[CrazyJamie]

Fantastic achievement from Bernard Hopkins. He deserves real credit for the drive and determination that has shown in recent years; many people knocked him for not retiring, but he continued on. A worthy champion. Unfortunately I didn't see any of the fight (being asleep at the time), but I'll catch a replay at some point. Him doing press ups before the seventh round sounds like a classic moment.

In terms of the other fights, I thought DeGale had done enough, but ultimately I don't think losing that fight will do him any harm. When he reflects on it he will hopefully realise that the reason he lost was that Groves went in with a solid plan, whereas he thought that he could just out box him. That's a dangerous mentality to have at the top of the sport, and if DeGale learns that lesson it will make him a better fighter in future. Groves did exceptionally well whichever way you spin it and proved a lot of doubters wrong. No doubt he will be fast tracked to bigger things now.

Cleverly was impressive in his fight, but in fairness he was fighting a weak opponent and the result was never in doubt. The fight was ended prematurely, but Cleverly would have knocked him out comfortably anyway. I'm looking forward to him fighting someone who can give him a real challenge.

[Iccz]

Am I the only one who thinks that B-Hop being Champion at 48 is an absolute joke?

Originally Posted by DrWise

Hopkins is quality
done it too pascal tonight and sets history aswell, becoming a world champion at 46 previously set by george foreman who was 45 at his time
BHOP is the greatest fighter of the decade

Greatest fighter of the decade? Really?

Since 2004 he has fought 1 good boxer and that was Calzaghe who schooled him.
Everyone else he has fought in that time has been average at best (Taylor, Pavlik) or shot to pieces (Winky, RJJ, Tarver).

With a record of 52 wins and 32 knockouts, we know Hopkins used to pack power with his combinations and speed... When was the last time he scored a knockout? DLH in the 9th back in 2004. Since then he was unable to knockout anyone, even a shot to pieces Roy Jones Jr who was done in the 1st round by Green who was hardly much good.

I would strongly argue against fighter of the decade, while I have a lot of respect for B-Hop and used to think he was a great (I still think he is, but he has ruined his record here even with the new record), but now I'm starting to think he's defiling his history.

Best fighter of the last decade?
Mayweather?
Pac?
Calzaghe?

For me those 3 come above B-Hop...
Then when we drop back to the 90s I think that RJJ is going to beat B-Hop every time when it comes to what was achieved.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disrespecting B-Hop, I just want the guy to hang his gloves up, he's not doing himself, nor boxing and favours.

[wezzywebb]

Originally Posted by Iccz

Am I the only one who thinks that B-Hop being Champion at 48 is an absolute joke?



Greatest fighter of the decade? Really?

Since 2004 he has fought 1 good boxer and that was Calzaghe who schooled him.
Everyone else he has fought in that time has been average at best (Taylor, Pavlik) or shot to pieces (Winky, RJJ, Tarver).

With a record of 52 wins and 32 knockouts, we know Hopkins used to pack power with his combinations and speed... When was the last time he scored a knockout? DLH in the 9th back in 2004. Since then he was unable to knockout anyone, even a shot to pieces Roy Jones Jr who was done in the 1st round by Green who was hardly much good.

I would strongly argue against fighter of the decade, while I have a lot of respect for B-Hop and used to think he was a great (I still think he is, but he has ruined his record here even with the new record), but now I'm starting to think he's defiling his history.

Best fighter of the last decade?
Mayweather?
Pac?
Calzaghe?

For me those 3 come above B-Hop...
Then when we drop back to the 90s I think that RJJ is going to beat B-Hop every time when it comes to what was achieved.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disrespecting B-Hop, I just want the guy to hang his gloves up, he's not doing himself, nor boxing and favours.

gotta disagree with you on this one,hopkins was hardly schooled by calzaghe ,it was a very close fight in most peoples eyes which could have gone either way,i certainly wouldnt call jermain taylor average, what about glen johnson ? one very underated fighter who will almost certainly give carl froch a very hard night when they fight, felix trinidad ? certainly not an average fighter,the list goes on, i certainly dont think that hopkins is hurting his legacy by continuing fighting,for me he,s just making a mockery of the current boxing scene in general !!

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

gotta disagree with you on this one,hopkins was hardly schooled by calzaghe ,it was a very close fight in most peoples eyes which could have gone either way

It was a close fight in people's eyes because Joe has never been given the recognition he deserves and B-Hop has always got the nod over other fighters when it has been close. For me the videos around on the internet of the fight that show highlights favour B-Hop heavily.
B-Hop was lost in that fight, he was constantly being pushed back and really looked like he was lost for tactics to do anything effective.

