General Boxing Thread

[GBJ]

Just like Whyte has given a wide berth to Luis Ortiz and Michael Hunter because he knows they beat him. He underestimated Povetkin as he thought he had lost his touch. Many probably thought that in the 4th but in the 5th he showed his elite level skill and determination. That wasn’t a lucky punch, he’d been teeing that up from the get go and sprung it on him. Duck down and body shot to the left! You look at his eyes he knew exactly what he was doing. Dillian went down to block the body and he delivered one of the best uppercuts I’ve ever seen. That’s not fluke that was world class! I also and @GBJ might disagree think that Pulev is a potential risky fight for AJ.

Pulev is rugged, but he doesn’t carry power. He doesn’t throw one-punch KO’s, so it’s hard for me to see how he beats AJ.... we know he won’t win on points.

When Wlad stopped him (his only loss, I think?) it was through his tactics. Pulev isn’t a great thinker or tactician. He doesn’t really change things up when he’s in there, he mainly sticks to that Eastern-European stiff, upright style... flat footed & little head movement. All Wlad had to do, was keep him on the end of the jab, wear him down & finish him.

As long as AJ sticks to a Wlad-style gameplan, he probably stops Pulev late on

 

[Ricey]

Pulev is rugged, but he doesn’t carry power. He doesn’t throw one-punch KO’s, so it’s hard for me to see how he beats AJ.... we know he won’t win on points.

When Wlad stopped him (his only loss, I think?) it was through his tactics. Pulev isn’t a great thinker or tactician. He doesn’t really change things up when he’s in there, he mainly sticks to that Eastern-European stiff, upright style... flat footed & little head movement. All Wlad had to do, was keep him on the end of the jab, wear him down & finish him.

As long as AJ sticks to a Wlad-style gameplan, he probably stops Pulev late on

We thought the same about Ruiz though.

 

[GBJ]

We thought the same about Ruiz though.

I get your point, but Ruiz battered AJ with his speed, not necessarily the power. It was the sheer volume of punches which had AJ rocking.

Obviously the sheer size of Joshua didn’t help him either. He was desperately trying to nick a breather and find that second wind, but Ruiz didn’t let him rest.

In the end, it was the perfect storm for Ruiz. Lightning can strike twice, but the chances of it happening for Pulev are slim as he doesn’t have the speed or movement of Ruiz

 

[Ricey]

I get your point, but Ruiz battered AJ with his speed, not necessarily the power. It was the sheer volume of punches which had AJ rocking.

Obviously the sheer size of Joshua didn’t help him either. He was desperately trying to nick a breather and find that second wind, but Ruiz didn’t let him rest.

In the end, it was the perfect storm for Ruiz. Lightning can strike twice, but the chances of it happening for Pulev are slim as he doesn’t have the speed or movement of Ruiz

My concern is nothing on Pulev’s ability. It’s the time off and the one eye on the mega fight. Let’s be honest that’s what happened with the Ruiz fight, he didn’t take it seriously and was too busy thinking about his fights after. There was something else going on too which I wonder if we will ever know what it was but something wasn’t quite right with him.

Looking like both fights are going to be in December with AJ v Pulev at the o2 and then Fury v Wilder 3 in Vegas the week after.

 

[Ricey]

Anyone seen the **** Tony ‘you won’t see me after I quit boxing’ Bellew has been peddling? He’s been given a fake position at the WBC and now talking about setting up a new weight division the super cruiserweight with a limit of 220.

Reckons the title fight should be Wilder v Usyk. Hearn‘s obviously sending him on a mission to get Usyk and Wilder out of AJ’s way because they both beat him.

 

[GBJ]

Anyone seen the **** Tony ‘you won’t see me after I quit boxing’ Bellew has been peddling? He’s been given a fake position at the WBC and now talking about setting up a new weight division the super cruiserweight with a limit of 220.

Reckons the title fight should be Wilder v Usyk. Hearn‘s obviously sending him on a mission to get Usyk and Wilder out of AJ’s way because they both beat him.

Bellew must be bored. It sounds awful anyway.

You wanna know what doesn’t sound awful though? Loma vs Lopez for all the marbles at lightweight.

It’s still mad to think that Loma breezed onto the pro scene, started snatching up titles whenever he fancied it, and even had the audacity to destroy genuine elite level fighters like Rigo, Axeman Walters, Linares & Pedraza.

There will never be another Loma.

 

[Ricey]

Bellew must be bored. It sounds awful anyway.

You wanna know what doesn’t sound awful though? Loma vs Lopez for all the marbles at lightweight.

It’s still mad to think that Loma breezed onto the pro scene, started snatching up titles whenever he fancied it, and even had the audacity to destroy genuine elite level fighters like Rigo, Axeman Walters, Linares & Pedraza.

There will never be another Loma.

Not just destroy he made Rigo the two time Olympic champion quit as with Walters!

