...just get it on lads and soon, it makes sense financially and career-wise. If the venue is an issue then do it in Liverpool at Anfield or Goodison.
They could even put Rigo on the undercard.....he'd love to have a crowd turn-up to see him fight and for some TV cameras to be there.
That's racist, bro.
Nope, it is not.
David has always been a brilliant wordsmith and a very clever PR-guy who in particular knows how to create newspaper headlines.
I'd really like to be more positive about his boxing, but right now he's still sitting on the sidelines and the years are ticking by.
I wish the guy well.......lots of character and honesty to stand in front of camera after having endured a crushing defeat like that. Probably the very last thing he wanted to do but he did it and that shows that he can comeback. Well done George.
Benn's final fights with Malinga and Collins....all very sad affairs where Nigel suddenly coud not find any fire, energy and venom. Typically, Benn took these defeats bravely but it was a shame to see him wanting to fight but basically having nothing left to give and getting bashed-about by Collins.
Lewis would not be the first former outstanding champion to be a poor judge of form and talent...
.......having said that, I don't think he is so myopic or out-of-touch with the business to waste his time on an absolute stiff and he clearly believes Price has something to offer and can compete at world-level.
We'll see if Lennox was right in a couple of hours time from now.
Adelaide Byrd's typically innept scoring was the only sour note on a great night of passionate, competitive and intriguing world class boxing.
Even the Froch camp must have winced when they heard that imbecilic score; it disrespected Mikkel's efforts and his moments of real success.
I remain completely and utterly perplexed as to how Byrd is allowed anywhere near these kind of top-level world title fights.
Time and again she has proved herself to be completely out of kilter with her fellow judges and the sheer eccentricity of her scoring suggests either a gross naivety or just plain, unforgivable incompetence.
I wanted Froch to win but I was disgusted by Byrd's cretinous scorecard. What exactly does she have to do to finally get herself fired?
I'd be super-surprised (but delighted) if these two get to fight each other to earn a shot at Carl. It is a top-level world title eliminator fight but I don't think Carl will oblige them because he wants to settle matters with Ward or become a two-weight champ by fighting Cleverly for the WBO LH belt.
A fight with Hopkins might also be further up the pecking order.....some big B-Hop cash is what you want when you're a 35 year-old super-middleweight not that far away from retirement.
DeGale has been in-and-out since his loss to George. He'd did a proper number on Sanavia - hitting sharply and moving well to win the European belt - but then looked lazy and sloppy against the caveman basic but game Mohoumadi in his first defence.
I still can't work out whether James is a fighter who is hugely talented and improving - and sometimes ljust happens to look bad in 'marking time' fights - or is a few yards short of world class and lacking in the consistency stakes.
My money is on Groves grabbing a belt first and the rematch with DeGale happening sometime in the summer of 2014.
Everything is beginning to come together sweetly for George and now that he is a little bit more mature he's a real threat to anyone in the division.
Nothing came out of the Kessler camp about how his sparring went with Groves but my guess is that George was a proper problem.
He hits hard, accurately and fast, does not waste shots and energy, and is turning into a very good ring general.
My gut instinct is that he won't fight Froch just yet but they've fancied Stieglitz for a while now (the fight was mooted about 12 months ago) and this could be a late summer fight in the UK or Germany.
Booth likes taking a calculated risk here and there; so they might well force the issue and go to Germany and force Stieglitz to front up.
The Boxing Monthly experts poll certainly felt a bit comfortable and British-biased to me....and that's coming from a Brit.
Liking and respecting Carl as an exciting, successful fighter and a top lad is one thing but the real issue is whether he wins the fight or not.
Nobody on the panel was prepared to stick their neck out and go for Kessler; which is slightly crazy considering he is already 1-0 in this series and appears to be injury free and completely focussed on his boxing.
Magee's view was refreshing and convincing.....but having said that I am not convinced he has got it right. I am expecting Carl to box and bang and deliver a far smarter fight this time round.
Would really like to know what Groves thinks as well.
Calzaghe taking Lacy back to kindergarten....round-by-round.
Lacy undoubtedly felt he was going to win, very easily, early and by KO.
And he seemed absolutely stunned to find himself in a real fight with a guy who did not fear him and was actually relishing/enjoying the occassion.
Several rounds turned into exhibition stuff; Calzaghe doing what he pleased and dropping his hands to pot-shot a feared puncher.
