AIBA Boxing WM 2017 in Hamburg

[HI-TECH Boxing]

I'd say Warren might be the best option for young British talent right now. He has one of the biggest sports channels to himself and desperately needs some elite talent to put on his shows. Yarde and Dubois are getting pushed like crazy and McCormack would be too

Btw Joe Ward is another I'd love to see signed by a major promoter sooner rather than later

I'm a huge fan of Hearn so I would side with him, but you do make a great point!
Warren does need talent for that big deal he made.
If I'm a promoter in GB I would seriously make this kid a great deal. His talent is incredible. He can box off the back foot and fight coming forward. He has the height to move up in weight and boxes in a marketable division, most likely Welterweight as a pro.
You may need to sign Luke McCormack and Calum French while they're at it. Both of those guys are also really good. And I'm not sure if they'll want to take the chance in three years.

Someone should also look at signing Nyika. He is an English speaker, Heavyweight, and boxes beautifully so it's not like they're taking a huge risk in signing him, in my opinion.
He's very marketable. I could see it.

I would agree with Ward. He's already made so much history for Ireland. 3x European Champion. 3x World Medalist. No Olympic medal but that's not too bad. If Ward wants to go pro this is his chance.

[asgarth]

Are you going to come out with Flags again today?

Yes. Did around 10 fights. Walked out with Cuba 2 times. To see de la cruz up close is awesome, even though I thought he could have pushed the pace more.

[NEETzsche]

If I'm a promoter in GB I would seriously make this kid a great deal. His talent is incredible. He can box off the back foot and fight coming forward. He has the height to move up in weight and boxes in a marketable division, most likely Welterweight as a pro.

Yeah he's got a very aesthetic style too, nice crisp punches with great variety. His only major technical deficiency is his defence up close. It wasn't a factor in this tournament but it has been in the past and could be in the pros. Apart from that I'd just say he needs to stay switched on at all times in the ring and stay disciplined between fights

Now that I think about it, it would probably be best for him to join Matchroom, since Hearn also has Josh Kelly who is near his size and also from Sunderland. Could be a big fight in the future

[asgarth]

Just a quick summary:
Today I was flagbearer for

Afternoon session:

Light Flyweight: Yerzhan (Kaz) Vs Egorov (Rus)
Bantam: Ragan (USA) vs Zhang (China)
Light Welter: Harutyunyan (Ger) Vs Kholdarov (Uzb)
Heavy: Clarke (Eng) Vs Savon (Cuba)

Evening Session:
Flyweight: Latipov (Uzb) Vs Avila Segura (Col)
Lightweight: Oumiha (Fra) Vs Shestak (Ukr)
Welter: Quinton (Usa) Vs Iglesias (Cub)
Light Heavy: La Cruz (Cub) Vs Bazuev (Ger)
Super Heavy: Arsene (CMR) Vs Salcedo (Col)

All in all pretty good fights. I heard there were some controversial decisions. The one I watched upclose was the very eager referee in the Germany Vs Uzbekistan fight. He deducted 2 points for no real reason, but at least the uzbekistan guy still won.

Savon was picking Clarke apart. Very methodical and patient guy. De La Cruz has crazy reflexes, he just stood infront of the other guy and could evade nearly all punches.
The super heavy fight with Cameroon against Columbia was pretty fun. His punching technique looked really sloppy, but he hurt the other guy with every punch. Very laid back and funny guy, also had a really loud fanbase lol.

The attendance isnt really good so far. Hopefully it gets better for the semi and the final. Many empty seats. a big portion is also filled up from the german youth team who have a training camp parallel to the event.
The next 2 days I have to work at the hotel, so I wont be a flag bearer and will see the fights in the audience. For the final I will be up close again.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Yeah he's got a very aesthetic style too, nice crisp punches with great variety. His only major technical deficiency is his defence up close. It wasn't a factor in this tournament but it has been in the past and could be in the pros. Apart from that I'd just say he needs to stay switched on at all times in the ring and stay disciplined between fights

Now that I think about it, it would probably be best for him to join Matchroom, since Hearn also has Josh Kelly who is near his size and also from Sunderland. Could be a big fight in the future

There is no perfect fighter. They all have something they could work on. Pat is the same but I agree with your assessment.

Pat boxed so beautiful at these Championships. Shame he's not taking home a medal. It just makes me mad.

That's right! That would be a fantastic fight in the future.
I wish McCormack was more active on social media so he could express his thoughts and disgust to the decision today.
I also want to know what his plans are ASAP.

[pesticid]

Just a quick summary:
Today I was flagbearer for

Afternoon session:

Light Flyweight: Yerzhan (Kaz) Vs Egorov (Rus)
Bantam: Ragan (USA) vs Zhang (China)
Light Welter: Harutyunyan (Ger) Vs Kholdarov (Uzb)
Heavy: Clarke (Eng) Vs Savon (Cuba)

Evening Session:
Flyweight: Latipov (Uzb) Vs Avila Segura (Col)
Lightweight: Oumiha (Fra) Vs Shestak (Ukr)
Welter: Quinton (Usa) Vs Iglesias (Cub)
Light Heavy: La Cruz (Cub) Vs Bazuev (Ger)
Super Heavy: Arsene (CMR) Vs Salcedo (Col)

All in all pretty good fights. I heard there were some controversial decisions. The one I watched upclose was the very eager referee in the Germany Vs Uzbekistan fight. He deducted 2 points for no real reason, but at least the uzbekistan guy still won.

