General Boxing Thread

[Ricey]

Tyson Fury retires from boxing, though if this will be permanent, who knows?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/03/tyson-fury-retirement-boxing-twitter

Announced it on twitter earlier:

But also he responded to the allegations of him testing positive to Cocaine with this tweet the other day:

This is Tyson Fury at his most normal he did retire after the last fight and also during the preparation for the 2nd fight that has now been cancelled. Who knows what's going on in Tyson's head and he isn't doing his case any favours. He probably would've been better to just keep away from the media and let his team or Peter to deal with the press.

This news has opened up the heavyweight division and it will be hugely active from now and into 2017. Eddie Hearn keeps banging on about Klitschko vs Joshua being close, with this latest news I will assume they will strip Fury's belt and put at least one on the line if that fight happens.

Parker seems to be getting a little fed up of waiting for his shot at the IBF title so is looking at the WBO route. A possible bout with Andy Ruiz Jr is on the cards and may be a title fight if the belts get stripped.

Exciting but also sad times if Tyson has retired. Exciting because it really opens up the division and there could be lots of big fights to decide who is the best heavyweight. There are a lot of players in the division with the likes of Joshua, Klitschko (not many fights left in him), Wilder, Ortiz, Parker along with a whole host of others vying for a title shot. But also sad times because I myself enjoy Tyson and his games, he's entertaining to watch and we won't get to see the man who beat the guy who beat the guy defend his title!

 

[Blue_Wes]

The cynic in me wonders if this is part of a wider cover up. The timing of it all seems quite bad, when he was 'injured' at the time he was suspended for a drugs offence, yet seemingly ok to be jumping around on his injured ankle.

The contracts almost falling through and Klits camp having to take the Fury court to court of inputting the drug testing clause into the new contracts, and now again, further drug testing issues and the fights off again.

Mental health is the easiest thing to fake with your doctors, if you so wish - especially for someone who behaves so erratically for the public eye (it's well documented how well he puts on this act, and how different he is off camera).

If it's real, having known people who have suffered, I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery - like him or hate him, the heavyweight division is far more interesting with an active Fury in it. But this really does stink, and there rarely is any smoke without fire.

Also, for those poor fans, especially if there have been those that have tickets from the first dates, and may have arranged travel and accommodation twice - it's a real killer for them.

Rumours circulating that Tyson Fury's impending "drug test failure", (allegedly etc) will show he's been on the beak. If true, I'm not surprised, but even more, I personally don't care. I wish more HW fighters were given toot between rounds instead of water. Would certainly force more entertainment :smile:

Which of course, would fuel the fire regarding the rumours surrounding his current sabbatical.

Tyson Fury retires from boxing, though if this will be permanent, who knows?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/03/tyson-fury-retirement-boxing-twitter

Far from Nostradamus, but it was all so painfully and predictably obvious wasn't it. Such a shame, because at his best, he was really good for the division, but this last year has really been farcical. He's obviously jumping before he was pushed - gives him the opportunity to say he was never beaten before really testing himself against the best, which you know he'll wheel out in an interview at some point.

Let's hope if nothing else, we do get some decent fights for the belts should they become available - that's about the only silver lining to this. But as Ricey said, given how many times he's retired, or threatened to before, I highly doubt it'll be long before he pokes his head up again - how many fans hold faith and follow him when he does, is a different matter.

 

[Ricey]

Looks like he's been having everyone's pants down!

 

[Blue_Wes]

Far from Nostradamus, but it was all so painfully and predictably obvious wasn't it. Such a shame, because at his best, he was really good for the division, but this last year has really been farcical. He's obviously jumping before he was pushed - gives him the opportunity to say he was never beaten before really testing himself against the best, which you know he'll wheel out in an interview at some point.

Let's hope if nothing else, we do get some decent fights for the belts should they become available - that's about the only silver lining to this. But as Ricey said, given how many times he's retired, or threatened to before, I highly doubt it'll be long before he pokes his head up again - how many fans hold faith and follow him when he does, is a different matter.

Maybe I am Nostradamus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/37542160

 

[GBJ]

He's obviously jumping before he was pushed - gives him the opportunity to say he was never beaten before really testing himself against the best, which you know he'll wheel out in an interview at some point.