Joe undoubtedly had his faults and was not as brilliant as his record suggests; but he utterly humiliated Lacy and ruined a fighter in one evening.
Froch does indeed seem a wee bit too hyped for this one and my hope is that he is not burning through too much nervous energy before the fight.
Kessler looks relaxed and happy for Froch to make all the noise. An ominous, laid-back confidence from Mikkel.
Rob McCracken is going to have manage Carl really carefully over the next 24 hours and make sure that his man gets a good night's sleep and gets properly focussed on delivering the gameplan/s they have developed for the fight.
I think Carl is the sort of guy who needs to get himself into a war-like state of mind and view his opponent as someone who he needs to dislike.
That's fine and has worked Carl in the past; but McCracken needs to bring him down just a couple of notches for this one in my opinion.
Personally, I'd like to see the fight.
Both guys don't mess about in the ring and I am also probably the only bloke (apart from Frank Warren) who actually thinks that what Cleverly is missing is a proper opportunity to deliver a breakthrough performance and the reason the kid is looking distinctly average is because he's in tickover fights.
Carl clearly feels differently right now...so I am guessing it is Kessler, Ward or making a ton of cash against B-Hop.
Haye and Booth must have fallen off their Penthouse designer chairs and spilt Bollinger, Truffles and Caviar everyhere when Tyson asked for that 80:20 deal...
If it happens, I think Wlad K will hammer Povetkin big time and AP gets put on the slow train back to Siberia.
Not been impressed by Povetkin for a while and I think WK is possibly now at his peak and will meet the Moscow challenge head-on.
Still not sure about Broner either...especially when put in with a proper, heavy handed warrior like Maidana or Matthyse.
We need to see Broner in a proper war and see how he responds to a guy who brings fire, hunger and the ability to punch hard all night to the table.
I think the big issue is actually whether Canelo got spooked, nervous and ended-up wanting to leave the room in a hurry.
Mayweather has virtually invented the current model of the modern pre-fight press conference routine, so he's effectively playing the game he designed.
I am not expecting him to blink in these preliminaries....not even for a second.
Conversely, this really is the first time Alvarez has entered the super-big league with literally hundreds of press guys, VIPs, sponsors and boxing industry folk examining his every move and reaction.
Things will only get meaningful in my opinion when these two meet on the scales for the weigh-in. If Alvarez turns up big, properly ripped as well as focussed and calm; it will be interesting to see how Floyd reacts.
Just as an aside; I wonder whether Canelo's lack of English works in his favour? How can Floyd upset and unsettle a guy who does not 'hablar ingles.'
Surely just a simple case of James wanting to keep his 'name in the frame' with a well-timed comment from his press officer?
Can't believe Froch is even remotely interested in James. A fight with Cleverly, Hopkins, Ward or a third slugfest against Kessler will be dominating his 'to do list' and rightly so in my opinion.
If Carl is still cracking ribs in 12 months time then James can look forward to an evening at the Nottingham Ice Rink.
"Martin Luther King took us to the mountain top: I want to take us to the bank" Don King, boxing promoter
Thanks Don...I am sure Tim Witherspoon is feeling a whole lot more liberated.
@The Weebler
Sound analysis based on the Cunningham fight...Fury is very decent at closing the gap, using his height and weight to choke, corner and tire opponents and then basically bash them-up.
Fine against Cunningham (based on the fact that it got the win) and some basic, slow sluggers but a dull move against Haye who has the mobility to step to one side as Tyson bulls forward and could land a proper bomb as the big man over-extends himself.
Haye is bigger than Cunningham and carries a proper, game-ending pop.
Once again, Peter Fury is crucial to the whole Tyson bandwagon. If he can keep Tyson calm and following a gameplan, get him to box for his openings and get his lad to apply his strength and size intelligently then Fury wins.
But if he gets macho, loses the plot again and tries to steamroller Haye...then David will exploit the opening and drop Tyson with ease.
I actually like and appreciate the fighters who respond to outright intimidation and threats with a smile or just a knowing, confident and straight-back-through-you look of their own...
.....it can be just as lethal and shows they have the control and that they will do it in the ring. When this happens the guy applying the pressure so often finds the tables-turned on him and leaves the place badly spooked.
Vitali springs to mind when it comes to this. Arreola absolutely went for the whole street thug, you're in my yard thing at the weigh-in but then Vitali just silently towers over at him at the stare-down and you can see Arreola shrink and then shrink some more.
