Bris Vegas

AJ won't remain undefeated throughout his career. It's almost impossible as a heavyweight due to so many carrying that one-punch knockout possibility.
You can get away with running around the ring at 147 pounds, but at 200+ you simply can't do it.
I think AJ in terms of athleticism is one of the best heavyweights I've ever seen. However, despite his amazing power and agility, there are big question marks over his defence and head movement.
The knockdown which Wlad performed wasn't anything out of this world. It was just a faint jab into his chest followed by a straight right over the top - similar to what Canelo did to Khan.
This is basic boxing and a move you learn from a very young age. Getting knocked down by it shows a real lack of defence and an obvious weakspot for others to exploit.

I had Wlad winning too, but two of the three judges didn't so I'm glad AJ won the KO as it could have been a controversial points decision and that's not what we want to see.
One judge in particular had it 96-93 for AJ heading in to round 11. 7 rounds to 3. Nah, no way.
 
 

I had Wlad winning too, but two of the three judges didn't so I'm glad AJ won the KO as it could have been a controversial points decision and that's not what we want to see.
One judge in particular had it 96-93 for AJ heading in to round 11. 7 rounds to 3. Nah, no way.
 
 

I had Wlad winning too, but two of the three judges didn't so I'm glad AJ won the KO as it could have been a controversial points decision and that's not what we want to see.
One judge in particular had it 96-93 for AJ heading in to round 11. 7 rounds to 3. Nah, no way.
 
 

No sarcasm. I've lost love for the sport cos I have the perception that those running the sport are more interested in Pay Per View numbers than boxing ability, and that feels inherently wrong to me. It may have always been this way and I was just oblivious to it, but I'm an idealist and expect integrity. 
I've kind of turned my back on the sport. But reading your posts keep me a little bit in the loop. 

The trolls in boxing wouldn't last 30 seconds in the ring with these so-called 'bums'.
@Alpha is spot on. There are many talented fighters out there, but ultimately there are levels. While AJ destroyed Charles Martin, its not like they plucked Martin out of a US bar somewhere. 
The paths for some boxers are much easier than others. Hearn deserves huge credit for paving the way for a number of world title victories for the Brits, but the amount of titles in today's game makes it easier to become a world champion.
Having said that, on the flip side, if it wasn't for the large number of titles then excellent match-ups such as Brook v Porter in the IBF wouldn't have got the recognition or exposure it deserves.
British boxers have a huge advantage though in that it's a small country, allowing for competitive training and easy availability in terms of sparring with top quality opposition.
In Mexico, with the country being so big, it's particularly hard in certain states for fighters to really get those quality rounds of sparring under their belts. It's expensive too, considering the average pay is much less.
I met up with David Haye's sister and brother-in-law while they were on vacation out here. They couldn't believe the quality of the gyms out here compared to the UK. They say the gyms here are like a throwback to the 70s in terms of equipment and accessibility. 
UK boxing is on a massive high at the moment, and IMO it has the potential to get even better.
 
 
 

IMO Thurman is the most gifted Welterweight in the world.
His recent fights have only been close because he has a habit of easing off for the last few rounds. He's incredibly intelligent, in and out of the ring, and that helps.
He has the same thought process in the ring as Floyd Mayweather. He knows that if he doesn't knock his opponent out, then just make sure he wins seven of the 12 rounds. That's all you need. Seven rounds.
In most of his recent fights, he has won 7/8 of the first 10 then just coasts the last two. I don't think he will do that again though as his last two fights were scored much closer than they should have been.
Brook andThurman are the strongest welters out there. It's all in the legs. Both are really stong. Brook has a better one-two, but what edges it for me is Thurman's movement. It's superb.
Welter has some great fighters though. They're going through a golden generation in that weight class with so many decent names out there.
Pacquiao, Khan, Brook, Thurman, Porter, Garcia, Berto, Errol Spence, Timothy Bradley, Lamont Peterson, Adrien Broner, Devon Alexander, Lucas Matthysse... Loads of prospects coming through too like Erickson Lubin.

