Comments Thread For: Damien Hooper Inks Management Pact With Xcite Fight

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Australian amateur sensation Damien “Super” Hooper has confirmed he's turning professional after a stellar amateur career. Hooper has inked a management agreement with Matt Clark, Brendan Bourke and Philippe Fondu. “I’m delighted to be turning pro” stated Hooper, “I can’t wait to get into the ring and I couldn't be more happy with my new management team and my trainer Gareth Williams". When asked was the decision to turn pro a difficult one, Hooper replied: “Not at all. I gave the amateurs a good run and now it’s time to turn pro and shake up the Light Heavyweight division.”

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[Knibbsy1]

Sure I read last week that he had signed up with hatton promotions asia pacific or something. I think this article is very old.I live in Aus and if he has signed with hatton I'd be wanting to get go the uk or America ASAP. Boxing is so far down the list of sports here the everyday Aussie dont know who Daniel geale is of Billy dib. It's a sad state of boxing here

[taansend]

Sure I read last week that he had signed up with hatton promotions asia pacific or something. I think this article is very old.I live in Aus and if he has signed with hatton I'd be wanting to get go the uk or America ASAP. Boxing is so far down the list of sports here the everyday Aussie dont know who Daniel geale is of Billy dib. It's a sad state of boxing here

Knibbsy,

Phillippe Fondu is the manager of Sergey Rabchenko who is trained by some bloke named Ricky Hatton. I'm pretty sure Hatton has a small stake in Hooper somewhere.

Fondu is a cheesy (sorry I couldn't resist) bastard with several fingers in several dodgy pies. He's the one responsible for the Baltic & Belarussian fighters that keep turning up & rolling over in British boxing rings.

I think his role will not be in the forefront but more as a European connection for future bouts in the UK & Germany.

I'm excited about Hoopers career. Hopefully I'll be living in Oz by the time he fights for a world title.

[Tom Cruise]

I remember watching this guy in the olympics, i reckon he'll suit the pro style well. Plus hes only 20 which gives him loads of time to develop and settle into the pro ranks.

[Mikhnienko]

I remember watching this guy in the olympics, i reckon he'll suit the pro style well. Plus hes only 20 which gives him loads of time to develop and settle into the pro ranks.

HE doesn't have a great style for the pros. I'm sure he'll be successful until he reaches the top of the division but any decent pressure fighter, combination puncher, counter puncher or a combination of one or two of those will cause real problems just like Mekhontsev did. Artur Beterbiev is turning pro and it sounds like he'll fight at LHW and he'll murder Hooper. Ukrainian Vyacheslav Shabranskyy is another prospect who would also be huge trouble for him.

LHW is pretty weak right now so any new blood is welcome and Hooper is certainly fun to watch.

[Tom Cruise]

HE doesn't have a great style for the pros. I'm sure he'll be successful until he reaches the top of the division but any decent pressure fighter, combination puncher, counter puncher or a combination of one or two of those will cause real problems just like Mekhontsev did. Artur Beterbiev is turning pro and it sounds like he'll fight at LHW and he'll murder Hooper. Ukrainian Vyacheslav Shabranskyy is another prospect who would also be huge trouble for him.

LHW is pretty weak right now so any new blood is welcome and Hooper is certainly fun to watch.

From what i could see he will suit the pros more than the ams in my opinion. Given that he was a pretty good amateur (only lost to eventual winner, still very young) that bodes well for his pro career. Obviously a lot depends on intangibles like your chin you move into the pros so i wont declare him a world beater yet, but to me he is promising.

Artur Beterbiev is 7 years older than Hooper, and Shabranskyy is 5 years older. Im sure they are very good and im not saying they are too old obviously but the fact that Hooper has turned pro so early will allow him much more time to develop, and will also mean he isnt as set in his amatuer style.

[Mikhnienko]

From what i could see he will suit the pros more than the ams in my opinion. Given that he was a pretty good amateur (only lost to eventual winner, still very young) that bodes well for his pro career. Obviously a lot depends on intangibles like your chin you move into the pros so i wont declare him a world beater yet, but to me he is promising.

Artur Beterbiev is 7 years older than Hooper, and Shabranskyy is 5 years older. Im sure they are very good and im not saying they are too old obviously but the fact that Hooper has turned pro so early will allow him much more time to develop, and will also mean he isnt as set in his amatuer style.

Its almost entirely reflex based and hes a decent counter puncher but he throws alot of potshots and rarely puts punches together. Beterbiev and Shabranskyy are good examples of guys coming out of the amateurs who already fight in pro styles, Hooper is a great example of an "amateur" style.



I'm not bashing Hooper i just think he'll have to make some significant style adjustments as a pro and do think he's capable of it.

[Tom Cruise]

Its almost entirely reflex based and hes a decent counter puncher but he throws alot of potshots and rarely puts punches together. Beterbiev and Shabranskyy are good examples of guys coming out of the amateurs who already fight in pro styles, Hooper is a great example of an "amateur" style.



I'm not bashing Hooper i just think he'll have to make some significant style adjustments as a pro and do think he's capable of it.

See im not sure, I dont think Shabranskyy has a pro style from the vid you posted. The main reason being that he gets hit far too easily, that overhand right was catching him all over. If i remember Hooper rightly his reflexes allow him to be ok offensively while still maintaining a reasonable defense. Thats what i would class as a pro style. Shabranskyy (in this vid), like a lot of ams, has a perfectly good offence but lacks head movement and doesnt react well to punches coming towards him (a symptom of wearing headgear i think).

Hopefully all do well and we get to see some great matchups in the future