The Siberian-cold look that Chisora gets, who really went all out to get at Vitali, is also seriously frightening. You can see Vitali just not taking his eyes off Derek after the slap and as much as Del Boy tries to keeping on shouting the odds and pointing....he knows Vitali is right there, unmoved and meaning business.
Eubank - not always my favourite - was also brilliant against Benn in their first fight especially just before the fight starts. Absolutely ice cool and just stops Benn, who comes to the ring looking an axe-muderer who has had a bad day, from being able to do anything. Perhaps clever, rather intimidating?
I think this will be Froch's sign-off fight and it is exactly the right one to take tactically and financially.
He's now extremely vulnerable against cuties like Ward and Groves who can negate him with their speed but still hit back with interest and have the strength to take his punches and physicality....but I think Chavez is made to measure and Froch will be so, so up for this fight.
He'll love being the old guy (seemingly on his last legs and coming off a poorish performance) and he likes being the Brit abroad fighting in the other guy's backyard.
I think he tonks Fat Boy and leaves the sport in style.
@GoldenGloveLove......I have some bad news for you, his son Mauricio (who has been apparently running the shop for a few years because Don Jose had been in decline) is the dead-cert favourite to run the joint.
If little Bambino Sulaiman ends-up being an enlightened reformer then I will apologise; but I reckon that we'll just get Don Jose lite and with the same cynical approach to fixed rankings, rancid judging decisions and blatant favouritism for promoters who kowtow to the WBC.
Might work nicely for Clev....as long as he properly commits, listens and learns. Booth has no other major projects to work with and he could do a good job here; especially with Price out of the equation. Both men have a lot to prove and have been on the slide; that can sometimes work.
I am undecided....hence my 'what happens?' thread over on the Global Forum.
Bika really is one of the sport's roughest SOBs and an absolute expert at negating the abilities of superior opponents.....he's a niggly, strong guy with a big workrate and he's definitely not going to give up that belt easily.
There's a legit case to be made for Bika just swarming all over James and bringing him to a standstill by just always being in his face, pushing him backwards and landing enough shots to get the decsion. Bika is the champ and that kind of front-foot pressure, however ugly, can get decisions.
But the optimist in me says that DeGale - with little Jimmy McDonnell forcing him to concentrate - could give Bika a boxing lesson. Lots of fast, in-and-out raids and using movement and handspeed with Bika getting frustrated and maybe getting penalised for getting too rough? It is a possibility.
I grew up listening to Jim Watt commentating on some of the big fights with the much-loved Reg Gutteridge; when they were on ITV and went all over the place and gave us some great nights. So I do have a soft spot for the guy and he's a decent former world champ as well.
But the key thing was that Gutteridge was very much the boss and he used to run those shows and Watt's job was to analyse technique, style and offer his opinions at the end of a round. That allowed him to focus his thoughts and on some very specific areas.
Gutteridge was old-school but he was a proper commentator and skilled boxing journalist and he kept Jim on-hand to do the technical stuff and not try and call the fight as it happened.
Sky allows Jim to jump him all-over the place and that's a mistake because he gets carried away and tends to try and call a fight blw-by-blow. Let the commentator call the action, then let the expert gather his thoughts and review the round.
A very decent list fella...but I would argue that some guys are riding way too high for what they achieved in 2013 and some way too low.
A few suggestions:
Ward is exellent but he fights just the once in 2013 and against less-than-elite, stellar opposition. Not #2 for me, needs to do much, much more.
Maidana at #20 seems a shade harsh. He steamrollers an unbeaten, three weight champion and becomes a two weight champ himself. That's not to be sniffed at and better than a #20 rating.
I've posted my long and possibly tedious opinions on the Gobal Boxing Scene Board...but just to be clear, I think James still has much, much work to do. Ward and Froch will have taken one look at that fight and smiled.
James totally outclassed Davis and was virtually in 'exhibition mode' for the first six rounds but then inexplicably switched-off and had some tough-ish rounds against a guy who is not at all good at playing the aggressor but who suddenly started getting a bit of success playing his least favourite game.
Dyah lacked the firepower and belief to make James pay for this lack of fight-pacing and sudden lapse into a neutral gear; but Froch, Ward, Groves, Kessler, Bika would land the telling shots that mattered.
Chunky has talent to burn and hit Davis for fun last night; but this worrying tendency to get flat footed, with no punches in the bag and to stand right in harm's way can and will get exploited in this ruthless division.
There's some serious work to do and McDonnell reads needs to teach James how to pace a fight.