Boxing 2022

First topic message reminder :

2022 starts off with a decent heavyweight showdown. Luis Ortiz vs ‘Prince’ Charles Martin. Winner may get back into the bigger picture, loser is surely finished.

Something tells me that Taylor is rematching Catterall then getting the hell out the 140lb division.

Also the WBO belt guarantees Taylor a shot at the winner of Crawford vs Spence.

Emanuel Navarette defended his WBO featherweight title with a one punch KO in the 6th round against fellow Mexican Eduardo Baez.
The Cowboy was rusty as hell, down on two cards - should've been down on all three cards - when he closed the show.
Seems like he re-upped with Top Rank as Navarette could move up to face Shakur Stevenson next

Dmitry Bivol vs Gilberto Ramírez came to a deal for the Russian’s mandatory defence.
Fight is now confirmed for November 5, in UAE.

Devin Haney vs George Kambosos Jr 2 set for October 15 in Melbourne.

Demetrius Andrade is vacating his WBO middleweight title and moving up to 168lbs. Interim WBO title holder Janibek Alimkhanuly will be promoted to full champion.

Kambosis v Haney is a waste of time...Think Kambosis fought a guy who was looking past him in Lopez.

Haney won the first fight and I think he fought within himself doing it..

Pointless for sure.

Thing is Kambosos had it in his contract for a rematch in Australia. He gambled on being able to outbox Haney which was pretty stupid. With hindsight, I doubt that he has any chance in the rematch either, but why wouldn't he go for a rematch that will likely give him enough money to set him up for life? Even if he is likely to lose, it's better to do it for a shedload of cash rather than passing on the rematch. A no-brainer of a decision for Kambosos. If he fights like he did against Lopez, he stands a bit more of a chance but it'll likely still be a UD for Haney. Still, money in the bank for GK.

Would you like a repeat of your biggest paycheck ever for doing your day job? Yes you would.

Demetrius Andrade vs Zach Parker is now back on for the interim WBO super middleweight title.
Winner will be mandatory for the winner of Canelo vs GGG

Kambosos has barely any chance against Haney. Personally thought Haney fought a safety first fight and had other gears. Kambosos should have looked elsewhere and used the experience as a learning curve to try and make improvements and adjustments. Glad to hear Parker v Andrade is back on. Can't see Andrade losing this, but it's a chance for Parker to step up and see where he is at.

Hughie Fury vs Michael Hunter, October 29. This is WBA final elimination.
WBA confuses everyone with their two belts...
Dubois claims he’s mandatory
Helenius/Wilder winner will also be mandatory
Fury/Hunter will also be mandatory

Jeff Navarro wrote:Hughie Fury vs Michael Hunter, October 29. This is WBA final elimination.
WBA confuses everyone with their two belts...
Dubois claims he’s mandatory
Helenius/Wilder winner will also be mandatory
Fury/Hunter will also be mandatory

The WBA are a joke with their regular belt. My guess is that the Wilder/Helenius winner will be the WBA Super mandatory. The winner of Fury & Hunter will be mandatory for Dubois' belt. Dubois isn't mandatory as he's not going for a unification and doesn't make enough money yet. What a crock of ****.

Leigh Wood will defend his secondary featherweight title against Mauricio Lara on September 24.
Bit strange after a deal was made for Santa Cruz vs Wood title consolidation bout.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Demetrius Andrade is vacating his WBO middleweight title and moving up to 168lbs. Interim WBO title holder Janibek Alimkhanuly will be promoted to full champion.

I've had it with Andrade now (have done for a while I guess, but this just takes the biscuit). For a guy who has built his whole shtick on supposedly being the bogeyman that all the big names at 154-168 have been running from for years, he sure does seem to have an aversion to facing dangerous mandatories of his own. He's been flossing WBO belts for almost nine years and I still don't think he's ever beaten a world title holder of any kind. Maybe it's him, maybe it's his handlers - either way, someone isn't quite as confident in Andrade's abilities as they'd have us believe, and don't really think he can consistently mix it with the best. Content instead to take as little risk as possible and talk his way into a big payday.

