Boxing Thread

[wandshogun09]

Recently got hold of a Nigel Benn career set and been working my way through it. Benn was my first favourite boxer as a kid and him and Eubank's rivalry is what hooked me.

 

Anyway he really was a beast in his early days. Of course some of his early opposition was a bit ropey as is usually the case in boxing but it's all good viewing.

 

I'm up to the Henry Wharton fight which was his next fight after the Eubank rematch at Old Trafford. Been some cracking fights I hadn't seen before. In particular I'd recommend tracking down the fights with Anthony Logan and Lou Gent. Wild non stop fights with exciting finishes.

 

EDIT - here's clips of the Logan and Gent fights

 

Benn vs Logan

 

Benn vs Gent

Edited May 11, 2011 by wandshogun09

[Halitosis Romantic]

really? i like Watt, i always think he does a great job of calling the action. I'm the other way around, im not a big fan of HBO commentary, i watched a fight a few weeks back and they were so f'n negative it made what was an exciting fight seem a bit bland. You definately get two different opinions with the alternate commentaries.

I agree, the Sky commentators are ace. I've watched a few fights on Yank streams and their guys are fucking awful.

 

I don't mind the yank announcers, kinda got used to em over the years but Larry Merchant is a chore to listen to. He takes forever to spit out what he wants to say its mind numbingly dull. Never minded the others though Jim Lampley, Emanuel Steward and I quite like Teddy Atlas on Friday Night Fights.

 

Jim Watt doesn't bother me most of the time but sometimes he seems to do nowt but criticize all the way through and keeps harping on the same points like in the Pac/Mosley fight.

 

Jim Watt has always been a whiny old bollocks.

[David]

[i agree, the Sky commentators are ace. I've watched a few fights on Yank streams and their guys are fucking awful.

I'm honestly astounded that anyone can be anything other than critical of the doom merchant that is Jim Watt.

[Egg Shen]

Recently got hold of a Nigel Benn career set and been working my way through it. Benn was my first favourite boxer as a kid and him and Eubank's rivalry is what hooked me.

 

Anyway he really was a beast in his early days. Of course some of his early opposition was a bit ropey as is usually the case in boxing but it's all good viewing.

 

I'm up to the Henry Wharton fight which was his next fight after the Eubank rematch at Old Trafford. Been some cracking fights I hadn't seen before. In particular I'd recommend tracking down the fights with Anthony Logan and Lou Gent. Wild non stop fights with exciting finishes.

 

EDIT - here's clips of the Logan and Gent fights

 

Benn vs Logan

 

Benn vs Gent

 

need to get some more Benn, ive seen all the marquee fights but not the other stuff...i'll get on it.

[Egg Shen]

really? i like Watt, i always think he does a great job of calling the action. I'm the other way around, im not a big fan of HBO commentary, i watched a fight a few weeks back and they were so f'n negative it made what was an exciting fight seem a bit bland. You definately get two different opinions with the alternate commentaries.

I agree, the Sky commentators are ace. I've watched a few fights on Yank streams and their guys are fucking awful.

 

I don't mind the yank announcers, kinda got used to em over the years but Larry Merchant is a chore to listen to. He takes forever to spit out what he wants to say its mind numbingly dull. Never minded the others though Jim Lampley, Emanuel Steward and I quite like Teddy Atlas on Friday Night Fights.

 

Jim Watt doesn't bother me most of the time but sometimes he seems to do nowt but criticize all the way through and keeps harping on the same points like in the Pac/Mosley fight.

Larry Merchant is insane. Lampley asks him a question and Merchant just starts blabbering any old shit, he makes it up as he goes along and just hopes it makes sense at the end...they need to take him off live tv, he's insane.

 

I do like him in a weird kind of way though.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah I'm sure Merchant's wrecked on most of them HBO shows. He has that glassy look in his eye like my granddad used to get before he pissed himself and fell asleep but still somehow managed to keep a vise like grip on his glass of whiskey

[Sergio Bellend]

Good news-Sky are showing Ward v Abraham and Hopkins v Pascal 2.

 

Bad news-they are both delayed on the sunday mornings at 11am. Perfect if you aren't one for stopping up till 5 or 6am for fights though.

[britishwrestlinglegends]

Any predictions for Groves v Degale? Do they legit hate each other?

[wandshogun09]

Good news-Sky are showing Ward v Abraham and Hopkins v Pascal 2.

 

Bad news-they are both delayed on the sunday mornings at 11am. Perfect if you aren't one for stopping up till 5 or 6am for fights though.

 

Good stuff, I can wait till the Sunday morning. Cheers for the heads up.

 

Any predictions for Groves v Degale? Do they legit hate each other?

 

I think DeGale schools him tbh, probably stops him around 8 or 9 I think, if not a one sided points win. I hope I'm wrong though and Groves makes a good scrap out of it.

[Egg Shen]

excellent news about Ward/Abraham and Pascal/Hopkins i wouldn't have stayed up for either so 11am is good for me.

 

I honestly think James DeGale is going to smash Groves...George Groves hasn't showed me much as a professioanl outside of having decent skills and some serious heart, which likely means he's going to get a bit of a beating. In Boxing Monthly they interviewed like 30 boxing insiders for a prediction and i think it came out 28-2 to DeGale, i think that tells you everything you need to know.

 

Quick question about that night too...i know its on Box Office, but im at a gig the same night so i cant watch it live (gutted!), i was going to just hang on till sunday and watch it by other means, but im down to play in a 5-a-side football tournament and im afraid i'll hear the results. So if i buy the box office show, can i sky+ the live show? hopefully i can watch it after the gig? if i aint too pissed. Anyone know?

