Sons of Peter McNeeley- Boxing Thread

BGrif21125

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eddiew112 said:
Also, apparently Mayweather was offered 8 million to fight Margarito, and turned it down. Frankly, Mayweather is scared of Margarito, who could very well have the size and skill to push him around.
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I'd like to see Mayweather fight Margarito, but I think the "scared" talk goes a little too far. Mayweather has reasons to hold out for another fight. A matchup with Mosley would bring him much more money, publicity, and respect than a fight with Margarito. Mayweather's initial refusal to sign to fight Margarito had a lot to do with waiting to see what happened in the Mosley-Vargas rematch. By all accounts, Mayweather wants badly to fight Mosley, and it's Mosley who is holding out. Why would Mayweather be afraid of Margarito, yet be completely willing to fight Mosley, who is a much better fighter?

Margarito's style is presented as a dangerous matchup for Mayweather because of the close fights that Floyd had with Jose Luis Castillo. But the Castillo fights were 4 years ago, and Mayweather is a much different fighter now. Back then he was a defensive whiz with a decent left hook. Now he has a very dangerous straight right hand, knows how to work the body, still has the left hook, and hasn't lost any hand or foot speed. He can punish an opponent who tries to smother him, which he couldn't really do when he fought Castillo.
 

eddiew112

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I would not say Shane is a much better fighter than Margarito now, Shane is way past his prime. That fight against Vargas was not indicitive of how far along he is, Vargas looked awful. Also, I think Margarito presents more of a challenge to Floyd than Castillo..considering that Floyd would be up in weight, therefore against a bigger man.
 

BGrif21125

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eddiew112 said:
I would not say Shane is a much better fighter than Margarito now, Shane is way past his prime. That fight against Vargas was not indicitive of how far along he is, Vargas looked awful. Also, I think Margarito presents more of a challenge to Floyd than Castillo..considering that Floyd would be up in weight, therefore against a bigger man.
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I'll certainly grant you that beating Vargas doesn't prove much. Vargas is a walking corpse at this point.
But who has Margarito ever beaten of any substance? "Six Heads" Lewis?? Margarito is a good fighter, but a flawed one. He doesn't move his head, doesn't really move his feet. He walks forward and throws nothing but one-twos. Everytime I watch him, he headhunts. He very rarely works the body, which is imperative against a fighter as fast as Mayweather. His right hand, while powerful, is extremely wide, looping, and slow. It takes so long to get from point A to B that Floyd would be halfway across the ring before it lands.
To me, Margarito is a 147 pound Diego Corrales. I'm sure you've seen the Mayweather-Corrales fight from '01, which in my opinion is the most embarassingly one-sided title fight of the last 15 years.
I think Margarito is an exciting fighter and I would pay a PPV fee to watch him against Mayweather, I just think he's slightly delusional if he thinks the #1 fighter on the planet is afraid of him.
 

5050HindSight

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I just came here to see how the Quartay-Forrest fight went since I missed it, and nothing. Then I saw this...

HRB, I'm guessing you went ahead and put money on the fight, so did you:

a.) take my advice, bet on Forrest, and spend the night thanking God that boxing is corrupt

or

b.) not take my advice, bet on Quartey, and spend the night screaming bloody murder that boxing is corrupt
Sounds interesting, I'll have to check the replay this week. Was it that bad?
 

BGrif21125

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5050HindSight said:
I just came here to see how the Quartay-Forrest fight went since I missed it, and nothing. Then I saw this...
Sounds interesting, I'll have to check the replay this week. Was it that bad?
[post="399135"][/post]​
I've certainly seen worse, but it did appear that Quartey should have won. I believe Lederman's card had it 97-92 Quartey. Forrest had a point deducted for a low blow.
Forrest threw something like 400 more punches, but Quartey actually landed more. Forrest's land% was atrocious, Quartey's was around 50% IIRC.
 

eddiew112

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It was a shame Sechew Powell had to lose, but he needed a wake up call, now he can get some seasoning. Back to Margarito real quick, I think his situation is similar to Joe Calzaghe, in that he has been constantly ducked by top contenders. Now he is not as skilled as Calzaghe, but they are in similar situations. I would like to have seen a Roy Jones-Calzaghe fight a couple of years ago. Much to my chagrin, John Duddy is off a card later this week. I want to see him step him competition up, Yori Boy Campas doesnt count!
 

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By all accounts Mayweather vs. Cory Spinks at 154 pounds is almost a done deal for November 4 in Vegas. Spinks is a good fighter, but I'd rather see Mayweather just stay at 147.
 