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

i certainly wouldnt call jermain taylor average,

The win he had over Lacy was about the only thing he has done since B-Hop, I don't really consider the Spinks fight of worth.

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

what about glen johnson ? one very underated fighter who will almost certainly give carl froch a very hard night when they fight

What about Johnson?

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

felix trinidad ? certainly not an average fighter,the list goes on

Tito was 2001, I'm talking about 2005 - Present.

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

i certainly dont think that hopkins is hurting his legacy by continuing fighting,for me he,s just making a mockery of the current boxing scene in general !!

He's making a mockery of boxing, okay maybe his legacy isn't as badly effected as I'm making out, but no knockouts, a few losses he should never have had... I hate to see a boxer do this to themselves when they should have hung their gloves up.

[wezzywebb]

Originally Posted by Iccz

It was a close fight in people's eyes because Joe has never been given the recognition he deserves and B-Hop has always got the nod over other fighters when it has been close. For me the videos around on the internet of the fight that show highlights favour B-Hop heavily.
B-Hop was lost in that fight, he was constantly being pushed back and really looked like he was lost for tactics to do anything effective.



The win he had over Lacy was about the only thing he has done since B-Hop, I don't really consider the Spinks fight of worth. taylor was whipping carl froch until the late stoppage,he was certainly not an (average fighter)



What about Johnson? hopkins beat johnson ,johnson was/is a worldclass fighter



Tito was 2001, I'm talking about 2005 - Present.



He's making a mockery of boxing, okay maybe his legacy isn't as badly effected as I'm making out, but no knockouts, a few losses he should never have had... I hate to see a boxer do this to themselves when they should have hung their gloves up.

as for jones do you really think that calzaghe would have lived with him in his prime?? i certainly dont

[CrazyJamie]

Originally Posted by Iccz

Am I the only one who thinks that B-Hop being Champion at 48 is an absolute joke?

Whilst there is a debate to be had about how he compares to other fighters in the last decade, I wouldn't describe him being champion as a joke. He can only fight what's put in front of him, and if he has the ability to win a world title at that age I say fair play to him.

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

as for jones do you really think that calzaghe would have lived with him in his prime?? i certainly dont

Jones? Do you mean B-Hop?

A prime B-Hop - Calzaghe fight was something I wanted but B-Hop wouldn't go up for the fight when he was younger, which I would say is a fair thing... It's hard to call it, Calzaghe being younger and without injury problems might have been able to take B-Hop... but at the same time I think B-Hop would probably have took him.

If you meant Jones, i don't know what weight we'd be looking?
I think a prime Jones would take most fighters, because at his prime he was an incredible fighter.

Originally Posted by CrazyJamie

Whilst there is a debate to be had about how he compares to other fighters in the last decade, I wouldn't describe him being champion as a joke. He can only fight what's put in front of him, and if he has the ability to win a world title at that age I say fair play to him.

It's a joke because it highlights how bad boxing is - you can pick your fights and your weight quite easily, there are several belts which makes it easier to do so and more weights. Back in the golden days of boxing it was a lot harder as you had less belts and less weights.

I'm not trying to take anything away from B-Hop but it really does show the state of boxing at the moment... B-Hop is still a good figher, but he's not great, not like he used to be.

[CrazyJamie]

Originally Posted by Iccz

It's a joke because it highlights how bad boxing is - you can pick your fights and your weight quite easily, there are several belts which makes it easier to do so and more weights. Back in the golden days of boxing it was a lot harder as you had less belts and less weights.

I'm not trying to take anything away from B-Hop but it really does show the state of boxing at the moment... B-Hop is still a good figher, but he's not great, not like he used to be.

That's fair enough. Ultimately creating so many different niche weight classes was always going to dilute the competition, and that's what we have seen over recent years. It also doesn't help when fighters in the same or similar weight classes avoid one another (Mayweather-Pacquiao). Still, we can still enjoy the odd excellent match up and there is still plenty to talk about, so I can't find it in myself to despair too much at the state of the sport, doubtless it may be that it has seen better days.

[Tetlee]

Typical that DeGale(or Warren for that matter) can't just be gracious and accept defeat

They've been trying to push for an instant rematch, and have been on to the board of control to try and force the decision.

Love the reply statement...

But BBBofC secetary Robert Smith has dismissed the idea, insisting they could not act without any wrong-doing.

"An immediate re-match is out of the question," he told The Telegraph.

"The Board will not be ordering a re-match.

"There was nothing controversial or contentious about it. No one broke any rules. Why would the Board order a re-match? It was simply a very close fight, and there was nothing wrong with the decision."

