Hey I like Briggs, I mean sure he's been artificially boosted up the rankings because he's got charisma and use to be a legit contender (no winning the WBO belt doesn't make you a Champ in my eyes). But, he is funny. He actually gets people talking. Would giving him a payday against Klitch be such a horrible thing? I mean seriously, are there any HWs out there who people think are genuinely going to take down Wlad? Why not give a dude who's at least entertaining a chance to make a bit of money.
I think every boxing fan would like to see the number of belt out there decrease. It's hard enough for genuine fans who follow the sport, imagine being a new comer trying to watch and you see some guy being announced at World Champion, only to find out he's like #8 or #9 in his division.
Say what you will about Don King, and yes he was a horrible excuse for a human, but he had a vision to make WBC be the end all be all of sanctioning bodies. I think as some of the old guards of promoting start dying off, Al Haymon could be the person to basically declare one body superior, and who could argue with him? Now I have NO IDEA if that's something he'd want to do, but the sport needs a revamp...the only people who don't seem to think so are WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO.
What a joke. If he did ever face Cain he'd be on his backside in under 20 seconds. As for Bellator entertaining the idea of bringing in Fury, eh, if Toney got to have his MMA fight in the UFC, I don't see why Fury shouldn't be able to mess around in Bellator - with likely the same result.
That's true, if he tried to grapple with them.
Don't swallow the bullsh1t. MMA fighters are not supermen. One punch in the head from a world class heavyweight boxer boxer like Fury, wearing those little lightweight MMA gloves, would knock any one those half dozen guys spark out, and Cain Velasquez too.
Why do you think Dana White didn't call Fury's bluff - if he was bluffing - and offer him a fight with Cain?
The answer is that he had no idea what would have happened if he'd done that.
We've never seen an elite level boxer in his prime going up against an elite MMA fighter, ever.
It's not about being supermen, it's about having a few months of training in something vs someone with a lifetime of dedication. Cain grew up a wrestler, that's his background. It would take him a matter of seconds to put someone on the mat that hadn't also spent years in developing and perfecting technique on how to reverse or stuff said take downs.
If Fury and Cain fought in a boxing match, I'd give Fury the win 99 times out of 100, and if Fury went into a cage for an MMA fight, it's Cain's for the taking 99 out of 100 times. To me the debate about boxers going into MMA or MMA fighters trying out boxing is like getting Usain Bolt and Mo Farah to run a race. Who wins? Well it depends on if it's a 10,000 meter run or a 100 meter dash. Now that doesn't mean that an elite athlete can't switch sports and thrive in both, but that takes years of dedication, not just a couple of months before going against one of the best in the world.
This would make for a fairly interesting fight, and I agree with Brush My Hair in that Algieri does have a similar approach as Paulie, but if you recall, it wasn't exactly like that was a blow out fight. It actually could have gone either way in my opinion. Plus I'd say Chris is a bit more technical and certainly youthful at this point.
I don't think there is a easy choice on the matter, but I do think Algieri would win 6 or 7 times out of 10. But surprisingly this is a bout I hadn't thought of before this thread, and it would make a perfect PBC main event for a future network show.
Yes I have predicted both of the PBC card winners so far. But I can't say there have been too many instances where I missed the HBO or Showtime bouts. I understand that mismatches aren't what gets everyone pumped in boxing, but people are acting like Haymon and PBC are the first promoters to set up these kind of fights. Most boxing matches are fairly easy to predict. Occasionally you see an upset, and you more or less wait for PPVs for the flip-a-coin type match ups. This is the same old model, just done on free TV, and yet somehow that's been met with anger from many boxing fans.
(Disclaimer, when I said same old model I meant in terms of mismatched fights, not in the way the PBC company is being run or their long term goals)
The best way to win a fight is doing 20 bicep curls, each arm
Whatever, everyone knows the secret to winning boxing fights is to do 10 reps of leg extensions...yeah the entire notion that 3 weeks out from the biggest fight in boxing, they are going to switch it up and start importing heavy weights seems far fetched to me.
And what is this stuff about Roach being strict? I went to the gym once with Ray White, and before anyone even recognized who Ray was, Pepper and the rest of the guys there could not have been more inviting. I'm not saying they are going to invite cameras in to watch Manny train, but it's not like walking into the second floor there is all that difficult. Sorry but this story sounds flaky at best.
Rumors are just that. But if actual numbers come in similar, I can see how some would view this as a disappointment. Certainly some factors will have played into it; early afternoon is not exactly prime time tv slots, plus the Final Four was later that evening so you're going to have a lot of people who's families might not be thrilled if they spent the entire day drinking in front of the TV, and let's not forget this wasn't exactly an elite match up.