BGrif21125

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Just wanted to add that the more I think about it, the more I hate this fight. Spinks is talented, and he's proven himself against quality opposition (Mayorga, Judah, Kamarzin), but styles make fights, and this is a brutal style matchup.
I think Mayweather torches both Baldomir and Margarito, but at least their straight-ahead style would bring out the best in him. Cory Spinks couldn't knock me out.
Floyd should just stay at 147 and clean out the division.
 

eddiew112

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I would have rather seen Spinks fight Jose Antonio Rivera, after Cory's manager called Rivera a bum. I predict Floyd knocks Cory out in 7.
 

BigA27

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Oleg Maskaev just knocked out Hasim Rahman for the second time. Although Rahman stayed in the ring this time.

In a surprisingly good fight Rahman outboxex Maskaev early with and excellent jab. Then Rahman inexplicably stopped jabbing and Maskaev kept coming forward, landing his left hook nearly at will.

Both fighters were gassed in the 7th-9th rounds and then Maskaev came roaring back. He landed big upstairs and to the body and in the 12th round caught a tired and battered Rahman with a big right hand and dropped him. Maskaev kept the pressure on him and sent him sprawling into the ropes and the Ref stopped it.

It was an inspired performance from the ageing and previsouly medicore Maskaev. Lots of heart and a lot of effort.

It was also a surprisingly entertaining fight, easily worth a rewatch.

Now the Heavyweight division belongs to the Russians, with every belt holder hailing from a different former Soviet Republic.
 

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Hopefully Wladimir Klitschko does the right thing and fights Maskaev this November at MSG. He's tentatively scheduled to fight Shannon Briggs, who has done absolutely nothing to deserve a title shot, but he can still change his mind.
Klitschko-Maskaev could probably sell a decent number of tickets at MSG.

Klitschko-Maskaev and the Toney-Peter fight next month could serve as de facto semifinals, with the winners fighting to determine a linear champion. This makes a lot of sense to me, so I'm sure it won't happen.

I'm sure if Toney wins in a few weeks, he'll get a shot at one of the belt holders, just so the promoters can play up this stupid US-Russia angle again.
 

BigA27

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Toney-Peter is to decide who fights Maskaev next if I recall correctly.

The other two belts belong to Nicolay Valuev and Sergei "the White Wolf" Liahkhovich (probably not even close to being spelled right). Valuev ain't anything special, he is just a massive dude (7'1" 325 lbs ) with a good jab and nothing else. Liahkovich outslugged and outboxed the very sturdy Lamon Brewster and I reckon is the 2nd best heavy out there.

The division belongs to Wlad Klitschko though. He is the best boxer and has very good handspeed and excellent power. His chin is a question mark but he has always gotten up after being dropped. He also already beat up on Peter.

I am happy for Maskaev, but I reckon he is going to do the most finacially savvy thing and take big money to get brutalized by Wlad.
 

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BGrif21125 said:
Hopefully Wladimir Klitschko does the right thing and fights Maskaev this November at MSG. He's tentatively scheduled to fight Shannon Briggs, who has done absolutely nothing to deserve a title shot, but he can still change his mind.
Klitschko-Maskaev could probably sell a decent number of tickets at MSG.

Klitschko-Maskaev and the Toney-Peter fight next month could serve as de facto semifinals, with the winners fighting to determine a linear champion. This makes a lot of sense to me, so I'm sure it won't happen.

I'm sure if Toney wins in a few weeks, he'll get a shot at one of the belt holders, just so the promoters can play up this stupid US-Russia angle again.
[post="408451"][/post]​
Brigggs may have done nothing to deserve a title shot, but neither had Maskaev. Unless you count a win over Sinan Samil Sam as a legitimate "title eliminator."

I didn't buy the PPV last night and now I'm kind of regretting it. Looking forward to the "free" rebroadcast next week on HBO. Rahman really is a puzzler. He seems to have all the ability, but he so rarely seems able to do anything useful with it. A classic boxing head case.

As for Mayweather, I hope he does change his mind and decide to fight Baldomir -- though you're right, this ridiculous "will he or won't he" dance is just annoying. Mayweather may be boxing's most talented fighter, but he's also boxing's biggest diva.

I can't fault him at all for fighting Baldomir, who is the legitimate, linear welterweight champion. Sure, the Argentinian's not in Mayweather's league in terms of talent, but he beat the undisputed champ (Judah) then solidified his claim to the title by destroying a tough challenger in Gatti. Baldomir has to be considered for real. I credit Mayweather if he does, in fact, take this fight. Baldomir at this point is at least as credible an opponent as Margarito,

And to be honest, I think this might be a somewhat scarier fight for Floyd that he realizes.
While, again, Baldomir isn't the most talented fighter on the scene, he's a career-long welterweight (he walks around at 180!), he's a relentless pressure fighter with a solid chin and all kinds of heart. While he's not much of a puncher, as Gatti found out (and Hatton found out against Collazo) a genuine welterweight without a punch suddenly gets one when he's facing a smaller guy who's moving up.

Ultimately, I think Mayweather has way too much raw skill for Baldomir and wins a relatively one-sided 12-round decision. But I anticipate some anxious moments for Mayweather along the way. Remember that Judah -- who's NOT a true welter -- hurt him early and scored what should have been ruled a knockdown (Mayweather's glove touched the canvas). Against Baldomir, Floyd's going to take shots the likes of which he's never felt before. In the end, he'll weather the storm because Baldomir will have an impossible time landing too many clean ones,, but I still like this fight. I hope Floyd signs for it. I'm in.
 

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Gene Conleys Plane Ticket said:
Brigggs may have done nothing to deserve a title shot, but neither had Maskaev. Unless you count a win over Sinan Samil Sam as a legitimate "title eliminator."
[post="408812"][/post]​
I completely agree that Maskaev had done nothing the last several years. But now he does have a noteworthy victory, so if Wlad can still back out of the Briggs fight, he should.

Rahman really is a puzzler. He seems to have all the ability, but he so rarely seems able to do anything useful with it. A classic boxing head case.
I used to feel the same way about Rahman, but now I've come to the conclusion that he's simply not as talented as we make him out to be. He has lost or fought to a draw in every significant fight in his career, with the big exception of the first Lewis fight. And even that win was a fluke one-punch KO against a completely unfocused, overweight, overconfident champion. I'll always give him credit for making the most of his big opportunity, because most fighters don't, but I think that one punch made people believe he was a better fighter than he really is.

Baldomir has to be considered for real. I credit Mayweather if he does, in fact, take this fight. Baldomir at this point is at least as credible an opponent as Margarito,
And to be honest, I think this might be a somewhat scarier fight for Floyd that he realizes.
I'll go one further and say that Baldomir is also a more dangerous opponent than Spinks. The Spinks fight would've been at 154, but Spinks is a true welterweight who punches like a bantamweight. Spinks is a talented slick boxer with handspeed, but no one is as slick or as fast as Mayweather, there's no way Spinks could beat Floyd at his own game. At least Baldomir presents a contrasting style. I'm sure Margarito is going to continue his campaign that Floyd is ducking him, but Margarito has never beaten anyone the caliber of Judah or Gatti, so I don't see where he can claim to being more worthy than Baldomir.

Ultimately, I think Mayweather has way too much raw skill for Baldomir and wins a relatively one-sided 12-round decision. But I anticipate some anxious moments for Mayweather along the way. Remember that Judah -- who's NOT a true welter -- hurt him early and scored what should have been ruled a knockdown (Mayweather's glove touched the canvas).
I think what allowed Judah to have his moments in the early rounds was that he is the only guy out there with hand and foot speed comparable to Floyd. The punch that caused the apparent knockdown was a quick counter that I don't think Floyd expected. Zab's speed was also the reason why Floyd spent most of the night throwing straight right-left hook combos and then backing out. Against someone like Baldomir, the speed differential will be glaring to the point where Floyd is landing 5 and 6 punch combos instead of 1-2's.
I've haven't watched much of Baldomir other than the Gatti fight, but he seems like your typical upright, straight-ahead fighter, much as Corrales and Gatti are. Mayweather destroys those type of guys. I see a Baldomir fight ending up as a 118-110, maybe 117-111 if Floyd starts out slow.

I'm also interested to hear predictions for Toney-Peter, I'm having a hard time predicting this one. Tale of the Tape and punching power definitely favors Peter, but I've always been a big Toney guy, I have a hard time picking against him, even if he is 75 pounds overweight.
 

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Should be a fun fight to watch. I hope Baldomir can win, but it is definitely not likely. I would say Baldomir is a poor mans Margarito. How did Rahman look before Oleg knocked him out? So... Is any one gonna watch Evander?
 

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Mayweather is gonna beat Baldmoir, but Carlos is gonna give him a fight. He is a tough, tenacious dude, and a natural welterweight. He just doesn't have the handspeed or pop to overcome Mayweather's talent and physical gifts.

Still I will be watching this and cheering for Baldomir.

Rahman did well for the first couple rounds, landing his shotgun jab at will. Maskaev just kept coming and he kept landing big. Rock was getting beat up the last three rounds, he was getting hit often and big. At the end of the 11th I predicated that Rock wouldn't finish the fight on his feet and Oleg made it happen. Just rewatched it and it was as dramatic and exciting as the first time. Not the greatest of fights, but quite enjoyable.
 

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eddiew112 said:
I would say Baldomir is a poor mans Margarito.
[post="415340"][/post]​
Margarito is talented, but Baldomir deserves some respect. Keep in mind, he's thoroughly beaten both Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti, who are both better by leaps and bounds than anyone Margarito has ever beaten. While Mayweather's stalling tactics were maddening, the end result is a legitimate fight.
I would love to see Margarito prove himself against one of the other contenders at 147, like Cotto, Judah, etc. Those could be very entertaining fights.

So... Is any one gonna watch Evander?
Is this even on TV? If it is, I still don't think I'll watch it. It's sad to see as great a champ as Holyfield embarassing himself against no-name opponents. I worry for his long-term health at this point. Other than possibly Ali, has there ever been a modern heavyweight who's been through as many brutal wars as Holyfield?
 

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BGrif21125 said:
Is this even on TV? If it is, I still don't think I'll watch it. It's sad to see as great a champ as Holyfield embarassing himself against no-name opponents. I worry for his long-term health at this point. Other than possibly Ali, has there ever been a modern heavyweight who's been through as many brutal wars as Holyfield?
[post="415659"][/post]​
I think it is going to be on FoxSportsNet under a "BestDamnComeback" title or something like that. I wish I was making this up.
 

BGrif21125

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Can't find a supporting link anywhere, but Teddy Atlas reported on FNF that Jermain Taylor is close to finalizing a deal to fight Kassim Ouma on December 9.

There are also Winky Wright- Ouma rumors out there, fwiw.
 

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Paul Williams is fighting Shamba Mitchell on Boxing-After-Dark right now. I think Williams is a very intriguing young fighter. If you are around, check it out.

Well, that was quick.Williams knocked Mitchell down 4 times in route to a 4th round KO.

Williams is fun to watch. He's a 6'1" stringbean fighting at 147. He's a southpaw, and throws 100 punches a round. His fights often look awkward, as he usually has at least a 4-5" height advantage.

Tonight, Williams landed 72 of 330 punches and 62 of 204 power punches.

He claims that he'll fight anyone from 147 to 168, and is really angling for a Margarito might. That might be worth paying to see.
 

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Williams is a very interesting prospect and his style is always going to produce good fights. He's just the latest example of why 147 is the best division in boxing.

If I were in charge of the division:
Williams is now the mandatory contender for Margarito's WBO belt. They should fight to determine who the new #1 contender should be.

The winner of Mayweather-Baldomir (likely Mayweather) will be the universally recognized champ at 147. If he wins, Floyd should fight the winner of Williams-Margarito, although Mosley at 147 is a possibility.

The only reason for Mayweather to vacate 147 is if De La Hoya makes himself available. DLH is a valid excuse for Mayweather to jump up to 154 and make eight figures.
 

eddiew112

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Williams is now the mandatory contender for Margarito's WBO belt. They should fight to determine who the new #1 contender should be.
So Margarito has the WBO belt, Floyd has the WBA belt, and Baldomir has the WBC?
Looking forward to seeing local kid McBride taking on Golota in Chicago, even tho if Golota is on, its over quickly. Also hearing rumors about Peter Manfredo getting a big shot, possible on BAD.
 

BGrif21125

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eddiew112 said:
So Margarito has the WBO belt, Floyd has the WBA belt, and Baldomir has the WBC?
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I think Baldomir has the WBC and IBA, and Floyd has the IBO and IBF, but I'm not really sure. I'm almost certain that Floyd dumped a belt or two.
The Ring Magazine Rankings are the only ones that matter. Baldomir is the Ring Magazine Welterweight champ, with Mayweather listed as the #1 contender at 147 and the #1 PFP fighter. Margarito is the #2 contender.

I stopped following belts a long time ago. If I were a fighter, I would ditch every belt, like Barrera does. If you're a big enough name, all the belts do are:
a.) require you to pay sanctioning fees
b.) railroad you into fights you don't want against #1 contenders who are only ranked #1 because of money under the table.
 

