jabcross727

Well, as you start to make more money, you can afford to fight less. When you're fairly new to the pro game, you need to stay active to get your name out there. Unfortunately, I am going to have to agree here. It's just a natural progression of a fighter who is in the sport. Early on, you need to be more active so that you can make yourself known. Once that happens, you will get major attention and hopefully, it will bring you marque matchups and if successful world title shots, and world championships. If you hit it just right, you could become the next cash cow in boxing. At that point, you would be making six, seven, may be eight figure if you are lucky. If you were in that position, you would fight twice a year as opposed to four or five times. Plus, fighters get old and have wear and tear. For most fighters, a 25 year old would be fresher than a 40 year old unless you are B-HOP. I am just saying that age and success makes most fighters want to fight less due to those variables if things turn out for the best.

I would say Brook and Thurman seem like the final two standing. I would favor Thurman to win it all. It's ashamed that we don't have any super six type tournaments anymore.

Wilder by decision. For one thing, all ok Deontay's KOs were when he was facing much less heralded opposition. His fight with Stiverne was a big step up in the competition so I will assume his KO percentage and frequency will go down. Back to the original question, Haye hasn't fought since 2012 when he TKO'd Chisora. Even at his best, Haye will probably not beat Wilder. Wilder has a 4 inch height and reach advantage not to mention KO power. However, Haye would probably able to withstand Wilder's power but lose a clear 12 round decision.

I am not sure that I have seen enough of Brook to say that he can compete with Floyd. Even if Floyd was old, he would probably most, if not all, the young hungry lions coming up through the ranks. I may not call him TBE, but he is very skilled, slick, and fast fighter. He would still beat Brook, even if he is not at his physical peak.

This would be for unification of the WBC/WBO featherweight world titles. As impressive as Russell was tonight, Lomachenko seems to the quicker, stronger, and more skilled boxer, even though he has had fewer professional fights. Styles may make fights, but when you are the better all around fighter, you just simply win. I don't know if Russell has made any adjustments since this defeat, so I will still have to say Lomachenko earns another victory and another trinket to go with it.

Carl Froch, you must be kidding me right? GGG? Small middleweight? Won't last 2 or 3 rounds with you? Are you sure that you aren't talking about this fight in the other direction? So if GGG is a small middleweight, I guess Cotto is a midget huh?

The Special One KO's One Time? Seriously. I don't foresee a beatdown; rather it would be a close fight, but I see Thurman doing enough to win a UD or even late round stoppage. Both may have skills but I like Keith to make it a rugged fight that he eventually would win.

When I first saw the thread title, I wasn't aware expecting a comparison of Diana Ross and Justin Bieber to come to mind. I figured we would be talking about Ali's and Floyd's careers by the numbers and perception. In any event, in regards to your reference, it will be a tough fght for both. Each fighter is facing each other's supposed kryptonite. So it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Although my heart says Pacquiao, my head says it's Floyd until someone proves they can crack the May-vinci code. It remains to be determined if we see Bieber crying so we should just wait and see. It's a big "maybe" if Pac can do it.

Even at age 38, Floyd would still win. I would take Money by UD. Too much skill, movement, and the Philly shell defense. Brook would not have faced anybody as skilled prior to Floyd if his next is indeed against Floyd. But this is all being presumptious heading into a not-so-big fight on May 2nd, if you haven't already heard.

I wish I had a made a Christmas list of which fights I want to see made. If I were, this would be a top 3: 1. Mayweather-Pacquiao: signed and scheduled for May 2nd 2. Kovalev-Stevenson 3. GGG-Cotto It looks like #2 is creeping closer to being realized provided that Stevenson gets by Bika and Kovalev does his job in dispatching his IBF mandatory challenger. Finally, we get to see the lineal champion against the best in the division. It should have happened last year but I won't get into why it didn't happened as there may have been countless threads on that particular matter. Let's just get the bidding out of the way so the fight fans can get the fight they really want.

