The Official Boxing Thread!!! - Part 4

[Silver Spider]

I can't really argue with that. I don't think Harrison would really even want that fight. Isn't he busy rebuilding his career right now?

Kell is still going to get knocked out though.

 

[Docker2.0]

I think it's a fine fight. Brook is the real deal at 147, and he's a weight-drainer just like most modern fighters. It's conceivable that he would opt to move up to 160 sometime in the next few years anyway, so why not now? It appears that Canelo, Saunders, Jacobs, and Eubank ultimately said no thank you to a date with GGG even though they all did a bit of yapping. Like Canelo-Khan, this will be fun to watch.

I think it's going to be a good fight as well but GGG still deserves to be bashed because he's doing exactly what Canelo just did by fighting a guy 2 classes beneath him. To be honest though neither has really been tested so it will be interested.

 

[Docker2.0]

GGG is weak AF. I'm sorry, I don't buy that Eubanks didn't want to fight him. This seems to be the narrative that GGG's team always says. People are afraid to fight him but it's not true. They have always said the only fighter that they would go down to fight is Mayweather, even though Lara said he'd go up and fight GGG at 160. Now you go below the unanimous #1 154 lb champion in Lara to fight Brook who isn't proven at all. You just bashed Canelo for not fighting you, you wouldn't meet Ward halfway..........sorry but GGG is weak AF!

 

[STARMAN]

I forgot Kovalev is fighting tonight on HBO vs Isaac Chilemba.

 

[Silver Spider]

I forgot the fight already happened and it's just a replay tonight. I already spoiled the outcome for myself.

 

[Docker2.0]

The outcome was shocking to you?

 

[Silver Spider]

Obviously Kovalev was going to win, but I honestly didn't think it would go the distance. Chilemba is a tough "29 year old," but I just thought Sergey's power would get to him. I still think Kovalev is the hardest P4P puncher in boxing though.

 

[Assassin32]

Well, he did drop him pretty viciously in the middle of the fight. Chilemba was crafty, though. I was surprised that Kovalev got touched as often as he did; the challenger scored more eye-catching shots than Hopkins was able to. The upcoming showdown with Ward should be fascinating.

 

[P Supreme]

Ward is going to outclass him something awful it will be boring hopefully the judges don't sell themselves cause HBO wants Ward out the picture
he has been calling out GGG for a while now

 

[Doc Samson]

Well, he did drop him pretty viciously in the middle of the fight. Chilemba was crafty, though. I was surprised that Kovalev got touched as often as he did; the challenger scored more eye-catching shots than Hopkins was able to. The upcoming showdown with Ward should be fascinating.

Just one of the reasons I think he'll ultimately lose to Ward. Make no mistake, Andre gets hit too, but I believe he'll try to keep the distance close to neutralize Kovalev's power. You have to be extremely crafty for that sort of tactic, and Andre certainly is.

Ward is going to outclass him something awful it will be boring hopefully the judges don't sell themselves cause HBO wants Ward out the picture
he has been calling out GGG for a while now

I would hope there's no foolery, I anticipate the fight going the distance. But I agree, Ward IMO is just a higher class of fighter than he's been in the ring with thus far...

 

[Docker2.0]

I agree. A good boxer beats a monster puncher 9/10 times. I really don't think Kovalev has been tested as much as people think. I think there are 3 boxers in that division: Ward, Kovalev and Bieterbiev. Stevenson doesn't even count as this point. I actually think Beiterbiev gives Ward a tougher fight than Kovalev does.

 

[JimThompson]

The poll seems to be closed (or at least that's what my system is telling me), which is a shame. I would have voted other, and mentioned a fighter I do not think gets nearly the credit he deserves -- Jack Johnson. While I marvel at fighters like Ali, I think Johnson was likely the best there ever was.

 

[Assassin32]

Terence Crawford vs. Mikey Garcia at the end of next year, please.

 

[Docker2.0]

Won't happen. Garcia just left Top Rank to.....plus Arum is dead set on his guys fighting each other to keep the money in house......and their stable is thin enough as it is.

 

[Assassin32]

I expect Arum to die soon.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

So uh, Ward looked rather horrible against someone he should have KO'ed.

