General Boxing Thread

[GBJ]

At the start of the year when Frank Bruno was talking about a comeback and the BBBoC said no. He was going to get his licence from Malta.

As I mentioned, the Malt£$£ Commi$$ion are very $ympath£tic towards these kinds of licencing problems, allegedly.

It will be very interesting to see what happens regarding his opponent and as GBJ says he needs a couple of warm ups. Obviously not David Haye 'Hungarian taxi driver' style opponents. He needs to build his rankings and get back up there and he will do in a better way than Haye attempted it.

Depends how he wants to do it. Jumping straight back into dangerous fights is dumb IMO. Building himself back over the course of 18 months would be better. He needs to get on as many cards as possible to shed the weight & regain that ring craft. I'd have thought David Price would get a call. Maybe not first fight back, but somewhere along the line.

Speaking of the WBO and saying he will get a chance to win that back. I can only see that happening if Hughie Fury loses to Parker. I know that Tyson will never fight Hughie just like Wlad would never fight Vitali.

True. And it's a tough ask for Hughie, as I don't think Peter will be in his corner, due to the visa laws & criminal records

 

[GBJ]

Hearing rumours that Pac & Khan is OFF

 

[GBJ]

And the Boxing Union of Ireland have moved to say that despite Fury's claims he'll go to them for a licence, they haven't recieved an application & would have to take his ban by the BBBoC into consideration. The plot thickens....

An additional bit of info, Tyson isn't currently under any ban from VADA (the drugs people), because he appealed the case. This means the BBBoC could grant him a license, but won't. Not until his hearing is done & dusted at least.

Luxumbourg & Malta will be keeping an eye on this one

 

[Ricey]

Hearing rumours that Pac & Khan is OFF

No great shame, the bloke has done nothing recently to deserve a fight of that calibre. He doesn't deserve these big money paydays for him to get knocked out.

And the Boxing Union of Ireland have moved to say that despite Fury's claims he'll go to them for a licence, they haven't recieved an application & would have to take his ban by the BBBoC into consideration. The plot thickens....

An additional bit of info, Tyson isn't currently under any ban from VADA (the drugs people), because he appealed the case. This means the BBBoC could grant him a license, but won't. Not until his hearing is done & dusted at least.

Luxumbourg & Malta will be keeping an eye on this one

Interesting! But let's face it he will get a licence from somewhere and will be fighting on May 13th. The date he is booked for on a Frank Warren card would be the Josh Warrington card at Leeds.

May 20th has an interesting fight lined up with Mayweather protege Gervonta Davis vs Liam Walsh at the Copperbox. Can't see Walsh winning this one Davis is something special. He destroyed Pedraza to win the title and I haven't seen anything of Walsh to say he is a better fighter than Pedraza or Stephen Smith who Pedraza beat over 12. But it will be a good one to watch as it's another chance to see an immense talent and in the UK at one of the great boxing venues.

So with it being just over a month and a half away what's everyone's early predictions on Joshua vs Klitschko? I know all the Joshua lovers (to which I admit I am a big fan) they all think it's going to be a trademark KO. But for me there is still life in the old dog and he hasn't got to where he is by fighting Charles Martin's, Eric Molina's and Dominic Breazles's! His inactivity will obviously go against him and his age. But this is the guy who beat a prime David Haye who at the time was a bigger puncher and faster than Joshua, so he's done it before but that was 6 years ago! I really think this has got an upset for Hearn's poster boy written all over it. I could see it going the distance and Joshua struggling in the latter stages and Klitschko nicking it on a close points decision. But another side of me thinks this fight will not happen on the 29th of April with Klitschko suffering an injury before the fight.

 

[Ricey]

Hearing rumours that Pac & Khan is OFF

Being reported by quite a few people on Twitter. They seem to be saying that it's Bob Arum that has said the fight won't be happening. The UAE deal fell through so Khan will not be Pacquiao's next opponent.

 

[GBJ]

No great shame, the bloke has done nothing recently to deserve a fight of that calibre. He doesn't deserve these big money paydays for him to get knocked out.

Agree with Khan not deserving it, but I'd rather see that than Pac fight a no-hoper.

