Haye Defeats Chisora

In his comeback fight, David Haye has defeated Dereck Chisora to send a huge message to Vitali Klitschko.


The former heavyweight champion of the world, stopped 'Del Boy' in the fifth round after four very tight rounds. Haye edged most of the rounds but it was by no means comfortable for the Haymaker who was being caused a few problems by the forward moving Chisora.


After all the build up, the first round was fiery with Chisora forcing Haye to throw alot more shots than usual, although he was on the backfoot, Haye was using enough force to keep Chisora at arms length. The second round was much of the same with the Haymaker just edging a close round.


The end of the third was where it all set off, the referee and the fighters failed to hear the bell as Chisora caught Haye to put the former world champion in all kinds of trouble, he would have been relieved to see the end of the round. The fourth saw Haye being caught more as Chisora was getting into the fight more however the Haymaker again edged this round.


The fifth became the dramatic round though as for the first time his career, Dereck Chisora was knocked to the floor as a slick looking Haye took control of the fight. Del Boy bravely got up and tried to retaliate but got knocked down again leaving the ref no choice but to end the fight.




The fighters embraced after the fight which was good to see, I'm not sure where Chisora goes from here to be honest, he's lost all his big fights and will struggle to recover from this. Haye looked very classy in this fight and surely a bout with Vitali Klitschko awaits.







  

Saturday Night Boxing

Tonight sees two blockbuster matches involving British fighters.


First up is David Haye vs Dereck Chisora, this came about after February's Munich brawl following Chisora's points loss to Vitali Klitschko. This is Haye's comeback match after a very brief retirement, his last outing was a very disappointing world title unification defeat to Wladimir Klitschko. Chisora has lost his last two fights and will be desperate to get back on track here.


The brawl in Munich left a bad taste in everyone's mouth and resulted in Chisora losing his British boxing licence. The Luxembourg Boxing Federation then stepped in to sanction this fight, this led to legal disputes between the organisations over whether the Upton Park fight should even take place.


Lets focus on the boxing itself though and this is a fight that is drawing the interests of many, not least the Klitschko's. Haye is the big favourite here, he is the former world champion and has only lost twice in his career. Chisora has lost three matches which have all been title matches, Haye is quick for a Heavyweight and has plenty of power, Chisora can take a punch so I can see him losing on points.




The second fight of big British interest will see reinstated WBA Super Light Welterweight champion Amir Khan take on WBC Light Welterweight champion Danny Garcia. The American Garcia is unbeaten and faces his biggest test to date against Khan who has a major point to prove following the Lamont Peterson controversy. A Khan win would almost certainly see him move up a division and maybe a meeting with Floyd Mayweather Jr.




A Garcia win would also see his career move to the next level with maybe an attempt to clean up the whole division. Garcia's father has been mouthing off a lot in the build up to this match, we will soon see if that has had a positive or negative for his son.




I can see Khan winning this one, I can see his speed and power being too much for Garcia and I can't see him making the same mistakes he did against Peterson, Freddie Roach is too good a coach for that.     

Spain vs Italy Review

So here it was, the final of the 2012 European Championships between holders Spain and Italy.


The two sides had met in their opening match which ended one all, so this had the makings of a good contest. In that match the Italians took the game to Spain and even took the lead, the Spanish started that contest without a recognised striker and were expected to do the same here. Italy had surprised Germany in their semi final to qualify whilst Spain had edged out rivals Portugal on penalties.


The Spanish started this game strongly as they attacked from the get go, they were pushing and probing the Italian defence which lead to their opening goal with David Silva heading in after good work from Cesc Fabregas. Spain were totally on top here as Italy barley threatened. Left back Jordi Alba completed a great run with a fine finish as he doubled Spain's lead four minutes before the interval.


The Italians brought on opening match goal scorer Antonio Di Natale for the second half, this showed much needed attacking intent and he was denied by Iker Casillas in what was probably his side's best chance. Things got worse for the Italians as Thiago Motto pulled up injured just minutes after coming on and as they had used all their substitutes, they had to play the rest of the game with ten men.


Spain were in cruise control for the rest of the match and put the icing on the cake as Golden Boot winner Fernando Torres and Chelsea team mate Juan Mata, secured the win as well as the biggest winning margin in a European final.


So Spain have become the first international team to win three major trophies in a row, surely now they must be classed as the greatest international side of all time. Italy did well to reach the final but were totally outclassed as Spain showed why they are so great. It has been a fantastic tournament and roll on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Germany vs Italy Review

Tonight played host to the second semi final of the tournament and it was between Germany and Italy.


The Germans were favourites heading into the clash after winning all their games so far. Italy edged through their quarter final on penalties despite dominating their match against England. The Italian's dominance in that match gave them renewed optimism for this semi, however Germany have been hugely impressive and were expected to reach the final.


As the match began, the Germans appeared to be man marking Andrea Pirlo who is the vocal point of the Italian side, for some reason though they seemed to forget this plan in a matter of minutes. Early on Germany looked the better team but Italy seemed to get themselves together and took the lead on twenty minutes through a close header from Manchester City's Mario Balotelli.