 

[Docker2.0]

I agree. It was a shut out but I kept thinking that if this was Kovalev, he would have been KO'd. Maybe it was the guy's awkward style that gave him problems but it's the worst I've ever seen him.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This was the worst promotion for a fight, maybe ever. Neither guy looked PPV worthy in their last fights.

 

[Assassin32]

I think Ward looked fine. He dominated his opponent, winning every round. That's what he does. The Chad Dawson knockout a few years ago was an aberration. Right before Ward entered what most fans would call his prime, he carried Edison "The Human Punching Bag" Miranda for twelve unnecessary rounds. The counters looked crisp and the ring generalship/space control flashed bright Saturday night. We're good to go for November. Ward and Kovalev have effectively sharpened their wares. Pound-for-pound god emerges from this upcoming showdown.

 

[Docker2.0]

It would be fine if it was a regular boxer but this is Andre Ward, the disputed #1 P4P guy. He did not look like himself in that fight and I'm a Ward fan. He looked sloppy and was getting hit way more than he usually does. Maybe he was looking past Brand to get to Kovalev but whatever it was, he was not himself.

 

[Assassin32]

Again, that's Andre Ward. You say he looked "off," but in the same breath you admit he won every round. His talent is such that he homogenizes his opponents, not unlike a Floyd Mayweather. Ward has beaten boxers as different as Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, and Edwin Rodriguez. All those men are drastically different opponents. Different backgrounds, all from different parts of the world. They took different paths toward careers in professional boxing. They had/have different skills, different skill levels; some were great fighters, some were not so great. But, when they stepped in the ring against Ward, they all looked exactly the same. And Ward looked the same in defeating them. That is, he dominated, winning virtually round.

You know, the same thing that happened against Alexander Brand on Saturday.

 

[Doc Samson]

It would be fine if it was a regular boxer but this is Andre Ward, the disputed #1 P4P guy. He did not look like himself in that fight and I'm a Ward fan. He looked sloppy and was getting hit way more than he usually does. Maybe he was looking past Brand to get to Kovalev but whatever it was, he was not himself.

Well, while I agree it might not have been his best performance, I thought it was good to get the rounds in. I've been saying for awhile that I do believe he gets hit more than some think, and I believe Kovalev will be able to find him. Could it be a short night due to that? Maybe, maybe not.

People assume he's a Mayweather type in terms of defense because his face isn't all torn up and he's undefeated. He's good in that respect, but he can be hit. He's been on his can before. He'll take it to a borderline dirty area if necessary. He's willing to engage and take fire more than Floyd ever would. So it should make for a very interesting and tense fight...but in the end I think Ward will smother and neutralize Kovalev like he does to everybody.

 

[Iron_Stark]

That was in incredibly boring fight. Ward should've dispatched him in a few rounds. I couldn't even watch the later rounds, I fell asleep.

I still give the slight edge to Kovalev based on his time as a light heavy and his punching power. But I think it's closer fight now.

I don't know if it's PPV worthy though. And Roc Nation absolutly sucks at promoting fights. Anyone see the promotion for Ward/Brand? Sucked. Anyone see that last press conference for Ward/Brand? Laughable. It really was, arguably the best boxer on this planet and he's at his hometown in a press conference with nobody in attendance and people walking by not caring.

 

[Fallen Angel]

I think both Ward and Kovalev had one eye on their fight. So that's why both looked poor in their recent bouts.

 

[Docker2.0]

That was in incredibly boring fight. Ward should've dispatched him in a few rounds. I couldn't even watch the later rounds, I fell asleep.

I still give the slight edge to Kovalev based on his time as a light heavy and his punching power. But I think it's closer fight now.

I don't know if it's PPV worthy though. And Roc Nation absolutly sucks at promoting fights. Anyone see the promotion for Ward/Brand? Sucked. Anyone see that last press conference for Ward/Brand? Laughable. It really was, arguably the best boxer on this planet and he's at his hometown in a press conference with nobody in attendance and people walking by not caring.

Roc Nation is poor at promoting fights, I will admit that. Him fighting on BET was a bad idea. However, it goes without question that this is a PPV fight. I already have that date marked on my calender! I don't think it will do Cotto/Canelo numbers but I can see it doing 200,000 or so.