"If DeGale is the leading contender in six months' time, he will be made mandatory challenger. If DeGale has anything about him, he will come back stronger from this."

Don't doubt he will come back stronger and likely the loss will actually do DeGale some favours bringing him back down to earth nice and early in his career(unless he continues to live in denial and can't see where mistakes were made thinking he clearly won the fight). But anyway, in the meantime....

I see Chirosa v Fury is on, guessing that little bust up during the Groves v DeGale undercard was probably put on to get the hype rolling.

Chisora-Fury confirmed | Sky Sports | Boxing | News

On another note, surprised to hear Hopkins beat Pascal the other morning, must see if I can track that one down when we get back home.

[Spligsey]

Originally Posted by Tetlee

On another note, surprised to hear Hopkins beat Pascal the other morning, must see if I can track that one down when we get back home.

You should do - watch old man Popkins doing his press-ups at the start of round 7

[Tetlee]

Anyone else stay up to watch the Froch v Johnson fight last night? How I hate having to rely on streams if I want to watch my favourite sport live, no way I'm subscribing to Sky again, but there should be some way of everyone being able to at least pay for one off events without having to have subscriptions to services such as Sky.

Anyway, after staying up until 3am and then struggling to keep any of my streams together making it a frustrating evening, it was at least a pretty good fight, Johnson even at 41(or is it 42) is one tough beast, never stopped coming forward, was just like a train and threw some big right hands catching Froch flush more than once. Froch reminded once again that he must have one of the toughest chins out there, just absorbed everything that landed and to me never looked in any trouble despite what they commentators were saying. He put in a great work rate, especially as you could tell it wasn't the pace he wanted to set, and certainly deserved the win with some lovely combination work.

Going to be a mouth watering final to the Super Six and surely the fight everyone hoped to see for the final, likely most people will have Ward as favourite but wouldn't be one bit surprised if Froch can pull an upset, should be good

[wezzywebb]

Yes it was a good fight and what a hard man Johnson is!! I was also very impressed with Kessler !!

[Tetlee]

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

Yes it was a good fight and what a hard man Johnson is!! I was also very impressed with Kessler !!

Yeah, Kessler looked in fantastic form, what a return aftyer 12 months out of the ring! Should be some good fights waiting for whoever does win the Super Six, with Bute and Kessler watching on. Think a Froch v Kessler II would be a watch and would expect it to be far better than their first meeting

[wezzywebb]

Originally Posted by Tetlee

Yeah, Kessler looked in fantastic form, what a return aftyer 12 months out of the ring! Should be some good fights waiting for whoever does win the Super Six, with Bute and Kessler watching on. Think a Froch v Kessler II would be a watch and would expect it to be far better than their first meeting

to be honest i would see kessler winning again

[Venu44]

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

to be honest i would see kessler winning again

Was in Herning, no way he beats Froch in Nottingham.

He got his chops opened up like a tin of spaghetti hoops by Carl, who'd be on a revenge mission in a rematch.

Kessler simply couldn't summon that sort of effort again.

[wezzywebb]

Originally Posted by Venu44

Was in Herning, no way he beats Froch in Nottingham.

He got his chops opened up like a tin of spaghetti hoops by Carl, who'd be on a revenge mission in a rematch.

Kessler simply couldn't summon that sort of effort again.

i wouldnt bank on it ,the year off seems to have done him the world of good judging by last nights performance,froch on the other hand has had a lot of wars and its not like he doesnt get hit is it !! dont get me wrong i would love it if froch wins the whole series,then beats kessler ,bute etc,but i dont think he will get past ward to be honest

[Venu44]

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

i wouldnt bank on it ,the year off seems to have done him the world of good judging by last nights performance,froch on the other hand has had a lot of wars and its not like he doesnt get hit is it !! dont get me wrong i would love it if froch wins the whole series,then beats kessler ,bute etc,but i dont think he will get past ward to be honest

That's a slight misconception. When you analyse it.

Froch never took anything during Abraham, bar one or two against Johnson last night he finished completely fine.

Prior to that against Dirrell, again the visitor didn't throw hardly anything.

Pascal & Taylor were both wars granted.

But Kessler's face was a mess after Froch finished with him. The next day he looked Robert Deniro when he played Frankenstein, he was a swollen mess of stitches.

Kessler looked amazing last night, because the Frenchman was a bum. A fall guy. The levels between them were vast - it's not an indication of anything for me.

[wezzywebb]

Originally Posted by Venu44

That's a slight misconception. When you analyse it.