Come on mayn, he beat the best, undisputed lineal champion the sport has seen, in any division, for a very long time* If he doesn't fight again (which I don't think is even remotely true) then he will still always be the man, who beat THE man. He DID test himself against the best, and he embarrassed the best. In football terms, Wlad was you're champions league team, and the likes of Ortiz, Joshua etc, are STILL only a mid-table, flirting with top 6 premier league team.

*The last time something like that happened, it was Cotto dismantling Martinez, I think? Compare the public reactions between the two. Cotto was/is still treated like a king by the Peurto Ricans. Whereas Fury has split opinion like Marmite.

 

[Ricey]

Did anyone watch the Bellew vs Flores fight last night. Not the most exciting fight was over pretty quickly as expected. But what I quite enjoyed was Bellew's rant towards Haye afterwards. Haye genuinely didn't know what to do or say. Obviously he has to be careful as he is in Bellew's backyard and the Liverpool crowd would destroy him if he gave it back.

I'm genuinely intrigued by a Haye vs Bellew fight. I'm a Bellew fan over Haye but I appreciate everything Haye did at Cruiserweight and his previous fights prior to his recent comeback at Heavyweight. I think defensively Bellew needs to work massively on that as against Flores and Makabu he got caught quite cleanly, easily and often. Yes he may have the chin to go with it but Haye is a fast hard puncher with a powerful jab. The big question is does Haye drop down to Cruiserweight (not likely) or does Bellew jump up to heavyweight?

Haye has announced he has another fight coming on December 10th rumour has it its the long anticipated bout against Briggs. But judging by a flurry of tweets from Briggs that isn't the case. It will be an interesting match up for Bellew, personally I'd like to see him unify the Cruiserweight division and fight the likes of Lebedev or Usyk. But with a promoter like Hearn who is all about the money a big money fight against Haye is more financially attractive to him than the unification fights.

 

[GBJ]

Did anyone watch the Bellew vs Flores fight last night. Not the most exciting fight was over pretty quickly as expected. But what I quite enjoyed was Bellew's rant towards Haye afterwards. Haye genuinely didn't know what to do or say. Obviously he has to be careful as he is in Bellew's backyard and the Liverpool crowd would destroy him if he gave it back.

I'm genuinely intrigued by a Haye vs Bellew fight. I'm a Bellew fan over Haye but I appreciate everything Haye did at Cruiserweight and his previous fights prior to his recent comeback at Heavyweight. I think defensively Bellew needs to work massively on that as against Flores and Makabu he got caught quite cleanly, easily and often. Yes he may have the chin to go with it but Haye is a fast hard puncher with a powerful jab. The big question is does Haye drop down to Cruiserweight (not likely) or does Bellew jump up to heavyweight?

Haye has announced he has another fight coming on December 10th rumour has it its the long anticipated bout against Briggs. But judging by a flurry of tweets from Briggs that isn't the case. It will be an interesting match up for Bellew, personally I'd like to see him unify the Cruiserweight division and fight the likes of Lebedev or Usyk. But with a promoter like Hearn who is all about the money a big money fight against Haye is more financially attractive to him than the unification fights.

Its a total one-sided massacre by Haye. He ends Bellew whenever he wants. 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Take your pick. But undoubtedly, Haye decapitates Bellew.

His post-fight antics were quite funny, but so very desperate. Bellew is ready to cash out in his career, which Hearn seems happy for him to do. He's won a world title, defended it, had a "grudge-match", fought at his team's ground. That's the majority of boxes ticked. Only thing left is to make as much as possible in the final fight. Unification bouts won't bring him the dough Haye can.

 

[Usual_Suspect 2]

Its a total one-sided massacre by Haye. He ends Bellew whenever he wants. 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Take your pick. But undoubtedly, Haye decapitates Bellew.

His post-fight antics were quite funny, but so very desperate. Bellew is ready to cash out in his career, which Hearn seems happy for him to do. He's won a world title, defended it, had a "grudge-match", fought at his team's ground. That's the majority of boxes ticked. Only thing left is to make as much as possible in the final fight. Unification bouts won't bring him the dough Haye can.