Still, I would say that anything under 2M viewers on CBS should be considered a disappointment. I know there was golf on NBC at the same time, any idea what those numbers were? A compare and contrast might be useful here...if not a little depressing.
Based on the assumption the OP was talking about a boxer named Rodrigo, and presuming they would be undefeated, Google led me to this prospect;
Rodrigo Garcia. Super Welterweight. 17-0-0, with 12 KOs.
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=500658&cat=boxer
To which my reply is, unless you happened to watch the prelims for certain events where he's on the under card, we've likely never seen him. Thus, no one here is really going to speak on the credibility of this fighter other than to say congrats on getting through 17 fights without a loss. Any attempt to categorize what he will or won't accomplishment would be wild, baseless speculation at best.
Title should read "In 3 fights, Algieri went from nearly unknown fighter who had never been out of NY to World famous, rich, and a legit conversation piece in the boxing community."
This time last year, I'm not sure I could have picked Algieri out of a line up. In the last calender year he won an alphabet belt, went the distance with the #2 P4P fighter on the planet, and is now lined up for another huge pay day with Khan...who by the way, I would not write this off as an easy win for Amir. That's not to say I'd put money on Chris, but I certainly am not going to write him off.
At some point, you need to stop fighting the locals and journeymen and actually step up to the contenders and champs. That's what he's done, and he's done a fine job with it. Plus he managed to GAIN fans in his only loss. What's the point of being an "undefeated prospect" forever? This way, he's a former champ who can say he faced Manny. Those are two impressive lines on any boxer's resume. He became a headliner getting paid real money, isn't that the goal?
This is a cruel sport, both in the ring and out of it. I was reading that article yesterday and it struck me how close this man was to possibly launching himself forward, and yet in many ways it seems he's allowed a couple of moments in his 20's to define his life. I understand the temptation to look back and wonder, "what could have been?" However at some point, you have to allow yourself to move out of the past and towards something else. Few people can rest their hat on the accomplishments of their more youthful exploits - and I think it's a bit disingenuous to credit his fall from grace within his country's boxing program to getting that W over Floyd. It sounds like he was unwilling to "play ball" in the manner that was expected of him. In the story of this man's life, Mayweather is actually the minor detail, but it seems he's unduly focused on him because of where each man went after the Olympics.
I would suggest some Street Fighter locations for these bouts...but this video has explained to me why many of them are improbable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYDza1iznhI
:(
Mixed opinions from you guys. Does anyone see this lasting? Or is it just a fad?
Definitely a fad. It won't take too long before they begin to realize that you can't force KOs. From my understanding this is the same BKB promotion that started out as "bare knuckle boxing" where they removed a section of the gloves to allow for the knuckles to be exposed. It's been one gimmick after another.
The root of this is that many boxing fans are becoming disillusioned with the sport as a whole. So people hear this and assume the answer is to "bring it into the new millennium" or update the style and feel to be more reminiscent of a UFC event. But boxing fans aren't bored with the sport of boxing, they are bored with poor judging, elite fighters engaged in contract disputes rather than boxing matches, and an over saturation of governing bodies and promotions each trying to sell their piece of the pie as the only slice worth caring about.
Boxing fans don't want the rules between the ropes to change, we want everything outside of the ring to change. This is a well funded venture, so it's going to last for a while, and maybe even carve out a small niche market, but I'd be surprised if they made it much past 10 events.
Broner might generate more money in the short-term, but unlike Broner, Ward is a great fighter and will probably be at the top 8-9 years from now. Broner might not be relevant in 2.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Sure Broner might fall off in a couple years, and when he does you can find the next fighter de jour to promote. Meanwhile Andre had one of the most impressive years ever, was poised for super stardom, and then had 2 mild fights over 2 years, and didn't get back in the ring for the next 2 years. If I'm promoting, and all I care about are gate numbers and ratings/buys, I'd take Broner over Ward. Because there is nothing that says Ward is going to actually become marketable.
Easily Ward in my eyes. He went from fighter of the year, to Super 6 and consensus champ of his division, primed to become the next big superstar...and managed to fade out without anyone seemingly caring one iota? And I understand injuries can sideline you some, but at least get a tune up fight in every now and again, he has one fight in 2012, and another single fight in 2013. Someone should have told him that this sport lives on the phrase "what have you done lately" - and I think he's in for a rude awakening if he wants to return to prominence, because it's unlikely he'll ever have the momentum he had in 2011 ever again.
This was never for the fans, it was always for the money
Dude, you'd be hard pressed to believe this would be for the fans and not the revenue. If that were the case this wouldn't have taken six years or so for it to finally come in to fruition.