Said a few weeks back on here that Alimkhanuly will be a truly avoided man, though. Might well be another Rigondeaux type. In the end Rigondeaux got a break because there was a champion in and around him, in the shape of Nonito, who truly was one of those fight anyone, anywhere kind of champions. Not sure Alimkhanuly will get such a break.

I've been saying for years that Andrade is a waste of space, his best win remains a Martirosyan who was never that good and that happened over a decade ago. He might have skills but when you're only showcasing them against c/d level fighters, it doesn't matter, he knows the moment he steps up he gets beaten.

As an aside, Ring Magazine have elevated Usyk to their pound for pound top spot after his win at the weekend, bumping Inoue down to #2. Their current top ten thus reads:

1) Usyk 2) Inoue 3) Crawford 4) Spence 5) Canelo 6) Lomachenko 7) Bivol 8) Taylor 9) Jermell Charlo 10) Beterbiev

Seems like an odd decision to take considering the performances in their recent rematches; Usyk looked to have regressed from the first fight and Inoue obliterated Donaire after a close first fight.

I guess they're operating on a belief that Joshua in 2022 is a tougher assignment than Donaire in 2022, Soul. Plus they might well be taking into account the weight / size disadvantage Usyk had to overcome. Always likely to score browny points.

Usyk had a harder time of it in the rematch, agree there, but in fairness to Joshua he did perform better this time despite still coming up short. Might well have been a bigger factor in the second fight being more competitive than any regression by Usyk, although I guess it could be a bit of both.

As for the rest, I'd edge Beterbiev a bit higher as I still see him as the top man at 175 despite Bivol's eye-catching win over Canelo. Might swap Jermell and Taylor round, too.

Judges and ref have been announced for Canelo/GGG 3:
Nevada’s Dave Moretti
New Jersey’s Steve Weisfeld
Oklahoma’s David Sutherland
Nevada’s Russell Mora Jr. as the referee

Pretty 0% chance GGG wins a decision

I'm not sure Usyk was any worse TBH, I had it 8-4, Teddy Atlas had it 9-3, Tim Bradley had it 7-3 after 10, so it was probably another 8-4, 9-3 card. The first fight was much the same. 8-4, 9-3 Usyk. I thought AJ was a world's better fighter in the rematch, too. Changed levels, attacked the body, stalked, moved his head. So it's a better win in my books, if a guy comes back by basically all accounts an improved fighter, and the result is exactly the same.

Saying that, beating the same person shouldn't vault you in the P4P rankings. Not unless the first fight was in some or other way tainted. I'd say Spence taking Ugas out that decisively is probably the win of the year. Bivol beats Ramirez, he'd climb up, but his biggest win thus far is against a blown up middleweight. Charlo's win over Castaño is probably a great example of my "tainted first fight" rule, because he left NO DOUBT, in the rematch.

Canelo going up a weight class, losing and dropping four places is a prime example of why P4P lists are stupid.

Caleb Plant vs Anthony Dirrell is on the Wilder-Helenius undercard. Literally got no idea why anyone would want this garbage...
PBC loves these type of pointless fights.
It should’ve been Benavidez vs Plant

Pretty good fight last night between Commey and Pedraza, worth a watch for anyone interested.

Scored a draw, which I could just about accept but still felt Pedraza was a bit unlucky. If there was a winner it was definitely him and I had him up a couple of rounds at the end. Commey was the aggressor for long stretches but missed a hell of a lot of shots and Pedraza did great work to the body and took advantage of Commey being so upright when throwing, countering him very cleanly.

Frustrating result as both guys are in danger of being banished to the peripheries of the top level and both needed a win to really re-establish themselves, but in terms of performance I think Pedraza can be pretty happy. He actually seems to be developing into a bit of a cagey veteran and is probably a better fighter now than he was a few years back when Davis did him. Certainly become better defensively and a bit smarter in there.

