Boxing Thread

[STREET FIGHTER]

May 5th - Paul McCloskey vs Julio Diaz , Kings Hall

Undercard will feature an Irish Middleweight Prizefighter - Anthony Fitzgerald, Eamonn O'Kane, Joe Rea, Mark Hefferon and Darren Cruise are all confirmed to fight.

Atticus what do you know about Julio Diaz?  What sort of challenge will he bring?

[Atticus_Finch]

May 5th - Paul McCloskey vs Julio Diaz , Kings Hall

Undercard will feature an Irish Middleweight Prizefighter - Anthony Fitzgerald, Eamonn O'Kane, Joe Rea, Mark Hefferon and Darren Cruise are all confirmed to fight.

Atticus what do you know about Julio Diaz?  What sort of challenge will he bring?

Wouldn't know a great deal about Julio Diaz.

But he's mixed it at world level and he's a former world title holder (IBF).He's got some decent names on his record.  News of this fight will hopefully register to some extent on the other side of the pond, something a bout with Curtis Woodhouse was not going to do.  The only fight i think i've watched of Diaz's was when he fought against Juan Diaz.

Just went to youtube to try get some footage of his last fight with kendall Holt.  All I could get was the third and final round:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbD9kr3wPCg

Holding my hands up to not having a great knowledge of him but I would say his strengths are his movement and in particular his ability to land combinations.

I'd be fairly confident of a comfortable win for McCloskey as from what i've seen of Diaz his defence is far from water tight - i think McCloskey should be able to tag him without any great difficulty.

In addition to that when you bring into the equation one of McCloskey's greatest strengths, his elusiveness, then if things go to plan then Diaz wouldn't be able to establish any rhythm or be allowed that window of opportunity to land combinations.

Also looking at Diaz's record he hasn't fought outside the States before.  I don't think he'll find travelling to Belfast easy, especially as he will have almost a year of inactivity by the time he steps into the ring on the 5th of May.

I would predict a comfortable points decision for McCloskey and wouldn't rule out a late stoppage between rounds 10-12.

[bridgegael]

how many fights do you think paul will have this year atticus?  assuming he wins in may,  he would be lookin one in october??    i would think he needs two fights before a title fight, so you would be talkin nxt year before that happens.

[Atticus_Finch]

I think Paul will have one more fight this year in October / November but I wouldn't agree that he needs another two fights before he's given a title shot.  I would like to think that fight in October/November would be a title fight.

Paul's fight against Bredis Prescott was a WBA title eliminator so the expectation was that his next fight would be a world title fight.

A lot of eyes will be on a fight that takes place a fortnight after Paul's next fight, Amir Khan vs Lamont Peterson.

This time round I believe Khan will win and then he is likely to move up a weight leaving the WBA and IBF title vacant.

Paul should be in with a shout of fighting for that vacant WBA title having won an eliminator.  As regards to who is opponent will be, I would imagine Marcos Maidana's name will be in the hat.  I'm just after watching Maidana's fight with Devon Alexander (took place in the early hours this morning) and Alexander by and large dominated the fight over ten rounds (it was a non-title fight).  It should be noted that the fight was fought at welterweight and the step up in weight did not suit Maidana who didn't carry the same clout at the weight. 

Taking into account the weight factor, looking at Maidana's performance I would still be hopeful for Paul's chances should a fight between them materialise.  I've said it on a few occasions before but as much as I admire Maidana's power and his ability to cut off the ring, i still think he's a fairly one dimensional fighter.  You know what you are going to get with him.  I think he'll find it very hard to land when fighting McCloskey and although his power will once again be evident when he fights again at Light Welterweight I still think that Paul has the requisite chin to withstand and absorb any of Maidana's shots that do land.

This is all very much down the line and McCloskey has to get past Julio Diaz first, a challenge i don't think he will be taking lightly.

Devon Alexander was quite impressive last night and looked a lot more comfortable at welterweight than he has done in his previous two fights.  On the undercard of that fight was Mayweather wannabe, Adrien Broner.  Like Mayweather he seems to take delight in acting the pr!ck (perhaps thinking this will get him more attention and fans or maybe he's just a pr!ck !).  But he does seem to have the talent to back up his mouth.  I think he's expected to make the step up to lightweight at some stage as there doesn't look much in the way of challenges at super featherweight.  Lightweight (Ricky Burn's division) has a lot of decent fighters at the minute but by the looks of it Broner would be up there with the best of them.

Not much in the way of any great boxing action until St Paddys day.  Looking ahead to next weekend while i have no doubt that Wladimir Klitschko will win his fight against Jean Marc Mormeck, I think the likelihood is that it will go the distance and there is a lot of value to be had in the prospect of that.  Paddy Power go 4/1 that the fight will go the distance  and Sky Bet/Ladbrokes both offer 9/2 that Klitschko will win by decision.

