DeGale vs Smith at the moment is not a 'big' fight, Smith has a few spectacular knockouts but he hasn't fought anyone. If Groves wins the WBA Super, a rematch between him and DeGale to unify IBF, WBC and WBA Super belts would be a massive fight, Wembley Stadium and PPV undoubtedly. Groves wins that in my eyes.
As for the comments on Joshua, I don't know what DeGale is thinking. Yes AJ was fortunate with the timing of a home Olympics, but he's also a far more likeable character than DeGale. That has played a big part in AJ getting to where he is now, plus the fact that he has stuck with Hearn. Hate to admit it but Hearn and Sky Sports is definitely the place to be for British fighters. AJ's style crosses over to the public better than DeGale's as well, football fans want to see explosive knockouts rather than classical boxing.
60/40 would suggest Joshua's market value is only 1.5x Wilder's. That is clearly not the case. Wilder deserves 30% at best. He also only brings one belt to the table, and Joshua will most likely bring three, despite having half the amount of professional experience.
In the UK, the general public don't know about Wilder. If he'd fought Dillian Whyte for a career high payday, he would have raised his profile and could have then rightly demanded 40% against Joshua.
I do agree that the split should be reversed in a rematch if Wilder wins. But he won't win.
Eubank always looks impressive, but it's against flat footed plodders with either no pedigree at the top level or too many miles on the clock. He has never beaten a world class boxer with relatively fast feet and a good jab.
Groves has boxed on a completely different level to Eubank and I'd therefore give him the edge in the fight.
Christian Hammer is no mug, gave a decent account of himself against the best fighter in the division. Ryder and Galahad are good fighters. Pretty good undercard for a terrestrial network for sure.
:gives:If they were charging about £12.95 less for the main event, I would consider watching that too.:gives:
I like Joshua and Wilder, but let's be realistic. Joshua deserves at least 80/20 atm, probably more if it reflects both fighters' market value.
Wilder needs to put his money where his mouth is, you can't keep calling someone out without offering them a fight
Eubank Jr's skillset is limited. He's got quick hands and feet, throws a **** ton of punches, an amazing athlete. But I can't see his power troubling Golovkin.
Eubank is a good fighter and he'd beat all decent 160s and 168s but I feel the likes of Golovkin, DeGale, Ramires, Groves, possibly Jacobs would have too much for Eubank.
Carl Froch = ****house
As a big Fury fan, I've almost run out of patience with the guy. He's clearly very envious of the adulation that Joshua receives from the British public. Joshua's nice guy personality and ferocious fighting style make him the obvious choice of the casual fan, and given that he's with the smartest and best promoter, he probably earned more from his British title fight than Fury did for his unified world title fight.
IMO, there's two tiers of heavyweight. Fury, Joshua, Klitschko, Wilder are tier 1, and everyone else is tier 2. Tier 1 fighters should beat the tier 2 fighters 99 times out of 100, they're too big, too rangy, too powerful. Occasionally, they'll be might get wobbled (think Fury vs Cunningham, Joshua vs Whyte, Wilder vs Molina) but eventually they'll just batter the smaller man (think Fury vs Chisora II, Klitschko vs Povetkin).
Fury was at the top of the division when he beat Klitschko, and I would have backed him to run rings around any heavyweight at the time. But he's wasted two of the best years of his career, and lost his fighter mentality. I wouldn't be surprised if he never fights again, but if he somehow manages to get back into fighting shape, I'd expect Joshua to make very easy work of him.
As for Hughie going to Haye's gym to spar Joe Joyce, Tyson needs to keep his mouth shut. Joyce is almost a carbon copy of Parker, so it makes complete sense for him to spar Joyce as preparation. Considering Tyson should be in the prime of his career, but he's technically out of action because he can't be bothered, his opinion on boxing is pretty irrelevant.
Golden Boy's ***** decision to vacate the WBC and duck Golovkin was probably wise at the time, but the fighters they've fought since that will come back round and bite them on the ass. Khan, Liam Smith and The 164lbs Human Punching Bag are shocking preparation for Golovkin, whereas Kell Brook and Jacobs are pretty good warm ups preparing for Canelo. That will be the big deciding factor in this fight.