With so many of Taylor's old Light-Welter belts back up for grabs soon, I think based on this showing Pedraza is still a decent defence for any alphabet champion in the division in the near future. Don't be surprised if he gets a shot at one of them.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Caleb Plant vs Anthony Dirrell is on the Wilder-Helenius undercard. Literally got no idea why anyone would want this garbage...
PBC loves these type of pointless fights.
It should’ve been Benavidez vs Plant

Why does Dirrell continue to get fairly highly rated opponents? Hopefully Plant will bounce back from the Canelo defeat and send him into retirement. Dirrell stinks the place out every time he steps into the ring.

I quite like Plant, have done for a few years. Wish he'd got back into the ring a bit sooner after the Canelo loss, mind you. Be nice if he could help speed up the Dirrell Brothers' exit from the main stage by getting an emphatic win under his belt against Anthony here.

I guess I can't be too mad with Anthony, because he's probably maxed out whatever potential he had and you can't blame him for taking the opportunities still being chucked his way. Andre, on the other hand, was a bit of an underachiever and therefore worthy of a little more scorn, because some of that was his own doing. Oddly enough it was the less talented brother who managed to bag a legitimate world title. Funny how it goes like that sometimes.

So....Does anyone believe Hearn's claim that Joshua will have four fights between now and the end of 2023? Can't see it myself, but he's also hinted that titles are going to be an afterthought for a good while now and it's going to be more about Joshua trying to break new ground in other ways and expand his brand, given the switch to DAZN.

He's been packing out huge stadia in the UK, but can that continue if he's not in world title contention? Are the public going to pack out Wembley, Tottenham, Millennium Stadium etc. for the likes of a Whyte rematch or Chisora?

If not then there is speculation that they might take Joshua on a bit of a world tour for his next few fights, a bit like they planned with Tyson back in the late eighties (his win over Tubbs in Tokyo was supposed to be followed by a fight in Brazil against Rodrigues, and of course the Bruno fight was originally planned for Wembley).

If they go down this route with Joshua, where does he go? Over to China for Zhang? Down under to Oz for Dempsey McKean? Could be good money making opportunities as well as opening Joshua up to new markets - and win him some new fans to replace the British and American ones he seems to have lost in the last few years. And with DAZN having invested so much money in Joshua, commercial interest might well be the name of the game for the next couple of years rather than legacy fights.

88Chris05 wrote:....So....Does anyone believe Hearn's claim that Joshua will have four fights between now and the end of 2023?  .... there is speculation that they might take Joshua on a bit of a world tour for his next few fights  ....

A world tour makes sense.   Despite AJ's rapid ascent he lacks experience - he doesn't have the amateur background others have.  He needs to be learning in the ring not in the gym.  He could be doing this by going on a world tour and facing national and regional champions in their own backyards.  It has been noted that AJ gassed out in the latter parts of his fights with Usyk and the cause suggested is an inability to truly relax in the ring.  Maybe shedding muscle might help.  However given his post fight rant he seems to have accepted his limitations as permanent saying he is not a 12 round fighter and can't throw combinations like a Rocky Marciano.

Don’t see what Joshua has to gain fighting the stiffs in the heavyweight division.
Joshua is 3/4 in the division. So to remain relevant fights with Wilder, Joyce, Whyte, Ruiz Jr etc are where he should be looking.

I don't know if he would, but Zhang in China, Ajagba in Nigeria or South Africa (keeping a nice time zone for DAZN PPV) and then a title fight in late 2023 (neither Tyson nor Usyk have shown any appetite for a title defence post unification) in Qatar against a Joe Joyce type would make him a lot of money and he'd probably take less than half a dozen serious blows combined in all those fights combined. Probably nine figures in those three fights alone, and a pretty easy path to becoming only the third (I believe) three-time heavyweight champion of the world ever

kingraf wrote:I don't know if he would, but Zhang in China, Ajagba in Nigeria or South Africa (keeping a nice time zone for DAZN PPV) and then a title fight in late 2023 (neither Tyson nor Usyk have shown any appetite for a title defence post unification) in Qatar against a Joe Joyce  type would make him a lot of money and he'd probably take less than half a dozen serious blows combined in all those fights combined. Probably nine figures in those three fights alone, and a pretty easy path to becoming only the third (I believe) three-time heavyweight champion of the world ever

