Denton Daley Vs. Youri Kalenga Weigh-in Coverage
By Lou Eisen (At the scale)
The weigh-in for the Denton Daley-Youri Kalenga fight went off without a hitch today at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, which is a suburb of Toronto. Kalenga will be defending his interim WBA cruiserweight world title against Canada’s Denton Daley. Daley weighed in at 195 lbs whereas Kalenga weighed in at 200 lbs. There was a bit of excitement when Kalenga first stepped on the scales because his weight was over 200 pounds, which is the limit for the cruiserweight division. The Ontario Boxing Commission’s officials simply recalibrated the scale and all was fine.
Kalenga was the first to arrive at the weigh-in with his entourage in tow, including his manager, Garry Hyde. Hyde told Ringside Report, “Kalenga is in great shape for this fight. We are not taking Denton Daley lightly by any means. Youri is in the best shape of his career. After he beats Daley tomorrow night, we will then go after Marco Huck and Denis Lebedev.” Although Kalenga is not taking Daley lightly, he seems to be already looking past him to other fights. When asked if, the fact that they will be using the largest ring possible as allowed by WBA rules, would adversely affect Kalenga, Hyde had this to say, “No, not at all. Youri is excellent when it comes to cutting off the ring on his opponents. It doesn’t matter to him if the ring is very big or small. He will make it small by cutting the ring off on Daley and then finishing him off along the ropes.”
Kalenga certainly looked to be in incredible shape as he disrobed for the weigh-in. Kalenga has a very defined musculature, which is definitely impressive to look at. However, muscle mass does not necessarily equate to ring supremacy. Many trainers disdain muscle mass on their fighters because the excess bulk can actually fatigue a fighter during the fight. That being said, Daley also looked to be in great shape as well for his Saturday night title challenge.
There were some head games going on as Kalenga arrived first and had to wait a while before Daley showed up. Both men stood toe-to-toe after the weigh-in to pose for the photographers present. Remarkably, after all of the insults that have flown back and forth between both fighters’ camps during the lead-up to this fight, the two combatants barely acknowledged each other at the weigh-in.
Kalenga seemed almost to be disinterested in the proceedings going on around him, while Daley was all smiles, as he knew everyone in the room. When asked for a prediction, Daley confidently said, “I am going to win. I am in great shape. I will beat him.” Daley has a laid back personality and did not make any knockout predictions, as that is not his style. He looked to be his usual self, relaxed, confident and self-assured.
Daley’s trainer, Syd Vanderpool said that Daley was ready for whatever the champion brings to the fight. Vanderpool remarked, “Daley is primed and ready for his first world title shot and is well prepared to go the full 12 rounds. He is relaxed and completely focused on Kalenga.” Hyde, when asked for a prediction said, “Youri won’t come out gunning for a knockout. If it happens it will happen organically in the course of the fight. He wants to show off his technical boxing skills. He wants to show the world that he is more than just a slugger. He came here expecting to fight 12 hard rounds and he is in shape to do so.”
There is no doubt that Kalenga is the stronger man while Daley is the faster fighter and essentially that is precisely how this bout breaks down. This fight will be a battle of Daley’s speed versus Kalenga’s power. In fact, there is an old adage in boxing circles that states that the only way to beat power is with speed. Ali used his speed of hand and foot to defeat Sonny Liston in their first encounter, and Daley will need to do the same in order to take Kalenga’s title. This why a bigger ring greatly benefits Daley as it affords him more room to work in and a greater opportunity to make his hand and foot speed the determining factor in the bout. Both men seemed to be completely undeterred about the task at hand during the weigh-in.
Don’t be fooled by their nonchalance. Both fighters were in essence doing their best to show the other that he is not worried about the fight at hand. They both have their respective strategies on how to win the fight. In 24 hours time we may have a new Canadian world champion to go along with Adonis Stevenson and Bermane Stiverne. With the typical bone-chilling Canadian winter already upon us, a Daley victory would be the warmest gift of all for Canada’s many fight fans.