Interesting! But let's face it he will get a licence from somewhere and will be fighting on May 13th. The date he is booked for on a Frank Warren card would be the Josh Warrington card at Leeds.

I'm sure something will get sorted out

May 20th has an interesting fight lined up with Mayweather protege Gervonta Davis vs Liam Walsh at the Copperbox. Can't see Walsh winning this one Davis is something special. He destroyed Pedraza to win the title and I haven't seen anything of Walsh to say he is a better fighter than Pedraza or Stephen Smith who Pedraza beat over 12. But it will be a good one to watch as it's another chance to see an immense talent and in the UK at one of the great boxing venues

Yeah Floyd is hyping this kid to be the next best thing. I haven't seen much of him TBH, so will be an interesting watch. The one thing I like about Warren is he's not scared to chuck his fighters into incredibly tough fights.

So with it being just over a month and a half away what's everyone's early predictions on Joshua vs Klitschko? I know all the Joshua lovers (to which I admit I am a big fan) they all think it's going to be a trademark KO. But for me there is still life in the old dog and he hasn't got to where he is by fighting Charles Martin's, Eric Molina's and Dominic Breazles's! His inactivity will obviously go against him and his age. But this is the guy who beat a prime David Haye who at the time was a bigger puncher and faster than Joshua, so he's done it before but that was 6 years ago! I really think this has got an upset for Hearn's poster boy written all over it. I could see it going the distance and Joshua struggling in the latter stages and Klitschko nicking it on a close points decision. But another side of me thinks this fight will not happen on the 29th of April with Klitschko suffering an injury before the fight.

I keep going back & forth on this. Common sense tells me that there's no way a 41-year-old, can climb off of the shelf after 18-months, off the back a humiliating defeat, and pose a genuine threat. Nevermind his body holding out, can his mind? If AJ starts banking rounds, or worse, puts him down, can Wlad get his mind right?

However, on the flip side, I can't ignore the technical side. Wlad is famous for his counter left-hook. He's a beast with it. Let's say hypothetically, Wlad is shot mentally & physically (I don't neccessarily think he is, but nobody knows) AJ is methodical & robotic, he works himself in close, then plants those feet & throws the quick 1-2's. Left jab, right cross, left jab, right cross. He doesn't have a punch variation, and never changes angles. It's always square on, straight down the barrel. it's the same old gameplan. It's as regular as clockwork, and has worked excellently against awful opponents. When he does this though, he leaves himself wide open to the counter left hook. Which just happens to be Wlad's specialty. And that doesn't bode well for AJ's chin, which is made of fine bone china.

I fully believe Wlad is a live opponent, and I'll probably have a punt on him winning by stoppage, but This fight has so many variable factors that it's hard to give a prediction this far out.

Being reported by quite a few people on Twitter. They seem to be saying that it's Bob Arum that has said the fight won't be happening. The UAE deal fell through so Khan will not be Pacquiao's next opponent.

Like I said above, Khan doesn't deserve it, but it's a better match-up than Pac Vs a top 10-20 opponent

 

[Ricey]

I had to get up early this morning so stuck the Lemieux vs Stevens fight on. And this absolutely devastating knock out happened!

 

[Ricey]

Managed to bag myself tickets to Brook vs Spence.

 

[mattitouk]

I had to get up early this morning so stuck the Lemieux vs Stevens fight on. And this absolutely devastating knock out happened!

Ive watched that a dozen times. I still think quite odd.

 

[Ricey]

So it's been a while since anyone has really commented on here and we've had some pretty good fights and we have even more been announced and some good fight coming up in the not to distant future.

Where to start?

