Jab Hook’s Prediction for the Madison Square Garden Theater, NYC, Friday, January 18th, 2019:
Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade vs Artur “Wolverine” Akavov. boxing 12 Rounds for Andrade’s WBO Middleweight Title.
Demetrius Andrade was born with physical advantages and athletic gifts. Add his Dad to that picture and the little known Providence R.I. boxing tradition and you’ve got lots of potential.
Jab believes that too much talent and “lots of potential“ can be a poor formula for success.
This is a bout between a former champ who has saved his career by moving up beat an unknown, undefeated African middleweight champion, and a tough, experienced Russian boxer who is too small for this division. Yes, “Boo Boo“ earned the title with his 12 round demolition of Walter Kautondokwa.
At 25 yesds old, Artur “Wolverine” Akavov started late as a pro. This is his second time stepping up. Against a flat BJ Saunders he was unable to get the job done. He’s clearly the B-side in this bout. This is the “Wolverine’s” best chance to show his role as contender is valid in this bout.
Strange statistic: Akavov’s last two opponents were southpaws, and in total he has fought seven lefties, a third of his bouts. A strong performance could allow him to stay relevant, despite losing again.
Andrade the Olympian, who as an amateur beat Thurman in three of four bouts, not to mention Jacobs, Porter, and Trout, has undisputed talent. But the former WBO/WBA Light Middleweight champ, stalled more than once in his career. A three month turn around for his first title defense is an ambitious start 2019. But is “Boo Boo“ really ready to break out big? This match will not answer that question in Jab’s opinion.
Just a reminder: MIDDLEWEIGHT Champions (max 72.7kg/160lbs): Ring Champion, WBC/WBA/WBC- Saul Canelo Alvarez, Ring #1 – Gennady Golovkin, Ring #2, IBF – Danny Jacobs, Ring #3 – BJ Saunders, Ring #4 – Rob Brant, Ring #5- “Boo Boo” Andrade.
Special note: Demetrius Andrade is among the southpaws today who were born right handed. These include Andre Ward, Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Michal Moorer, Tevin Farmer. Because on average ~75 % of punches are from the lead hand, should it not be the strongest hand? Further benefit is that southpaws have more experience vs orthodox.
Jab Hook’s keys to victory
“Boo Boo”-
1-Fight orthodox vs this experienced southpaw.
2-Establish the jab to get inside and out, but mix in a few straight right leads in every round.
3-Work the body with combination-punching.
4-Be patient and utilize your superior skills and experience.
“Wolverine”-
1-Fight small and low, lots of head movement
2-Disrupt his rhythm, smother his work, fight awkward,
3-Clinch and hook inside to provoke wild exchanges,
4- Make it a Russian war!
Jab Hook picks Demetrius Andrade to win over Artur Akavov by stoppage in a later round, unless he plays it safe for a decision win.
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Jab Hook’s Prediction for the Madison Square Garden Theater, NYC, Friday, January 18th, 2019:
TJ “The Power“ Doheny 20(14)-0 vs Ryohei Takahashi 25(16)-3(2), boxing 12 Rounds for the IBF Super Bantamweight Title.
TJ Doheny is the three time Irish Amateur Champion from quaint, little Portlaoise, Knockmay, in the middle of nowhere Ireland. Years ago at the Portlaoise Boxing Club Pat Ryan saw something special in the young southpaw.
Ryan guided TJ and developed that talent into true boxing skills. But you can’t always win if you fight the best. TJ suffered that lesson vs John Joe Nevin from Cavan, Ireland. Nevin snatched away Doheny’s chance to box in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Disgusted and disillusioned, TJ put boxing on the shelf moved to Australia looking for opportunities to start his new life.
But it was not long until TJ walked into Bondi Boxing Club and met Tony Del Vecchio, who could not just let such boxing talent go to waste. So things got rolling as TJ “The Power” went professional at 25 yeaes old fighting on the Australian club circuit, where hardcore journeymen bloody up young prospects every weekend. In 2014, after only two years, a 7-0 TJ Doheny got a surprising call offering a championship bout.
