Boxing Thread

[Cod Eye]

I know Ruiz has just asked for the 3rd fight, but would anyone actually want to see it? The first fight was a bit of a fluke(that's probably not the right term, but I'm having a bit of a blank here), and the second was, as RotM said above, as clear a win as you can ge without a KO. For me, they need to move AJ onto someone else...

[ReturnOfTheMack]

Yeah, oddly a KO would have made me more interested in a third. This, nah, not fussed.

[Egg Shen]

As a fight it was disappointing, there were decent spots and Ruiz looked dangerous anytime AJ got within clinching range but that was a fairly one sided boxing lesson. Ruiz coming so heavy let the air out of the balloon for me yesterday when he weighed in, he keeps a steady pace for 12 rounds but it had to have affected his output and energy levels, admitting he trained himself post-fight says it all. I dont think theres any chance of a 3rd fight anytime soon.

On the strength of the performance i still put AJ behind Fury and Wilder in the pecking order as it stands as far who the best is. Hopefully we get 1 of them fights in 2020.

Povetkin/Hunter was a good 'un before it though, that was a scrap. I thought Hunter nicked it but id love to see a rematch there.

Dillian White made real hard work the Wach fight, coming in heavy was the issue, I still feel White will come unstuck before landing a big fight too.

[wandshogun09]

I thought it was a decent fight but obviously not as exciting and dramatic as the first one. You had a feeling that AJ probably needed to fight like that though. Fuck trying to be exciting, just get that W and the belts back. And it’s not like it was a bad fight. Far from it. Ruiz definitely fucked up coming in so heavy though. Even in the last round when he had to know he was clearly behind, he didn’t even really try until the last 20 seconds. If he’d got his conditioning down he’d have likely had the energy for those big bursts at crucial times and then who knows? Some chin on him though. Some of the shots he ate looked fucking horrible. Proper snapped his head back a few times with all that neck fat wobbling about. 

At this point, it’s hard to imagine AJ surviving against Wilder. I’ve no doubt he could outbox him for significant spells but so did Ortiz and look how that turned out. Twice. So did Fury and look what happened in the 12th. Even as good and clear a win as this was last night, Joshua still had those couple of dicey rounds where he had to cling on. You just know Wilder would’ve closed the show in those situations. 

That aside, Hunter vs Povetkin stole the show. Really enjoyed that. What a fight. Definitely felt like Hunter had it when the final bell rang though but it was back and forth. Surely we get a rematch down the line. 

Whyte vs Wach wasn’t much good but at least Whyte got the win. Hopefully he can rebuild now after all that UKAD controversy. Like Egg says though, you can’t help thinking he’s going to get derailed before he bags that big fight he’s been after. I like him but I just don’t buy him on that level and can see him losing one before he gets there. It’d be nice to see him at least get that payday against one of the top boys though. But it looks like they’re all going to be tied up for the foreseeable future - Wilder with Fury and maybe Joshua with Usyk? That’s going to leave Whyte to either sit out again or take a risky fight. Just seems like he’s destined to not get there. 

 

[jimufctna24]

I think Joshua has a decent chance against Wilder. I think he has the skills to stop Wilder before getting caught himself. It gets forgotten that while Joshua has been hurt several times in his career, so has Wilder. Ortiz came very close to stopping Wilder in their first bout, and Breazeale had him briefly stunned as well. 

It would probably be a case of who lands big first. 

12 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

But it looks like they’re all going to be tied up for the foreseeable future - Wilder with Fury and maybe Joshua with Usyk? That’s going to leave Whyte to either sit out again or take a risky fight. Just seems like he’s destined to not get there. 

Usyk may fight Parker for the WBO belt. Joshua has until June 4th to defend against Usyk or be stripped. The IBF also have Pulev lined up as mandatory challenger. Although, Hearn thinks that an agreement can be reached with the governing bodies that would allow Joshua to keep all his belts.