Savon was picking Clarke apart. Very methodical and patient guy. De La Cruz has crazy reflexes, he just stood infront of the other guy and could evade nearly all punches.
The super heavy fight with Cameroon against Columbia was pretty fun. His punching technique looked really sloppy, but he hurt the other guy with every punch. Very laid back and funny guy, also had a really loud fanbase lol.

The attendance isnt really good so far. Hopefully it gets better for the semi and the final. Many empty seats. a big portion is also filled up from the german youth team who have a training camp parallel to the event.
The next 2 days I have to work at the hotel, so I wont be a flag bearer and will see the fights in the audience. For the final I will be up close again.

Good stuff man, watching La Cruz from ringside must be surreal. La Cruz and Yosvani Veitia from the Cuban team are already punch drunk by the way, which is crazy as they don't really get hit that much in fights.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

I think Uzbekistan should get rid-off Giyasov and have Madrimov come down to Welterweight. Madrimov is a beast at Middleweight but if he loses some muscle his conditioning may improve at Welterweight.
Madrimov is not the tallest fighter in the world. He would be a killer at Welterweight. He used to fight there a few years back.

Also, Melikuziev is doing well at Light-Heavyweight but it's clear he would be better off at Middleweight.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

I didn't want to make predictions for the semifinals because of the controversy surrounding yesterday but why not?

Winners in bold. Semifinals.

48kg:
Joahnys Argilagos (Cuba) v. Zhomart Yerzhan (Kazakhstan)
Yuberjen Martinez (Colombia) v. Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan)- Martinez has been the most impressive fighter of the tournament for me so far, McCormack was up there, but I don't know if he can beat the guy who could possibly be the best P4P amateur fighter at the moment.

52kg:
Yosbany Veitia (Cuba) v. Tamir Galanov (Russia)
Kim In-kyu (South Korea) v. Jasurbek Latipov (Uzbekistan)

56kg:
Kairat Yeraliyev (Kazakhstan) v. Peter McGrail (England)- This is hard to predict. I still have some questions about McGrail. Lets see if he can prove me wrong again.
Gaurav Bidhuri (India) v. Duke Ragan (USA)

60kg:
Lázaro Álvarez (Cuba) v. Otar Eranosyan (Georgia)
Dorjnyambuugiin Otgondalai (Mongolia) v. Sofiane Oumiha (France)- Oumiha looked much better in his last fight than he did in his first fight.

64kg:
Freudis Rojas (USA) v. Ikboljon Kholdarov (Uzbekistan)- I was impressed with Kholdarov's offense in his last fight.
Hovhannes Bachkov (Armenia) v. Andy Cruz (Cuba)

69kg:
Shakhram Giyasov (Uzbekistan) v. Ablaikhan Zhussupov (Kazakhstan)-Giyasov shouldn't be here. McCormack outclassed him, but he beat Zhussupov handily at the Asian Championships. I expect him to win again. I think Kazakhstan should replace Zhussupov with 2016 Youth World Champion, Sadreddin Akhmedov, who is a real talent. If Zhussupov can still make 64kg he'll be better off there.
Abass Baraou (Germany) v. Roniel Iglesias (Cuba)- I think it will be a close fight with the home town fighter winning. Baraou has been making quite some noise lately.

75kg:
Abilkhan Amankul (Kazakhstan) v. Kamran Shakhsuvarly (Azerbaijan)- I didn't get to see Amankul's fight with Lopez.
Oleksandr Khyzniak (Ukraine) v. Troy Isley (USA)-Isley shouldn't be here. I expect Khyniak's pressure to get the job done.

81kg:
Julio La Cruz (Cuba) v. Carlos Mina (Ecuador)- Based on what I'm seeing La Cruz and Dusmatov are still the two best amateur fighters in the world.
Joe Ward (Ireland) v. Bektemir Melikuziev (Uzbekistan)-Ward may just be too big. Melikuziev has done great for an undersized Light-Heavyweight, but he should look to move back down. He's not even a big Middleweight.

91kg:
Evgeny Tishchenko (Russia) v. Sanjar Tursunov (Uzbekistan)- Tishchenko shouldn't even be here. Can't bet against him at this point.
Vasiliy Levit (Kazakhstan) v. Erislandy Savon (Cuba)- I expect another close fight with Levit edging it.

91+kg: This is the weakest division and there's been quite a few upsets.
Kamshybek Kunkabayev (Kazakhstan) v. Fokou Arsene (Cameroon)
Joseph Goodall (Australia) v. Magomedrasul Majidov (Azerbaijan)-I'm just going with the more accomplished fighter but lets see if Goodall can continue his feel good story.

[pesticid]

Dusmtatov making Martinez look like a C level fighter. Impressive!

[pesticid]

Martinez's physicality taking a toll on Dusmatov, close second round scored it for Martinez as Dusmatov was spoiling a lot in this round and got hit clean