Boxing

[Mellsblue]

I doubt he could count to two after those shots, let alone eight. Truth is that he didn't fancy it. Even his protestations that he was up in time were half hearted.

[BigAl]

There can't be many people who have been simultaneously Olympic and World Champion, certainly in the heavyweight division.

Only Ali and Spinks that I can think of.

Assuming that is, we're discounting Audley's WBF title

[BigAl]

Looked to me after the second knockdown that he didn't really fancy it. Could have got up on 9, waited for 10. Can now complain the ref robbed him.

[WaspInWales]

Looked to me after the second knockdown that he didn't really fancy it. Could have got up on 9, waited for 10. Can now complain the ref robbed him.

No doubt he'll demand a rematch on the basis of being robbed.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So AJ gets a belt, looked slow ponderous, & still looked like a bodybuilder, let me slay the lamb</p>— Gypsy King (@Tyson_Fury) <a href="">April 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I think Joshua will be too good...even for the Gypsy King.

[WaspInWales]

Ffs. How on earth do I embed a Twitter link?!?

[UKHamlet]

Ffs. How on earth do I embed a Twitter link?!?

Best you can do is a URL. I'll see if I can find a Twitter mod for the board.

[onlynameleft]

There can't be many people who have been simultaneously Olympic and World Champion, certainly in the heavyweight division.

Only Ali and Spinks that I can think of.

Assuming that is, we're discounting Audley's WBF title

Interesting Ali and Spinks both won light heavyweight gold though so does that make AJ unique?

Thing I couldn't get over was the size difference between Audley and Haye!

[Parsifal]

There can't be many people who have been simultaneously Olympic and World Champion, certainly in the heavyweight division.

Only Ali and Spinks that I can think of.

Assuming that is, we're discounting Audley's WBF title

Interesting Ali and Spinks both won light heavyweight gold though so does that make AJ unique?

Thing I couldn't get over was the size difference between Audley and Haye!

Aye, twas huge. Mind you, I saw a pic of AJ next to big Frank and Bruno looked noticeably smaller than the young fella irrespective the years since Frank last boxed.

It was also interesting to see Benn Jnr win a ridiculously one-sided 4-round contest against a hapless Belgian with Eubank Jnr in the crowd watching on.

[UKHamlet]

For those who want to watch it again.



Looked painful.

[UKHamlet]

Here's the Connor Benn fight

[WaspInWales]

Not sure what to make of Conor Benn. Great result on a debut effort and he got the job done for shewer. Always on the front foot, constantly attacking and finished things off with a great body shot but he leaves a few gaps that could be exploited.

[UKHamlet]

Not sure what to make of Conor Benn. Great result on a debut effort and he got the job done for shewer. Always on the front foot, constantly attacking and finished things off with a great body shot but he leaves a few gaps that could be exploited.

[BigAl]

Just watching Sky Sports News announce Pacquio retires on a record of 66 wins from 58 fights. Which is, I'm sure you'll agree, damn impressive

[Numbers]

There can't be many people who have been simultaneously Olympic and World Champion, certainly in the heavyweight division.

They said he was one of only 4 I believe, not sure if that is just Heavyweight or not.

[Big D]

Joshua looked a lot more composed than the Whyte fight which is a great sign. Martin had no interest in eating those shots. His looks to the corner were a tell tale sign. They were "what the fuck just hit me" rather than "right, what do I need to do looks".

Joshua's power is legit, but the big problem is that the difference between the Wlads, Furys and Wilders of the division to even the Martins is huge. I'd still back him to sit Fury down if he can get past Furys awkwardness.

Groves looked ok against an overmatched opponent. That really told us nothing - as Froch was quick to point out. As much as he may want to fight Callum Smith and DeGale they have zero benefit to fighting him. Abrahams lost on Saturday so all the champions have won their belt in the last year which may hinder Groves getting a shot as mandatorys will probably be required before voluntarys. If DeGale wins this month he may start trying to unify the titles as there is no outstanding champion at the moment. DeGale and Jack defend on the same bill.

Benn was a bit excitable but showed touches of talent. He himself says he isn't the best boxer but he'll need to learn to defend at some point.

Never been impressed by Selby.

[belgarion]

There can't be many people who have been simultaneously Olympic and World Champion, certainly in the heavyweight division.

