Arena The Boxing Discussion Thread

John L. Sullivan would be another good choice, I think.

lol ....That is who I meant to say, not Jack Johnson.

 

Oh, well that makes sense

 

I would also consider Nigel Benn for that list.

 

Never heard of him

I'm usually very disappointed when Max Baer doesn't make a very high spot on hardest puncher lists. His punch power was absolutely crazy.

 

Well, in a battle of morons:

Vargas V. Mayorga is coming up....

I could really care less about that fight...I want to see Cotto V. Mosely! Still....

I just can't wait untill Flyd V. Hatton. I think the HBO series 24/7 is coming up. The De La Hoya/Mayweather coverage was very good.

 

Calzaghe - Kessler this Saturday. Though I'm annoyed they've put the fight on PPV when Frank Warren has a contract with freeview TV channels

 

Really?

It is on HBO here. I am looking foreward to this fight as well. Should be a good fight.

 

Yup. And as it's on at 1 am here (catering to American audiences, nevermind the fight being held in Wales ) I can't watch it live unless I'm in a nightclub (and even then, only one that would show it, which aren't many)

 

Unfortunately for many international fans that is the case...but good for us in the U.S.

It comes down to the money made in the U.S. The goal of most fighter is to headline a show in Vegas, on American PPV.

 

Calzaghe has gone on record saying he prefers to fight in front of 40'000 fans at Wales rather than the 4000 or so he'd get at Vegas.

Seems he's getting the best of both worlds. Not for his fans, though

 

What are the PPV numbers like there?

Because in the U.S. the PPV numbers dwarf the gate by so much, the size of arenas/crowd at the gate, are almost a non-factor when negotiating contracts between fighters. There are also a lot of closed circuit fights held at satelite locations in Vegas that the fighter get a peice of.

Most of the time, the toughest competition comes to Vegas, that is why most fighter want to fight there.

If crowd were the only factor...I would rather fight at home if I was Joe C. too.

 

Most people baulk at PPV prices over here because they're way too expensive. Setanta, which is airing the fight, isn't as bad as Sky (the Fox equivalent over here) for price, but since it opened up it's gained a reputation for being totally unreliable when they air fights, football games and the like.

Audiences on freeview channels have been rising, but only for Calzaghe/Hatton/Khan fights. The likes of Fraudley and the heavyweight merry-go-round has been losing support for years.

 

The problem of PPV in the U.S....is that most of the PPV fights are not PPV quality. The maga fights like De La Hoya V. Floyd or Hatton V. Floyd, are worthy, but fights like Mayorga V. Vargas should be on HBO or broadcast TV.

I wish our free TV channels would show more fights. ESPN shows more poker than boxing.

 

Calzaghe wins

And then turns around and calls out Hopkins

Disappointed I never got to see the fight, but I'm happy with the win all the same. Moving up to light heavy will be good for him before he retires.

As for Kessler, he gave as good as he got, and was a professional and a gentleman inside and outside of the ring, and when Joe moves up to light-heavy and relinquishes the super-middleweight titles, I can see Kessler reclaiming all the belts and reigning as undisputed number 1 in the super-middleweight division for some years to come (He's only 28 after all. He's got the best part of a decade left in him). Let's face it, Lacy, Manfredo, Froch and co aren't going to be much of a challenge.

 

I saw the fight on HBO.

Kessler did not have the athleticism to win the fight. Calzaghe got off first, and had more hand speed. Credit goes to the champ of the 168 lb division.

That being said...I was unimpressed with Calzaghe. He repeatedly hit Kessler in the back of the head, and was winging wild punches from all over the place. His hand speed was really all he had in the fight. His power is average at best, and he is not very technical.

Calzaghe should be calling out Pavlik, not a passed his prime Hopkins. I would like to see him finally fight Roy Jones, even though Jones is not close to the fighter he used to be.

I want to see how Calzaghe handles a fight with someone who has more, or equal hand speed as he does.

 

Hopkins replies.

On Boxingtalk.com , Bernard Hopkins says that he wants to fight Calzaghe in Yankee stadium. Calzaghe said he wants to come to the U.S. to fight Hopkins.

We will see what happens though. Once dollars and cents are talked about, we'll see if they still want to fight.

Hopkins will demand the most money, and I would say rightly so. He has faced better opponents. I wonder if Calzaghe would be willing to accept less or even second billing.

I would prefer to see a fight between Calzaghe and Pavlik, or Calzaghe and Taylor. I would even want to see Calzaghe face Winky Wright.

 

Calzaghe has said he doesn't want to keep training as hard to keep himself at super-middle and would rather ease off and make light-heavyweight his last port of call before retiring. Can't say I blame him. He's getting old (36, and that's pretty old in boxing terms) and keeping himself at that level of physical fitness is going to be a strain.

 

Out of the smaller fighters I mentioned, I would expect them to move up in weight to face Calzaghe. Maybe at a catch weight of 170. I know Pavlik said he would be willing to move up in weight for better fights, and winky is always willing to fight at any weight. Taylor might be the only one who insists on 160-168.

I think the fight with Hopkins will happen. If what you say is true(I have no doubt it isn't ) than 175 would be the weight Calzaghe would fight Hopkins at.

 

Yes, it's usually tradition for fighters moving up a weight or two as they get older, look at Eubank moving up to cruiserweight from super-middle, or indeed, Hopkins to light-heavy from middleweight. Probably why heavyweights are generally the oldest of the lot, as they don't have to worry about making a minimum weight limit.

 

British super-middleweight champ wants to fight Calzaghe

Won't happen, not enough money or credit for Froch. He's seen as the "next" Calzaghe, but I'm reserving judgement until he fights Robin Reid tonight.

Tomorrow will be a good day for boxing. We have, in Paris, Jean-Marc Mormeck v David Haye (WBC/WBA cruiserweight), and in New York, Shane Mosley v Miguel Angel Cotto (WBA welterweight).

I'd tip Haye to beat Mormeck. He's one of England's rising stars at cruiserweight, won his last bout at Heavyweight and is tipped for great things in the future.

Cotto to win the welterweight fight.

 

I am leaning towards Mosely, because Cotto is not really an good "Boxer"

Cotto gets hit, and hit a lot. If Mosely still has the hand speed he has shown in the past, I think he will win this fight. He has more power than some of the fighter that have floored Cotto If he Slugs it out, and fights in close, Cotto will win.

I guess if I was forced to pick....Mosely.

 

Sorry, for some reason I keep thinking it's Friday today.

Froch-Reid, tomorrow.

Mormeck-Haye, Cotto-Mosely, Saturday.

 

There is no excuse

 

Beer?

 

Anytime