It’s the best fight of the year and I cannot wait. It’s a win win for me because I love both fighters and happy whoever wins.

 

[Ricey]

2020 can’t get any worse... hold my beer.

Talk of Mayweather vs 0-1 Youtuber Logan Paul!

 

[Ricky Otto]

I know there are some big usyk fans here and he should win pretty easily but I'm hoping Del boy brings war and wins. Chisora has to be my favourite boxer since Prince naseem

 

[Ricey]

I know there are some big usyk fans here and he should win pretty easily but I'm hoping Del boy brings war and wins. Chisora has to be my favourite boxer since Prince naseem

I like Chizzy and have always been a fan but he will not win this fight.

 

[Ricky Otto]

I like Chizzy and have always been a fan but he will not win this fight.

Yeah the betting reflects that and I am under on illusions. Stranger things have happened though and I will be wanting Del to win. No different to supporting Southend, you wake up Saturday morning with hope and watch the game thinking maybe just maybe, but realistically you know we'll lose.

 

[Ricey]

Yeah the betting reflects that and I am under on illusions. Stranger things have happened though and I will be wanting Del to win. No different to supporting Southend, you wake up Saturday morning with hope and watch the game thinking maybe just maybe, but realistically you know we'll lose.

It’s a win win for me as I’m a massive fan of both. Although I’d much rather Usyk win and watch AJ avoid him like the plaque.

 

[Ricky Otto]

It’s a win win for me as I’m a massive fan of both. Although I’d much rather Usyk win and watch AJ avoid him like the plaque.

Do you not think there are any questions over Usyk long term (not this fight). Extra weight affecting his style? Taking heavyweight shots? I think I've seen 2 Usyk fights so I'm a bit in the dark as to his true abilities and whether they can be transferred to heavyweight.

 

[GBJ]

Chisora can’t walk Usyk down, nor can he keep him at bay with a jab. So Del boy’s only realistic chance of winning, is to catch him with a shot.

Trouble is, Usyk has a great defence and is very slippery, so for Chisora to get within range, and find that perfect angle, it will be tough.

I’m still unconvinced about Usyk as a HW tbh. Cruiserweights very rarely make great heavyweights... obvious exceptions aside.

It’s an intriguing fight, and will hopefully show us how good Usyk can be. I’m hoping it’s not a roll over job, and that he actually gets tested by Chisora’s power.

 

[Ricky Otto]

Chisora can’t walk Usyk down, nor can he keep him at bay with a jab. So Del boy’s only realistic chance of winning, is to catch him with a shot.

Trouble is, Usyk has a great defence and is very slippery, so for Chisora to get within range, and find that perfect angle, it will be tough.

I’m still unconvinced about Usyk as a HW tbh. Cruiserweights very rarely make great heavyweights... obvious exceptions aside.

It’s an intriguing fight, and will hopefully show us how good Usyk can be. I’m hoping it’s not a roll over job, and that he actually gets tested by Chisora’s power.

Walking him down is all Del Boy has isn't it? You don't think there is any chance that carrying extra weight will affect Usyk's mobility and his usual ability to be slippery? (I know I'm clutching at straws ).
I know it's not comparing eggs with eggs but I remember when I was going hard at the gym and put on over a stone and then tried to play football I just felt so heavy and the weight was just unnatural for my frame, I was a shadow of the player I was before and to be fair I wasn't great before haha.

 

[GBJ]

Walking him down is all Del Boy has isn't it? You don't think there is any chance that carrying extra weight will affect Usyk's mobility and his usual ability to be slippery? (I know I'm clutching at straws ).
I know it's not comparing eggs with eggs but I remember when I was going hard at the gym and put on over a stone and then tried to play football I just felt so heavy and the weight was just unnatural for my frame, I was a shadow of the player I was before and to be fair I wasn't great before haha.

Well, theres a difference between walking someone down, and simply walking forward. Wlad was excellent at walking people down, because he had the tools to do so, i.e. great tank, good reach, tight guard, good footwork & a stiff jab.

I look at Chisora, and I don’t see any of that. All I see is a plodder tbh. His footwork & movement isn’t much cop these days, and he’s not got the tank to go for 12+ rounds with a high work rate.

So that’s why I say he won’t be walking Usyk down.

I’d expect him to come forward looking for Usyk, but then he’ll either be kept on the end of a jab, or forced onto the back foot once Usyk starts switching the angles and landing cleanly.

I’m not overly concerned about the weight increase for Usyk in this fight (although it’ll be interesting to see how much he’s put on), but you’re absolutely right that it will have an effect at some point... likely when he faces a genuine contender.

If he fought Fury for example, Fury has a great knack of leaning all over his opponents & rag-dolling them at every opportunity, which saps their energy. With the extra weight, Usyk may very well go into deep waters that he’s never experienced before. It will definitely be a factor.

