Boxing Thread

[needles]

To be fair, I think Takam deserved the chance to fight on there. He was slipping punches at the death, even as he'd just shipped a couple that'd have killed a bullock. True he wasn't going to win, but he deserved the shot to take AJ to points.

[Bris Vegas]

Poor stoppage. Should have allowed Takam to be the first man to take AJ to points. Despite coming under pressure in the tenth, he didn't really look that much in danger.

Referees have become a lot more safety concsious in the past few years. We've had a number of stand-up stoppages which haven't made much sense. 

As a fan, you'd rather see a defeated opponent be put down. Rarely happens these days.

[Alph]

I don't think it would have gone to points. I think it would have ended on that round.

But it should have been allowed to go on. He was staggering but Joshua still struggled to land clean so Takam was doing enough. He was in the center of the ring.

Probably not the finest Joshua performance but before all the haters cover social media they should remember this was still a pretty good performance. I gave 1 round to Takam and 1 draw. 

For Joshua... an off day.

Dillian White... never does more than 3 punches in a combo. Admires his own work. Not elite level 

Highlight was Katie Taylor. 

 

[Bris Vegas]

3 hours ago, Alpha said:

I don't think it would have gone to points. I think it would have ended on that round.

But it should have been allowed to go on. He was staggering but Joshua still struggled to land clean so Takam was doing enough. He was in the center of the ring.

Probably not the finest Joshua performance but before all the haters cover social media they should remember this was still a pretty good performance. I gave 1 round to Takam and 1 draw. 

For Joshua... an off day.

Dillian White... never does more than 3 punches in a combo. Admires his own work. Not elite level 

Highlight was Katie Taylor. 

 

I only gave one round to Takam too. The gulf in class between the two was evident. I really don't see anyone on a similar level to AJ. It's hard to gauge how good he really is with the heavyweight scene in such dire straights.

Agree about Whyte. I reckon he's just a slightly better version than Chisora, who if I'm not mistaken never even won the European title. 

He's game, but he's nowhere near elite level. Then again, who is? Lucas Browne, Pulev, Stivern and Wach are all as average as they come. They can take it, but haven't got the levels to give it.

Parker to me is a poor champion. Martin was an awful champion.

Joshua vs Wilder simply has to happen. But is Wilder really any good? Again, it's hard to judge when the best he's ever fought was Stivern who really is about as average as they come.

Khalid Yafai has opened some doors. There doesn't seem to be much at Super flyweight other than unifying all the belts, though that could be hard with the other champions being based in Asia.

But a move up to Bantamweight could see some decent domestic fights with Lee Haskins, Jamie McDonnell and Ryan Burnett. 

 

[GboroRam]

15 hours ago, Bris Vegas said:

Referees have become a lot more safety concsious in the past few years. We've had a number of stand-up stoppages which haven't made much sense. 

As a fan, you'd rather see a defeated opponent be put down. Rarely happens these days.

Unfortunately that does sound like we should be allowed to watch people potentially doing serious damage to each other in the name of entertaining the public.

[Bris Vegas]

14 minutes ago, GboroRam said:

Unfortunately that does sound like we should be allowed to watch people potentially doing serious damage to each other in the name of entertaining the public.

I think it all depends on the situation. If it’s the 3rd round and the gulf in class is there and there is no fightback at all, it needs to be stopped.

But recently with McGregor and Takam, they’ve been stopped in the 10th or the 11th with each opppnent still fully capable of continuing.

Now, you have to ask whether it’s in their best interest. If they are massively down on points, which both were, is there much point in carrying on if they’re taking heavy punishment and have little to no chance of winning? 

I just think fighters should be given a standing count, with the referee then saying if you don’t throw back or stem the onslaught I’ll call it off...

But referees just seem to jump in right away, and in some cases like Groves/Froch it can totally ruin a fight.

 

[Norman]

I watched it in a pub in Grantham surrounded by Forest fans who had watched the Hull game there. Full on stone island everywhere. Weird how people only watch boxing when it's Joshua. None of them knew who Takam was. 

I'm praying for a Joshua v Wilder fight next year. 

But, more importantly, who do i support in the New Year. My two favourite boxers to watch in Eubank and Groves. 

Tough choice, but the styles should be brilliant to watch.

[GboroRam]

5 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

I think it all depends on the situation. If it’s the 3rd round and the gulf in class is there and there is no fightback at all, it needs to be stopped.

But recently with McGregor and Takam, they’ve been stopped in the 10th or the 11th with each opppnent still fully capable of continuing.

Now, you have to ask whether it’s in their best interest. If they are massively down on points, which both were, is there much point in carrying on if they’re taking heavy punishment and have little to no chance of winning? 

I just think fighters should be given a standing count, with the referee then saying if you don’t throw back or stem the onslaught I’ll call it off...

But referees just seem to jump in right away, and in some cases like Groves/Froch it can totally ruin a fight.

 

I understand, but I definitely understand the erring on the side of caution.

[Alph]

4 hours ago, Norman said:

I watched it in a pub in Grantham surrounded by Forest fans who had watched the Hull game there. Full on stone island everywhere. Weird how people only watch boxing when it's Joshua. None of them knew who Takam was. 

I'm praying for a Joshua v Wilder fight next year. 

But, more importantly, who do i support in the New Year. My two favourite boxers to watch in Eubank and Groves. 

Tough choice, but the styles should be brilliant to watch.

Surely you can't want Eubank Jnr to win. I love watching him but actually want him to win a fight? I can't do it.

[Alph]

4 hours ago, Norman said:

 Weird how people only watch boxing when it's Joshua. None of them knew who Takam was. 

