Boxing thread

Iamnobody

Placidcasual79 said:

Another top level performance from Lomachenko last night - anyone see it? A truly astonishing fighter.  I've only followed boxing since the mid 90's - but I think, in that time, his skill set is unique and unparalleled. There are quicker and more powerful fighters and obviously Loma is athletically gifted but in terms of pure boxing - hitting and not getting hit - I think he is the best I've seen.....

Yes - I’m not a Kambosos fan. I think he lost against Maxi Hughes and robbed Maxi of some big paydays. Not his fault I know - but he also comes across as a bit of a cock.

The Lopez win flattered him, every fight since has exposed him as being a tough competitor, but limited at the highest level. 

Loma looked to have it all his own way - despite George trying to tell a slightly different story post fight! 

Shrews

I was never a fan of Floyd Mayweather but I admired his style of hitting and not being hit in return. It was never exciting to watch, but the skills were immense.

Just watched a repeat of the Tyson v Douglas fight, possibly the greatest sporting shock in history, and was wondering about what might have happened to Tyson had the knockdown had counted Douglas out. It may well have meant a fight next time out against someone higher ranked, likely more capable, and perhaps going into the fight even less prepared mentally than the Douglas fight.

Tyson's comeback was against Henry Tillman who he ko'd in the first round. Douglas fought Holyfield and was ko'd in three. 

So, likely Tyson would have faced Holyfield? 

duotone

Placidcasual79 said:

Another top level performance from Lomachenko last night - anyone see it? A truly astonishing fighter.  I've only followed boxing since the mid 90's - but I think, in that time, his skill set is unique and unparalleled. There are quicker and more powerful fighters and obviously Loma is athletically gifted but in terms of pure boxing - hitting and not getting hit - I think he is the best I've seen.....

I watched the highlights, but will watch some longer clips when they are available on YouTube. Will post them in here when I find some.

koneguitarist

Anyone watch the Lauren Price bout last night. Did a perfect job on McCaskill. 

swiller

koneguitarist said:

Anyone watch the Lauren Price bout last night. Did a perfect job on McCaskill. 

Yes very good. I really enjoyed the one before it, ward edwards i think. Every time ive tuned in to terrestrial tv boxing in last 6 months, ive been very surprised at how good the fights are to watch.

swiller

Big one coming up on weekend.  Who have you got? i guess is the question. Its a tricky one for sure..

I have usyk decision in a close fight, perhaps SD. If usyk hadnt beat joshua twice, id be leaning towards fury for sure.  I think any joshua would be have been a better opponent than anyone else fury has faced. Fury does look in the shape of his career to be fair and needs to try and KO him i think. That said, if fury wins on points, its almost a better win, but i cant see it myself.

Really looking forward to it. Whilst we moan about fighters not taking fights, this is as good as it gets CV wise from both boxers. Even if its a boring defensive display (quite likely), its still the undisputed HW fight people have been waiting for 25 years for, its biggest gap ever. 

Shrews

I doubt Usyk is big enough to KO Fury and Fury has a good chin anyway. That should mean Fury is more positive and not too worried about getting caught.

Usyk has the worry that he has a very capable big lump in front of him and when he inevitably lands a heavy blow it could mean he's facing a count.

I think Fury is going to go in hard in the first few rounds and will KO Usyk in one of the first 4. Tenner on each! I can't see Usyk beating the count the first time Fury lands square and it will be a much easier night than expected. 

munckee

I think if judging is fair I expect usyk to win by reasonably comfortable points decision. He just seems a level above the best of the heavyweights. 

Placidcasual79

I think - recently - bigger fights are starting to happen in boxing - more so than in the past 10-20 years - is that fair? I think the raise of UFC is forcing boxing to up its game?

Placidcasual79

I agree @munckee - I expect Usyk to win. His skill set is different to any current heavyweight (possibly because he isn't a heavyweight)..... he's such a clever fighter.  I think he'll get inside and out work Fury.....

richman6100

Placidcasual79 said:

Another top level performance from Lomachenko last night - anyone see it? A truly astonishing fighter.  I've only followed boxing since the mid 90's - but I think, in that time, his skill set is unique and unparalleled. There are quicker and more powerful fighters and obviously Loma is athletically gifted but in terms of pure boxing - hitting and not getting hit - I think he is the best I've seen.....

Agreed. It was a fine performance from Loma. I don't think that the result was ever in doubt tbh - he's on another level to Kambosos Jr - but he did what Haney and Lopez couldn't and stopped the Australian. Kambosos is a good, but not elite level, fighter. He's a decent counter puncher, but predictable and has little lateral movement. His success against Lopez was as much Lopez's poor game plan than Kambosos's skill.

Lomachenko is one of the best fighters I've ever seen, period. Possibly the best. I'm a big fan. 

Undoubtedly the greatest amateur of all time, his pro career is misleading in may ways. It started relatively late and his losses are questionable. The Salido fight was a joke for all of the well documented reasons, so I won't revisit it. His loss to Lopez was acceptable. I actually scored it a draw - remarkable, given that Loma did little for the first 5 or 6 rounds - but I can understand and accept why the result went against him. Given his shoulder injury, he shouldn't have been so confident / blasé about the fight. He should have followed his father's advice and postponed it until after his surgery. I've watched the Haney fight multiple times now and I've not once given it to the American. 

Then there's the fact that Loma has spent a fair bit of his professional career fighting above his natural body weight. Haney was huge compared to him when they met, for example. The best fights were in higher divisions, so Loma just moved up and continued to be successful.

Loma is the complete boxer. Equally good at evading punches as landing them. His footwork is the best I've ever seen. His defensive body movement is equal to that of Pernell Whitaker and Dmitry Pirog and his offence is better than both of them.