Personally, as a Usyk fanboy, I would rather Usyk have another fight at heavyweight before fighting AJ. Joshua can stay busy with Pulev and maybe Whyte in the meantime. 

Edited December 8, 2019 by jimufctna24

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I’d rather Usyk fight someone else first as well. Parker would be alright. What happened to the talk of Usyk vs Chisora as well? Wasn’t that supposedly in the works? 

As for AJ vs Wilder, I could definitely see Joshua catching him. But I think the most likely outcome is Wilder waffling him. Either way, it’d be such an exciting and chaotic fight however long it lasted. Mightn’t matter if Fury schools Deontay Dosser anyway though. 

[jimufctna24]

12 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

What happened to the talk of Usyk vs Chisora as well? Wasn’t that supposedly in the works? 

Aye, it was on the table, and still might be as far as I know. 

However, Higgins went to the WBO conference in Japan a few days ago to make a case for Parker vs Usyk. 

[Stylin_and_Profilin]

Very surreal watching that last night at a decent time of night. Even the under card was pretty stacked and, generally, decent standard all the way through in terms of entertainment.

Not surprised with Joshua's tactics, pretty obvious it would be effective from the outset so was just a case of him staying disciplined. Ruiz reminded me a little bit of Douglas' next fight after the massive upset against Tyson. Had their five minutes of fame so to speak; all the media attention in the world (which neither was probably accustomed to) topped off with money they had never before dreamed off and, no doubt, a good few heavy sessions on the booze and whatever else thrown into the mix resulting in them turning up totally out of shape for the next fight and getting a bit of a pasting.

Hope if this is the start of the way down again for Ruiz that he saves his money wisely and has decent people around him as he seemed a genuinely decent bloke.

And on a totally random note i just came across this. It's five or six years old now and i've no idea of the context but it's Lennox Lewis (looking quite well refreshed 🍾🍸) giving a young Wilder lessons on how to throw a jab properly all whilst in a hotel car park in the middle of the night 🤔🤨

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPJMn7izjOM

 

Edited December 8, 2019 by Stylin_and_Profilin

[David]

15 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

At this point, it’s hard to imagine AJ surviving against Wilder. I’ve no doubt he could outbox him for significant spells but so did Ortiz and look how that turned out. Twice. So did Fury and look what happened in the 12th. Even as good and clear a win as this was last night, Joshua still had those couple of dicey rounds where he had to cling on. You just know Wilder would’ve closed the show in those situations. 

Yeah, there were a few brief moments where Ruiz looked to land a flurry and you saw Joshua with that look in his eye as he grabbed on for dear life. The Sky commentators were talking as if it was Rocky fighting Clubber Lang for the 2nd time after being trained by Apollo Creed. "Wow, he looks fantastic! He looks more like Apollo Creed! Look at the Champ's face!"

Settle down. He managed to use his considerable reach and speed to evade a fat guy who was fatter than usual. A guy, lest we forget, that he should have beaten first time around. Ruiz is a handy enough fighter, but he's not world champion material. He earned $7 million from that first fight, and a reported $9 million for the second bout, before endorsements and suchlike. His priority nowadays isn't boxing or training, it's spending money and being famous.

Was it a good performance from Joshua? It was okay, but anyone who saw that and who thinks that he could suddenly emulate what Fury did against Wilder is tucking into the vodka and Kool Aid a bit too much. 

Joshua is a decent enough boxer. He's good at most aspects of the game, but he's not great at anything. He has decent boxing skills, decent footwork, decent power, and a decent chin. Basically, he's Frank Bruno 2.0. It's just unfortunate that he's existing in an era when there's probably two of the best heavyweights in recent times knocking about.

Could he clip and hurt Wilder? Potentially, but Wilder, when hurt, starts throwing back at volume, and Joshua, when he commits, tends to leave himself open. You do that with Wilder and you're gonna get caught eventually.