For one thing, if you vacate the WBO belt, no matter what reason, it has got to take a hit on your status. I believe his mandatory was Matt Korabov and he elected to take a potential fight against Daniel Jacobs, which didn't happen. Now, he is looking to fight Andy Lee, who just defeated Korabov for the vacant WBO middleweight championship. Make what you will of why Quillin decided not to fight Korabov, but it does make you wonder why he would want to fight for the WBO belt again with Korabov out of the picture. Could this be a case of ducking a fighter? That can be a matter of debate. Whereas with GGG, he is open to fighting all comers within the middleweight division, including Cotto. He has the reputation that no one wants to fight him; now compare that to Quillin and you can get a sense of a perception that Quillin is on a lower pedestal that Golovkin.

I would have to go with Rios. Although they had a common opponent in Pacquiao, you would have to say that each fighter fought a different version of him. Hatton fought Pacquiao when he was at his peak and hungry to destroy all his opponents. Rios fought Pacquiao in his first fight after his vicious knockout loss to Marquez. Hatton was knocked out while Rios suffered a boxing clinic. In any event, Rios at this point could probably defeat Hatton. He has a trainer in Robert Garcia who is teaching him more and polishing his boxing skills to go along with his rugged style. That, I believe, would help him in a brawler like Hatton. Example is how Floyd Mayweather, Sr. tried to impart boxing skills in his lead-up to the Pacquiao fight. But it became pretty evident that in the first round, Hatton threw that out the window and simply tried to overpower Pacquiao, which backfired tremendously. I would take Rios based on his superior boxing skills to avoid Hatton's shots and land counters.

Cotto just needs to hand the belt over. Its pathetic. Agreed. Even though Cotto is the lineal and WBC champion, all boxing exports and most of the public knows that all roads in the middleweight division goes through GGG right now. Cotto cannot hide forever, and thus, he faces two options: either fight GGG and accept the eventual outcome or vacate the title so that the rightful #1 in the division is recognized. My only question and this could be the start of another poll: which lineal champion is more ridiculous despite not fighting his mandatory and perceived #1 in their division: Cotto or Adonis Stevenson for avoiding Kovalev like the plague.

The quick and short answer is no.

I would take Lomachenko. He has more polished boxing skills and would be able to defend against Jhonny's assaults. I would also say that his loss to Salido in his second fight may have done him wonders as he got educated in a veteran's wily moves and how to outhustle your opponent. Plus, Lomachenko is much fresher and has not had to go through many wars as Gonzalez has. I take Lomachenko in an exciting fight.

It would be a tough fight to call. Kell Brook has good boxing ability with his precise counters and speed. The thing with Bradley is that he isn't good at one thing; rather, his strength is the fact that he will outhustle you and outfight you. Prior to his fights with Pacquiao, you can see that whatever his opponents did, he would dig into the tank and find a way to pull out the victory. I think Brook would get a stern test if he were to get in the ring with Bradley. In the end, I have feeling this fight would end in a draw or in a close decision in either direction. Brook may have more skill but Bradley is the fighter who has shown repeatedly that he has more will than his opponent.

I am not going to go into the controversy that surrounded Pacquiao-Bradley 1. What I will say is that when you defeat a pound-for-pound legend, it should catapult you to the elite of the sport, which should have happened to Bradley. However, the manner in which he won was highly disputed. Although the reality of the situation is that he won, the perception, which I do agree, is that he really lost. If you went back and remember when the WBO convened a panel of judges to re-judge the fight, Pacquiao won hands down. Bradley became a victim in that the whole world did not seem him as the legitimate champion that defeated Pacquiao. While he would gain respect in defeating Provodnikov and JMM, he could not garner victory against Pacquiao in the rematch. He will be relegated to being just a level below the Mayweathers and the Pacquiaos of the world based on the perception stemming from the first fight. I don't dismiss him as a solid fighter and a champion, but he is clearly not on the same level as the top 2 pound for pound fighters in the support based on two fights with Manny.

Like others have said before me, KO and TKO are the same thing. If you want to say KTFO, I guess you could make that distinction although most television networks and the FCC would censor your obscenities for the record.

