mozo

17 minutes ago, TomF said:

He's done it to so many fighters.  Remember Hatton broke free and then finally got the world level fights he deserved. Same a bit with Joe Calz too. 

Definitely with those two, and Khan too I seem to recall?

But Dubois I'm okay with so far. Gorman was a test and there are a few obvious domestic and overseas learning fights still to be had.

In this age of fast-tracking I think a 22 year old heavyweight should be eased in. Plus, why rush to top level when the top fighters are so dangerous? If he times it right, he'll be ready to inherit their crowns just as father time starts to catch up in them.

11 hours ago, Stortz said:

The only explanatiion is that Frank Warren is some sort of money laundering cypher for Albanian gangsters.

I don't understand how he makes any money now, excluding Tyson.

To be fair, he found a good opponent for Adams and that deserves a rematch. The mighty mullet vs the Irishman was a well-matched, if scrappy, contest, and whilst the headline fight was a pushover, Ol' Fish Eyes has been teeing up the belts for Dubois very nicely. Add to that the organ music...

Dubois has now picked up the English, British, Commonwealth and WBO International whilst being given plenty of starter fights to ease him in. Gorman was a genuine test and you'd expect a few more of those now. 

Warren has driven me mad with his over-protective match-making with past fighters, but with Fury, Dubois and Yarde he's done a good job.

By the way, I think Sam Noakes looked technically sound in the under card, and I'll keep an eye on him.

Defo recommend catching it on YouTube. Really good fight.

Just watching it on YouTube now. Nice KD in R1. Body/head combo

34 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

What happened?! Some result for Pac man. What does this mean for the rumoured Khan fight?

I didn't see it but I'm schocked by the result. At 40 he shouldn't be able to beat a 30 year old champ at the top of his game. Big respect to Mani! If he now beats Khan and one other name he's really put the icing on thr legacy cake.

25 minutes ago, Stortz said:

You'd think Joshua using his natural attributes would be far too strong for him, but i just don't understand what went so wrong on Saturday- and I don't know whether it can all be turned around in 5 months. The AJ who beat Klitschko would eat Ruiz Jnr for breakfast but it's a long way back from Saturday imo.

I would back Whyte, I reckon he would foul Ruiz Jnr to bits haha. He has a nastier streak than AJ and is a better counter and body puncher too.

There's plenty of body to aim for for Whyte! 

Hmmm...5 months for AJ to regain his mojo... as I said, the reach and power are already there. Just use the buggers this time! But if it's a serious headspace problem, and not just an offnight, then who knows how he'll get on.

Re AJ, warning signs were there against Parker and Takam. He didn't really rise to those challenges as we expected. I sometimes wonder if instinctive violence is his comfort zone and he's best off not trying to think his way through fights. That's not to say he isn't smart because clearly he is relatively intelligent and articulate, but some fighters aren't great at the duality of battle mode and chess player mode, like Fury or Lennox arguably can/could. Maybe he's better keeping it simple; use your reach, hammer the jab, and bash em with the big right when it feel right.

Sorry, brainspew over...

40 minutes ago, Stortz said:

Don't get me wrong, I really hope that AJ can turn it around and we can look back on the loss as a wake up call and a new start for him- the same as Rahman was for Lewis- but history is certainly against him.

It was apparently Floyd Patterson's revenge v Ingemar Johansson back in June 1960.

Funnily enough, I'm not an AJ disciple, and if anything more enamoured with Fury, especially now that he's cleaned his act up.

But being as objective as I can, I think an on song Joshua beats an up for it Ruiz jr.

Do you think Ruiz Jr beat Whyte?

1 hour ago, Stortz said:

He did put Ruiz Jnr down, but he got straight back up and beat AJ up for the rest of the fight. Joshua simply can't fight inside, making Ruiz Jnr kryptonite to him.

With regard to his jab, Joshua didn't have one on Saturday.