Muhammad Ali
Michael Moorer
Evander Holyfield
Lennox Lewis
Vitali Klitschko

Not sure if there's any more

Soul Requiem wrote:

kingraf wrote:I don't know if he would, but Zhang in China, Ajagba in Nigeria or South Africa (keeping a nice time zone for DAZN PPV) and then a title fight in late 2023 (neither Tyson nor Usyk have shown any appetite for a title defence post unification) in Qatar against a Joe Joyce  type would make him a lot of money and he'd probably take less than half a dozen serious blows combined in all those fights combined. Probably nine figures in those three fights alone, and a pretty easy path to becoming only the third (I believe) three-time heavyweight champion of the world ever

Muhammad Ali
Michael Moorer
Evander Holyfield
Lennox Lewis
Vitali Klitschko

Not sure if there's any more

Moorer and Vitali have WBO titles from before it was recognised as a major title, no? Lennox had slipped my mind though.

The WBO* is a tricky one, it was a major title at the time but was lowly regarded in the heavyweight division that was largely down to Lewis disregarding it. At the same time however Joe Calzaghe and Naseem Hamed were regarded as fully fledged world champions. Ali, Holyfield and Lewis are the only three to have regained the world title twice.

Riddick Bowe was a WBO champion

Sorry might be my memory slipping but wasn't Holyfield a 4 time heavyweight champion? So he would've regained a portion of the heavyweight title 3 times?

kingraf wrote:I don't know if he would, but Zhang in China, Ajagba in Nigeria or South Africa (keeping a nice time zone for DAZN PPV) and then a title fight in late 2023 (neither Tyson nor Usyk have shown any appetite for a title defence post unification) in Qatar against a Joe Joyce  type would make him a lot of money and he'd probably take less than half a dozen serious blows combined in all those fights combined. Probably nine figures in those three fights alone, and a pretty easy path to becoming only the third (I believe) three-time heavyweight champion of the world ever

At this point I think it's safe to assume Joshua has more money that we could shake a stick at...
But I feel he stays around in the event Fury becomes undisputed. Fury would be entitled to a voluntary. Fury vs Joshua $150m each. Both sail off into retirement.

No name Bertie wrote:A world tour makes sense.   Despite AJ's rapid ascent he lacks experience - he doesn't have the amateur background others have.  He needs to be learning in the ring not in the gym.

I'm not really a believer in this narrative that Joshua is inexperienced or still 'learning on the job' etc. He's been a professional for nine years and has been contesting world title fights for over six. Okay there's no Fury or Wilder on his record, but outside of that he's mixed it with most of the relevant names in the division with a high level of success.

Hearn's been telling everyone since 2016 that Joshua is the best Heavyweight in the world and on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats, then tries to mitigate for any defeats on the basis that he's still learning and in some senses giving away advantages to certain opponents. Fair enough, he's his promoter and it's part of his job to alleviate any setback he faces, can't knock him for that. But I'm surprised that a lot of fans are still of this line of thinking as well.

Sure, it was a relatively short amateur career but again he fought at a very high level in it. World Championship silver and an (admittedly fortuitous) Olympic gold. I think given his style and strengths an overly long amateur career might have been a hinderance rather than a help. I suspect Joshua has been as finished an article as he can be for a while now and rather than try to learn a whole lot of new stuff, he should concentrate on adjusting his mindset and try to make best use of what he does have. I think he'd be better served trying to squeeze an extra 5 or 10% out of those than trying to become a new Joshua at this stage of his career.

As for the world tour, it could be part of a plan to basically outlast the guys the holding the titles. Make use of his marketability, get some knockouts back under his belt and by 2024 at least one or two of the belts will likely be up for grabs again (let's be honest - even if we do get a fully undisputed champion it never lasts very long and they soon shed one or two of the alphabets).

Jeff Navarro wrote:Sorry might be my memory slipping but wasn't Holyfield a 4 time heavyweight champion? So he would've regained a portion of the heavyweight title 3 times?