Obviously it was the P4P card at MSG:

First off I have to start with Roman Gonzalez who in my opinion was and kind of is there abouts was the no.1 P4P fighter. He was fighting Rungvisai, who had previous fought Carlos Cuadras who Chocolatito had beaten in his last fight. Cuadras was also fighting on the undercard with the intention of fighting the winner of this fight. Rungvisai is a fighter from Thailand who hasn't really set the world on fire and wasn't expecting to get anything from this fight. He fought dirty and cut Chocolatito quite badly and that was obviously affecting his efforts. It's been said that Chocolatito's recent performances have been average or below par and that he has struggled since going up in weight. That being said after the final bell I had Chocolatito winning it comfortably. Unfortunately the judges saw it differently 1 judge scored it a draw and 2 judges scored it 114-112 in favour of Rungvisai. This is a huge robbery and something no one expected as we all saw Chocolatito as the man to equal and surpass Mayweather's 49-0. A rematch his been ordered so there is now a chance for Chocolatito to get his titles back but unfortunately that 0 will never return.

The main event GGG vs Jacobs and like everyone I was expecting a nice easy win for GGG via KO. This was a big test for GGG as Jacobs is a natural middleweight and a very good fighter. He is an orthodox fighter who likes to switch to southpaw during the fight. What we need to also remember is that Danny Jacobs was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011 and after successful treatment was able to return to the ring. GGG came out with his usual pressing stance and everything he tried to throw at Jacobs either missed or was blocked. GGG then managed to get a knock down in the 4th and we thought here we go this won't last much longer but Jacobs proved himself a true warrior by lasting the distance and if it wasn't for that knock down in the 4th I would've said it was a Jacobs win or a draw. On the night baring the knock down he appeared the better fighter. When he switched to southpaw it seemed like GGG really struggled and that could be an issue when it comes to fighting BJS who is a natural southpaw. Once again it was another fight where GGG showed weaknesses. He is human and does have weaknesses that show he may in the future be beaten. Whether that be BJS or Canelo I could see one of them knocking him off that perch he sits quite proudly on. I like GGG but I would love to see BJS beat him but time will tell.

Anthony Crolla took on Jorge Linares for the second time to avenge his loss. He put up a decent display in the first fight Crolla against a world class fighter and was outshone. This time Linares up his game and showed the world he truly is world class and I had Crolla only winning 1 round. Joe Gallagher nearly pulled him out of the fight at the end of the 11th. But Crolla pleaded and was allowed to carry on, he was taking a beating up until then but there was no need to pull him early he just needed to finish the fight. Where does Crolla go now? After that he doesn't have the stock to pull a big fight or now demand a Terry Flanagan clash (who I will get onto later). Linares on the other hand looks set to fight another world class fighter in the division Micky Garcia who put on a masterclass when he destroyed Zlaticanin with a 3rd round KO. Crolla needs to rebuild and earn the right to challenge a big name again.

Terry Flanagan fought Petrov last weekend and as expected won the fight comfortably. Petrov was a decent opponent but never really troubled Flanagan. Where does Flanagan go from here? Rumour has it that he is looking to fight Lomachenko which would be suicidal! But also Frank Warren has also been onto Linares to try and sort a unification fight. Whoever Flanagan fights next it will be big fight and a unification. Flanagan hasn't got the name that Crolla had and needed the Crolla fight, now Crolla doesn't have the belt Flanagan has no real need to fight Crolla now. Crolla vs Flanagan will happen when they both need the money. Its a huge domestic clash and will possibly end up being played at a stadium in Manchester what with one being a blue and one being a red. They also went to the same school together so its a promoters dream. And that's where the stumbling block is Flanagan is Frank Warren and Crolla is Eddie Hearn and those two agreeing just never seems to happen. Time will tell but I can't see this fight happening within the next 12 months unless Flanagan loses his belts. Also a side note Flanagan has the longest unbeaten run in current British boxing with 33-0.