Froch never took anything during Abraham, bar one or two against Johnson last night he finished completely fine.

Prior to that against Dirrell, again the visitor didn't throw hardly anything.

Pascal & Taylor were both wars granted.

But Kessler's face was a mess after Froch finished with him. The next day he looked Robert Deniro when he played Frankenstein, he was a swollen mess of stitches.

Kessler looked amazing last night, because the Frenchman was a bum. A fall guy. The levels between them were vast - it's not an indication of anything for me.

i agree with some of the above,but i would say that froch was hit more than once or twice against johnson !! dirrell i agree with you , the pascal and taylors wars were fantastic viewing for us ,but not the kind of fight you want to be in very often !! what i,m trying to say is that carl has had some very punishing fights ,kessler has had a year out,i wouldnt call the guy he fought last night a bum,not world class but not a bum,but you have to admit for a guy who,s been out that long ,kessler looked very sharp indeed!! anyway ,i hope carl beats ward ,but i dont think he,ll do it

[DrWise]

Quality match ups now

KHAN vs JUDAH july 23rd

MAYWEATHER vs ORTIZ september 17th

Pacquiao vs Marquez Trilogy November 12th

[CrazyJamie]

But will we get Mayweather v Pacquiao in 2012? Probably not.

[redcat1]

good knockout by david price last night. He's got some power

[emcor99]

Let the hype start

Warning profanity

YouTube - ‪NEW: HBO Face Off - Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye‬‏

[DIPESH14]

Originally Posted by emcor99

Let the hype start

excellent little doc- looking forward to the tussle!

[Spligsey]

Originally Posted by emcor99

Let the hype start

Warning profanity

YouTube - ‪NEW: HBO Face Off - Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye‬‏

Thought that was pretty cringe-worthy to be honest
At least this fight seems to have galvanized the heavyweight division - which, has been pretty devoid of action for a few years now
We have quite a gathering for fight night on July 2nd - should be a good night!

[emcor99]

Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye

So with just over a week to go before the fight, who do you think will win? For the life of me I just don't see how Haye can win this fight. Wlad's just to big, to strong and to experienced.

I really hope Haye proves me wrong, I just can't see it happening.

[wezzywebb]

Yeah I'm thinking the same thing, just can't see how he's going to do it ,I think even if he puts him down there,ll be a long count !!! And there's no way he's going to get a decision in Germany , I can see it ending up like the Carl Thompson fight!!

[richp007]

IMO, Haye is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. I can see Klitschko knocking him out.

The heavyweight division is awful these days anyway. I can't say I'm too fussed what the outcome is.

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by emcor99

Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye

So with just over a week to go before the fight, who do you think will win? For the life of me I just don't see how Haye can win this fight. Wlad's just to big, to strong and to experienced.

I really hope Haye proves me wrong, I just can't see it happening.

Haye will beat Wlad.

There, I said it.

How?

Haye needs to use his speed and combinations to make Wlad uncomfortable, this will totally throw his confidence off and make him a lot weaker in the ring. People always seem to ignore the power that Haye actually has - everyone sees him as a fast mover with little power, if Wlad does this he will really be in for a shock.

The problem for Haye is Wlad is always clinching, so he's going to have to get in and deliver - fast! Which we know he is capable of doing. The early rounds will reveal all for me, Wlad isn't the most confident of fighters, and if you knock that early on you've got a huge chance. He's notorious for being a very weak fighter mentally. Haye will know this, and he has already started working on the mind games months and months ago.

But if you knock his confidence early he wont get his rhythm with the jab, if he doesn't get the rhythm with the jab he's not going to do the damage.

Vitali on the other hand... that's a different fight.


For me, Haye beats Wlad - I'd even go as far as to say a late KO.

[wezzywebb]

I wouldn't reguard Haye as a massive puncher at heavyweight

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by wezzywebb

I wouldn't reguard Haye as a massive puncher at heavyweight

And this is the same mistake that Wlad could make.

He nearly put Valuev down - that surely has to tell you something.
What about Ruiz? Only been KO'd twice, once by the huge hitting Tua and once by Haye.

We've not seen a lot of Haye at Heavyweight but for me his power is underrated by too many people.

You only need to see the Brewster fight (first) to see how it's easy to rock Wlad if you catch him flush and when you do, bang goes his confidence - Haye will jump on this. I know Brewster was a fairly big hitter, but I'd say Haye throws pretty big punches and could really surprise Wlad.

But you're right, he's not a massive puncher, he's not that kind of figher, he's a boxer and will use his power in combinations and with speed. Just like Wlad isn't a massive puncher, he just uses barrages of firm jabs.