The maverick striker doubled his side's lead with a fine finish after a swift counter attack sixteen minutes later. This period of play had left the Germans stunned as they had arguably been the better side, the team that had looked unflappable before the match went into half time trailing.


The second half saw Germany searching to get back into the game, despite a lot of possession they were really struggling to trouble Gianluigi Buffon. At the other end, Italy were squandering a number of chances to secure their victory. A 90th minute Mesut Ozil penalty gave the Germans hope however Italy held on to upset the favourites and secure their place in the final.


Not many people would have seen that result coming, Italy actually played very well and defended excellently. Germany will wonder how they didn't make the final with their current form, Spain haven't been at their best so the final should be a good game.

Portugal vs Spain Review

Wednesday evening saw the first semi final of Euro 2012.


The match saw Champions Spain take on neighbors Portugal, the Spanish were favorites for this clash however Portugal had really picked up form since their opening game and posed a real threat to their local rivals. It was going to be interesting to see which system the Portuguese would adopt to combat the Spanish.


The opening half surprisingly saw Portugal play their natural game, in their opening match they sat back against the Germans. Both sides came close as Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta had efforts that narrowly missed the target, the teams went in level at half time.




In the second half, the Portuguese seemed to drop off a bit which allowed the Spanish to take a degree of control in the game. Neither side played as if they wanted to go out and win the match as they looked scared of losing the encounter, inevitably the game headed into extra time as despite the firepower on display, no one could break the deadlock. 




Extra time saw the Spanish pile on the pressure as Portugal began to tire, despite their domination in possession the champions could not create a clear cut chance as we headed to the dreaded penalty shootout. After the opening spot kick takers both missed, the pressure intensified with so much at stake. There was still no sign of Ronaldo stepping up as Bruno Alves smashed his effort against the bar leaving Cesc Fabregas to send the champions through. 




Spain will be relieved to reach their third consecutive major final and will fancy their chances of retaining the trophy. For Portugal it's a case of what might have been as they certainly pushed the Spanish all the way here, I feel this may have been their best chance to win a major trophy gone.

The Daily Mail

England vs Italy Review

Today was the final quarter final of Euro 2012.


Roy Hodgson's England had surprised a few by reaching the knockout stages, particularly finishing top of their group. Italy managed to qualify through a tough group and were probably pleased to be facing England as opposed to the French. The winners of this match would have the tough task of facing the Germans in the semi finals.


England started positively with Glen Johnson forcing an early save from Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon, there were some decent build up play from both sides but with little end product in the opening twenty minutes. Italy began to take control of the match towards the end of the half as the likes of Andrea Pirlo had time on the ball, the teams went in level at the break.


The second half saw almost total domination from Italy, England brought on Andy Carroll to give them a bit of presence up front but the ball was given away far too often as Italy squandered a number of chances to score. Aside from a couple of last ditch tackles, the Italians couldn't find a way through as inevitably, the game went to extra time.


Extra time basically saw England holding on for penalties which was strange. Italy thought they had snatched it as Antonio Nocerino headed in, however the goal was rightfully disallowed for offside and the English held on for penalties. Of course we all knew deep down what was going to happen next, despite Riccardo Montolivo missing his spot kick, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole fluffed their lines as England succumbed to penalties once again.


Italy deserved the win as they bossed the game, I still think Germany will be too much for them in the semi final though. England showed spirit and heart in their performance, however they must improve immensely if they're going to do anything in the future, they looked ordinary at times.

Spain vs France Review

Today was the third quarter final of Euro 2012 and it was contested between Spain and France.


Champions Spain were favorites to retain their crown whilst France were an outside bet to win the tournament despite finishing second in their group. Without playing as well as usual, Spain topped their group by winning two and drawing one, whilst France lost their final game against Sweden to concede top spot to England.


France went for a defensive strategy, much like the Czechs and Greeks had done the two previous nights. Spain decided to start with Cesc Fabregas upfront instead of an out and out striker, these tactics were also used in their opening contest against Italy. France's ploy to keep the Spanish out seemed to be working in the first few minutes but all their work came undone thanks to Xabi Alonso's header, who was unmarked at the back post on nineteen minutes.


The French didn't appear to have an answer to the champion's possession and managed to keep the score down to one nil at the break. Their display in the second period was as unimaginative as the first, despite bringing on more attacking players such as Samir Nasri and Olivier Giroud, the French never really threatened Spain.


The Spanish were in cruise control for much of the game as they just held on to their lead by running down the clock, they were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute as Alonso celebrated his 100th appearance for the national team in style, by wrapping up a comfortable victory.


It's no real surprise Spain went through, France's performance was shockingly bad however and one deserving of their exit. The Portugal match will be much tougher for the Spanish however I expect to see them in the final against Germany, the French will be disappointed with the manner of their defeat and lessons will have to have been learnt.