Couldn't agree more, in my eyes Bellew is being a bit hypocritical saying the Haye is only in it for the money (which he obviously is) when Bellew is clearly been after the Haye payday for the last year or so (since he called him 'that bitch' after one of his last fights).

I like Bellew's passion, but lets be honest Haye will finish him inside three rounds. Bellew will come up to heavyweight (I think there's only 1.5 stone difference in the two of them currently) and it will be on PPV with Bellw selling the fight with plenty of verbals and a few pushes at the press conference (as he did with Cleverely).

 

[Ricey]

Its a total one-sided massacre by Haye. He ends Bellew whenever he wants. 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Take your pick. But undoubtedly, Haye decapitates Bellew.

His post-fight antics were quite funny, but so very desperate. Bellew is ready to cash out in his career, which Hearn seems happy for him to do. He's won a world title, defended it, had a "grudge-match", fought at his team's ground. That's the majority of boxes ticked. Only thing left is to make as much as possible in the final fight. Unification bouts won't bring him the dough Haye can.

Couldn't agree more, in my eyes Bellew is being a bit hypocritical saying the Haye is only in it for the money (which he obviously is) when Bellew is clearly been after the Haye payday for the last year or so (since he called him 'that bitch' after one of his last fights).

I like Bellew's passion, but lets be honest Haye will finish him inside three rounds. Bellew will come up to heavyweight (I think there's only 1.5 stone difference in the two of them currently) and it will be on PPV with Bellw selling the fight with plenty of verbals and a few pushes at the press conference (as he did with Cleverely).

I personally think you're both being a bit harsh on Bellew. I agree that pre comeback David Haye would've beaten him in 3 rounds but post comeback what has he done to prove he hasn't lost the ability or longevity that he had before, does he still have the power? He sparked out two bums in the early rounds. I'm not saying Bellew would win but I think it will last longer than 3 rounds.

 

[GBJ]

I personally think you're both being a bit harsh on Bellew. I agree that pre comeback David Haye would've beaten him in 3 rounds but post comeback what has he done to prove he hasn't lost the ability or longevity that he had before, does he still have the power? He sparked out two bums in the early rounds. I'm not saying Bellew would win but I think it will last longer than 3 rounds.

Bellew is ridiculously easy to hit. Flores had ample opportunities to finish Bellew, but isn't much of a banger. Haye, on the other hand, most certainly can.

The weight would be a big problem aswell. Bellew won't be used to getting hit by a HW. Remember how he got dismantled by Adonis? Haye will do something similar. And bare in mind, I'm not a Haye fan

 

[Blue_Wes]

Did anyone watch the Bellew vs Flores fight last night. Not the most exciting fight was over pretty quickly as expected. But what I quite enjoyed was Bellew's rant towards Haye afterwards. Haye genuinely didn't know what to do or say. Obviously he has to be careful as he is in Bellew's backyard and the Liverpool crowd would destroy him if he gave it back.

I'm genuinely intrigued by a Haye vs Bellew fight. I'm a Bellew fan over Haye but I appreciate everything Haye did at Cruiserweight and his previous fights prior to his recent comeback at Heavyweight. I think defensively Bellew needs to work massively on that as against Flores and Makabu he got caught quite cleanly, easily and often. Yes he may have the chin to go with it but Haye is a fast hard puncher with a powerful jab. The big question is does Haye drop down to Cruiserweight (not likely) or does Bellew jump up to heavyweight?

Haye has announced he has another fight coming on December 10th rumour has it its the long anticipated bout against Briggs. But judging by a flurry of tweets from Briggs that isn't the case. It will be an interesting match up for Bellew, personally I'd like to see him unify the Cruiserweight division and fight the likes of Lebedev or Usyk. But with a promoter like Hearn who is all about the money a big money fight against Haye is more financially attractive to him than the unification fights.

I think Bellew knows that Haye smashes him - I can't argue with GBJ or US2, in that Haye wins when he wants.

