Boxing Thread

[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 !!

[The Claw]

Anyone around for the Macklin fight?

[Atticus_Finch]

http://www.firstrowsports.eu/watch/113885/2/watch-hbo-boxing:-sergio-martinez-vs-matthew-macklin.html

Not the best quality in the world, if anyone has anything better please let me know.

Brook was just too good for Hatton earlier,  I thought Hatton was done in the 5th round ... he showed a great deal of resilience lasting the distance.  Hatton landed in bursts but nowhere near frequent enough to make the fight a close contest.

[The Claw]

Missed the Hatton fight - didn't expect much from him against the class of Brook.

That Rodriguez lad looked decent? I'll be honest, that was the first I heard of him. Only 26 and now has a record of 21-0.

[Atticus_Finch]

That atmosphere looks unreal, would love to be there. I didn't really watch the Rodriguez fight.  Might watch it tomorrow - he's in one of the toughest weight classes in boxing.  Strugging to stay awake here been a long day - hopefully once it kicks off that won't be a problem.

[Atticus_Finch]

Why is that clueless w**ker Khan commentating ..... i might put this on mute

[The Claw]

He did give Macklin a chance though!
Atmoshpere unreal!