As for Fury? Well, there's a reason why Hearn very rarely entertains that fight as a possibility, despite the fact it would be huge business in the UK. And the reason is that Fury, even in one of his "I'm gonna fuck about and not be arsed" performances would still absolutely school Joshua. Styles make fights, and Fury is all wrong for AJ in every way possible. He's tall, he's rangy, he's unpredictable, he's one of the best pure boxers the division has seen in decades, he moves incredibly well for a man his size, and he's proven that he has a chin. 

For AJ to win that fight he'd need to drop Fury multiple times and succeed where more accurate, harder hitters have failed. He has the power to trouble Fury, but it takes a lot to even come close to putting him away, and Fury has shown that he can box his way out of trouble. It wouldn't happen in my opinion.

That's why Fast Eddie is doing his job, and keeping his man away from that fight as long as he can. It's the bout that no one really wants. Even Wilder was reportedly holding on and hoping for a Ruiz win before he eventually signs for that rematch. And even now, I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to go in another direction.

No one wants to face Fury. He can make anyone look incredibly stupid, and no one needs that kind of man in their life.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

@David As you rightly say Fury is one of the best pure boxers that the heavyweight division has seen in decades. Potentially though so is Usyk. If the 2 of them were to face each other do you think that Usyk is big enough as a heavyweight to be able to dance with Fury, and how would you see that fight going?

[Keith Houchen]

9 hours ago, David said:

The Sky commentators were talking as if it was Rocky fighting Clubber Lang for the 2nd time after being trained by Apollo Creed. "Wow, he looks fantastic! He looks more like Apollo Creed! Look at the Champ's face!"

I watched it on an American stream and at one point they were laughing at the Sky team. They said how every time there was a clinch they all got to their feet shouting advice to Joshua and asked where there journalistic integrity was. 

[SuperBacon]

Same as you @Keith Houchen I watched the DAZN stream (DA ZONE, lol) and was far more impressed with them than I have been with most UK comms teams, and I discovered the lovely Claudia Trejos. They all seemed appreciative of what Joshua was doing without going too far.

As a fairly casual fan who’s favourite fights are the Gatti-Ward trilogy, and prefers seeing boxers just leather each most of the time, I was really impressed with Joshua.

More with his discipline more than anything. I’m sure the other heavyweights would beat him, but sure he’d give a good account of himself.

[Keith Houchen]

Yep, that’s who I must’ve watched, excellent coverage. 

[Egg Shen]

Agree with everyone knocking the Sky team, they were borderline unbearable. Bellew especially. 

Like David mentioned, they were acting like Joshua was outboxing an absolute monster in the division, when in reality he fought cautiously against a guy he should be beating comfortably if he is the best heavyweight on the planet. They laid it on abit thick for me.

Chris Eubank's US debut was a bit of a mare, Korobov retired half way through round 2 because he popped his shoulder. Shame for Eubank given how inactive he's been.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Egg Shen

[David]

10 hours ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

@David As you rightly say Fury is one of the best pure boxers that the heavyweight division has seen in decades. Potentially though so is Usyk. If the 2 of them were to face each other do you think that Usyk is big enough as a heavyweight to be able to dance with Fury, and how would you see that fight going?

Not a chance in my opinion. He's too small to deal with heavyweights of that size I think.

A great big man always beats a great smaller man.

3 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Agree with everyone knocking the Sky team, they were borderline unbearable. Bellew especially. 

Like David mentioned, they were acting like Joshua was outboxing an absolute monster in the division, when in reality he fought cautiously against a guy he should be beating comfortably if he is the best heavyweight on the planet. They laid it on abit thick for me.

Chris Eubank's US debut was a bit of a mare, Korobov retired half way through round 2 because he popped his shoulder. Shame for Eubank given how inactive he's been.

Yeah, I'm not being critical of Joshua for fighting that way, he got the job done, got Ruiz out of the way, and can now get back to bigger things hopefully. It was the commentators who did my head in.