Eddie Hearn has done wonders for British boxing. How many world champions? His shows are by far the best too. Much better than Boxnation, BT Sport and that joke of a show ITV put on.
He's brilliant at promoting and selling fights. 
It's hard for him to strike the right balance between fights which the fans want to see and making sure he has his fighters' best interests at heart. 
The Brook/GGG fight wasn't the best of calls. But fans still wanted to see it, and no other British fighter seemed to want to get in the ring with him. He did well to get GGG over to England.
He will naturally get some wrong. But he's often in a no-win situation with some fans. They curse the fact some fighters never fight the best out there, then when they do it's criticised for safety reasons.
 
 

It's a tough one.
Bellew is trying to play the innocent, caring card in his interviews but he's just as bad. He blasted Haye for his comments during the Liverpool presser, but it was actually Bellew who blurted out the 'F' word twice before Haye went on his rant.
Bellew is trying to take the moral high ground, but let's not forget he is only in this fight with Haye because he acted like a clown and called him out (seemingly out of nowehere) after winning his world title.
He talked himself into the fight by acting like a punk, and now he's trying to come across as the nice guy. It's all too false for my liking and it will be interesting to see how he handles the fight. He's a massive underdog.
I will go for Haye within six rounds. Bellew's defence isn't great, and against a weaker opponent in Adonis Stevenson he got outclassed and was found wanting.
The big fight I'm looking forward to though is Thurman vs Garcia. The Welterweight division IMO is the best out there with a bunch of recognisable faces. So many excellent fighters at that level.
Hope Thurman smashes him and fights the winner of Brook/Spence.

It's a tough one.
Bellew is trying to play the innocent, caring card in his interviews but he's just as bad. He blasted Haye for his comments during the Liverpool presser, but it was actually Bellew who blurted out the 'F' word twice before Haye went on his rant.
Bellew is trying to take the moral high ground, but let's not forget he is only in this fight with Haye because he acted like a clown and called him out (seemingly out of nowehere) after winning his world title.
He talked himself into the fight by acting like a punk, and now he's trying to come across as the nice guy. It's all too false for my liking and it will be interesting to see how he handles the fight. He's a massive underdog.
I will go for Haye within six rounds. Bellew's defence isn't great, and against a weaker opponent in Adonis Stevenson he got outclassed and was found wanting.
The big fight I'm looking forward to though is Thurman vs Garcia. The Welterweight division IMO is the best out there with a bunch of recognisable faces. So many excellent fighters at that level.
Hope Thurman smashes him and fights the winner of Brook/Spence.

Boxing really is at a great level in the UK right now.
A few fights that simply have to happen
Joshua vs Haye (assuming both remain unbeaten)
Selby vs Frampton (Should happen regardless of whether Frampton beats LSC in the rematch)
Degale vs Groves II (assuming Groves wins his world title fight and Degale beats Badou Jack. Another unification)
Khan vs Brook (surely Brook has now proven himself. GGG and Shawn Porter are up there with anyone Khan has ever fought so he can no longer use that excuse)
Crolla vs Flanagan (Crolla deserves another title shot. Why not against a fellow Brit?)
Billy Joe vs Eubank (Eubank needs to stop talking trash and prove himself)
Khalid Yafai vs Lee Haskins (Probably pushing it but if Yafai decides to move up, why not take on another world title holder at Bantamweight in Haskins? Would like to see Yafai vs Roman Gonzalez first though!)

The gripe I had was the judges, and so-called pundits at Sky, had Brook winning the flight.
I thought Brook edged the second round, but there is no possible way that Brook came out on top in both the first and third rounds after being rocked by numerous power punches.
Golovkin's style is to walk forward, absorb punches and give it back tenfold.
I heard few say he looked sluggish due to a lack of head movement. Have these people ever seen Golovkin fight? The guy's style is to walk forward and ride punches with a high guard.
Too many expecting him to be a 175 power puncher and Floyd Mayweather's defensive movement mixed into one. The guy is human, not some super fighting robot.
Carl Froch came out and said on that performance he'd beat Golovkin. Why even say that? He'd never even make 172 nowadays let alone the 168 super middle weight.
Golovkin is a 160 king. I can't see him moving up beyond 168. 
Froch also used to complain about making the 168 weight. I never saw him brave enough to move up to 175, instead he shouts out how he'd beat fighters weighing 160. What an idiot...

The gripe I had was the judges, and so-called pundits at Sky, had Brook winning the flight.
I thought Brook edged the second round, but there is no possible way that Brook came out on top in both the first and third rounds after being rocked by numerous power punches.
Golovkin's style is to walk forward, absorb punches and give it back tenfold.
I heard few say he looked sluggish due to a lack of head movement. Have these people ever seen Golovkin fight? The guy's style is to walk forward and ride punches with a high guard.
Too many expecting him to be a 175 power puncher and Floyd Mayweather's defensive movement mixed into one. The guy is human, not some super fighting robot.
Carl Froch came out and said on that performance he'd beat Golovkin. Why even say that? He'd never even make 172 nowadays let alone the 168 super middle weight.
Golovkin is a 160 king. I can't see him moving up beyond 168. 
Froch also used to complain about making the 168 weight. I never saw him brave enough to move up to 175, instead he shouts out how he'd beat fighters weighing 160. What an idiot...

The gripe I had was the judges, and so-called pundits at Sky, had Brook winning the flight.
I thought Brook edged the second round, but there is no possible way that Brook came out on top in both the first and third rounds after being rocked by numerous power punches.
Golovkin's style is to walk forward, absorb punches and give it back tenfold.
I heard few say he looked sluggish due to a lack of head movement. Have these people ever seen Golovkin fight? The guy's style is to walk forward and ride punches with a high guard.
Too many expecting him to be a 175 power puncher and Floyd Mayweather's defensive movement mixed into one. The guy is human, not some super fighting robot.
Carl Froch came out and said on that performance he'd beat Golovkin. Why even say that? He'd never even make 172 nowadays let alone the 168 super middle weight.
Golovkin is a 160 king. I can't see him moving up beyond 168. 
Froch also used to complain about making the 168 weight. I never saw him brave enough to move up to 175, instead he shouts out how he'd beat fighters weighing 160. What an idiot...

Scored more in these three games that we will probably manage in 20 under Nigel Pearson.
I miss Simon Dawkins. Such a quality player in possession. Makes 6m Bradley Johnson look like a pub player in comparison. 

WOW. Golovkin Vs Brook.
First fight that's pricked my ears in a long time.
how do you feel about that @Bris Vegas

I think he must take some of the blame. I can understand why he wants to hold on to the IBF, and thus has to face his mandatory challengers or potentially lose the belt. His injury set him back a year.
But he doesn't want to take any risks. He wants big fights in the UK, and so far is unwilling to go to America again and face the big names. He only wants belt holders, which limits his options.
There are so many belts in boxing these days that a decent resume is far more impressive than holding on to your belt for so long. Brook surely must understand this.
So many good names out there such as Maidana, Alexander, Broner, Thurman, Garcia, Porter, Bradley, Errol Spence, Matthysse, Guerrero, Lamont Peterson, Khan... Fighting them and beating them, regardless of the belts, would give him a far better legacy than just holding onto his belt for 10 years fighting mandatory challengers.
Thurman will seek every big fight out there. That's why he IMO is number one.

Breazeale showed great heart, but he barely threw a meaningful punch all night. He just acted like a punching bag. Not knocking him or AJ's decision to fight him, but I'm not sure how AJ can learn from this.
I want to see his defence really tested. He has amazingly quick hand speed for his size, but I want to see how quickly he can move his feet and hips under pressure.
I'd like to see him take on someone like Wach or Pulev. Can't see Chisora being a good fight, he'd just treat it like the Tyson Fury fight and be another sitting duck taking shots.
I know everyone wants to see him in with Wilder, Fury and Haye, but after those three there is nothing else out there. Need to let those fights bubble for a bit.

Breazeale showed great heart, but he barely threw a meaningful punch all night. He just acted like a punching bag. Not knocking him or AJ's decision to fight him, but I'm not sure how AJ can learn from this.
I want to see his defence really tested. He has amazingly quick hand speed for his size, but I want to see how quickly he can move his feet and hips under pressure.
I'd like to see him take on someone like Wach or Pulev. Can't see Chisora being a good fight, he'd just treat it like the Tyson Fury fight and be another sitting duck taking shots.
I know everyone wants to see him in with Wilder, Fury and Haye, but after those three there is nothing else out there. Need to let those fights bubble for a bit.

British boxing is going through a golden generation. I think the belt situation is a bit of a joke though.
I mean, as there are four belts per weight class, it's becoming increasingly easier to win world titles. You could lose in one route such as WBC, then just go on the IBF trail. Lose that then go to WBC.
It's allowed our promoters to pretty much cherry pick fights and allow the likes of DeGale, Joshua, Burns, Billy Joe Saunders, Liam Smith and Lee Selby to win world titles without ever having to fight the best in their division.
I give props to Fury, Crolla and Brook (beating Porter) for actually winning titles against elite opponents. 
People like Billy Joe Saunders talks like he's the top dog when he's not even in the top five in his division. I don't mind the guy, but he really needs to save the talk for when he's beaten a Canelo/GGG/TCotto/Jacobs/Lara.
If BJS and Eubank JR fight again, I'd back Eubank now. Seems to have come on loads.
 

I'll defend David Haye here. What else could he have done? D Whyte is still injured. His opponent was the only undefeated heavyweight in the world that had more than 25 wins on his record bar Deontay Wilder.
I'm sure Haye would fight Fury, AJ and Wilder now but none would fight him. He needs to build back his reputation after such a long tiem out, and he needs testers to see if he can through a camp without getting injured.
The hasn't frauded anyone because his fights are free to watch. He knows the game, he knows he can't demand PPV just yet and needs to build back up. It's all business really.
And regardless of whether Shannon Briggs is a bum or not, people want to see it. I want to see it, it will be intriguing but I know David Haye will pick up an easy win (round four I'm predicting when Briggs is gassed).
Mayweather and McGregor looks like it will happen and will make millions. It's an absolute mis-match, Mayweather will hammer him. But people want to see it all the same.
 

I'll defend David Haye here. What else could he have done? D Whyte is still injured. His opponent was the only undefeated heavyweight in the world that had more than 25 wins on his record bar Deontay Wilder.
I'm sure Haye would fight Fury, AJ and Wilder now but none would fight him. He needs to build back his reputation after such a long tiem out, and he needs testers to see if he can through a camp without getting injured.
The hasn't frauded anyone because his fights are free to watch. He knows the game, he knows he can't demand PPV just yet and needs to build back up. It's all business really.
And regardless of whether Shannon Briggs is a bum or not, people want to see it. I want to see it, it will be intriguing but I know David Haye will pick up an easy win (round four I'm predicting when Briggs is gassed).
Mayweather and McGregor looks like it will happen and will make millions. It's an absolute mis-match, Mayweather will hammer him. But people want to see it all the same.
 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:
Great western.
9/10.

You thought so? I had Khan winning the first four rounds, and he was boxing brilliantly considering he had no power to hurt Canelo so was forever on the move. His footwork was brilliant at the start.
The you noticed in round five Canelo was finding his range, and Khan was slowing down.
I thought at that moment Canelo would pin him on the ropes and hurt him in the seventh or eighth, causing a stoppage. Didn't see that one punch coming, it was devastating.
Khan, and boxing, needs to look at this and take a think about safety. The difference in power between the two was just ridiculous and luckily it seems Khan is OK, could have been far worse.
They shouldn't allow fighters to jump up two weights like that. It's OK jumping from Batamweight to Feather or even Light, but from Welter to a 170lb middleweight is insane.

The thing is, the punches from the likes of Canelo and Danny Garcia would knock down almost all boxers within their respective weight classes. I honestly thought Khan was improving loads defensively, but he just left himself wide open. If that wasn't Canelo, it would have been a Thurman or Brook who equally throw hard straight rights.
I think Khan is one of the most technically gifted fighters in terms of speed and movement, but he is far too vulnerable to those big punches and he gets caught far too often.
It makes fights brilliant by the way. You just know one punch can end it. 
But there is clearly a natural flaw in his game and it's not his chin. Those punches would drop anyone, so nobody can say that it's his chin which is causing him problems.
Before he got dropped because he was countered after throwing too many punches at one time. Now he gets dropped for simply staying in the pocket that slight split-second too long.
Without changing his style, I'm stumped as to how he can avoid those punches. Maybe it's simply down to concentration, but Canelo has never hit anybody in his career like that.