They said he was one of only 4 I believe, not sure if that is just Heavyweight or not.

1 of 4, Floyd Patterson, Ali & Leon Spinks being the others. Patterson Middleweight
Olympic champion 1952 (Gennady Shatkov became Olympic middlweight champ. day after Patterson
won World heavyweight champion in 1956), Ali 1960 Olympic champ at Light-heavyweight won World
heavyweight title in '64 & Leon Spinks Light heavyweight Olympic champ in 1976 won
World heavyweight title, from Ali, 1978

[Numbers]

Joshua looked a lot more composed than the Whyte fight which is a great sign. Martin had no interest in eating those shots. His looks to the corner were a tell tale sign. They were "what the fuck just hit me" rather than "right, what do I need to do looks".

Joshua's power is legit, but the big problem is that the difference between the Wlads, Furys and Wilders of the division to even the Martins is huge. I'd still back him to sit Fury down if he can get past Furys awkwardness.

Groves looked ok against an overmatched opponent. That really told us nothing - as Froch was quick to point out. As much as he may want to fight Callum Smith and DeGale they have zero benefit to fighting him. Abrahams lost on Saturday so all the champions have won their belt in the last year which may hinder Groves getting a shot as mandatorys will probably be required before voluntarys. If DeGale wins this month he may start trying to unify the titles as there is no outstanding champion at the moment. DeGale and Jack defend on the same bill.

Benn was a bit excitable but showed touches of talent. He himself says he isn't the best boxer but he'll need to learn to defend at some point.

Never been impressed by Selby.

Interesting that Abraham lost, that'll teach him to fight outside Germany. Agree with you regarding Groves, I note that the journeyman they got in for him to fight had only 2 stoppages on his record.

I've not seen any of Ramirez the guy who beat Abraham but I imagine he is quite good looking at the result.

[Big D]

So, thoughts on AJs next fight?

Stiverne makes all sorts of sense IMO. He took Wilder the full 12 so can obviously take a punch.

He should forget about the British options for now and try and build his name in the US. He is far more marketable than any other HW so if he gets US interest that will bump up the payday for an eventual fight with Fury.

[Big D]

Joshua looked a lot more composed than the Whyte fight which is a great sign. Martin had no interest in eating those shots. His looks to the corner were a tell tale sign. They were "what the fuck just hit me" rather than "right, what do I need to do looks".

Joshua's power is legit, but the big problem is that the difference between the Wlads, Furys and Wilders of the division to even the Martins is huge. I'd still back him to sit Fury down if he can get past Furys awkwardness.

Groves looked ok against an overmatched opponent. That really told us nothing - as Froch was quick to point out. As much as he may want to fight Callum Smith and DeGale they have zero benefit to fighting him. Abrahams lost on Saturday so all the champions have won their belt in the last year which may hinder Groves getting a shot as mandatorys will probably be required before voluntarys. If DeGale wins this month he may start trying to unify the titles as there is no outstanding champion at the moment. DeGale and Jack defend on the same bill.

Benn was a bit excitable but showed touches of talent. He himself says he isn't the best boxer but he'll need to learn to defend at some point.

Never been impressed by Selby.

Interesting that Abraham lost, that'll teach him to fight outside Germany. Agree with you regarding Groves, I note that the journeyman they got in for him to fight had only 2 stoppages on his record.

I've not seen any of Ramirez the guy who beat Abraham but I imagine he is quite good looking at the result.

Groves really is at the last chance saloon IMO. They need to plot his path to a title fight correctly.

The talk of a Smith fight is daft at this stage for him. Smith is mandatory for a belt anyway but he is probably the biggest SMW and is powerful enough to bingo Groves and then it's career over.

I wonder if going down the WBA route would be best. Their "champion" is some Italian and "super champion" is Sturm who looks beatable.

[Numbers]

Joshua looked a lot more composed than the Whyte fight which is a great sign. Martin had no interest in eating those shots. His looks to the corner were a tell tale sign. They were "what the fuck just hit me" rather than "right, what do I need to do looks".

Joshua's power is legit, but the big problem is that the difference between the Wlads, Furys and Wilders of the division to even the Martins is huge. I'd still back him to sit Fury down if he can get past Furys awkwardness.