Doheny knew himself that he was not ready yet, so he turned down Scott Quigg’s invitation for the WBA super-bantamweight title bout in order to gain more experience for a couple of years down under.
But Doheny used to spar with top talent like Carl Frampton, Jamie Conlan, and Paddy Barnes. He felt he needed better opponents and training partners to develop into a champion, so he decided to commute to Boston’s Murphy’s Gym for all his training camps as of 2017. This is a sacrifice that has paid off, as Doheny worked his way to a title bout in the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan on August 16, 2018.
In that IBF bout for the belt Ryosuki Iwasa cut TJ on both cheeks in the early rounds and had him in a bit of trouble. But “The Power” bit down and got Irish gritty with the Japanese champion. Using his southpaw advantages and quick hands, TJ’s hurt Iwasa to the body, while his upper-body movement and sense of distance helped him avoid more damage. And after 12 rounds, wonder of wonders, he took the IBF belt from the Japanese champion Iwasa in Tokyo, Japan.
TJ Doheny is the 21st Irish World Boxing Champion since Jimmy McLarnin. Current world boxing champions from Ireland are Katie Taylor, Ryan Burnett and Doheny.
Ryohei Takahashi background was a bit tougher for Jab to research, as Japanese is not one of Jab’s languages. Even worse, only a fight video or two is posted on the web. But where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Takahasi is a Japanese club fighter from Korakuen Hall, where he has fought 15 of his 20 bouts. Talk about a rough start to a boxing career, Takahasi got KO’d in his first bout, had a draw in second, then finally unanimous decision win in his third fight. Then the guy wins eight bouts in a row, not bad!
But those opponents were local level and this is Ryohei Takahashi’s first bout overseas. It is a big step up against TJ “The Power” and the bright lights of Madison Square Garden can blind a young man. Watching his last bout vs Shingo Kusano, Jab saw an orthodox, aggressive puncher/brawler. A bit unconventional and erratic, Takahasi is an active puncher with limited power. His defense is leaky, at best. He is open to the lead left. When he retreats, he jumps straight back and is therefore an easy target. Takahasi like to jolt foreward, shifting stance as he attacks without precision. Often smothering his punches he looked unimpressive in his unanimous decision over Kusano. who is also a southpaw.
Takahashi has been training in Japan with WBO FW Champ Masayuki Ito in preparation for this bout. Unfortunately, he just got his US Visa and has flown to USA this week with only days to acclimate. It is clear why he has been picked as the opponent for TJ Doheny’s first title defense, but Ryohei Takahashi could care less. He has come to NYC, USA to take the belt back to Japan. But TJ is here tonight to prove he is a threat to the top dogs and deserves a unification bout, and he has handled the Japanese style well before. The luck of the Irish, this time he is fighting halfway home in New York, where everybody is Irish, and if they’re not, they want to be. The lil Garden will be rocking!
Jab Hooks keys to victory
Tj Doheny-
1) Establish the jab, and set up combinations to the body.
2) Box defensively, and punctuate with hard, lead left hands to the head each round.
3) Fight long, let him come and walk him into it.
4) Up the pressure and the pain as the fight wears on, attacking in flurries to force a referee stoppage.
Ryohei Takahashi-
1) Use lots of upper-body movement and feints
2) Make offense your defense with high punching volume to disrupt his rhythm, but keep right hand up!
3) Circle left and stay off the ropes
4) Fight short and inside, kill the body, head will follow
Joe’s Pick: TJ Doheny by unanimous decision over Ryohei Takahashi
Check NYFights.com this weekend for Jab Hook’s Epilogues for Madison Square Garden Theater, NYC
“Jab Hook”, aka “Brooklyn” Joe Healy is a boxing expert commentator for DAZN.de, a professional cutman from the BOXWERK gym, and a licensed referee/judge in amateur boxing. A lifelong aficionado born in Brooklyn and living in Munich, “The Sweet Science” is his passion. Please feel free to contact him as Jab Hook on FaceBook, at AficionadoKO@gmail.com, or on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoxAficionado
