Boxing Thread

[Day]

Not a huge boxing fan, too much hugging so please forgive my potential ignorance here……but AJ did not look like a boxer that should be entertaining the idea of stepping in the ring with Tyson Fury on that performance tonight.

Can’t see it ever happening anyway, not with how Tyson likes to negotiate his fights.

[Anag Ram]

6 hours ago, David said:

Not a huge boxing fan, too much hugging so please forgive my potential ignorance here……but AJ did not look like a boxer that should be entertaining the idea of stepping in the ring with Tyson Fury on that performance tonight.

Can’t see it ever happening anyway, not with how Tyson likes to negotiate his fights.

Agree.

However, it won’t be long before boxers get paid millions just for pushing each other and saying ‘yeah?!’  at press conferences.

Only social media goons will actually fight each other.

[Alph]

9 hours ago, David said:

Not a huge boxing fan, too much hugging so please forgive my potential ignorance here……but AJ did not look like a boxer that should be entertaining the idea of stepping in the ring with Tyson Fury on that performance tonight.

Can’t see it ever happening anyway, not with how Tyson likes to negotiate his fights.

Not really a statement performance was it? 

AJ has been gun shy for a while now and it's done him no favours. 

He would have been a threat for Tyson a few years back when he was a good counter puncher, nice solid jab and threw measured bombs. Based on the recent fights he'll go into his shell once Tyson starts tagging him from bizarre angles, stance switching etc. 

How we haven't had AJ v Wilder, Fury v AJ, Whyte v Wilder, Usyk v Fury in the last 6 or so years is a disgrace. That's why people get fed up of the sport. Should be made to fight. 

[Alph]

Oof, the amount of AJ haters out in force. Wtf is wrong with the internet? 

It wasn't a performance to get scare Fury and Co but he still strolled it and had Franklin wobbled a few times. People acting like he had a hard night. Never in danger. Just didn't step it up enough

[De22Ram]

Like you say AJ is gun shy, ever since ruiz! The casuals are used to AJ banging people out and thats what they want to see, pay to see! Thats where the hate comes from imo!

I havent watched the fight yet but i can predict what im going to see! I like AJ, would love to see him fight wilder, but it depends which AJ! 
 

Franklin is a decent boxer, listening to the interviews he wasnt even a full time pro until last year! Good fight against dillian and hes been training proper, trimmed down, was never going to be easy for the "new" AJ style! Old AJ maybe! 
 

End of the day AJs got the rounds under his belt after time out! New trainer and gym so first fight with them! Hopefully he will progress but with AJ he was a banger, listening to his interviews he over thinks it and im not sure he has it mentally! 
 

Ffs AJ just keep your hands up, work behind your jab and unload when you get the chance! Dont worry about whats coming back or gassing out!

[De22Ram]

And PS - he should be gun shy from ruiz! Hes a clever bloke and you can see what hes trying to do! Problem is a banger has to commit and will leave themselves vulnerable to a good counter puncher or lucky punch! He thinks way too much! End of day when hes in there and is worried about whats coming back, when thats not his style, hes potentially done! That ruiz punch could have been a career ender! I hope it aint, i hope AJ finds either his old style (doubtful) or a new style that uses his strengths and works for him!

[Jubbs]

Also don't forget, the last 3 fights have all been with different trainers. Showed potential for some good stuff yesterday, the jab connected brilliantly sometimes and the body shots hurt Franklin. There was always going to be teething problems but I think there's definitely potential under Derrick James.

[Comrade 86]

Had a severe case of CBA with the Joshua-Franklin fight but having watched it, I thought AJ did ok. Franklin is a tricky type of fighter without possessing of the class of the top boys, but was made to look very ordinary. Not the signature performance some wanted, but a decent night's work all the same. AJ back in the hunt for the bigger fights now, so that job done, really. 

[BaaLocks]

AJ hasn't really bullied someone out of the ring since he's been at the top. Dillian maybe, but that was before Whyte was fully regarded and even then he got rocked. Klitschko should have had him out of there in the sixth. Parker he was shy, Takam was tough but the stoppage was questionable. I can't name too many performances where he just cleared the other bloke out without going back to the likes of Molina, Sprott, Martin and none of those (even though Martin held the belt) were the sort of fighters that legacies are built on. 

I did see the fight, and whether it is fear of getting clipped or running out of steam, there is something in his head that holds him back. He was good, but when it came to it not quite good enough. AJ is a chaser, now and for ever more, calling out names to get the big fights but at the beck and call of others. He'll get another title shot, maybe more than one, but he's never going back to alpha status even if he does roll over the next Charles Martin and get a belt or two - bounce when needed.

Edited April 3, 2023 by BaaLocks

[Rev]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/apr/01/eddie-hearn-conor-benn-and-the-poison-at-the-heart-of-british-boxing

[Alph]

15 hours ago, Rev said:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/apr/01/eddie-hearn-conor-benn-and-the-poison-at-the-heart-of-british-boxing

I really dislike Benn. He got a lot of love for who his Dad is but as his own man I don't see what's likable. Cheat or not he seems to have a stinking attitude and I know it's only a glimpse into his life but the way he is with his Mrs is off too imo. 

I saw him slap a microphone on Saturday, which I get that the media are nasty and intrusive, but still coming from him with his demeanor and controversy I think it supports the argument that he's a see you next Tuesday. 

As for Hearn. He's the best promoter is very straight and honest for a boxing promoter. Which is like being straight and honest for  politician or car salesman. He lost his right to the moral high ground on drugs cheats when he ripped into Canelo and then signed him. 

Benn will fight on but this will never go away. He will be taunted with it, people will always question his victories and his dreams of being a big PPV star are in ruins. 

I do hope he fights Eubank Jnr though and Jnr smashes him

Edited April 4, 2023 by Alpha

[Alph]

22 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

AJ hasn't really bullied someone out of the ring since he's been at the top. Dillian maybe, but that was before Whyte was fully regarded and even then he got rocked. Klitschko should have had him out of there in the sixth. Parker he was shy, Takam was tough but the stoppage was questionable. I can't name too many performances where he just cleared the other bloke out without going back to the likes of Molina, Sprott, Martin and none of those (even though Martin held the belt) were the sort of fighters that legacies are built on. 

I did see the fight, and whether it is fear of getting clipped or running out of steam, there is something in his head that holds him back. He was good, but when it came to it not quite good enough. AJ is a chaser, now and for ever more, calling out names to get the big fights but at the beck and call of others. He'll get another title shot, maybe more than one, but he's never going back to alpha status even if he does roll over the next Charles Martin and get a belt or two - bounce when needed.

His Povetkin win was a big one that's underrated. Povetkin was at the end of his career but still at a point where he'd flatten most the division and people avoided him. 

That loss he had in the rematch to Whyte was bizarre. Was it COVID or something, I dunno, but he looked drunk. 

AJ imo should take the Whyte fight. Then maybe get to Joyce before Fury does. Beat Joyce and then he's back on to Usyk, Fury and Wilder. 

If he fancies a steady fight then there's always Wallin. He can definitely get back in the mix. It's just whether he can find some spite. 

Right now his spite comes out after the final bell. No good showing anger and arrogance then. 6ft 6" and 17/18st... stop trying to be Canelo and get to work on hurting people. 

The messed up thing is he seems to fear a Ruiz repeat but that Ruiz fight was just one of those things that happens where Heavies get caught. It's happened to all of them. It could easily have ended in a KO win because Ruiz felt that power. 

Maybe they spent too much effort trying to protect him because he put food on so many tables 

[Comrade 86]

2 hours ago, Alpha said:

I really dislike Benn. He got a lot of love for who his Dad is but as his own man I don't see what's likable. Cheat or not he seems to have a stinking attitude and I know it's only a glimpse into his life but the way he is with his Mrs is off too imo. 

I saw him slap a microphone on Saturday, which I get that the media are nasty and intrusive, but still coming from him with his demeanor and controversy I think it supports the argument that he's a see you next Tuesday. 

As for Hearn. He's the best promoter is very straight and honest for a boxing promoter. Which is like being straight and honest for  politician or car salesman. He lost his right to the moral high ground on drugs cheats when he ripped into Canelo and then signed him. 

Benn will fight on but this will never go away. He will be taunted with it, people will always question his victories and his dreams of being a big PPV star are in ruins. 

I do hope he fights Eubank Jnr though and Jnr smashes him

Don't really know too much about Benn as a person, to be honest. His old man was a live wire though and I doubt the apple has fallen too far. That said, I think in some ways, to have the edge to not only accept stepping through the ropes, but to relish it, a proper nasty side is borderline mandatory. Best example I can think of right now would be the Eubanks. I've said before that Sr was a nasty piece of work masquerading as a gentleman, Jr is a gentleman masquerading as a nasty piece of work. My impression is that Conor is more like Nige, than Jr is like Sr, if that makes sense.

Have watched Benn's fights though and to my eye, he was on a steep upward curve, improving for each step up, rather than finding it more challenging. I've already expressed thoughts on the fight with Jr and I still hope it doesn't happen, at least until such time as the fighters' respective weights are more naturally aligned, though I suspect it may never happen now anyway.

Agree on Eddie. Slick operator, but a complete PoS too. Polished, professional and credible for the cameras, complete Bamford off them. Talks a good fight on issues like fighter welfare and not cheating fight fans, but in reality, Eddie only cares about money and himself and in private, is not afraid to show it.

Not sure I agree on the Benn drugs rep thing. I mean sure, he's gonna get some grief and there are implications for the immediate term, but win enough fights and the narrative can and will change. It's like Canelo's tainted steak, or the fatman and his wild boar stories, most folk soon forget. Have to say I never do though, so I understand your point! 

[BaaLocks]

Amir Khan - what an absolute plonker. He had one last fight, which was nothing more than a personal beef, and he went and blew his entire legacy for that. Now instead of being remembered as that Olympic hero, the guy who beat the likes of Maidana, Zab Judah, Malignaggi and Barrera he'll always be the drug cheat. Silly boy!

[BaaLocks]

3 hours ago, Alpha said:

His Povetkin win was a big one that's underrated. Povetkin was at the end of his career but still at a point where he'd flatten most the division and people avoided him. 

That loss he had in the rematch to Whyte was bizarre. Was it COVID or something, I dunno, but he looked drunk. 

AJ imo should take the Whyte fight. Then maybe get to Joyce before Fury does. Beat Joyce and then he's back on to Usyk, Fury and Wilder. 

If he fancies a steady fight then there's always Wallin. He can definitely get back in the mix. It's just whether he can find some spite. 

Right now his spite comes out after the final bell. No good showing anger and arrogance then. 6ft 6" and 17/18st... stop trying to be Canelo and get to work on hurting people. 

The messed up thing is he seems to fear a Ruiz repeat but that Ruiz fight was just one of those things that happens where Heavies get caught. It's happened to all of them. It could easily have ended in a KO win because Ruiz felt that power. 

Maybe they spent too much effort trying to protect him because he put food on so many tables 

Povetkin is an interesting one - David Price was very close / one more shot away to getting him out of there but he's a tough unit and anyone that beat him deserves props.

As for AJ, he just seems to be like the fat chap trying the next super diet to make it all work. After the first Usyk loss he is in the changing room wanting to go straight back to the gym. Before the Parker fight he's telling Steve Bunce that he's lost weight because he felt like he was fighting with two babies on his back, now he comes in for the Franklin fight at career heaviest. He just doesn't really seem to know what he is as a boxer.

I like AJ, he's an interesting listen and is obviously trying to be the best he can. But that Ruiz punch (let's not forget he went in there trying to blast Ruiz out of there because Wilder had sparked Breazele a few weeks prior and he seemed to want to make that same statement) is the one that really turned his career. I happily eat my words but I just can't see him getting back to a place where he is in control of the fights and the agenda - and, sorry, but even talking about Wallin as the next opponent is kind of exactly what I mean.

[Bris Vegas]

4 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

Amir Khan - what an absolute plonker. He had one last fight, which was nothing more than a personal beef, and he went and blew his entire legacy for that. Now instead of being remembered as that Olympic hero, the guy who beat the likes of Maidana, Zab Judah, Malignaggi and Barrera he'll always be the drug cheat. Silly boy!

I think most of them are on gear. I mean, in your 20s you are in peak physical condition with natural testosterone levels at their highest. Boxers are athletes. It’s harder to keep the weight off (fat) when in your 30s.

But putting on 10 pounds of muscle, jumping from a natural 135 to 147 or from a natural 160 to 175 when in your 30s and still looking ripped and same body fat % is impossible without gear.

Look at Usyk as a prime example of how to do it properly. He moved from Cruiserweight to Heavyweight but if you look at his body, he has put on size but it’s proportionately correct in terms of muscle and fat. He looks softer at heavyweight and less muscle defined because a bulk of the weight he has put on is fat.

