Not in terms of ability, obviously - I thought he looked pretty dreadful tonight, and in bad shape.
But in terms of once more elevating the division onto the platform of the general public? I've seen more headlines about him in tabloids these last few months than I've ever seen about Wlad, Brewster, et al, and the guy is personable as well as an easy publicity gimmick. I'm getting behind this guy more and more as the man to "save" the division... at least until someone else comes along.
As for the performance tonight, then I always say his footwork is better than you'd expect for such a big guy, though his pushing and leaving the jab extended should be penalised. Not a great performance by any means, but ultimately he's a 7 foot, 23 stone man. Tonight's was a gimme in every sense of the word (prompting the amusing new nickname from the German commentator "Owen 'hit the deck' Beck") but those physical advantages are going to be difficult for any standard heavy of this age to overcome.
But in terms of once more elevating the division onto the platform of the general public? I've seen more headlines about him in tabloids these last few months than I've ever seen about Wlad, Brewster, et al, and the guy is personable as well as an easy publicity gimmick. I'm getting behind this guy more and more as the man to "save" the division... at least until someone else comes along.
As for the performance tonight, then I always say his footwork is better than you'd expect for such a big guy, though his pushing and leaving the jab extended should be penalised. Not a great performance by any means, but ultimately he's a 7 foot, 23 stone man. Tonight's was a gimme in every sense of the word (prompting the amusing new nickname from the German commentator "Owen 'hit the deck' Beck") but those physical advantages are going to be difficult for any standard heavy of this age to overcome.
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