Looking at Unifying the division, Lebedev isn't much of a pull, and wouldn't generate much interest, not in the likes of Haye Bellew. And Bellew needs to stay as far away from Usyk as possible, the guy is a fantastic boxer and is the divisions biggest star, It's a small reward for an incredible risk. Bellew knows all this and realises that his biggest cashcow is Haye, and the financial benefits mean that this is the only risk worth taking, and like Brook and Khan recently, he has a natural excuse in that Haye is heavy puncher from a higher division.

No contest, I'm a big Haye fan, and I'd much rather see them both fight decent opponents in their own division that watch Haye dismantle a gobshite.

 

[GBJ]

Looking like AJ - Price is on the cards. I envisage Price will freeze up, but still manage to frustrate Joshua for a minute, maybe 90 seconds, before AJ surges through the gears and stops him at the end of the first round. It's a terrible mismatch, it's not competitive & it's certainly not worthy of PPV.

I'd rather see Haye given the nod (although it looks like he's going the WBO route), but I don't think Hearn is willing to sacrifice AJ yet.

 

[Chalky]

Looking like AJ - Price is on the cards. I envisage Price will freeze up, but still manage to frustrate Joshua for a minute, maybe 90 seconds, before AJ surges through the gears and stops him at the end of the first round. It's a terrible mismatch, it's not competitive & it's certainly not worthy of PPV.

I'd rather see Haye given the nod (although it looks like he's going the WBO route), but I don't think Hearn is willing to sacrifice AJ yet.

Looks like it could be Price. But I think it might be Eric Molina. Eddie Hearn has clearly stated David Price just has not done anything to warrant a world title shot. But then again when has that stopped him.

If it is going to be Price then I think the only way he stands a somewhat chance is just to come at Joshua and put it on him from the off. No point trying to be slick or tricky cause then its just a matter of time. He needs to pull his shots off before AJ, cause lets be honest, we don't really know how suspect Joshua's chin is.

But saying that, still think it could be Molina, as he is more tolerable and credible. Also has come off a good win. But you have to look at it from Hearns point of view. He knows Eric Molina is more of test/step up (you would think) but then you ask the question about PPV buys..? Surely a domestic scrap with David Price sells more than fighting a a fairly, somewhat unknown Eric Molina?

Cant see it being Haye, that will be built for next year. Potentially a stadium super fight. And as you say he is going down the WBO route for now.

But I 100% agree that Price/AJ isn't a PPV fight. But I have seen a few comments if Price-AJ is made that it would have a good undercard so it then becomes a "PPV event" make of that what you will.

 

[Ricey]

Also looks like Klitschko will be fighting Lucas Browne in Hamburg on the 10th of December.

 

[Blue_Wes]

Looking like AJ - Price is on the cards. I envisage Price will freeze up, but still manage to frustrate Joshua for a minute, maybe 90 seconds, before AJ surges through the gears and stops him at the end of the first round. It's a terrible mismatch, it's not competitive & it's certainly not worthy of PPV.

I'd rather see Haye given the nod (although it looks like he's going the WBO route), but I don't think Hearn is willing to sacrifice AJ yet.

Looks like it could be Price. But I think it might be Eric Molina. Eddie Hearn has clearly stated David Price just has not done anything to warrant a world title shot. But then again when has that stopped him.

If it is going to be Price then I think the only way he stands a somewhat chance is just to come at Joshua and put it on him from the off. No point trying to be slick or tricky cause then its just a matter of time. He needs to pull his shots off before AJ, cause lets be honest, we don't really know how suspect Joshua's chin is.

But saying that, still think it could be Molina, as he is more tolerable and credible. Also has come off a good win. But you have to look at it from Hearns point of view. He knows Eric Molina is more of test/step up (you would think) but then you ask the question about PPV buys..? Surely a domestic scrap with David Price sells more than fighting a a fairly, somewhat unknown Eric Molina?

Cant see it being Haye, that will be built for next year. Potentially a stadium super fight. And as you say he is going down the WBO route for now.

But I 100% agree that Price/AJ isn't a PPV fight. But I have seen a few comments if Price-AJ is made that it would have a good undercard so it then becomes a "PPV event" make of that what you will.

Looks like it could be Price. But I think it might be Eric Molina. Eddie Hearn has clearly stated David Price just has not done anything to warrant a world title shot. But then again when has that stopped him.