Yet Manny Pacquiao and Canelo are two examples of boxers moving through the weight classes while keeping the same body fat percentage. That is clearly a red flag. That Canelo failed a drugs test and it has been swept under the carpet because he is boxing’s cash cow says a lot about the sport.

[Alph]

20 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

Povetkin is an interesting one - David Price was very close / one more shot away to getting him out of there but he's a tough unit and anyone that beat him deserves props.

As for AJ, he just seems to be like the fat chap trying the next super diet to make it all work. After the first Usyk loss he is in the changing room wanting to go straight back to the gym. Before the Parker fight he's telling Steve Bunce that he's lost weight because he felt like he was fighting with two babies on his back, now he comes in for the Franklin fight at career heaviest. He just doesn't really seem to know what he is as a boxer.

I like AJ, he's an interesting listen and is obviously trying to be the best he can. But that Ruiz punch (let's not forget he went in there trying to blast Ruiz out of there because Wilder had sparked Breazele a few weeks prior and he seemed to want to make that same statement) is the one that really turned his career. I happily eat my words but I just can't see him getting back to a place where he is in control of the fights and the agenda - and, sorry, but even talking about Wallin as the next opponent is kind of exactly what I mean.

Price can bang though. He's just only ever had 6 rounds max in him and has very little resistance. Nice bloke though! 

I agree about AJ. Just totally lost the plot but I hope he can rediscover his style and spite. 

So we're getting Usyk v Dubois and Joyce is tied up. 

So who is Fury gonna fight? 

Warren is a joke. Dubois won't win a round and Usyk stops him if he wants to. 

Yet another world title fight secured by Frank though. Another unprepared fighter sent to tick a box for Frank Warren. 

 

[Alph]

21 hours ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

Don't really know too much about Benn as a person, to be honest. His old man was a live wire though and I doubt the apple has fallen too far. That said, I think in some ways, to have the edge to not only accept stepping through the ropes, but to relish it, a proper nasty side is borderline mandatory. Best example I can think of right now would be the Eubanks. I've said before that Sr was a nasty piece of work masquerading as a gentleman, Jr is a gentleman masquerading as a nasty piece of work. My impression is that Conor is more like Nige, than Jr is like Sr, if that makes sense.

Have watched Benn's fights though and to my eye, he was on a steep upward curve, improving for each step up, rather than finding it more challenging. I've already expressed thoughts on the fight with Jr and I still hope it doesn't happen, at least until such time as the fighters' respective weights are more naturally aligned, though I suspect it may never happen now anyway.

Agree on Eddie. Slick operator, but a complete PoS too. Polished, professional and credible for the cameras, complete Bamford off them. Talks a good fight on issues like fighter welfare and not cheating fight fans, but in reality, Eddie only cares about money and himself and in private, is not afraid to show it.

Not sure I agree on the Benn drugs rep thing. I mean sure, he's gonna get some grief and there are implications for the immediate term, but win enough fights and the narrative can and will change. It's like Canelo's tainted steak, or the fatman and his wild boar stories, most folk soon forget. Have to say I never do though, so I understand your point! 

True that boxing will forget after a few wins. 

Funny innit. Football, F1, Boxing... These brand new low budget sports just keep encountering situations they aren't prepared for. 

There's 50 rules based around offside. There's strict rules on track limits. There's very clear rulings about hydration clauses. 

The important issues are always dealt with by the chuckle brothers though 

[BaaLocks]

3 hours ago, Alpha said:

Price can bang though. He's just only ever had 6 rounds max in him and has very little resistance. Nice bloke though! 

I agree about AJ. Just totally lost the plot but I hope he can rediscover his style and spite. 

So we're getting Usyk v Dubois and Joyce is tied up. 

So who is Fury gonna fight? 

Warren is a joke. Dubois won't win a round and Usyk stops him if he wants to. 

Yet another world title fight secured by Frank though. Another unprepared fighter sent to tick a box for Frank Warren. 

 

Joyce's piddle must be at boiling point, he wins the fight but Dubois gets the title shot. Boxing of today in a nutshell. Fury should take Joyce after he gets past Zhang. It would be a boring cuddlefest but Fury would tap out the jabs needed, and keep the head moving enough, to win it on points. He then gets to claim he took on the biggest danger out there, stops AJ building momentum by taking that one ahead of him and can claim a big domestic payday.

[Alph]

Amir Khan pretty much cleared of deliberately or effectively taking that Ostarine