Groves looked ok against an overmatched opponent. That really told us nothing - as Froch was quick to point out. As much as he may want to fight Callum Smith and DeGale they have zero benefit to fighting him. Abrahams lost on Saturday so all the champions have won their belt in the last year which may hinder Groves getting a shot as mandatorys will probably be required before voluntarys. If DeGale wins this month he may start trying to unify the titles as there is no outstanding champion at the moment. DeGale and Jack defend on the same bill.

Benn was a bit excitable but showed touches of talent. He himself says he isn't the best boxer but he'll need to learn to defend at some point.

Never been impressed by Selby.

Interesting that Abraham lost, that'll teach him to fight outside Germany. Agree with you regarding Groves, I note that the journeyman they got in for him to fight had only 2 stoppages on his record.

I've not seen any of Ramirez the guy who beat Abraham but I imagine he is quite good looking at the result.

Groves really is at the last chance saloon IMO. They need to plot his path to a title fight correctly.

The talk of a Smith fight is daft at this stage for him. Smith is mandatory for a belt anyway but he is probably the biggest SMW and is powerful enough to bingo Groves and then it's career over.

I wonder if going down the WBA route would be best. Their "champion" is some Italian and "super champion" is Sturm who looks beatable.

Sturm is no great shakes but he only fights in Germany with the partisan judges which makes him far harder to beat.

[Big D]

Interesting that Abraham lost, that'll teach him to fight outside Germany. Agree with you regarding Groves, I note that the journeyman they got in for him to fight had only 2 stoppages on his record.

I've not seen any of Ramirez the guy who beat Abraham but I imagine he is quite good looking at the result.

Groves really is at the last chance saloon IMO. They need to plot his path to a title fight correctly.

The talk of a Smith fight is daft at this stage for him. Smith is mandatory for a belt anyway but he is probably the biggest SMW and is powerful enough to bingo Groves and then it's career over.

I wonder if going down the WBA route would be best. Their "champion" is some Italian and "super champion" is Sturm who looks beatable.

Sturm is no great shakes but he only fights in Germany with the partisan judges which makes him far harder to beat.

Agreed but he has lost a few on points there now and my hunch would be that Groves and Smith are two of the top 4 or 5 in power at SMW so it might not reach the judges.

[Numbers]

Groves really is at the last chance saloon IMO. They need to plot his path to a title fight correctly.

The talk of a Smith fight is daft at this stage for him. Smith is mandatory for a belt anyway but he is probably the biggest SMW and is powerful enough to bingo Groves and then it's career over.

I wonder if going down the WBA route would be best. Their "champion" is some Italian and "super champion" is Sturm who looks beatable.

Sturm is no great shakes but he only fights in Germany with the partisan judges which makes him far harder to beat.

Agreed but he has lost a few on points there now and my hunch would be that Groves and Smith are two of the top 4 or 5 in power at SMW so it might not reach the judges.

Smith would take him apart, not so sure about Groves who strikes me as solid but unspectacular.

[Big D]

Sturm is no great shakes but he only fights in Germany with the partisan judges which makes him far harder to beat.

Agreed but he has lost a few on points there now and my hunch would be that Groves and Smith are two of the top 4 or 5 in power at SMW so it might not reach the judges.

Smith would take him apart, not so sure about Groves who strikes me as solid but unspectacular.

You are probably right, I might be blinded a bit by the shot that Groves floored Froch with. That would have stopped nearly anyone in the SMW division.

Groves v Murray on the AJ undercard. Should be a decent fight. Both fighters similar in size.

[Numbers]

Agreed but he has lost a few on points there now and my hunch would be that Groves and Smith are two of the top 4 or 5 in power at SMW so it might not reach the judges.

Smith would take him apart, not so sure about Groves who strikes me as solid but unspectacular.

You are probably right, I might be blinded a bit by the shot that Groves floored Froch with. That would have stopped nearly anyone in the SMW division.

Groves v Murray on the AJ undercard. Should be a decent fight. Both fighters similar in size.

I reckon Murray may edge this one.

[Numbers]

De Gale fights on Saturday against some bloke I've never heard of, though it looks like he can punch a bit (Rogelio Medina 42 fights, 36 wins, 30 by way of knockout, 6 losses), Badou Jack is fighting Lucien Bute on the same bill which should be a bit more competitive.