[ziggy90]

Atticus, do you know how Frankie Gavin got on last night?

[Atticus_Finch]

I didn't watch it Ziggy but he knocked out Kevin McIntyre in the third round.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Froch admits prolonging a fight so his family and mates could get a bet up:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17088977

He's probably lucky this is coming out now when Chisora and Haye are still stealing the headlines.

Chat of life bans for Chisora and Haye, I can't see that happening.

He'd be looking at a ban for a number of years were that in horse racing.

[ziggy90]

I didn't watch it Ziggy but he knocked out Kevin McIntyre in the third round.

Cheers for that Atticus, I think he has the wherewithall to be a "good un". I would know his mothers family very well & if ever "good people" needed a lift it's them.

[Forever Green]

Was watching a fight last night on Sky Sports after coming in from the pub. A guy by the name of Adrian Broner was fighting against some other hoor. Was very impressed by Broner. Could be the next big thing in the boxing. 4th round KO and tbh the other fighter didn`t get anywhere near him. A kind of Mayweather type fighter, very impressive

[Atticus_Finch]

Froch admits prolonging a fight so his family and mates could get a bet up:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17088977

He's probably lucky this is coming out now when Chisora and Haye are still stealing the headlines.

Chat of life bans for Chisora and Haye, I can't see that happening.

He'd be looking at a ban for a number of years were that in horse racing.

TAM - with Cheltenham just around the corner you are probably dreaming about horse racing !  I say i might bump into a few of you Armagh hallions next monday night at the Europa for the preview night.  Are you going ?

But in regards to your point it is very hard to compare the two sports in this regard.

The fact is, in boxing it is acceptable to have "breather rounds" or even to play possum in a bid to get the other fighter to appear out of his shell or use up energy, most famously exemplified by Ali's "Rope a dope" tactics against Foreman.  What matters is what a fighter does over the course of the whole fight rather than in each of the individual rounds whereas in horse racing it is paramount to be trying ALL of the time.  Horse Racing is about getting over the line in the quickest amount of time whereas in boxing it is the style in which you cross the line that matters because what happens in the eyes of the judges is key unless you have the luxury of taking it out of the judges' hands by stopping the other fighter.

Now i don't want to come across that I am condoning what Froch did, i'm not at all, it was clearly wrong.  The image of boxing around the globe has taken a bit of a battering recently and what he did certainly doesn't help matters.  But taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, i'm against non-competitive fights where one fighter has the ability to pick and choose what round he stops the fight in from taking place at all in the first place.

I think at worst Froch is going to get away with a slap on the wrists here partly because the BBBoC (British Boxing Board of Control)  is already tied up with the Haye and Chisora incident to have the time to deal properly with Froch but also because there is a precedent in the form of David Haye's fight with Audley Harrison.

In that fight, David Haye told a lot of people that he would stop Audley Harrison in the third round and apparently told a lot of people judging by betting patterns.  Looking at that fight it was apparent that Haye only really started trying in the third round, does anyone doubt that Haye could have stopped that fight in the first round if he wanted to ?

It went before the BBBoC and it was clear they did not want to deal with it they fumbled about and gave Haye a minor slap on the wrist so that he would be mindful of his future conduct but by and large absolving him of any wrong doing.  In relation to the first two rounds in which Haye clearly wasn't trying the secretary of the board had this to say:

"'It's a bit like a football match. I was at Cardiff City v Swansea last week and they were (both) petrified of losing. It was a poor game. And I think in the fight David was wary of walking straight in on a big man like that, and Audley was wary of getting hit by a smaller bloke "

I know, absolute joke - whole article on the issue (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-1329792/David-Haye-insists-bet-placed-Audley-Harrison-round-knockout.html).  That fight also brought up another issue which was far more prevalent in the past,  i.e. Harrison's performance was so bad a lot of people were questioning whether he threw the fight.

I would like the BBBoC to not dust the Froch incident under the carpet but i expect they will just because it is very hard to adjudicate on.  Since the beginning of boxing fighters have made predictions in what round they would stop fighters and it has been acceptable as it hyped up the fight.

Because at the end of the day this issue is only coming to light because Froch went public about it,  would any one have been able to detect him prolonging the fight if he had kept his mouth shut ?  If he had kept his mouth shut would it have made him any less guilty ?

In my eyes it is a very hard issue for the board to provide clarity on.  Froch will get a slap on the wrists and be warned about his future conduct.  The wider boxing world will take note and fighters are highly unlikely to be coming out with such public statements in future.

Unfortunately, just because those statements won't be going public in future doesn't mean that fights won't be prolonged in an attempt to make family and mates a few pound .....

[Atticus_Finch]

Chisora has received an indefinite ban from the WBC.  They took this course of action without any type of hearing which would be in keeping with the undemocratic nature of the WBC.

