Jermain Taylor should fight this man, not Lacy.

[Blue Öyster]

Jermain Taylor should fight this guy and not Lacy...

i agree, he should fight froch!!!

iv been watching froch since very early in his career, back when bbc still showed boxing. and i NEVER liked froch, he was ****ing awful early on, but he has slowly become a decent fighter. he hits very hard, and he is very big at the weight. i would favor him to ko jermain taylor in the mid to late rounds.

[abadger]

When are people going to learn that this game is about money above all else? The money dictates the fights. Froch is a complete nobody in the States whereas Lacy certainly isn't. That is the justification for the Taylor-Lacy fight being made over Taylor-Froch. End of story really.

That is the cold hard reality of it yes, but as a boxing fan do you endorse it? I know I don't. I am also going to tire very quickly of Americans asking 'who has he beat?' of Europeans if they will not even fight credible but theoretically lesser opposition for the sole reason that that is where they are from. America wants to have its cake and eat it.

[Mr. Ryan]

That is the cold hard reality of it yes, but as a boxing fan do you endorse it? I know I don't. I am also going to tire very quickly of Americans asking 'who has he beat?' of Europeans if they will not even fight credible but theoretically lesser opposition for the sole reason that that is where they are from. America wants to have its cake and eat it.

The fact is, if you ask any TV network not SkySports which matchups they'd like to see, they'd pick Taylor-Lacy over Taylor-Froch unanimously. Why, because American fans don't know who Froch is and won't until he fights some real guys. If the real guys are in America, you can't expect them to go over to England and fight.

You don't understand that if TV doesn't want a fight, whats the sense in making the fight.

[abadger]

http://www.boxingscene.com/index.php?m=show&id=14884

The WBO has already made an offer to stage a vacant title match between Taylor and Lacy. When dealing with the financial aspect of the sport, chances are that if Taylor commits to chase the WBC belt and the fight heads to a purse bid, the English promoter would offer more money because the fight is worth more in England, then Taylor would miss out on a shot at Lacy for a belt.

Besides, who is to say that Froch's wins over Robin Reid and Albert Rybacki are more credible than Lacy's over Epi Mendoza and Peter Manfredo?

But we now know that Calzaghe has officially informed the WBO that he is not vacating the title he has held for almost eleven years and that he intends to defend it after the Jones fight, now taking place in November. Whether he really will or not is debateable, but the WBO are not going to be stripping their eleven year champ and biggest cash cow if there is a chance he will fight for it again in a megafight. Thus it is going to be hard for Lacy and Taylor to fight for it.

Throw in the fact that Lacy recently announced a supposed retirement from the sport and the fact that he has looked worse and worse with each fight since Calzaghe, and you have an opponent for Taylor who lacks any kind of credibility. Froch at least has been beating substandard opposition impressively and has long been calling out big names for his world title shot. As I said, in order to favour Lacy as an opponent for Taylor you have to have a vested interest in Taylor over boxing in general, which is fine if you are a fan of his, but it is not defensible as a good decision for boxing or the boxing fan.

[abadger]

The fact is, if you ask any TV network not SkySports which matchups they'd like to see, they'd pick Taylor-Lacy over Taylor-Froch unanimously. Why, because American fans don't know who Froch is and won't until he fights some real guys. If the real guys are in America, you can't expect them to go over to England and fight.

You don't understand that if TV doesn't want a fight, whats the sense in making the fight.

SkySports or Setanta would pick Froch - Taylor in a second, the reverse is true of the US networks. Also, in this case, one of the 'real guys', Froch, is in the UK and is the WBC #1 contender. I'm sorry US boxing fans don't know him, but it doesn't make him any less 'real'. I find it hard to credit that as a boxing fan you are defending a meaningless fight against a man who is essentially a bum over a titlefight with a live contender, on the grounds that the fight will be more 'popular' in the States. So what? Its still meaningless.

Frankly this attitude from US boxing is ludicrous and at a time when there are so very few US guys at the top of the sport, I think it risks damaging the reputation of US boxing as a whole. Isn't this what US boxing usually derides in the rest of the world, staying at home to pick up paydays against soft opponents? If this trend continues it will be US boxers who wind up being seen as 'protected'.

[dstew]

I'm a Taylor fan; to me he's a real person that I've seen around town, he's got a good reputation in the community, and he seems to be a pretty nice guy. I know he came from very little and has worked hard to get to where he's at, and he's got a family to look after. In my eyes, he's not just a game piece that I get to move into whatever scenario I feel like seeing him in - which is the fight fan's perspective.

So I can definitely sympathize with his camp looking after his career, which I feel they are doing by going with Lacy over Froch. It's less risk, more money, and probably more credibility within his target market. This is Taylor's job. If I'm offered a task at my job that is going to net me more money for less risk, I'm probably going to take it over a task that offers no more in the way of upside, but far more downside, and for less money. I bet many of you would do the same. That's all Taylor's doing.

As a fight fan, which I am in addition to being a Taylor fan, obviously I want to see him fight Froch. But I want to see him fight Lacy too. I think both are interesting matchups that will be very telling of all three fighters and make for entertaining television. I am pretty confident we will get to see both fights, maybe just not in the order that many of you would like.

Were this many people bitching when Oscar fought Steve Forbes? Or when Cotto fought Gomez? I don't remember it. This isn't much difference for Taylor; it's pretty much a tune-up fight that will put him in a position to be the mandatory for the WBC title. Be patient, and I think you'll get the fight you want. In the meantime, you can argue the ideals of a boxing fan vs. the reality of the business all you want, but you're not going to get anywhere.

[Flawless.]

Who the **** is Kessler???

[dstew]

Who the **** is Kessler???

It's a brand of whiskey.



You've probably never heard of it before because usually it's only found hanging out with bums in Denmark.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

I'm just saying why the fight is not as feasible as Taylor-Lacy right now.

Most fans have been clamoring for years for Taylor and Lacy to fight, especially stateside. Most fans who don't get SkyNet aren't big Froch supporters.

There will be some who think this fight is a mismatch, but the majority of fight fans here don't even know who Froch is and thus can't really demand the fight.

Picking up a belt goes a long way towards getting the big name fighters to fight you.

WHO?!! Seriously you're exaggerating this way too much. I dont think anyone has ever really cared that much about Lacy vs Taylor.

If the majority of fight fans dont know Froch then they arent fight fans, they're casual fans. Fight fans know which the real legitimate matchup is.

Once again, it disturbs me when boxing fans start talking like promoters. Froch vs Taylor is one of the best fights to be made at 168.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

That is the cold hard reality of it yes, but as a boxing fan do you endorse it? I know I don't. I am also going to tire very quickly of Americans asking 'who has he beat?' of Europeans if they will not even fight credible but theoretically lesser opposition for the sole reason that that is where they are from. America wants to have its cake and eat it.

Couldnt have put it better myself.

People are saying Froch should come over to America and fight someone with name recognition as if its such an easy thing to do.

First of all, most of the big stars wont fight him.

Secondly, if HBO arent keen to broadcast Froch vs Taylor, how are they going to settle for Froch vs a lesser name??