Also, unless you live in Vegas and/or have ticket to see this live, why would you go to Vegas to watch an event you could see at virtually any sports bar? Back when I lived in Los Angeles, I'd occasionally go out to Vegas for a boxing or MMA event, but only because I had friends that loved Vegas and it was a nice excuse to go - and LA to Vegas is only a few hours drive. But I wouldn't book any kind vacation there.
And as the gentlemen above me mentioned, this was for the money not for the fans.
Actually the interviewer said Andre Ward can't sell, to which Floyd responded, "But I don't take anything away from Andre Ward. I like the kid." That's not exactly Floyd saying he can't sell. Just that in his opinion Broner would generate more business.
As for my opinion, Andre Ward doesn't sell. He maybe could have if he was able to capitalize on 2011, but he didn't, and now he's going to have to climb uphill again. I think he still has enough time to become someone, but he needs to start proving his marketability while he's still prime physically.
what is prizefighter??
One night, 8 man tournament in UK. I can't remember what the prize money is in terms of pounds, but the winner of the whole thing walks away with less than $50,000 US. It's not exactly where you'll find future World Champions, or where you'd expect to see a former one.
I don't care. Toney seems content to drag his legacy through the mud in exchange for cashing in on his ever decreasing marketable name. If he wants to get into BKB, let him. I can tell you seeing his name on the poster wouldn't entice me in the least bit to actually order an event.
but it was regular boxing?
Yeah regular boxing, but only 3 rounds per fight. I lived in London for a few years, and went to one of these events once. I don't remember being particularly impressed with anything about the boxers. To be honest I am not sure I can even remember a single name or even what weight class the tournament was in.
I would say most casual fans don't notice and don't care. I remember explaining to someone how the Wilder/Stiverne fight didn't actually determine who the best Heavyweight in the world was...by their logic, they heard World Championship fight, and the took it at face value. It's one of the aspects of this sport which is so interesting: if every title fight matters, and you have anywhere from 4 to 32 title fights in each weight class per year, how can any of them truly be significant?
It doesn't take long for casual fans to clock on to the discrepancy, and realize that at any given weight class there is one true champion and a few pretenders, and as boxing has become something of a niche sport, I guess the significance of casual fans has diminished.
I don't understand how or why people are betting against PBC. They clearly have some deep pockets around them that are committed to fund this trial period. And by all accounts the trial is exceeding expectations. Mark my words, in less than a decade, Haymon is going to own the lion's share of this industry. TR and Golden Boy are going to see their sphere of influence decrease dramatically in the coming years...and it will happen to them while they still have the biggest stars signed. Because if you have the most exposure, you can unduly influence public perception of who is and isn't a star.
Just ask Dana White, Vince McMahon or any record label exec how easy it is to cherry pick and artificially inflate certain reputations based on nothing more than exposure.
Is this the same BKB promotion that use to claim to be "Bare Knuckle Boxing" where they had MMA type gloves with the knuckle portion of the gloves removed? Did they realize that was too gimmicky and change their name to Big Knockout Boxing? Because the "pit" design in place of a ring is strikingly (pun intended) similar.
As per the question of if I will order it, no thank you. If I found out a local bar was showing it I might pop in for a few and see if I enjoy it, but I'm not about to start ordering these kind of events. I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to sports, and flashy/gimmicky changes to make it stand out from the norm typically doesn't appeal to me.
I don't hate Broner, but I do find him exceptionally annoying. And I realize all the things I dislike about him are simultaneously the things I most enjoy about Floyd. The difference being, Floyd has walked the walk. The record, the money, the legacy. He has those, so when he is arrogant and flashy it's befitting his accomplishments. Broner is like those hip-hop artists who were featured on one song once, and suddenly are rapping about how they have private jets or are on top of the business. It's such a transparent act, that it's off putting.
Also, mock humility wears thin on my patience. It doesn't take a great actor to spot a bad one, and athletes that pretend to be something they are not, gets very tiresome very quickly.
You guys are crazy.
Both arent top 25 no matter what they do.
http://cdn.teamcococdn.com/assets/image/500x500/scale:max/sig:824ae07b561b06b90692ca9d72396627/0395_highlight_alt-515cb19845376.jpg
Mauricio Herrera was my first go-to answer when I read this. It's hard to dust yourself off from one horrific judging decision, but to have two happen in the same year? That's just life being cruel to the man.
If Manny beats Floyd it certainly opens the door for conversation about being in the top 5 ever. Unless he absolutely destroys Mayweather (personally doubtful) I don't see him cracking the top 3, but a solid win should be him in contention for #4 or #5.