If it is going to be Price then I think the only way he stands a somewhat chance is just to come at Joshua and put it on him from the off. No point trying to be slick or tricky cause then its just a matter of time. He needs to pull his shots off before AJ, cause lets be honest, we don't really know how suspect Joshua's chin is.

But saying that, still think it could be Molina, as he is more tolerable and credible. Also has come off a good win. But you have to look at it from Hearns point of view. He knows Eric Molina is more of test/step up (you would think) but then you ask the question about PPV buys..? Surely a domestic scrap with David Price sells more than fighting a a fairly, somewhat unknown Eric Molina?

Cant see it being Haye, that will be built for next year. Potentially a stadium super fight. And as you say he is going down the WBO route for now.

But I 100% agree that Price/AJ isn't a PPV fight. But I have seen a few comments if Price-AJ is made that it would have a good undercard so it then becomes a "PPV event" make of that what you will.

Probably just a wild theory, but I wonder if the Burns Broner fight might be a deciding factor. Broner has muted December, and if it is Price for AJ, then Hearn could afford to try and force the Broner in the UK, making it PPV (with US coverage too). Hearn knows that having Broner in the UK would be a great pull for tickets and Broner is brilliant at playing the bad guy and would make the press conferences work, even against Mr Nice Guy Burns. Having Broner on the card would also then entice quite a few other fighters to try and get on the card and gives Hearn a better bargaining chip for stacking the undercard.

The main thing going against this theory is the boxers themselves, Broner's ego will want the fight in Vegas, and Burns has already said it would be fulfilling a life's dream to box in Vegas.

 

[mattitouk]

Joshua to fight Eric Molina on December 10th. Confirmed on the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/37838708

 

[Ricey]

Joshua to fight Eric Molina on December 10th. Confirmed on the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/37838708

That is going to need a seriously impressive undercard to make it worthwhile it being a PPV. I knew when they talked about him possibly fighting Klitschko that it wouldn't happen. This again is a bit of a nothing fight it will probably go longer than others maybe the same length as the Breazeale fight with one and only outcome Joshua win by KO.

 

[Ricey]

Whyte vs Chisora will be a good brawl! The whole build up with the press conferences is going to be interesting.

 

[GBJ]

Whyte vs Chisora will be a good brawl! The whole build up with the press conferences is going to be interesting.

I'd LOVE to see them go to war, Gatti-Ward style, but unfortunately all I can see is a cuddle-fest, as neither have good stamina. They say styles make fights, but both Whyte & Chizzy have that same style. Plod forward, head down, and try to land a big swinging counter.

The way to beat Chizzy is straightforward though. Keep him at the end of your jab, and move around the ring. Don't get involved in toe-to-toe stuff, as that gives him heart & confidence. You have to break his heart, by shutting him out.

The way to beat Whyte is to pressure him. He likes dictating the pace of fights, but when he's backed up, he can't handle it. If Chisora can pin him down & apply high levels of pressure for a few rounds, Whyte will get sloppy & leave that chin hanging wide out there, ready for an overhand right from Del-boy.

That said, I've gotta fancy Whyte to win this. Either late stoppage, or convincing points victory.

 

[GBJ]

That is going to need a seriously impressive undercard to make it worthwhile it being a PPV. I knew when they talked about him possibly fighting Klitschko that it wouldn't happen. This again is a bit of a nothing fight it will probably go longer than others maybe the same length as the Breazeale fight with one and only outcome Joshua win by KO.

Yafai - Conception is decent. That's worthy of a main event of its own.

It'll be good to see Ortiz on these shores. He won't be in against anyone competitive, but that's not the intended purpose of this outing.

Burton - Buglioni could be competitive, but for personally I find Buglioni one of the most boring competitors in Britain.

Quigg is rumoured to be in with Ben Jones, which is at least a live opponent, as opposed to some teak-tough Ghanaian they found hanging around outside the arena.

Therefore, IMO, the Undercard isnt great, but could have been a lot lot worse.

As for the main event - meh. As soon as Wlad fell through, it was inevitable it would be a mismatch. I think I saw one of the bookies have installed AJ at 1/25. That sums up how competitive this will be