 

It's become like a trend. Celebs are all over him now. He's probably as iconic as Ronaldo now. 

I'm not sure why. I mean I get why the UK fight fans love him. Olympic hero and an exciting fighter. Not sure why he's attracted none fight fans. Just by being a decent bloke? 

As soon as he has a blip you watch them turn on him

[Norman]

49 minutes ago, Alpha said:

It's become like a trend. Celebs are all over him now. He's probably as iconic as Ronaldo now. 

I'm not sure why. I mean I get why the UK fight fans love him. Olympic hero and an exciting fighter. Not sure why he's attracted none fight fans. Just by being a decent bloke? 

As soon as he has a blip you watch them turn on him

Yeah, they had no interest in the undercard other than being surprised with Katie. 

They just wanted to see Takam on the floor unconcious in 2 rounds.

I like Eubank . Nothing wrong with flexing your torso and staring at the fans after a tko 

[Alph]

Frank Warren on Joshua. "Well he's not Ali is he?"

Neither is Daniel Dubois, Frank. And BJS isn't Canelo either. Because both fight in sports halls in Croydon. Less than a month ago Mick Hennesey compared Hughie Fury to Ali. 

Was Ali actually Ali at the time? Or did his name grow over decades? 

Is he entertaining? Yup. Has he won convincingly? Yup. Has he made an impact outside the ring? Yup. Not being funny but he since turning professional after winning Olympic gold he hasn't put a foot wrong. He has every chance of being a legend. Why snipe at him?

I understand the gripe. It's because Tyson Fury doesn't get much love. Maybe the much criticised Eddie Hearn is doing something right then. Maybe if BJS moved over to Matchroom and their scandalous PPV with their awful undercards and "cheerleading" then he'd be fighting in arenas like the o2 as a main event. Or does he prefer fighting in a Premier Inn over being hyped. 

All the criticism of Sky boxing is crazy when you look at the alternatives. Who exactly is putting on better shows? 

Edited October 30, 2017 by Alpha

[Alph]

Wilder v Stiverne on Saturday. If Stiverne wins then it's going to pooh on everyone's pay day. 

Not that we'll see Joshua v Wilder any time soon. 

Assuming they both come out 3 times next year. We know they won't fight in Feb. In summer I bet one of them will fight Parker. Then come the end of the year I'm sure Joshua will have a mandatory for one of his 3 titles? Povetkin is high on the WBA I think? That'd sell next November. 

See if this prediction is right. 

[G-Ram]

On that Joshua performance & the klitschko one i think AJ gets beat by a fit Fury (if he can get fit) 

Understand you can only beat whats in front of you & he’d shown heart etc. He was tested against klitschko & its what we all wanted, but it was a 41 year old klitschko who had in my opinion had only got worse with age not better. Whilst it was entertaining & a brilliant win on the night i think it raised more questions over joshua who’s been rocked by Whyte & Klitschko. 

I think Joshua will smoke Wilder because i think Wilder is rubbish. Even Whyte will probably beat Wilder but an awkward, fit fury could be an issue for Joshua  

[Alph]

I know Fury would lean right back using all his height to keep distance. He'd throw short combinations and then roll out of there. 

It's very hard to make someone fight in boxing when they don't want to. Recently we had Malik Scott making Ortiz look useless and Hughie frustrating Parker.

Tyson is bigger and better. If he wants to last 12 rounds v Joshua then he will do. 

The question comes if he tries to take Joshua out and how the judges score it if it goes to points. If he tries to take Joshua out then I think Fury will get be beaten easily. But he won't. He'll flick the jab out, roll and step forward to clinch when Joshua swings the right hook

I don't think many rate Wilder as a boxer but with that wide stance he's not easy to hurt because you have to reach to land a heavy shot. And when he starts swinging he seems to have power. 

 

[needles]

Wilder looks like he bangs, Fury is as crafty as they come, but Joshua has the athleticism and looks to have the class.

Could be a great set of fights if the stars align over the next 2 years.

[Alph]

If Wilder wins Saturday then the calls for AJ v Wilder will get louder. But it just won't happen soon. 

Why would it? Because they're the top 2? That's how fans think. Unfortunately in boxing it isn't how promoters and fighters teams think. There's no reason to fight each other until Wilder has fought here, AJ in America, one of them gets the belt off Parker, defended their mandatory challengers and then meet in a unification battle of the ages that is on every telly in US and UK

And often these fights can never happen because someone gets beaten before we make it that far. 

No way in 2018. 3 fights per year these guys tops. 

Now if David Haye wins in December we might get a huge UK fight. He will fight Joshua asap. He'd love to take Joshua 12 rounds and pocket £5m. But Haye is the perfect example of why superfights don't happen. Never fought Fury, losing to Bellew was a massive set back for his money fight. Lose to Bellew in December this year and Haye's legacy at heavyweight is a win over Valuev, an landslide defeat to Wlad and finished off by a cruiserweight. Not really what the path was meant to be like for someone like Haye. 

[Alph]

Gutted for Chisora. No big fights now! 

[Alph]

Wilder with a great performance last night. Looked like he really wanted to make a statement. 

I think he may have more power than Joshua. Great range too.

Crap defence

[Seth's left foot]

Chisora is washed up, his ‘fight of the year’ was because him and Whyte suited each other. Some of his wild swings were nearer to the ref! Hearn won’t be able to generate enough money now to make the rematch.

Wilder is dangerous but a boxer like Fury could beat him, so many flaws in his technique. Stiverne didn’t look capable of winning to me.

 I can see why Hearn wants to build up Wilder v AJ with the Whyte starter but I can’t see DW playing ball under the current offer.