I don't know about you guys, but I feel that all the pre-fight news that is emanating from both camps is like watching Sun Tzu's Art of War in action. Pretty much, Tzu talks about deception. Just how much of what we hear is actual news versus just smoke and mirrors? Everyone says Floyd is a master of psychology, but how much of it will work against a guy like Manny who will not be intimidated. I know we will know who is the better man come May 2nd sans any controversy. But as we speak, the outcome is being decided via each combatant's training camp and only Floyd/Manny know whether or not they are in mental and physical shape to stand a chance at realizing victory.

Less talk. More fighting. Let's just make it happen then. Brook-Khan on June 13th to determine the best British 147-lb fighter and with it the IBF title on the line.

First of, it is a good thing to see that Mayweather-Pacquiao got made. Hopefully, that will send a message to other fighters that if you have a challenger/contender/or fellow champion the paying public wants you to fight, they should step up to the plate and face that challenge. This is good for boxing. Let's see if this translates to full unification of all four belts. May the best man win!!!

Nietes is earning himself the title of the best Filipino boxer not named Manny Pacquiao. Let's see if he can keep up his winning streak when he takes on a dangerous Francisco Rodriguez. Another great fight that we all can mark on our calendars for 2015.

Great!!! You are starting to talk the walk; now it's time to walk the walk and give the public the fight they want to see, which is an undisputed champion at light heavyweight!!!

I think both guys are gonna train their butts off now, and possibly over train, then taper off a few weeks before the fight, then really chill the week prior to the fight. Not worried about either fighter over training. They're professionals, and know their bodies enough. I can't wait for May 2nd. As a fight fan, the only I am going to ask for is an exciting but fair and non-controversial fight. Let the best man win and let there be no excuses. No more cheap shots from fans from either side. Let their man give the final argument in the ring, where the debate should really be had. Hopefully, this is not too much to ask for in the sport of boxing?!?!...

It's great that he gets back in the win column with a get well fight at home. Now, let's see if he is ready to make a another crack at the elite of the division. Here's to seeing a better and more rejuvenated Nonito Donaire!!!

As the saying goes, "Put your money where your mouth is." I applaud GGG calling Chavez out on his bluff. One would think that this would be the impetus to making a fight between the two. But then, Chavez has decided to fight Fonfara. So one makes you wonder if Chavez was really serious in challenging GGG when the reality in boxing is that all the top MW's are avoiding him like the plague.

I had charlo winning by 1 point but giving vanes just 3 rounds is fishy! Agreed. I was having a hard time scoring most, if not all, those rounds. I can accept 96-94 scoring as Farhood had it at that range. I wonder what fight that third judge was watching. Once again, this is another example of the ugly side of the sport of boxing. It didn't matter much in the overall scheme of this fight, but it reminds of some ugly decisions, such as Pacquiao-Bradley 1. As much as I say this, I am not sure how you one can propose changes to scoring when it is so subjective. This will remain a perpetual debating point no matter what reform is proposed. May be it is just a part of the sport? Who knows...

If Mayweather wants to give fans their money's worth on May 2nd, does that mean he is willing to trade with Manny and fight him toe-to-toe? If he wants to beat him in impressive fashion and also put on a show, there must be no other way to do that other than going for the KO. I am not sure that Floyd is going to do that as we have seen fight safety first and box his way successfully to a decision. As Keith Thurman said in a recent video interview with Fight Hype, if Mayweather wants to make it easy for him, he will box in circles all day. However, if Floyd really does want to make it an action packed fight, this fight becomes a pick'em and plays into Pacquiao's advantage. We shall see what he really means.

Seriously, if Froch thinks Golovkin is too small, then why not fight him? I hope he really does not think this because Golovkin is a destroyer right now and the last 19 opponents have gone down via KO. Once again, he better walk the walk and not just the talk the talk. In regards to Ward, I also remembered him wanting to avenge all his KO losses. For him to say that Ward is unlikely means that he is unwilling to do whatever it takes for him to get an opportunity to get revenge no matter what concessions are needed to make it happen. Quite honestly, no matter if it it's in Oakland, Nottingham, Macau, Las Vegas, or Mars, Froch does not have the style to defeat Ward. I would probably lose in the same fashion with the scores much wider than the first fight would indicate. He might as well retire if he can't figure out his next move.