I have met quite a few boxers that would later become world champions when I younger. Met most of them in the amateurs or in the gym. I was still in my teens at the time and most I have never actually talked to but I remember seeing then at certain gyms or tournaments.
Rigondeaux (short and really thin), Lara, Charlos (tall and really thin/competed at 147 I believe), Prograis, Juan Diaz, and Donaire (really thin). I am sure there are more but I would have to actually take the time and go through everything to jog my memory.
I'll start with the usual that any boxer has a chance of hurting/stopping any boxer if the right shots land since people love to believe otherwise.
Outside of Benavidez getting clipped I don't see either one keeping up with him offensively.
Yarde has good qualities but looks lackluster a bit too much for my liking. I see him being a less threatening Morrell in what he brings to the table.
As for Callum Smith he would have to be tighter defensively than he was against Buatsi. Buatsi was able to land some shots pretty "consistently" even while being badly damaged and the shots seemed to bother Smith enough to question if he could handle a constant offense from Benavidez.
I wouldn't put it past Benavidez to score a stoppage over either if he breaks down over the course of a fight.
The issue is going to be does Michael Eifert want to risk his IBF mandatory status in a fight he will be a huge underdog in? Getting Eifert to agree to a risky fight is going to be the toughest thing to do.
I'm not convinced Charlo can keep Sheeraz off of him.
Charlo didn't look shot against Cornflake but he looked beatable against a livedog. Plus you never know where his mental is at these days.
To be a little fair to Jim, he has been out of the commentating game for a while.
I'm sure the commentary setup and presentation has changed in the past decade so he is going to need to get back in the groove of things and used to being in the live atmosphere again.
What DAZN needs to do is just get rid of Chris Mannix all together. I have no clue how they decided he was the right man for the job. Mora is awful as well but he at least has a brain.
I agree. I thought about making the purchase but there just isn't much of an undercard to justify the price tag to me. If it was $20 sure I would have no problem.
Also the fact that the Bam vs Cafu and Pacquiao vs Barrios card is happening later that night makes the $60 price for Usyk vs Dubois more off putting. I like the fight but not that much.
It was a close fight and a score for either is understandable. The same approach could work with a different set of judges.
However if he wants to make it more clear then I think Bivol needs to let his hands rip a little more often. I do believe that Bivol can overwhelm Beterbiev with accurate volume punches he just needs to have the mindset of constantly chipping away at Beterbiev.
Anybody can be hurt and he needs to have that little bit more confidence in his power and not be dissuaded by Beterbievs poker face and strength.
As for Beterbiev he needs to step on the gas and get to Bivol sooner rather than later. Simple adjustment.
The problem in this fight for Parker in my opinion might be that Dubois throws more volume than Wilder or Zhang.
Parker is going to have to fight at a different pace than in those two fights. Hrgovic has had gas tank issues but he got exhausted throwing the kitchen sink at Dubois trying to keep him back.
Benavidez has always had a great high guard because he has a strong defense with it and he can fire shots right out of his guard. Couple that with his reflexes and accuracy, that's what makes his opponents panic.
I watched it live in person and I was fairly confident it was a cupping shot with a bit of a trip up that shouldn't have been called a knockdown.
After leaving the arena I looked it up and it confirmed what I what I thought. Hooked around his shoulder and the feet got tripped over.
All in all Morrell is very durable and has speed and good snap on his shots, he had fight in him the whole time and looked dangerous for all rounds even though it was in spurts. Morrell took a lot of punishment throughout the whole fight so I give him major props.
Decision is the most likely outcome but both have enough on their punches that they can hurt or drop the other if they land clean.
Regarding Danny Garcia though, he has shown a solid chin when taking solid punches. The most visibly stunned I have seen him was in the 12th round of the Zab Judah fight. Judah moved or slipped a shot and Danny lost track of him for a split second and Judah caught him while he wasn't focused on him. That is the most I have seen Danny hurt and that was by a shot he was basically blindsided by.
Gary is good but he is not anything special.
Devin is at least decent from what we can tell.
If they fought Devin would dominate Gary just based on the huge size difference. People don't seem to realize how little Gary is. I don't mean short either but just overall in stature. Gervonta is not much taller but he is a lot heavier naturally than Gary.
History will likely repeat itself being that Gary will talk a bunch of noise. Fight someone that everyone knows he is levels above and then fight again in a year. Gary stepped up once to fight Lomachenko, who turned out to be very impressive, and has not done it again since.
some of these guys have already spent future money
This is very true for a lot of boxers and athletes overall.
For boxers it is probably extra risky because they likely have to take a riskier fight for them to genenerate enough to pay them the guarantee and a loss pretty much guarantees a future pay cut. So they are in a tough spot.
I understand why they are reluctant and I can honestly say I would probably sit out until at least the election is over to see if this all politically driven.
They are just waiting for their fair market value to go back up which I can't frown upon as an individual working in finance.
If I am being honest. The only one that I would suspect is Jermell. He had virtually very little power on his punches and people may mention a style change but something in me tells that is not the reason. He does fight more aggressively now and he likely kicked up his strenggt training which is totally plausible. But if you ever see Jermell in person he is really thin and even his punching style doesn't seem like that of a power puncher.