Yeah four time champ, but should have been five as he beat Valuev in 2008 but got completely mugged on the scorecards.

Jose Zepada vs Regis Prograis vacant WBC 140lbs title. MarvNation(no idea who that is) won the purse bid with $2.4m, seeing for Al Haymon's $1.2m bid.
Fancy Prograis here.

Lou DiBella won the purse bids for Joshua Buatsi and Jean Pascal with $975,000 bid. Eddie Hearn had bid $875,000. This is an IBF final eliminator for the privilege to face Chechen beast Beterbiev.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Caleb Plant vs Anthony Dirrell is on the Wilder-Helenius undercard. Literally got no idea why anyone would want this garbage...
PBC loves these type of pointless fights.
It should’ve been Benavidez vs Plant

Press conference today - Plant and Dirrell just kept screaming at each other. Still unsure if they hate each other or if they have some sorts of issues

Jeff Navarro wrote:Sorry might be my memory slipping but wasn't Holyfield a 4 time heavyweight champion? So he would've regained a portion of the heavyweight title 3 times?

Well said, nobody mentions this!

I know I'm very much in a minority with this view but I believe that Andrede will come good. As Chris said above, something was definitely not working with his team so much so that he gets dropped by Eddie with his best wishes but frustration apparently with him as if it were his own fault that the decent fights weren't being made.

I think the mandatory to the Alvarez GGG could be a gift for him if Triple G wins. All signs seem to point to Canelo but it's still a hard one to call what with Golovkin's style always being a headache for Alvarez.
My heart is over-ridong my head on this one, so an Andrede/Golovkin dust-up is definitely one he can win  if he puts it all together in one fight.I know, that's assuming a lot, but against a weather-worn forty year old..maybe he might prove people wrong yet.


.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Jose Zepada vs Regis Prograis vacant WBC 140lbs title. MarvNation(no idea who that is) won the purse bid with $2.4m, seeing for Al Haymon's $1.2m bid.
Fancy Prograis here.

Good fight, this. Looking forward to it.

Prograis has so much potential and should win it, I just hope he can win it in great style and start getting back into the mix for the big time. His career has really stalled since the Taylor fight.

Not seen all that much of Zepeda since his loss to Ramirez, but that's a fight he could have won had he not seemed to lose a bit of heart down the stretch. He's a good boxer but allows himself to get moved around too much so Prograis' inside game and work rate should stand him in good stead.

I think if Prograis is at his best he has a chance to get the stoppage. Hoping he puts on a quality performance and gets the win as he could be another Frankie Randall kind of fighter who gets his due later in his career.

I for one would love to see Prograis take on Teofimo Lopez if he wins. I appreciate that he's probably not far enough up the rankings to be a mandatory but for a voluntary... That fight would be an absolute barnstormer.

Jarrell Miller vs Lucas Browne on either November 13 in Abu Dhabi or November 26 in London(on the Daniel Dubois undercard).
Another totally pointless matchup.

I didn't know whether to start a new topic or post here, but Earnie Shavers has died. Bald, menacing looking but pound for pound one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. R.I.P Earnie. He was 78.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/earnie-shavers-regarded-as-one-of-the-hardest-punchers-in-boxing-history-dies-at-78-215017529.html

R.I.P Earnie. As I mentioned on here a while ago, I found myself watching his fight against Ali a while back and ended up feeling that Shavers had been hard done by and should probably have emerged from it as the Heavyweight champion. Still, he was involved in some great tussles and his name will forever be a byword for power and brute strength.

Sad news. Very, very few Heavyweights left from that legendary era now.

Very sad news indeed, a top man by all accounts and the hardest hitting bouncer Liverpool has ever had.

Of the real world level guys it's only Chuvalo, Foreman, Holmes and Bugner left. Chuvalo against Shavers would have been a sight to behold.

Jeff Navarro wrote:

Jeff Navarro wrote:Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr will fight former kickboxing would champion Tyrone Spong(14-0 as a boxer) in Mexico. 10 round bout.
At this point I think Ruiz Jr is basically waiting for the Joshua rubber match.
He spoke about fighting Wilder, rematch with Parker or replacement if Whyte pulled out against Fury.
Then he takes a joke fight like this smh.

