I've got the same affliction, but fortunately I resisted this one. I guess I'm glad I did. Sounded like a fairly uninspiring fight. And at least now we're spared (at least I assume we are) the spectacle of Holyfield getting his head removed from his body by Wladimir Klitschko. I wouldn't give Ibragimov much chance against Klitschko either. But it could at least be an interesting fight for a while. Ibragimov is a tricky boxer who makes up in guts what he lacks in punching power. I think he could give Klitschko some trouble. But I'd expect Klitschko to solve the puzzle by the seventh or eighth round and either end the fight with a knockout, or go on to win a definitive decision.
It was a very uneventful fight.
If Pacquiao does move up to 135, I think he's going to have a lot of trouble. Pacquiao is a dynamic fighter, but he doesn't have the type of style that lends itself to moving up effectively in weight.
You're right that D.Diaz is the easiest credible fight for Pacquiao at 135, so it's no accident that that's what Arum is talking about. But in a way, I can't blame him. I think it's smart to take an "easy" fight to see how well Pac's power translates to 135. He's proven to be a destructive force at 130. I personally think he'll be pretty much the same at 135. And if so, I think Pacquiao dismantles Juan Diaz.
You can't throw with full power when you are being backed up and boxing inside. Manny's not skilled enough to put together clean, technical combinations that are more effective in those situations. Unless Manny keeps Juan at a distance with footwork and jab. I just don't see it. I also don't see his power translating to 135 against naturally bigger guys.
But that's the thing.... 130 is MUCH more talented than 135 is right now. If 130 was mediocre, and 135 had a bunch of star fighters, I would be absolutely ecstatic that a fighter of Pacquiao's caliber would be moving up to challenge guys in a new weight class.
I was only able to watch the first two rounds of the Mora fight. At that point, Ayala was clearly winning. More aggressive, higher punch volume, cleaner shots landing. So right there I don't see how a 99-91 (9 rounds to 1) score is possible.
It's too bad that the business side of the sport prevents different promoters from working together on a regular basis.
I don't know the plans for televising the Mayweather-Hatton fight in Great Britain, but I have to assume that this is basically counterprogramming by Warren. I doubt that Warren would have wanted to work with GBP even if given the opportunity.
I believe the Hatton fight is being shown live in the UK on Sky PPV. Time-wise, these fights wouldn't be going head-to-head, since I assume the Khan fight would be on in primetime in the UK, whereas the Hatton fight would start about 4 am UK time, 11pm EDT.
The only thing I've read about it is that Jeff Lacy will make his return on the Hatton-Mayweather undercard, most likely against Peter Manfredo. That's a pretty good undercard bout, if it comes together. We get to see if Lacy (who recently signed with Golden Boy) has anything left -- or if Manfredo has anything at all. They've both been beaten in one-sided fights bu Joe Calzaghe, but I really don't count Manfredo's loss for much, as it was one of the most premature stoppages I've ever seen.
Wow, I didn't realize this. Didn't Hamed go to prison for almost the exact same thing?
That should be an awesome event. If you're bringing a camera, make sure to post some pics here. Have you heard anything about how many tickets they've sold so far? Last I read it was just over 30K...Not that I care of course as I'm going to be in Millenium Stadium on that night anyway!
Hamed was slightly different, in that he was showing off his new $500,000 car to a friend, overtook another car at 90mph on a blind rise (I drive on the road regularly as it's only 5 miles from my house, and you slow down on the rise not overtake) and hit an on-coming car head on, breaking nearly every bone in the driver of the other car's body. He got 15 months for Dangerous Driving and also, more seriously, leaving the scene of the accident as he was only a mile from his home and he ran there. He was out, on licence and tagged, after only 16 weeks though, which has led to a massive out-cry in Britain.
He did a great job with Lennox Lewis, too. Basically, he knows how to take a tall heavyweight and sell him on "fighting tall." When you watch a lot of the tall heavies, it's amazing how many of them give up their height (including the pre-Manny Wlad K.), probably because they're only looking for big knockouts. Steward gets them to buy into the program of using a long jab to set up a right hand and tying up opponents to keep them from getting inside.
Exactly. If you're a heavyweight and you're 6'5" or 6'6", then Steward is your guy. He's really perfected that style, that's completely built on the jab and straight right, and then clinching and holding whenever the opponent comes in close. I'd say Steward is definitely the premier heavyweight trainer.
Ya, I agree totally with this. Jones was a very very good announcer. I was pissed to see him go, although I can understand why he's probably not the easiest guy to have as an employee. It didn't help his case that he'd pull the "You've never fought, therefore you have no clue what you're talking about" card whenever Merchant disagreed with him.
Actually, I think Cintron's going to ice him. Williams' only defense is his offense and while his nonstop punching can be very hard to deal with, he doesn't throw with a lot of power. I see Cintron losing the first several rounds on points, but finally connecting with Williams' chin and putting his lights out. Floyd would never fight Williams anyway, but I don't think he'll have to.
This is why I really want Williams to win. If Williams beats Cintron, there's no way Floyd would ever fight him, he'd never fight someone who had that outrageous of a height/reach advantage.
It's a shame it won't break the record, but it should still be an awesome spectacle. Just hope the fight lives up to it's billing!
I think that in a fight like this, whatever happens, it will be exciting. These two guys aren't a pair of passive counterpunchers. However long it lasts, it should be an action fight betwen two highly skilled boxer-punchers. Kind of a 168-pound version of Marquez-Vasquez. Even if it ends in a first round knockout, well, who would expect that? That would be an amazing event in itself.Just a quote to answer BGriff's query about the crowd size for Calzaghe-Kessler on Saturday Night...
It's a shame it won't break the record, but it should still be an awesome spectacle. Just hope the fight lives up to it's billing!
Do you know how someone in the UK without a ticket (or a TV) will watch this fight?Just a quote to answer BGriff's query about the crowd size for Calzaghe-Kessler on Saturday Night...
It's a shame it won't break the record, but it should still be an awesome spectacle. Just hope the fight lives up to it's billing!
Dave Metzler mentioned that HBO is on its way to having the biggest PPV year ever. It's going to surpass anything pro wrestling or UFC has ever done.
That's mainly due to DLH-Mayweather, of course. Cotto-Judah reportedly did about 225,000. Pac-MAB 2 did about 350,000, I think. The big surprise to me was Hopkins-Wright pulling in 305,000. But anyway, without the Big Fight, this would probably be about an average year for HBO. Maybe even down a bit because it seems like (without my going back to count), they've been doing fewer PPV shows this year.
I belive it's being shown at the Sports Cafe in Haymarket but I'd call them to make sure you'll get the full commentary etc and it's not just on the screens. I was planning to go there last Monday night for Game 5 of the World Series. Didn't work out...fortunately.
No way I'm going there. I watched part of Game 3 there and it was one of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had in a bar, culminating in me getting thrown out by a bouncer who likely didn't understand my accent. I wasn't going to stay much longer anyway.