In effect it means that Chisora can't fight for a WBC title.  With WBC being one of the big four sanctioning bodies, it will without doubt have a big impact on Chisora's career if it is not lifted but the more crucial decision for Chisora will come on the 14th of March when he goes before the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC).

There was chat of a ban for life, I can't see that happening but after listening to an interview with Robert Smith, general secretary of the board i'm under no doubt that they will deal with Chisora strongly.  I could envisage a ban of one or two years from boxing.

Chisora might then try do a 'Danny Williams' and get a licence in another country like Lithuania but most other countries are likely to support the decision of the board and Chisora would be prevented from fighting in big fights.

[BennyHarp]

Chisora has received an indefinite ban from the WBC.  They took this course of action without any type of hearing which would be in keeping with the undemocratic nature of the WBC.

In effect it means that Chisora can't fight for a WBC title.  With WBC being one of the big four sanctioning bodies, it will without doubt have a big impact on Chisora's career if it is not lifted but the more crucial decision for Chisora will come on the 14th of March when he goes before the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC).

There was chat of a ban for life, I can't see that happening but after listening to an interview with Robert Smith, general secretary of the board i'm under no doubt that they will deal with Chisora strongly.  I could envisage a ban of one or two years from boxing.

Chisora might then try do a 'Danny Williams' and get a licence in another country like Lithuania but most other countries are likely to support the decision of the board and Chisora would be prevented from fighting in big fights.

He's probably banned "indefinately" so that when a big fight v David Haye comes along which will probably make a lot of people a lot of money, this ban will be lifted.

[ziggy90]

Got to post this before I head for hq. Good luck to local lad Matthew Macklin in Madison Square Garden tonight. he's got plenty of support from Birmingham & Roscommon. Any of you boxing heads reckon he's worth having a few pound on. 

[Oak Leafer]

In your opinion's whos most likely Irish boxer to be next world champion?

Paul McCloskey? Eamonn O'Kane? Carl Frampton?

[Atticus_Finch]

Two Matthews are headling bills tonight because they effectively gained victory in defeat.

The boxers I am talking about are Matthew Macklin and Matthew Hatton.

I'll start with the former first, in his fight against Felix Sturm, Macklin caught the attention of the boxing world with a gutsy display.  While he didn't win that fight, many would argue he was the victim of a hometown decision.  His display caught the attention of Lou Di Bella as in Macklin he saw a crowd pleaser who if put on an American stage would prove to be a very big draw.  It is a clever bit of work by Di Bella, tonight's show in Madison Square Garden is sold out and has definitely caught the attention of the American media. 

Macklin faces the toughest fight of his career as he faces Sergio Martinez, the numero uno in the middleweight division.  I have no doubt that Macklin has learned a lot from the Sturm fight.  Macklin ran out of gas down the home straight and that cost him victory in my eyes.  I think he'll pace himself a lot better tonight and you will see more of a boxing display which will help him conserve the energy throughout the 12 rounds.  Against Sturm he was all about the big shots, the hooks .... if he employs those same type of shots against Martinez he will be in trouble as not only are they energy sapping but Martinez is a superb counter puncher and will make hay should Macklin steam roll into the fight with a knockout attempt.  It's St Paddys day and the atmosphere in Madison Square tonight will be absolutely electric.  My head and my heart are still having a row about who is going to come out on top in this one.  It is very hard to look past a Martinez victory but he is 37 and if Macklin is going to beat him there is no better night .... I'm going to put a small bet on Macklin to win - you can get 6/1 and even 7/1 in some places and that is value, he shouldn't be any more than 7/2.

Matthew Hatton is appearing on a different bill tonight in Sheffield, he also has a huge task in front of him as he faces Kell Brook who is a class act.  In his fight with Saul Alvarez, Hatton really impressed me,  he was beaten and comfortably beaten but he was giving away a lot of weight on the night and even going the distance with Alvarez was a significant achievement.  Alvarez's performances since that fight would give Hatton a belief that he can mix it with the best.  From what i've seen of Brook he is very impressive and he comes from a gym that is very much in form.  The fight is in his home town and I can't see anything else other than a Kell Brook victory.  But Hatton has heart and chin and i think he'll last the distance and inflict a bit of damage on Brook along the way.  This might catch the eye of a judge.  I can't help but think that a majority decision for Brook is a realistic possibility and that is a huge price at 25/1 with Ladbrokes so i've had a small punt on that.

Carl Frampton is fighting at the minute against Prosper Ankrah he will win - the fight in my opinion is mainly about exposure it is aimed at showing a bit more of him to the UK audience as bigger fights wait ahead for the super bantamweight Belfast fighter in the form of Kiko Martinez and Scott Quigg.

I don't know if i like all this boxing on St Paddys night ... it means staying relatively sober so that i am not KO'd by the time the Macklin fight comes on !!