Jermall on the other hand is huge compared to his little brother. But he has had power since he started which makes since just based off of his size and fighting style. He fights like a heavy handed fighter. Jermall could very well move up to LHW because he has the stature.
It is on a fight by fight basis.
A big fight with a lot of hype can outdraw one of the major sports. But the mid tier and low level fights don't get much attention from the everyday person.
Race also plays a part into where it is popular. I am hispanic and boxing is engrained in our family. Does not matter how big or small the fight is.
I boxed a long time when I was younger and I know what they mean when they say that because I had and still have that same mindset as well.
Would I want to die in the ring? No. Would I want to permanently messed up for life or even an extended period of time? No.
Only an absolute moron would choose that option.
But I know me. And I know that when I get inside the ring that it is almost a different realm you enter. You don't think about your family, your future, your past or anybody. You only focus in on your opponent because it is what you are conditioned to do. That's what is meant when you hear people say they are locked in.
All decisions I ever made while inside the ring when competing were not of sound mind and judgement when compared to my everyday normal self. It is why a boxer will confide in his corner (away from the cameras and in private) to look out for his best interest even if that means stopping the fight.
It is not necessarily a pride thing but rather a refusal to admit. You can have pride and admit a shot buzzed you or you were wobbled.
I boxed for a fairly long time and trust me even when you factor in adrenaline you know when you are caught by a good shot. It doesn't physically hurt in an unbearable way but there is a pain/pressure inside your head that you feel. You have your poker face on but at the same time you are thinking oh ****. It feels noticeably different then when you are getting tagged with shots that don't have much behind them.
On of two things happens in my opinion.
First scenario. Bivol boxes well but does not do much beyond jab and move to keep Beterbiev tame. As time goes on Beterbiev starts to wear Bivol down for a points or stoppage win.
Second scenario. Bivol keeps Beterbiev at bay until Beterbiev begins to start getting to Bivol more often getting closer and closer. Bivol realizes he has to turn it up and boxes the fight of his life trying to hit Beterbiev with everything he has for a stoppage win in the late rounds.
I am leaning more towards Bivol securing a shocking stoppage win. Beterbiev has one gear which means to beat him you likely are going to have to stop him or be to play keep away. I believe Bivol has more to his arsenal than we have seen just that no one has pushed him to having to fight aggressive looking for the knockout.
Just overall from my general expertise dealing in finance and what I have learned over the years you can tell a lot from the boxers taking fights at the moment.
Those that are taking fights right now when purses are at a huge low compared to recent years likely overstepped on their financial obligations. To simplify it, it means the ones that are taking fights need to money to support their lifestyle. And the ones not taking fights likely have their possessions fully owned and a good amount of the rest of their money still fairly liquid so they draw from without worry.
Getting hit with a fight ending shot can happen to anyone so it is very possible that Lubin could still pan out. If he can recover mentally he will be good.
At this particular moment in time, Vergil Ortiz has far more upside to him. Unless he is packing glass, which you never truly know with anyone, he is a handful for any of the champs right now. Not saying he wins because I think he stills needs at least a year but they definitely have to show up if they were to go against him right now.
Ennis is really talented from an athletic point of view. But boxing is more than being athletic at the top level. As he faces more rugged durable fighters that show up to win I can have a better look at how many layers he has to his game.
You never know.
Having seen him give instructions to other boxers he seems very good about breaking down why certain things are done without getting overly emotional. He has also talked about how he likes watching other fighters growing up that had different styles so I am sure he has an appreciation for all styles.
Or he could just be terrible on the microphone but I have a hard time thinking so. He is so used to talking in public that he might have a smooth transition.
Tough to say but if we are establishing a Mount Rushmore of boxing then I think there are two criteria that are neccessary.
Mount Rushmore is an American monument so I would assume the boxers would have to be American as well. Also the boxers would have to be from the black and white era as an ode to the founders which means Ali might not make my own personal list as he may be a little too modern i the latter half of his career.
It is tough to compare different eras due to different politics, promoters, environments and most importantly revenue.
Their is too much money in sports these days. A fighter can make millions fighting a no hoper. Why risk it?
Bad move for Ward in my opinion.
I would favor Ward prime for prime to beat Canelo by a close decision.
But Ward has been inactive for too long and is far removed from his prime until seen otherwise. Canelo would be too sharp for any inactive fighter that has not competed in 4 years.
I was really serious as an amateur and seriously considered pursuing it as a pro. Circumstances can have a big impact on which path you take. I have no regrets though even though I still have that boxing passion. Still spar occasionally and keep myself sharp out of habit.
I competed from bantamweight all the way to welterweight. Not very tall myself so I had a different build as I was very hefty compared to most.
My style was meant to go against bigger dudes that I had the speed advantage over as I moved up.
I struggled more in the lower weights where our speed was comparable. At those weight classes though I had more of a high volume bullying style.
As a pro I would have liked to start out somewhere around 130 and move up to no more than 140.