used to like football (soccer) when i was younger but i can hardly watch it now
Not even the Champions league, Euros or World Cup?! Granted the league can be a bit tedious and you can catch up on MOTD but nothing comes near the anxiety of the UCL knockout stages... Apart from Amir Khan on wobbly legs(!)
Dunno though, 4.5" height advantage, 9-12" reach advantage... Granted Williams never fought tall, but he'd be able to crack Canelo from a fair distance. That plus decent footwork makes me think he might have fustrated a 'younger' Alvarez
Dunno mate, I think your looking at this from the wrong angle... The headliner was a gold medal Olympian making his pro debut in his home town. Don't think anyone short of Mohammed Ali himself could have stolen that show from Luke Campbell. Think they're planning the same type of coming out show for Anthony Joshua in October. Your right about one thing though, there's no point telling us how good Kell is if he's not moving forward with his career... 30-0, 9 year pro and his next fight will only be his 2nd vs an ex-champ... I'm a huge fan of Kell's but I think him vs. any welterweight champ is a must by next Easter!
I hate these topics regarding fighters shelf life. Losing a fight doesn't make you washed up or shot... You win some fights and you may lose some fights, but unless there's a drastic drop in your levels of performance ala Roy Jones Jr, then every fighter has the right to earn their living. The fight game is a relatively short career and they have to make their earnings last a lifetime; if you'd dedicated your life to one endeavour then surely you deserved the right to decide when you've had enough. No one's forces you to buy their PPV's, so please STFU and stop drawing up lists of boxers who need to retire. Find some new fighter to support and let loyals fans enjoy the bouts. Sorry to rant, it's just been bugging man's for a while.
You can't call it a domestic fight when HBO's carrying it in the US, you've got the largest live boxing audience since the 80's and there are two WORLD TITLES on the line.
That's where Ward saw himself after he won the Super 6, but his business decisions came back to bite him hard, hence the bitterness everytime he hears Froch's name. He's gonna have to get in with JCC Jr. soon and hope those Mexican buys boost his perceived PPV value cos at this rate, he's gonna be the poorest top-10 P4P fighter out there.... and that's including Rigondeaux on the list!
Froch KO 4
Out of interest, who do you guys see Ward fighting next? Kessler rematch (abroad for Christ sake)? I think he's the WBC Emeritus champ still so he may get a quick route to rematch Bika for a belt. Or should he move up and gatecrash the Kovalev/Hopkins/Stevenson party at 175?
I hear he's specifically going to Cuba to spar with Erislandy Savon... He has the physique sorted so some technical work may be in order! I think we'll have a much better idea how he'll handle Fury once he goes at it with Johnson... Easier to compare that way. I think Fury showed Johnson waaaay too much respect because of what happened to Pricey with 'The Hipbuster' Thompson. I hope Joshua goes at him non-stop til something gives - either Johnson's resolve or Joshua's stamina! :boxing:
Because he refused a couple of title shots as a mandatory
He was mandatory to Pacquiao's WBO belt 2010-11, and the WBA while it bounced around from Senchenko to Paulie to Broner to Floyd. Maybe he should have taken the crap money and boxed Senchenko in the Ukraine, but apart from Devon Alexander, he's never really been in a position to fight his mandatories. I suspect he held out for the IBF because of their record of making champs fight their mandatories regularly. Just a personal theory....:boxing:
I mean he lost to Carlos Quintana at 147 so how is he a sure thing against anyone? Quintana is decent but he ain't no world beater.
But he killed Quintana in the rematch. I think his physical gifts made him a nightmare for anyone at 147... Heavyweight reach, 6"0 frame and a ridiculous output of app. 100 blows a round. Now I'm not saying he would KO them all, but I honestly couldn't see him losing to any of them... You'd either need cuban boxing nous ( a la Lara) or concussive KO power to keep him off!
@154 maybe and 160 I think he was average or below average and hyped from his 147 fights but at 147 people were scared of him...
Do you subscribe to the theory that P.Will and/or Margarito caused Floyd's first retirement after the Ricky Hatton fight?
He may have been a twat when he was younger but he's definitely settled down now... You barely see him around town same way you would 5-6 years ago. Most boxers who are as good at such a young age as he was tend to go off the rail abit, doesn't justify shanking the man. Plus one of them reports say he was at his apartment... and it was 6 in the morning... seems a bit planned but I'm no Sherlock so who knows!
Either way, just hope his Mrs is alright because... :hitit:
this doesn't end up in wembley... both guys have large northern fan-bases and its a personal rivalry between the two rather than a rivalry that's captured the nation. on that mark, i reckon they could pack out bramhall lane or hillsborough but thats still 30-35k... if khans or brook does something exceptional in their next fights, then maybe it could get bumped up to the etihad. it would have to be a humdinger of a fight to warrant a rematch which i think old trafford would host the best :boxing:
Kell brook hasn't fought anyone so im not sure how hed cope with Porter or his ability to survive being ko'ed by Porter? Im not sure how great opponents Porter has fought as well, but surely Brook cant be the best opponent Porters fought? I think Brook may well be the best Porter's fought... Granted that's based on my biased disregard of Devon Alexander and Paulie Mallinaggi as top tier fighters! This is a 50/50 contest, but I hope Kell can produce the business on fight night! :boxing:
I think there records are pretty similar in all fairness, I can't see this gulf in class that suggests Porter's gonna roll through Brook. Brook's last 10 opponents are 332-59 including 2 former champs and 2 former challengers. That's pretty decent opposition in any weight division. Porter's 236-49 in his last 10. Maybe its a case of American fight fans and possibly fighters not being knowledgeable about foreign fighters or their pedigree until they appear on American TV, but I don't think Brook's in any deeper against Porter than Porter is against Brook.
Brook UD12
I'm glad B-Hop came out and said this. He said some shifty stuff at the time of Shaefer's departure that had me thinking he was gonna jump ship but seeing his commitment to Golden Boy and Oscar is something to be admired! That being said, WAAAAAAAARRRR KRRRUUUUSSSHHEEER!! :boxing::boxing:
I saw him running on the promenade at Blakeney Point in Norfolk last August. Have to admit he still looked in great shape but he told me he was happily retired... I suppose he's still got that itch. I think Junior would be too big for him though, he's fought as high as 168lbs and Kell's one fight at 160lbs nearly ended his career. Benn on the other hand is there for the taking for sure!
Why's anyone bringing PPV sales or fighter's purses into the discussion. As a fan, you should care about the final product that's received, irrespective of the financial terms on the table. Showtime, SkySports, RTL and all the rest will put up money no matter where the fight is. The fighters will still make millions... and as a fan, you won't see a dime from it! So what does the locations matter. Atmosphere, quality of fight and unifications should be the only things that matter!
I get the hype behind fighting in Vegas, but recent fights there have been devoid of atmosphere - except maybe Mayweather's recent fight. Boxing's supposed to be a spectacle and even Deontay got caught up in the Wembley atmosphere in April and said he wanted to travel over. Hence its a bit of a change of heart, but whatever, a man's entitled to feel whatever kind of way he wants.
My issue is this whole "You have to fight in America to be global"... Klitchsko barely did in 10 years but he was globally recognised. Apart from Mayweather and Pacquaio, maybe Golovkin and Canelo... who else is globally recognised having fought in the US? Boxing just doesn't have the same global reach is used to, whether you box in America or not. The focus should be on the fight and the atmosphere, not so much the location!