As for this weekend, I’m more interested to see if he can take a HW punch. Chisora’s not the biggest puncher (and can be very sloppy at times, especially with those overhand rights) but I hope he can catch him clean once or twice, so we can see exactly what’s what.

My prediction is an Usyk points win, but if Chisora tires quickly - which I am expecting tbf - then Usyk could very well win via stoppage, with an unanswered flurry of shots

 

[Ricey]

Well, theres a difference between walking someone down, and simply walking forward. Wlad was excellent at walking people down, because he had the tools to do so, i.e. great tank, good reach, tight guard, good footwork & a stiff jab.

I look at Chisora, and I don’t see any of that. All I see is a plodder tbh. His footwork & movement isn’t much cop these days, and he’s not got the tank to go for 12+ rounds with a high work rate.

So that’s why I say he won’t be walking Usyk down.

I’d expect him to come forward looking for Usyk, but then he’ll either be kept on the end of a jab, or forced onto the back foot once Usyk starts switching the angles and landing cleanly.

I’m not overly concerned about the weight increase for Usyk in this fight (although it’ll be interesting to see how much he’s put on), but you’re absolutely right that it will have an effect at some point... likely when he faces a genuine contender.

If he fought Fury for example, Fury has a great knack of leaning all over his opponents & rag-dolling them at every opportunity, which saps their energy. With the extra weight, Usyk may very well go into deep waters that he’s never experienced before. It will definitely be a factor.

As for this weekend, I’m more interested to see if he can take a HW punch. Chisora’s not the biggest puncher (and can be very sloppy at times, especially with those overhand rights) but I hope he can catch him clean once or twice, so we can see exactly what’s what.

My prediction is an Usyk points win, but if Chisora tires quickly - which I am expecting tbf - then Usyk could very well win via stoppage, with an unanswered flurry of shots

This weekend? The fight isn’t until 31st of October.

 

[GBJ]

This weekend? The fight isn’t until 31st of October.

Is it? Well ****, I thought it was this weekend for some reason ??‍

 

[Ricey]

I really don’t think weight will be an issue for Usyk, he weighed in at 242 for the Witherspoon fight which is only 1lb less than what Chizzy weighed in against Szpilka.

Against the best in the Cruiserweight Bredis and Gassiev he won on points. He only KOs the bums and bang average fighters. Similar to Fury (Wilder win aside, that was something special). Their fighting styles are very similar it’s all about movement and defence. Not always the most attractive but it gets results!

Usyk is the biggest threat to anyone in the heavyweight division apart from Fury. If he strings together a number of high profile wins Chizzy, Parker, Povetkin, Wilder then he will stake a claim to be one of the best in the division.

He will never fight AJ as they know he doesn’t stand a hope in hell against Usyk, which is why as soon as he as the WBO call in that mandatory you watch AJ drop that belt super quick!

But that could fall well in our favour as heavyweight boxing fans. The WBSS are talking about doing a heavyweight tournament without AJ and Fury. With hopefully a belt on offer and the mandatory slot to fight the winner of AJ v Fury.

If that was the case who would your 8 picks be for the tournament.

For me it would have to be:

Usyk
Povetkin
Hunter
Dubois
Pulev
Wilder
Parker
Whyte

 

[GBJ]

I really don’t think weight will be an issue for Usyk, he weighed in at 242 for the Witherspoon fight which is only 1lb less than what Chizzy weighed in against Szpilka.

Against the best in the Cruiserweight Bredis and Gassiev he won on points. He only KOs the bums and bang average fighters. Similar to Fury (Wilder win aside, that was something special). Their fighting styles are very similar it’s all about movement and defence. Not always the most attractive but it gets results!

Usyk is the biggest threat to anyone in the heavyweight division apart from Fury. If he strings together a number of high profile wins Chizzy, Parker, Povetkin, Wilder then he will stake a claim to be one of the best in the division.

He will never fight AJ as they know he doesn’t stand a hope in hell against Usyk, which is why as soon as he as the WBO call in that mandatory you watch AJ drop that belt super quick!

But that could fall well in our favour as heavyweight boxing fans. The WBSS are talking about doing a heavyweight tournament without AJ and Fury. With hopefully a belt on offer and the mandatory slot to fight the winner of AJ v Fury.

If that was the case who would your 8 picks be for the tournament.

For me it would have to be:

Usyk
Povetkin
Hunter
Dubois
Pulev
Wilder
Parker
Whyte

I like the idea - in fact I love the idea - but the chances of getting those names into the tournament.... I’m not so sure.

Most of them command decent money, so unless Kalle wants to lay off the coke for a month, and use that to fund their wages, it seems unlikely they’d go in for it.

We’d likely end up with a very watered down version including Carlos Takam, Kownacki, Hughie Fury & Helenius... if you’re lucky.