On the same card as Flanagan a really great domestic dust up was on the cards and promised to be a real battle. Unbeaten fighter Liam Williams and former world champion who lost his belt to Canelo Liam Smith got in the ring together. The whole fight almost didn't happen after Liam Smith failed to make weight but they agreed to go ahead with the fight. On the line was the interim WBO so if Canelo vacated (which he now has as he had moved up to middleweight) the winner became the champion. Liam Smith lost that chance by not making weight. On to fight night Liam Williams came out like a raging bull and was putting on an impressive display and managed to give Smith a nasty cut in the 3rd. This cut was giving Smith some issues as the blood was flowing into his eye throughout. Williams won the first 6 rounds and then was starting to blow as he went hell for leather in the early round and hasn't gone the full distance in a fight before. Williams is known for being a bit of a dirty fighter and sticking his head in from time to time for the odd headbutt. But Smith was also doing the same whether accidental (to me that's what it looked) or on purpose in the 9th round Smith top of his head clashed with Williams eye giving him a really nasty cut on his eye lid. If you haven't seen it have a look on youtube its really nasty. He went to his corner at the end of the 9th after consultation with the doctor and trainer Gary Lockett he was pulled from the fight. Which was a dying shame as this was a really good fight and personally the way it was going Smith would've ended it. If it went the distance then judging by Williams early efforts he would've won on points. There was a lot of abuse aimed Smith's way after the fight from 'fans' on social media but a rematch is going to happen. Something ridiculous I saw was a petition to get the result over turned. It was on a Welsh boxing twitter feed, stupid sheep shaggers!

Another great card happened on the same weekend with the 3 Ukrainian beasts fighting in Maryland. Usyk and Gvozdyk the unbeaten cruiserweight and light heavyweight. Both put on good and easy displays and prove that the Ukrainian trio will be a dominate force in the near future. The main event was with in my opinion the no.1 P4P fighter Vasyl Lomachenko was fighting Jason Sosa whose last fight was against Stephen Smith in Monaco. Lomachenko's previous fight was against Nicholas Walters who is an absolute warrior and he made him quit on his stool. There was no real hope for Sosa and it's a shame as I like Sosa and thought he put on a decent display but Lomachenko is an elite fighter and showed with his unorthodox style that he really is the no.1 fighter of the moment and I think anyone who jumps in the ring with him will struggle. Sosa retired in the 9th round and gave Lomachenko only his 8th win. He is a two weight world champion and it wouldn't surprise me if he moves up again. He is talking about fighting Flanagan which fair play to Terry if he takes the fight as he is a dangerous man and will be massively avoided like GGG often is. Geovonta Davis is a big prospect of Mayweather's who would be in Lomachenko's sights but Mayweather would never let his fighter step in the ring with someone as dangerous as Lomachenko.

There are a lot of up and coming good fights tonight we have Ricky Burns vs Julius Indongo which should be a good fight and is a unification, tonight live on SS2. Obviously the Joshua vs Klitschko fight on the 29th not going to harp on about that. Brook vs Spence is a huge fight in the welterweight division Spence is a massive prospect and an unbeaten fighter and the question is will Brook be able to maintain his class at welter after jumping up 2 weights to middle. Ward vs Kovalev 2 has been announced for June and looks set to be a war with Kovalev wanting revenge and Ward wanting to prove the doubters or it could just be a bore fest. We also have Canelo vs Chavez Jr which will be a nice easy win for Canelo but for god sake just get it over and done with and fight GGG! It's like Pacquaio Mayweather all over again.

If i've missed anything feel free to chip in, I love chatting boxing and this thread hasn't been as active as I wanted it.

 

[Ricey]

Forgot to mention Tyson Fury is looking rather massive and unlikely to fight in May as first thought. But he is getting more and more face time with the media so expect news of his comeback fight in the coming weeks.

And finally I've heard rumours on the grapevine after announcing his come back Mikkel Kessler is looking to fight Eubank Jr.

 

[Ricey]

Burns absolutely school by Indongo. He just couldn't do anything with him. A very tricky fighter and a very impressive display. Felt for Burns he just struggled against the lanky southpaw.

 

[GBJ]

Forgot to mention Tyson Fury is looking rather massive and unlikely to fight in May as first thought. But he is getting more and more face time with the media so expect news of his comeback fight in the coming weeks.

And finally I've heard rumours on the grapevine after announcing his come back Mikkel Kessler is looking to fight Eubank Jr.

Tyson will definitely fight again, but as I initially thought, this year might be too soon. He needs serious dedication, and honestly I don't think he's got that ATM. We know Peter Fury got the raging hump with Tys, and with his hands being well and truly full ATM, training Hughie for May, I don't think he wants to waste his time trying to convince Tyson to take training seriously, as its detrimental to the current training camp, which is the biggest of Hughie's life. After Hughie's title fight, I'm expecting Peter to make a big decision on Tyson. He'll offer him an ultimatum, either take it seriously, or find a new trainer, so Peter can afford more focus to his own son.