This fight should have happened a year ago. Oscar has waited for what he feels is the perfect moment to challenge Golovkin. The only purpose of the Smith and Chavez fights were to age Golovkin by another year, Canelo learnt nothing from either fight that he could use against Triple G.
Decent fight, Cox won't lie down but the punch variety and power of Groves will result in a KO win in the middle rounds.
Everyone's talking about Groves vs Eubank in the semis, why is the number 1 seed fighting the number 3? Surely 1 fights 4, and 2 fights 3? Anyway, I can't see Eubank getting in the ring with Groves or Smith. But if he does fight Groves, he'll be outclassed imo. Eubank has only ever fought one boxer with decent footwork and he came unstuck. They will eventually regret matching him with slow old plodders every time.
Groves vs Smith in the final is an intriguing match up. Smith is huge for a super middle but he hasn't fought anyone on Groves' level. I think Groves should be the favourite to win this tournament.
Wilder atm is lucky if he gets a 20/80 split against Joshua. He's unknown in America and unknown in the UK. He's had almost 40 fights but somehow never had a serious fight. If he fought Whyte, chances are it would be a bit of a thriller but Deontay would be favourite to come out on top. A win against Whyte in England might warrant something more like 40/60 in the Joshua fight. Obviously him and his people see it as too much of a risk of spoiling the Joshua fight, which is fair enough.
Joshua is apparently making £15 million for his defence against Takam, while sources say Wilder is making around $1 million against Stiverne. LOL
Big Baby's last fight proved that he has no power. He's a fat motherf***** but the other guy was never hurt in the fight. Whyte would put his lights out
Yep Whyte is dangerous, got too much heart for Beyonce to take the risk. Even though Wilder could and probably would stop him.
Wilder is holding out for the big one against Joshua. If he beat Whyte in the UK, that would double the size of the Joshua fight. As it is, he's relatively unknown to the casual market in Britain and he's seen as a bit of a joke amongst boxing fans
You know what Hearn and AJ would have done if they were really planning on ducking? Not said a f*cking word about DW. Casuals over here get all there news from Sky Sports, they dont mention Wilder then no one knows who he is over here. Yet in real life they have had Wilder on coms for Aj vs Wlad. Bought all of Wilders last few fights. Talked about him constantly online etc.
If they havent fought next year then maybe Wilder has a point, assuming it isnt him making crazy purse demands
very well said my friend, spot on.
Hearn obviously wants to maximise profits from the fight, and with Wilder's profile at the moment being weak in America and Britain, it would be foolish to make that fight now.
Wilder should have been a superstar but his promoters and matchmakers have completely f****d it up. His record is embarrassing, he's had almost 40 fights but never once fought someone half decent who came to win.
He deserves no more than 25% of the purse against Joshua atm. If he came over and made a statement against Whyte, he might be able to push for 35%.
Financially speaking, Wilder desperately needs Joshua. Joshua really doesn't need Wilder and could keep making an easy 20 mil fighting your Takams and Pulevs three times a year.
This fight doesn't alter my Joshua-Wilder prediction at all. Ortiz is too old and too slow, Wilder will stop him.
Joshua-Wilder prediction goes two ways;
- Wilder boxes very defensively and Joshua eventually stops him in 6 rounds.
- Wilder trades and Joshua wins inside 2.
If we are going by achievement it would be Hamilton all day, but Joshua will walk it.
Hahahaha, Hamilton drives a go-kart around a track, and the person with the best car wins every time. F1 is the biggest load of ****e I've ever had the mmisfortune of watching, boring af.
Froome won the two biggest three week bike races in the world, he's the man. AJ will win though and fair play to him, that Klitschko fight was a worldie
real talk. Brook might want a catchweight though because he may struggle to make 147 first fight back. But Khan vs Brook at anything above 150lbs is a guaranteed Brook KO win. Brook beats Spence but Pacquiao could outbox him, Brook would need to chin Manny imo which is unlikely
Campbell fought extremely well but Lomachenko is a legend of the sport. Never really got out of third gear but you always knew he had an extra bit of class if he needed it. He's a much better fighter at feather or super feather, Campbell's size made it hard for Loma to force the stoppage