Comments Thread For: Bivol Was Surprised Jack Gave Up WBA Title Before Fighting Him

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Dmitry Bivol expected to box Badou Jack next after watching Jack dismantle Nathan Cleverly in their light heavyweight title fight two months ago. Instead, Jack quickly gave up the WBA world light heavyweight championship he won by stopping Wales' Cleverly in the fifth round on the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor undercard August 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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[skinnystev]

why did jack give up the belt without a fight ?

[Mammoth]

Have we seen TMT fighters on HBO?

[Mammoth]

I like Bivol but he looks green to me. Jack's fought way better opposition than he has. I would have given him a good chance to win that fight. Hopefully we get Bivol-Barrera next.

[THEFRESHBRAWLER]

This guy has 11 fights best fighter on his resume is Cedric Agnew lol. And his next opponent is against a guy not even ranked in the top 40 and never fought a 12 rounder before for the belt? Lmao who is this guy promoter? They’re doing a good job or paying someone off

[Randall Cunning]

Lmao who is this guy promoter? They’re doing a good job or paying someone off

Ryabinsky.....

[THEFRESHBRAWLER]

Ryabinsky.....

Lmao that says it all. Same weasel that promotes Povetkin?

[Randall Cunning]

Lmao that says it all. Same weasel that promotes Povetkin?

Yep, dark lord of the purse bid

[Boxing Logic]

I like Bivol but he looks green to me. Jack's fought way better opposition than he has. I would have given him a good chance to win that fight. Hopefully we get Bivol-Barrera next.

Hopefully 2018 goes like this:

February: Kovalev vs Stevenson, Jack vs Joe Smith, Barrera vs Bivol, and Beterbiev vs Gvozdyk

June/July/August: Kovalev/Stevenson winner vs Jack/Smith winner, Bivol/Barrera winner vs Beterbiev/Gvozdyk winner.

Also, Kovalev/Stevenson loser vs Jack/Smith loser, and Barrera/Bivol loser vs Beterbiev/Gvozdyk loser.

November/December: Kovalev/Stevenson/Jack/Smith winner vs Bivol/Barrera/Beterbiev/Gvozdyk winner.

Also, loser of Kovalev/Stevenson winner vs Jack/Smith winner fights loser of Bivol/Barrera winner vs Beterbiev/Gvozdyk winner, and winners of Kovalev/Stevenson loser vs Jack/Smith loser and Bivol/Barrera loser vs Beterbiev/Gvozdyk loser fight.

2019: Kovalev/Stevenson/Jack/Smith winner vs Bivol/Barrera/Beterbiev/Gvozdyk winner fights the winner of the top loser's bracket, while the winner of the second loser's bracket fights either the #1 up and coming name to emerge by early 2019, or the loser of the final. Then, the winners of those fights fight in potential rematches.

Just by virtue of adopting a tournament style, we've seen how much hype and money the super middleweight division and cruiserweight divisions have generated, despite the fact that it's only been a couple months since the WBSS super series, and despite the fact that cruiserweight only has half the talent that light heavyweight does and super middleweight only has a quarter! So just imagine how much hype and money the light heavyweight division could generate if they also did a tournament, but instead of only a few months (so far) to see how high fan interest could go, we would have a full year and a half to judge it, starting beginning next year and ending late 2019, and instead of those less talented divisions which have few stars who have been established in America yet, it was done in the light heavyweight division with Kovalev, Stevenson, Beterbiev, Gvozdyk, Jack, Smith, Bivol, and Barrera who have ALL been on U.S. television before?

This is what boxing needs to do to become mainstream again. And, with all eight of those light heavyweights, besides Joe Smith (and Adonis Stevenson more recently since he started fighting exclusively in Canada), being non-American boxers who fight in America, but none of them being Mexican or Puerto Rican, it is also what the fighters themselves need to do if any of them want to become true stars in American boxing. It is what the sport and business and boxing needs to arrange if they want a real generator, or PPV attraction, to emerge from a division full of Russians, Cubans, and a Canadian who won't fight anyone good.

Don't get me wrong, Cruiserweight has a lot of talent, 4 fighters deep anyway, and even Super Middleweight has some talent, but no division in boxing is better suited for an 8-man tournament structure at this point in time, either talent-wise or economically, than Light Heavyweight. Either HBO or Showtime needs to get together with the WBSS next year, or some other group, and add their weight in terms of dollars to the pie to back a tournament at light heavyweight, starting with the quarterfinals onwards, because unlike the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight tournaments, light heavyweight actually has the talent to make the tournament must see TV during the quarterfinals, too, which is actually extremely important because the quarterfinals is the round that, all by itself, offers a higher quantity of matchups for the fans than all the other rounds combined (unless you count loser's brackets, which for some reason these tournaments always fail to include). This means that Light Heavyweight not only offers bigger, more established names, more pound for pound contenders, and more knockout artists than Super Middleweight and even Cruiserweight, all factors which should make its semi-final and Final round into even bigger and better fights than those divisions can offer, but it will also offer over twice as many great fights.

With a Light Heavyweight tournament, you don't have to choose between better quality, and higher quantity. It would deliver both. Therefore, if we don't see the true top 8 light heavyweights battle it out in a tournament next year, I will be extremely disappointed in the sport of boxing. It just makes too much sense not to do it, and the sport needs it too badly.

[Sledgeweather17]

Coz Jack is a cowardly pussie that's why.