Thought I'd create this thread for discussions on the domestic scene. There's plenty of decent guys coming up through the ranks who deserve some discussion.

Tomorrow night there's a card happening with a few of the more recognizable names of Aussie boxing. Foxsports will be televising it from 7.30pm. There's some serious talent on display.

Vic Darchinyan fights on Australian soil for the first time since 2007. It'll be his second challenge at a Bantamweight title (albeit only IBO) against Philippino Eric Barcelona. Barcelona has quite a few losses, but I wouldn't describe him as a complete bum. Hope it's an entertaining fight.

Will Tomlinson and Willie Kickett also return to the ring as well as Naoufel Ben Rabah.

Yeah I'll be watching that card for sure, should be good.

Poor Will Tomlinson can't seem to catch a break with his opponents. Esperenza was hanging on for dear life. Shame the ref had to stop it for excessive holding, I think Will would've stopped him eventually. Ugly fight to watch. Don't be suprised if Will Tomlinson is fighting for an IBO super-featherweight title soon.

Mostyn Niemann looked impressive on debut, stopping his opponent with some solid left rips to the body. He'll be tough to beat at cruiserweight.

I laughed so hard when Willie Filipe knocked out Andre Popovic. For those who didn't see it, Popovic did the old Nate Campbell "hit me, hit me" and Felipe hammered him. He managed to get back to his feet, but didn't want a bar of the fight after that. I have no idea what he was thinking.

Darchinyan looked ok in his fight, not fantastic though. Barcelona's best punch seemed to be anything below the belt. He whacked Vic so many times. Love to see Vic get another big fight at Bantamweight in the near future.

Kickett and Ben Rabah both looked solid against their respective opponents. Ben Rabah needs to step it up though, he is clearly a class above the domestic circuit. He'll probably try and avenge his loss to lovemore N'dou, though I think N'dou has slipped a fair bit.

Agree with all of that mate. That Popovic KO was hilarious. What a clown.

I thought the ref was ridiculous in stopping that Tomlinson fight though. Just completely unnecessary.

Agree with all of that mate. That Popovic KO was hilarious. What a clown.

I thought the ref was ridiculous in stopping that Tomlinson fight though. Just completely unnecessary.
co-sign bro.....

half a round to go in the fight and he DQ's the guy for excessive clinching?? ****ing Aussie refs piss me off

:rofl: at the Popovic KO....funny ****e

Apparently the entire Parra Eels Squad were in the crowd.

Fights on Fox tonight guys:

Alex Leapai v Owen Beck
Ryan Langham v Josh King
Casey Hannan v Rey Anton Olarte
Shannon King v David Bainbridge
John Szigeti v Oscar Talemaira
Anthony Fowler v Steve Welge
Tyrone Jones v Grant Kraaymaart

Hopefully Leapai can put in another solid performance against a decent opponent. Interestingly Fightbet has Leapai at $1.05 and Beck at $8.00. I think the fight will be a bit closer than that.

Fights on Fox tonight guys:

Alex Leapai v Owen Beck
Ryan Langham v Josh King
Casey Hannan v Rey Anton Olarte
Shannon King v David Bainbridge
John Szigeti v Oscar Talemaira
Anthony Fowler v Steve Welge
Tyrone Jones v Grant Kraaymaart

Hopefully Leapai can put in another solid performance against a decent opponent. Interestingly Fightbet has Leapai at $1.05 and Beck at $8.00. I think the fight will be a bit closer than that.

Yeah, those odds are absolutely ridiculous. Beck has been in with some pretty decent guys.

Not only has Beck been in with some decent guys (Barrett, Austin, Valuev, Thompson) he's not a bad boxer for a big guy. I've just been watching a few of his fights on youtube.

He's actually got nice head movement and a decent jab. I'd almost say he's kinda slick. He looks quite capable of outboxing Leapai.

You've convinced me Dan, at that price, I'm going to throw a few dollars down on Beck for the win. War Owen!

I like Leapai, but those $8 odds are damn attractive in a two horse race. A cheeky tenner perhaps.

who won the beck\leapai fight?

Lepai won TKO6.

Lepai won TKO6.

Looked ordinary doing it though. He gets hit with pretty much every punch that his opponent throws. As soon as he comes up against anyone decent and in-shape he is going to get killed.

Beck was making him look silly at times last night.

Looked ordinary doing it though. He gets hit with pretty much every punch that his opponent throws. As soon as he comes up against anyone decent and in-shape he is going to get killed.

Beck was making him look silly at times last night.

I agree.
The ref probably stepped in a bit too quickly I reckon too.
Still it was probably only a matter of time until he went down.

I agree.
The ref probably stepped in a bit too quickly I reckon too.
Still it was probably only a matter of time until he went down.

Yeah, he wasn't in good enough shape.

If Beck was in shape I think Alex would have been beaten handily.

Agreed, he may have won but he looked pretty average doing it... I thought he was lucky to walk away with the win in his last fight too, I didn't manage to catch any of the other fights... were they worth watching?

Not exactly domestic but Sam Soliman has a fight coming up in Berlin. What have the other half Aussie names been up too?

It's been pretty quiet.

I suppose the big news is that Zappa has a title shot against Miguel Vazquez for the IBF 135 strap. It's on the Cotto/Mayorga undercard at the MGM no less. Big stage, big opportunity.

I haven't heard much from Geale, I suppose he's biding his time seeing as he's mandatory now for a title shot.

There were also rumours of Katsidis fighting Guerrero in his next fight.

Kats has been talking about bringing some big fights to Australia on his facebook page. Also about donating his next purse to flood victims in Toowoomba.

With 25 fights against mediocre opposition - some of whom he struggled with - I can't help but think Zappa is being rushed into this big world title fight. I like his style and his toughness, but in my opinion this is just a bit too much too soon for the 23 year old.

Kats has been talking about bringing some big fights to Australia on his facebook page. Also about donating his next purse to flood victims in Toowoomba.

With 25 fights against mediocre opposition - some of whom he struggled with - I can't help but think Zappa is being rushed into this big world title fight. I like his style and his toughness, but in my opinion this is just a bit too much too soon for the 23 year old.

I'd love to see Katsidis fight here and would definitely travel to QLD to see it. His fight with Guerrero has been postponed I've read, possibly to the Wright v Macklin card in the UK in April.

http://www.******.com/blog/2695/breaking_news_katsidisguerrero_off__for_now/

Regarding Zappa, I tend to agree. His last win was sensational against Kim, but a first round KO doesn't prove a lot. There's still question marks surrounding him and how much he's improved since Angulo.

Or if he's improved since Angulo, who was robbed in that fight. (Same judge, Hamada, who scored Katsidis beating Diaz was on the panel.) You only get better by facing better boxers, and like you say, knocking a guy out in the first round proves something, but not everything.

Whatever, you only find out one way and it's not like Vazquez is a monster. He's on a similar level to Katsidis. Beats above average fighters well, but can't quite get there at elite level. Never disgraced himself. He's lost to Tim Bradley and Saul Alvarez twice, the second time at 148. Nothing to be ashamed of. Only knocked out 12 guys in 30 fights.

I respect Lenny for stepping up like this. I'll be checking this card out for sure. It's the best fight on the card. I think Cotto-Mayorga is a massacre. Mayorga has nothing left and hasn't for years. Love to see Cotto-Martinez.

Anyway, closer it gets, let's all get behind Lenny Zappa. I just know it'll be a balls'n'all effort win or lose.