Andy Ruiz Jr is now fighting Luis Ortiz after the Mexican claimed he signed a deal to fight the Cuban first.
Anyway seems like Ruiz Jr got forced into the Ortiz fight.
Winner could face Wilder

Ruiz Jr vs Ortiz tomorrow.

Ruiz weighs in at 268 3/4 lbs
Ortiz 245.4lbs

Hope the ring has been reinforced

Andy Ruiz Jr beat Luis Ortiz to keep his career alive and setting up a potential showdown with Deontay Wilder.
Ruiz dropped Ortiz 3 times - twice in R2 and once in R7.
Ruiz is just too fat and needs to work on conditioning

Scorecards - 114/111 114/111 113/112

Without the knowndowns Ortiz would've won...

Ortiz was able to survive a few blows from Ruiz Jr that AJ wasn't able to survive - the hook to the temple above and behind the ear. AJ got knocked down to a left hook in the third and was dazed and couldn't quite shake it off - although he also seemed to gas quite quickly. Ortiz got knocked down in the second to a right hook and took a bit of time to recover - going to ground again in the second - but he recovered and recovered fully landing some heavy blows towards the end of the second round. Ortiz looked a lot better than his previous fight with Charles Martin and it looked like both Ortiz and Ruiz were up for this fight - showing great stamina and punch resistance right to the end.

Both are clearly 12 round boxers - unlike our AJ - well at least according to AJ after his recent defeat to Usyk. That it took one punch to the jaw from Deontay Wilder to fell Ortiz and stop him just shows the freakish power Wilder has - it also shows the punch resistance and determination of Tyson Fury to get up four times from Wilders thunderbolts. The more fights we get between the top level boxers the more easier it is to make assessments. Would like to see at some stage AJ vs DW and maybe AJ vs DW II.

I'm afraid Joshua hasn't really improved much since getting the decision against Wladimir. I phrase it so because the ref stopped it as he was apparently making contact with the other fighter but in actual fact he wasn't connecting with much.A lot like his "wowee" 9th against Usyk which in closer inspection shows that  on this metric, it wasn't even a 10/8 round.
Fury has vulnerabilities which haven't been properly exploited but Joshua is not the man to do so. It's been said lots already, but his confidence, never the same after Ruiz, is gone left him for good and he is left asking, "How did you beat me?"
Which is why savvy old Tyson is shaking the tree.

AJ almost decapitated Wlad he hit him so hard with that uppercut, assume you've got the wrong fight. Takam perhaps?

Wlad was hanging in there surprisingly well after that blow though...a great shot that Wladimir's ancestors must have felt.But that wasn't the end of the fight as he wasn't out of there by any means. Joshua swarmed him but missed a good few as Wlad was not stationary.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Andy Ruiz Jr beat Luis Ortiz to keep his career alive and setting up a potential showdown with Deontay Wilder.
Ruiz dropped Ortiz 3 times - twice in R2 and once in R7.
Ruiz is just too fat and needs to work on conditioning

Scorecards - 114/111 114/111 113/112

Without the knowndowns Ortiz would've won...

Actually think those cards were fair and accurate. I think Ortiz won at least six rounds, possibly seven, and that it was the knockdowns which made all the difference....And that second knockdown in round two wasn't entirely convincing.

Two guys both looking to play the counter puncher against an opponent who is barely throwing = an absolutely dire fight for the first six rounds.

Ruiz looked better when he took a bit more initiative and looked to put punches together in twos and threes. He's a good combination puncher but doesn't really seem to know what style he wants to utilise as these days.

Also a bit worrying that he looked the more tired of the pair (albeit not gassed and probably coasting a little) in the final round, given he was in there against a fragile pensioner.

He has some talent but until he takes the sport fully seriously he'll never be an elite Heavyweight. He may not get to that level anyway because he has some obvious and consistent flaws to his game - but it would be nice it he could at least strive to be in the gym.