Comments Thread For: Light Heavyweight - A Step Towards One

[PunchyPotorff]

Gvozdyk seems to have a more well-rounded attack that Beterbiev, and with Atlas in Gvozdyk's corner, it will make it even more difficult for Beterbiev to get some momentum going. IMO this is still close to a 50/50 fight, but I think Gvozdyk will slowly start dominating as the rounds go by, to win a UD. ONE DAY LEFT, and we finally get to enjoy this great fight.

[Abby26]

So all the canelo haters are sayg he should fight the other champions instead of kovalev cuz he is old and it turns out they are all almost 35 wtf. whoever canelo pickd they wld say he is old. i think kovalev beats them all and easily. i’ll b rootg fr canelo cuz he has big balls to go up 2 weight divisions but its gonna b tough. fighters rarely take their power up to heavier weights.

[MaksBox]

So all the canelo haters are sayg he should fight the other champions instead of kovalev cuz he is old and it turns out they are all almost 35 wtf. whoever canelo pickd they wld say he is old. i think kovalev beats them all and easily. i’ll b rootg fr canelo cuz he has big balls to go up 2 weight divisions but its gonna b tough. fighters rarely take their power up to heavier weights.

Only Bivol is sub 30.

[Kiowhatta]

It's not often we get truly 50-50 fights. I have been looking forward to a unification match-up in this division for what seems like far too long, a division that is one of the most talent-packed.

When I can't pick a winner I usually go with sentiment, but I don't have any feelings one way or the other for either fighter. My intuition says Gvozdyk may have a slight advantage on paper, but Beterbiev is always dangerous.
I'm not sure if Beterbiev is completely settled with his new promotional team, whilst Gvozdyk appears to work well with the larger than life Atlas.

It's true that with the exception of Bivol these guys are all in their 30's - but Kovalev has definitely more miles on him after his two fights with Ward, and Alvarez, plus he just sc****d through against Yarde.

Comparatively, like the article stated both fighters haven't yet been in any real tests yet, with this fight surely telling who is made of what stuff.

[Kiowhatta]

So all the canelo haters are sayg he should fight the other champions instead of kovalev cuz he is old and it turns out they are all almost 35 wtf. whoever canelo pickd they wld say he is old. i think kovalev beats them all and easily. i’ll b rootg fr canelo cuz he has big balls to go up 2 weight divisions but its gonna b tough. fighters rarely take their power up to heavier weights.

Canelo is taking a very well-calculated risk. Everybody knows that Canelo and his team operate much like Mayweather did once he had established himself as a world-class fighter and PPV attraction.

There are two ways of looking at the way Canelo picks his opponents.
The first is cherry-picking - he selects fighters who are just entering a downward slide, but still represent enough of a challenge and have enough name recognition to generate significant interest and sufficient respect.
Every tiny advantage is utilised - weight, timing, venue, etc.

The second way is Canelo no longer is required to prove himself as a fighter and has entered a stage in his career where it is almost exclusively about securing his financial future and ensuring maximum pay-days.
The question of whether he is acting ethically and within the accepted moral parameters of the sport doesn't apply.
He's a businessman, looking to cash in while he can, and has no concern about what people think nor should he.

I tend to go with the first and don't appreciate the way Canelo treats the sport and by extension, the fans.
He has little integrity or concern for what he does.
Moving up to fight Kovalev while he still retains belts @ 160 and 168 affects those divisions, and for example, if he should defeat Kovalev, I seriously doubt he will fight any other top fighter at 175, possibly hindering and holding up any unification plans which is what the fans want, but to hell with what the fans want appears to be his attitude, and that's why I don't care for him.

I will concede he is an excellent fighter, but that doesn't give him the right to degrade and disrespect the sport by acting the way he does.
It encourages further moves toward a sport where only money is seen as important.
Capturing a world title is almost an after-thought and is becoming increasingly devalued and irrelevant.

[Mikhnienko]

Cliff - just so you know Beterbiev didn't knock Gvozdyk out in their 2009 amateur fight.

Gvozdyk's nose was broken a week before the fight which was also his first time fighting for the Ukranian national team. Artur was already a World Amateur Silver medalist (2007) and the Ukrainian coaches told Oleksandr to fight him anyways just to gain the experience of facing a world class guy. During the fight Gvozdyk's broken nose started to bleed and the fight was stopped because of it.

[Superbee]

Having Teddy in Nail’s corner will make him unstoppable in the light heavy... Thats the dangerous combo.

WAR GVOZDYK

I'll remind you that Teddy wasn't able to get him going against a frankly average aging Stevenson and he was indeed heading for a loss ... But the 11 rd happened and that was that...

[MDPopescu]

Cliff - just so you know Beterbiev didn't knock Gvozdyk out in their 2009 amateur fight.

Gvozdyk's nose was broken a week before the fight which was also his first time fighting for the Ukranian national team. Artur was already a World Amateur Silver medalist (2007) and the Ukrainian coaches told Oleksandr to fight him anyways just to gain the experience of facing a world class guy. During the fight Gvozdyk's broken nose started to bleed and the fight was stopped because of it.

... OK...

... but let's see then now: with no headgear...

[minemax]

The winner of Gvozdyk/Beterbiev.

[Snoop Frog]

Gvozdyk is more polished technically and has decent power. I'm picking Gvozdyk but I'm happy to see both fighters getting an elite fight in the division. Seems like forever ago when Beterbiev beat Cloud, a LHW belt holder, and I would have expected Beterbiev to be farther along in his career.

Anyone know how much each one's getting paid?