[Sergio Bellend]

excellent news about Ward/Abraham and Pascal/Hopkins i wouldn't have stayed up for either so 11am is good for me.

 

I honestly think James DeGale is going to smash Groves...George Groves hasn't showed me much as a professioanl outside of having decent skills and some serious heart, which likely means he's going to get a bit of a beating. In Boxing Monthly they interviewed like 30 boxing insiders for a prediction and i think it came out 28-2 to DeGale, i think that tells you everything you need to know.

 

Quick question about that night too...i know its on Box Office, but im at a gig the same night so i cant watch it live (gutted!), i was going to just hang on till sunday and watch it by other means, but im down to play in a 5-a-side football tournament and im afraid i'll hear the results. So if i buy the box office show, can i sky+ the live show? hopefully i can watch it after the gig? if i aint too pissed. Anyone know?

 

You can sky+ the live show, as long as you brought the PPV with your remote through the telly, rather than by ringing them up.

[Egg Shen]

ahhh nice, thanks!

 

Anyone see Ringside tonight? Wlad/Haye were both on but in seperate rooms, Haye refused to be in the same room...brilliant stuff, the buildup is borderline childish but it's fun to watch, there's clearly some legit. bad blood there, can't help but feel that Wladamir is just having fun though, whilst Haye seems to be taking it to heart.

 

I can't fucking wait!

[Taylorslade]

excellent news about Ward/Abraham and Pascal/Hopkins i wouldn't have stayed up for either so 11am is good for me.

 

I honestly think James DeGale is going to smash Groves...George Groves hasn't showed me much as a professioanl outside of having decent skills and some serious heart, which likely means he's going to get a bit of a beating. In Boxing Monthly they interviewed like 30 boxing insiders for a prediction and i think it came out 28-2 to DeGale, i think that tells you everything you need to know.

 

 

I think that from the period which they turned professional right up until Degale manhandled Paul Smith, I think up to that point Groves really believed he would beat Degale. Different story now. Groves does not appear to be anywhere near as confident as he once was and I think he has been effected by the star build-up much more out of the two fighters.

 

Personally, I think Groves will build up an early lead and look to be cruising to a shut out masterclass, when Degale will start to take control around the 6/7th and stop Groves in the 9/10th. The reasons that I think this fight will play out in such a way ; Degale has a bad habit of thinking he is the Stylistic lovechild of Floyd Mayweather and Pernell Whitaker, as he boxes out of a crouch and doing the shoulder-roll etc, when he should be making best use of his usual height and reach advantages. I think this will allow Groves to put on a good display and establish a lead, when at some point in the 6th, Degale will begin to take advantage of Groves' slack defense and start scoring with the kind of offensive firepower which saw him lay waste to Paul Smith last year, stopping Groves by the 10th round.

 

A very good friend of mine who I won't name, I will just say he is himself a young prospect at light-heavy, has sparred extensivley with both Groves and Degale and told me this week that they both have about the same level of punch power, yet Degale is by far the more elusive of the two. Even though sparring is not a fight, it does however offer a fair preview.

 

I found it interesting that my friend said they are even on terms of power, as Degale has a tendancy to "cuff" his punches and does not turn his punches over fully, which tells me that Degale is likeley to develop his power as his career goes on if he stops "cuffing" or "slapping" as it is also called, it diminishes the impact of the punch somewhat.

 

Whoever wins though, I do hope the loser properly re-builds and goes on as a loss isn't the end for a fighter and can even be a positive somewhat. However, in a fight like this with such bad blood, there is a danger of the loser suffering psychologically without ever re-building. Best case scenario for me, would be for the loser to re-build and come back for a possible rematch somewhere down the line....I would love to see the loser follow the example of Nigel Benn when he lost to Michael Watson. He went away, got his head down whilst achieving some great wins and by the time the 1st Eubank fight came around he was an even better fighter. When he lost again in that 1st Eubank fight what did he do? Got his head down, had some decent wins which lead him to that win or bust fight in Italy where he captured his 2nd 'world' championship which he defended a bunch of times, had a 2nd massive fight with arch-rival Eubank which ultimatley lead him to his career-defining win against the very much feared, monster-punching Gerald Mclellan.

 

Of course, Degale and Groves may or may not be made of the same stuff that Benn was, probably not, but I hope the loser is at least given the chance to show that they can rebound from a defeat, and a high profile one at that, and not write them off which has become customary in the modern era that is seemingly obsessed with the unbeaten record.

[TildeGuy~!]

ahhh nice, thanks!

 

Anyone see Ringside tonight? Wlad/Haye were both on but in seperate rooms, Haye refused to be in the same room...brilliant stuff, the buildup is borderline childish but it's fun to watch, there's clearly some legit. bad blood there, can't help but feel that Wladamir is just having fun though, whilst Haye seems to be taking it to heart.

 

I can't fucking wait!

 

Its on at 10pm on Sky Sports 1 if anybody missed it.

[Stylin_and_Profilin]

ahhh nice, thanks!

 

Anyone see Ringside tonight? Wlad/Haye were both on but in seperate rooms, Haye refused to be in the same room...brilliant stuff, the buildup is borderline childish but it's fun to watch, there's clearly some legit. bad blood there, can't help but feel that Wladamir is just having fun though, whilst Haye seems to be taking it to heart.

 

I can't fucking wait!

 

Its on at 10pm on Sky Sports 1 if anybody missed it.

 

Well worth watching, i know i keep rattling on each week but it's one of the best sports shows on telly let alone SKY Sports. Wladimir doing impressions of Borat to wind up Haye was sensational. "I LIIIIIKE"