I read the other day that only 3 deposed world champions have ever won immediate rematches in the history of boxing (Sugar Ray Robinson v Gene Fulmer, Lewis v Rahman and another I can't remember!). I'm really not convinced AJ can buck the trend after the manner of his defeat.

That's really interesting. I agree re his inside fighting, and he must improve on that front (although leopards rarely change their spots eg imagine how much better Khan's career been had he learned how to slip and stifle defensively a la Floyd?!).

Let's continue this conversation if/when the rematch comes along. There will be a lot of debate about that one.

53 minutes ago, Stortz said:

I see what you're saying, but if he loses again he's totally finished- and he's going to go into a rematch with exactly the same problems as it stands.

Who knows what murky politicking could take place. You'd think Ruiz Jnr would get his arse sued off if he dumped the rematch though, I imagine Matchroom employ excellent lawyers.

On your 1st point, let's not foget that AJ, for all his pointless pawing in rounds one and two, did land a big punch and put Ruiz down in the third. Had it not been for a split second of carelessness, he conceivably would have gone on to get the stoppage. Fine margins.

So AJ knows that next time he has to stay switched on and to hammer his jab with intensity. He just needs to remind himself of fundamentals to dispose of Ruiz jr. 

I think he wins a rematch without too much drama. Beyond that though,  I totally agree that he is missing some things in his skillset and would really benefit from mentorship from Lennox Lewis (who I reckon would be up for that).

39 minutes ago, Stortz said:

I would be advising AJ to turn that down, go away for 12 months, rebuild and come back rather than going straight into a rematch in the states. Can only see him losing again 5 months down the line in the States.

The trouble is now Al Haymon has all the belts and is calling the shots. Hearn is shitting himself. I'm not convinced he's thinking of what's right for Joshua.

I'm intrigued by Barry Hearn's comments (BBC): "The only doubt I would say is that boxing is a strange business and you never know what happens in terms of we have an agreement in place, but sometimes we have to make sure that agreement is honoured."

So what are Haymon's options? Could Ruiz be paid off to vacate and therefore ipen up the division?

Is there any other way that Ruiz does not fulfil his contractual obligation?

I'm a bit upset that London resident Joe Bryan hasn't made the effort to attend. He should be in the away end!

Unbeaten all season so far

This was always gonna be a tough game

Flint backpass leads to goal!

Can anyone describe the goal please?

Okay, it was worth it for the finish. 

It's descending into a pub fight

commentators way too complimentary of their man Whyte. He's shown zero finesse. Both fighters seemed to be heavily fatigued early on. Not a classic so far but a close fight with Whyte most likely now

Parker has boxed nicely, but he seems tired

Home crowd + early cut gave Selby a real uphill struggle but it must be said, he evidently abandoned his game plan because there was no real sense to his approach therein. I actually had it close but Selby will be kicking himself for not implementing some stick and move.

2 minutes ago, Midred said:

Disappointed with Joe tonight, he appears to be believing his own hype and seemed to be bollocking alot of people when he couldn't be arsed to run after the ball. Whilst not every ball was to his toe he seemed to be expecting it.

Tin hat on!

Was just about to go a bit further and suggest we haven't had Joey looking magic since the United game. 

Bobby was Premiership class

I think Wednesday need to rethink the tactic of not closing down defenders. It allows the opposition time on the ball at the back and stops them being able to keep any momentum going. Clearly something that they coach as they didn't adapt until last 20. They also rarely managed to pass around our high press. LJ had done his homework.

2 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said:

I wasn't at the game but does anyone who was there agree there was no effort? That sounds at odds with the consensus and certainly doesn't sound like the team this season.

I'm not sure you can get an away point in the Championship without effort.

Very good away performance. Nullified very good players with hard graft and discipline. Didn't quite have the killer instinct to score.

Why did Djuric get high praise on radio but criticised by fans? Paterson wouldn't shut up about how good he was playing.