His father (his trainer) is a genius in my opinion. Vasiliy is truly gifted, but he still owes an awful lot to his dad's groundbreaking approach to training.

Like all fighters, Loma cannot beat Father Time. Realistically, at 36, he's got to be at the tail end of his illustrious career. It's great to see him win another belt, but I can't help but feel that many opponents have been waiting for age to catch up with him before they'll step in the ring with him. Gevonta, Shakur et al would never have come close to beating a prime Loma in my opinion. They'll certainly have a better chance now. I hope he doesn't stay fighting too long, chasing a unified Lightweight title that should have been his, but for the Russian invasion of his country and the dodgy scoring of the Haney fight. That said, I will be genuinely sad when he retires. There hasn't really been another fighter like him and it will be boxing's loss when he eventually hangs up his gloves.

Shrews

munckee said:

I think if judging is fair I expect usyk to win by reasonably comfortable points decision. He just seems a level above the best of the heavyweights. 

Not so sure about that.

His first 16 fights were at Cruiserweight. At Heavyweight he then fought

- Chezz Witherspoon
- Derek Chisora (unanimous decision)
- Anthony Joshua (unanimous decision)
- Anthony Joshua (split decision)
- Daniel Dubois (KO R9)

With the Dubois fight he was knocked down in R5 but it was ruled a low blow. Dubois appears to be stepping down to Light Heavy for his next bout. I don't think he's in the same power league as Tyson Fury and yet he still put Usyk down.

Derek Chisora beaten three times by Tyson Fury, once on points, two stoppages late in the fight

Anthony Joshua 1 - what appeared to be the next British golden boy was exposed by Ruiz and he seemed to lack confidence against Usyk who dominated start to finish.

Anthony Joshua 2 - Joshua did better but his post-fight behaviour seemed to show he was having some demons in his career.

I think Fury would have won have won all those fights too and at any stage if Usyk had faced Fury he would have been beaten. I also doubt Usyk would have beaten Deonty Wylder in the same period.

So that leaves the situation where it is now. Fury is better than any of the above (although a better trained/focused Joshua might give him some trouble), he's much bigger than Usyk, he's more experienced and fought better fighters at this weight.

Usyk may well try to box and run and might have the skills to do that, but 12 rounds is an awful long time to get away with it. I'm also doubtful that he will cope with the heavy blows early if Fury can land them. If he struggled with a belly-button blow by Dubois he will surely struggle with a shot from Fury. 

Fury R1 = 100/1
Fury r2 = 100/1
Fury R3 = 66/1
Fury R4 = 50/1

I respect Fury's record but don't think he's a great heavyweight, however I do think he will beat Usyk comfortably.

Iamnobody

Placidcasual79 said:

I think - recently - bigger fights are starting to happen in boxing - more so than in the past 10-20 years - is that fair? I think the raise of UFC is forcing boxing to up its game?

Interesting thought. I don’t watch UFC so can’t comment on its influence on boxing. I’d say don’t underestimate the Uncle Turkey and Saudi money effect. That’ll filter down so those on the cusp and in the lower echelons are willing to take more risks for a chance to get at the top table. 

Iamnobody

Shrews said:

munckee said:

I think if judging is fair I expect usyk to win by reasonably comfortable points decision. He just seems a level above the best of the heavyweights. 

With the Dubois fight he was knocked down in R5 but it was ruled a low blow. Dubois appears to be stepping down to Light Heavy for his next bout. I don't think he's in the same power league as Tyson Fury and yet he still put Usyk down.

If he struggled with a belly-button blow by Dubois he will surely struggle with a shot from Fury. 

Daniel Dubois is fighting Hrgovic in a couple of weeks at heavyweight. He couldn’t make light heavy if he tried! Where are those 60 odd pounds disappearing to?

I’ve also heard it said (not from his team) that he’s very heavy handed. His KO stats would back that up. So not sure where you are coming from with his supposed lack of power. He probably punches harder than Tyson although I’m not willing to take a shot from either to test that theory out.

Usyk won’t be there to be hit easily though so will neutralise whatever power Fury brings. 

if there’s any question of Usyk being vulnerable to the body that will have been trained out in this camp as best they can with conditioning and working on defensive drills.

I think it’ll be a great fight just the whole occasion of it. I can make an argument for both but today I’d have to say Usyk on points. 

Tone71

Aaaaaaand true to form Big John has caused chaos on day 1!

Usyk on points for me and probably a fairly dull fight, do hope I'm wrong.

Iamnobody

Tone71 said:

Aaaaaaand true to form Big John has caused chaos on day 1!

Usyk on points for me and probably a fairly dull fight, do hope I'm wrong.

He’s a dick, I really hope someone chins the cunt and humiliates him in public. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQYnmFlUlo&list=RDCMUCH7yDZZe-ge-5S6lu-oatUQ

Tone71

Iamnobody said:

Tone71 said:

Aaaaaaand true to form Big John has caused chaos on day 1!

Usyk on points for me and probably a fairly dull fight, do hope I'm wrong.

He’s a dick, he really hope someone chins the cunt and humiliates him in public. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQYnmFlUlo&list=RDCMUCH7yDZZe-ge-5S6lu-oatUQ

Just watched that, what a twat, has no place in professional sport

duotone

FULL FIGHT! Vasiliy Lomachenko vs George Kambosos | WORLD TITLE FIGHT

duotone

https://youtu.be/fyDcRyfHMjo?feature=shared

DefaultM

I watched Lewis vs Holyfield 1 last night. I didn’t know what happened, and I really didn’t expect that result. Does anyone ever argue it was right? It just seemed a bit mad.