Personally I couldn't care less about Kessler's return. He retired 5(?) years ago, and wasn't close to being the best fighter in the division at that time. I have no real idea why he wants to return TBH. He's got nothing to prove & seemingly nothing to gain.

Burns absolutely school by Indongo. He just couldn't do anything with him. A very tricky fighter and a very impressive display. Felt for Burns he just struggled against the lanky southpaw.

Not sure where this leaves Burns now. He doesn't come close to the top guys in the division, so a chance of winning another World Title is gone. Maybe a manufactured rivalry against O'Hara Davies or something dumb like that.

 

[Blue_Wes]

Indongo being praised as some sort of master champ after that performance has irked me a bit. Sure he was good, but to start talking about him in the same league as Garcia and Linares because of a one punch knock out, and dominating a very tired and one dimensional Ricky Burns is a bit of a joke. Let's not forget Burns is only champ because he defeated one of the poorest champs in di Roccele (sp?) we'd seen in ages.

Agree on Burns next steps, he's unlikely to be getting a World title shot, and needs the money, so expect a domestic ding dong to rake in the $$$'s, I was thinking Crolla to be honest, because he's probably in the same position as Burns.

Tyson is only up to his usual trick of trying to steal the limelight, whenever there's a big fight at heavyweight is about the only time he pipes up. It's embarrassing he's still calling everyone a paper champ, does he expect the entire division to freeze and just wait for him to finish snorting lines and eating kebabs; will he be calling Hughie a paper champ should he win it (I'm very much looking forward to that fight by the way).

He needs to pipe down until he's relevant again, and the longer he leaves it, the less people will care, and the less chance there is of him ever coming back. You almost wanna see a AJ Hughie unification fight where AJ wins, to finally give Tyson the kick he needs to get back on it. Sadly, I think he's gonna be dining out on that one night for a long time yet.

 

[Ricey]

Indongo being praised as some sort of master champ after that performance has irked me a bit. Sure he was good, but to start talking about him in the same league as Garcia and Linares because of a one punch knock out, and dominating a very tired and one dimensional Ricky Burns is a bit of a joke. Let's not forget Burns is only champ because he defeated one of the poorest champs in di Roccele (sp?) we'd seen in ages.

Agree on Burns next steps, he's unlikely to be getting a World title shot, and needs the money, so expect a domestic ding dong to rake in the $$$'s, I was thinking Crolla to be honest, because he's probably in the same position as Burns.

Tyson is only up to his usual trick of trying to steal the limelight, whenever there's a big fight at heavyweight is about the only time he pipes up. It's embarrassing he's still calling everyone a paper champ, does he expect the entire division to freeze and just wait for him to finish snorting lines and eating kebabs; will he be calling Hughie a paper champ should he win it (I'm very much looking forward to that fight by the way).

He needs to pipe down until he's relevant again, and the longer he leaves it, the less people will care, and the less chance there is of him ever coming back. You almost wanna see a AJ Hughie unification fight where AJ wins, to finally give Tyson the kick he needs to get back on it. Sadly, I think he's gonna be dining out on that one night for a long time yet.

Why would people be talking about him being in the same league as them? They're in the weight division below? I suppose it would be because the only other champion in the light welter is Terrance Crawford and he would destroy Indongo!

Garcia and Linares would be stupid to move up at this moment. As for Crolla the step up is probably his only option at the moment and build his stock up. It would be a good domestic clash for Hearn's millions to put him up against Burns. Doesn't really interest me to be honest.

Groves vs Chudinov has been added to the Kell Brook card. I'll be there and looking forward to seeing that, will he finally win a world title on the 4th attempt. Matchroom have also signed Olympian and cousin to Robbie Fowler, Anthony Fowler and he will make his debut on the same card.

As for big Tys! I love him and everything he brings to boxing. He is the best and until someone beats him then he will remain the best. If he doesn't fight again and lives off that one win then he retires the greatest heavyweight of his time. If he gets back and gets back to how he was for the Klitschko fight then he is unbeatable. No one currently in the division beats him. IMO obviously.

