to
argue. |
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So I will give you something
to argue about, who is the
best of the best in our
fighting town? I think it is
the 10 fighters listed
below. My criterion is
simple, if they fight on the
Philly circuit on a regular
basis, they were considered
for the list. I pay no
attention to who their
promoter, manager, trainer
or baby's momma is. Some are
young, some are old, and
some will go on to fight for
world titles while others
will struggle to end their
career with a record close
to .500. I give to you the
first ever Philly top 10
pound for pound rankings.
Email me to discuss, debate,
praise, curse or quietly
state your opinion.
1) Eddie Chambers
(26-0 14 KOs) - The
heavyweight prospect is very
close to reaching contender
status. He answered a lot of
questions in his last fight
when showed up in tip-top
shape and destroyed once
upon a time contender Ed
Mahone in four lopsided
rounds. Showed some serious
pop in his mitts and is now
very close to scoring a
major fight against a name
contender. Scheduled to
fight in Vegas next week
after 17 straight outings at
the Blue Horizon, we will
see if he can make the most
of this opportunity.
Scheduled to return to the
Blue in September.
2) Joey Abell
(7-0, 7 KOs) - It has taken
the North Dakota born
heavyweight three fights to
win over our notoriously
tough fan base. Now they
come flocking in to see him
fight.
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Looks like a lumberjack and
hits like a freight train.
His knockout power keeps the
EMT's on standby. In his
first fight at the Blue
Horizon, he fractured a
man's fibula while landing a
left hook to the chin.
His last fight there he damn
near knocked his opponent
out of the ring.
Number two might be a
stretch due to the lack of
serious competition but the
ferocity of his knockouts
are hard to ignore. I would
love to see him fight "Big"
John Poore. |
3) Yusef Mack
(22-1-2, 14 KOs) - He was my
No. 1 until he bombed out on
ESPN a few months back. I
don't know what happened
that night but the guy I saw
wasn't the combo firing,
head moving ring maestro
that was promising a win
over the likes of Calzaghe
and Lacy in the near future.
With that being said he
still has all the tools to
be a world champion. He can
box and he can finish an
opponent off. Has been in
the spotlight before and
come out on top. Maybe he
got too cocky but maybe he
will bounce back strong. In
my opinion it won't be long
before the crown jewel of
Shulers Gym is back in the
mix of a wide-open Super
Middleweight division.
4) Rogers Mtagwa
(22-10, 16 KOs) - For a
little guy he is very fun to
watch. He is willing to take
punches and more than
willing to dish out the
punishment. Was very
impressive on national TV
recently, finishing up a
strong performance with a
big knockout. There are
rumors of a fight with Jason
Litzau is in the works and
Mtagwa will provide a stern
test for the hot shot
prospect should this
featherweight showdown take
place.
5) Max Alexander
(11-0-1, 2 KOs) - Max seems
to improve with every fight.
When he stepped up the
competition, he responded
with knockout victories.
Even his opponents with bad
records have all been in
against the top young talent
in the business. He can
fight from both sides of the
plate and always seems to
come to the ring with a
sound strategy. Works both
down stairs and up top. The
best young light heavyweight
on the East Coast and
possibly in the entire
division.
6) Chazz
Witherspoon (13-0, 7
KOs) - No free pass because
of his name; Chazz has
definitely earned his slot
on the list with pure boxing
ability. After starting his
career on the road, he has
come back home in '06 to
please crowds around the
city with his heavy hands
and fluid body movement. A
slow starter at times, he
seems to get stronger as the
fight moves forward. Very
nimble for a heavyweight.
One of the few bright spots
in yet another sorry season
of Showtime boxing when he
cruised to a decision win
over undefeated Michael
Alexander back in July.
7) Harry Joe
Yorgey (15-0, 8 KOs) -
This light middleweight
prospect seems to have
beaten the injury bug and
has his career back on
track. He has begun to step
up the competition after
taking on a laundry list of,
well, I won't say soft but
rather "opponent" type
fighters. Looked good on
ESPN back in June, he
hopefully will step up the
competition soon. Some are
questioning if he is really
a contender or just an over
hyped pretender.
8) Terrance
Cauthen (31-3, 8 KOs) -
To me "Heat" can be painful
to watch at times but I
always give credit where it
is due. Cauthen has boxed
the socks off of everyone
they have put in front of
him. He has lightening fast
hands and is very good
defensively. If he had a
lick of punching power he
would be a world champion.
He recently won the IBU
junior middleweight title in
Trenton. He packs the house
with fans in Philly and
Jersey and I am sure he will
bring a crowd if given a
shot on a card in Atlantic
City.
9) Clarence "Sonny
Bono" Taylor (11-9-2, 5
KOs) - Don't let the record
fool you; Bono is a tough
customer. You won't find
many cupcakes on his resume.
He is my kind of fighter,
the type that takes only the
local tough guys, rising
prospects and will give a
contender a run for his
money. His fight with Joe
Christy on Joey Eye's card
at the Diablo Fight Club was
one of the best of 2005.
Convincingly beat fellow
Philly tough guy Jose Medina
on the opening bout of
Friday Night Fights in early
August. Not much style to
his approach, he just brings
it and his fights always are
crowd pleasers.
10) Jamaal "Tyson"
Davis (7-1, 6 KOs) - He
gets no press even with the
local beat but he hasn't
escaped my watchful eye. I
think he is one of the more
entertaining fighters on the
circuit. Since losing in his
pro debut, this tough
middleweight has reeled off
seven straight wins. Moves
well in the ring, fights
with a mean streak, and has
teeth-breaking power. Always
seems to be on the attack.
Still mastering the trade
but has always been matched
up against more experienced
competition. A true Philly
sleeper, but one to keep an
eye on.
Honorable mentions:
Steve Upshur Chambers, Glen
Turner, Charles Cavallo, Gee
Culmer, Elad Shmouel, John
Poore, Gabe Rosado
All questions, comments,
complaints and anything else
can be sent to
keith@phillykeith.com
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