Looking forward to the Parker vs Fury fight and I hope Fury wins. Parker's alright but he gets beaten by Joshua and probably by Wilder.

 

[GBJ]

Groves vs Chudinov has been added to the Kell Brook card. I'll be there and looking forward to seeing that, will he finally win a world title on the 4th attempt. Matchroom have also signed Olympian and cousin to Robbie Fowler, Anthony Fowler and he will make his debut on the same card.

Decent chief support to the card. If Hearn chucked on another two competitive fights, then it'd probably be card of the year so far, and very tough to beat, for the remainder of the year.

It's an excellent opportunity for Groves. He's been somewhat unlucky is his previous 3 attempts at a World Title. If he'd been less petulant & stayed with Adam Booth, I believe he could have been a champion years ago, as Booth laid out incredibly effective tactics & styles, that suited Groves down to the ground. It's absolutely no coincidence, that the current GG, looks a different person to the pre-Froch, one.

I've heard bad things about Fowler, such as, he's a hype job, who won't surpass British level. Guess we wait and see.

As for big Tys! I love him and everything he brings to boxing. He is the best and until someone beats him then he will remain the best. If he doesn't fight again and lives off that one win then he retires the greatest heavyweight of his time. If he gets back and gets back to how he was for the Klitschko fight then he is unbeatable. No one currently in the division beats him. IMO obviously.


Looking forward to the Parker vs Fury fight and I hope Fury wins. Parker's alright but he gets beaten by Joshua and probably by Wilder.

Parker's speed is what sets him apart from the rest. He's got lighting hand speed. The area he fails, is stamina. He can only go hard for 4-6 rounds, then slowly drops off. Hughie's best chance of winning, is seeing those opening rounds out, and coming on strong over the final 6. I think Hughie will lose on points, as it's a massive ask for him to go over there for his first ever title match, and face New Zealand's version of Anthony Joshua.

 

[Ricey]

Parker vs Fury is off! Hearing a hand injury to Hughie.

 

[Ricey]

Parker says he would be happy to face Bellew in the UK.

If Joshua comes through Klitschko victorious then it's sounding like Joshua vs Wilder in the US at the end of the year.

Watched the Murray vs Rosado fight last night and it ended with a really bizarre bunch of score cards. It was a close fight but the judges scored it 116-112, 119-109 and 114-114. Not quite sure what judge one saw but judge two must've been on smack or watching a different fight. Rosado was obviously ****ed about the result which you cannot blame him, but that's boxing! Murray looked alright but I still can't see him winning that world title. He's missed the boat now I'm afraid, he's had his chances and have not taken them.

Tommy Langford lost to Avtandil Khurtsidze with a KO win. Gutted for Langford but Khurtsidze sets himself up with a fight against BJS. They went at each other after the fight with Billy looking a little podgy. Billy will have to take this fight unless a fight can be agreed with GGG. GGG has an 'injury' and is looking to fight Canelo at the end of the year so probably doesn't want a fight in June.

Shawn Porter beat Andre Berto last night in a convincing win. Porter is like Murray except he was a world champ but I can't see him getting another world belt with the welterweight division being so strong. He doesn't beat the likes of Thurman, Brook, Spence, Garcia.

A side note from the matchroom and Frank Warren cards last night. There is an abundance of quality talent coming through and it's great to see both Eddie and Frank putting their efforts into these talents. Daniel Dubois looks like he will be a force at heavyweight and I look forward to seeing him fighting for titles in a couple of years.

 

[Ricey]

Mr Deluded trying to get himself another big payday to only end up flat out on the canvas. He got battered by Danny Garcia and does he really think he stands a chance against Keith Thurman? Why not fight someone you know you can beat and get all the casuals on your side and then put yourself in against Thurman. If he loses to Thurman and Brook beats Spence he has no chance of getting a fight against Brook. Brook holds the cards when it comes to the Khan fight.

 

[Ricey]

It's one of those days it seems!

Tyson Fury now saying he will fight on the undercard of the BJS vs Khurtsidze card whenever that is organised for.