5050HindSight

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BGrif21125 said:
The Ring Magazine Rankings are the only ones that matter.
[post="423139"][/post]​
Thanks for posting that. I had been looking for it for a while now, and hadn't found it. (for whatever reason, I typed "ring magazine rankings" without the quotes into google, and the first 5 pages bring up nothing related to the ring magazine site. weird.)

I think it's pretty clear the best divisions right now are 147 and 130. With 154 and 140 getting honorable mention.

Who do you guys like as other up-and-coming fighters?

I like Rocky Juarez and Paul Williams. Give me some other names I should be on the lookout for.
 

eddiew112

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The Ring Magazine Rankings are the only ones that matter.
They are divison wise, but the pound for pound rankings are kinda useless. How can they judge the guys on an even ground? How do they do it? You cant really compare defensive ability or offensive ability or chins, because they are all based on weight. Floyd Mayweather may be ranked higher than Winky Wright (who I think is the based fighter in the world, based on his balanced attack), but Floyd could never beat Winky in a fight. So it seems sorta useless.
 

BGrif21125

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eddiew112 said:
They are divison wise, but the pound for pound rankings are kinda useless. How can they judge the guys on an even ground? How do they do it? You cant really compare defensive ability or offensive ability or chins, because they are all based on weight. Floyd Mayweather may be ranked higher than Winky Wright (who I think is the based fighter in the world, based on his balanced attack), but Floyd could never beat Winky in a fight. So it seems sorta useless.
[post="426704"][/post]​
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think the PFP argument is always the most interesting discuusion in boxing. Like you said, because of weight classes, there are certain fighters who will never face each other. So the only way to debate who's better is with a PFP list.
If someone asked you who is the best fighter in the world, you wouldn't say Klitschko. Now technically, as the champ of the heaviest division, he would probably beat any other fighter in the world, but would you say he is the best boxer in the sport? Of course not.
It's similar to comparing athletes in other sports from different eras. Just as baseball fans will spend hours arguing Pedro vs. Koufax or Williams vs. Ruth, boxing fans in 2000 argued Shane Mosley vs. Roy Jones, now it's Mayweather vs. Wright.
 

BGrif21125

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5050HindSight said:
Who do you guys like as other up-and-coming fighters?

I like Rocky Juarez and Paul Williams. Give me some other names I should be on the lookout for.
[post="423537"][/post]​
Received a PM from a lurker, ElUno20, he offered this suggestion regarding young fighters:

Add Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz to your must watch list. One of the best technically sound offensive fighters I've seen in a while. His last fight on the Mosley/Vargas undercard was another spectacular performance. I think he can reach elite status and maybe even top 5 P4P sometime in the next 2 years.
I haven't gotten a chance to see Diaz personally, but I have heard a lot about him.

I'd also suggest Miguel Cotto, although I'm guessing you already know about him. He should be getting a shot against one of the big names at 140/147 soon.
 

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Watch out for John Duddy. He is 17-0 with 15 knockouts. He will be fighting Yori Boy Campas sometime in the next couple of months.
 

BGrif21125

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eddiew112 said:
You like Winky or Floyd better BGrif?
[post="429860"][/post]​
I like Mayweather more than Wright, in that I actively root for Floyd, whereas I don't necessarily root for Wright.
It's not that i don't like Wright, he's a great fighter, he's just not one of my favorites.

I also think Mayweather is a better fighter than Wright in a PFP argument, although there are certainly valid points to be made for each guy.
 

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Winky is one of my favorites. This is PROBABLY because I had a similar defensive technical style when I fought as an amateur. I also admire Winky because of all the work he put in to get where he is. I guess I would say I dont like Floyd, even tho I respect his ability (who wouldnt). I will never forgive Floyd for embarrasing the greatest warrior in boxing at his home.
 

BGrif21125

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eddiew112 said:
Aug 24 2006, 04:21 PM]
This is PROBABLY because I had a similar defensive technical style when I fought as an amateur.
[post="430175"][/post]​
Former fighter? Interesting, what weight class? Local tournaments or something as big as Golden Gloves? Just curious.
Ever get KO'd?

Sometimes I wish I had tried sparring once or twice, although it's probably for the best that I didn't, considering that I'm skinny and have no hand speed, foot speed, or punching power. My career probably would've mirrored Glass Joe's from Tyson's Punch-Out.

I guess I would say I dont like Floyd, even tho I respect his ability (who wouldnt).
It's unfortunate so many people don't like Floyd. He's incredibly talented, a former Olympian, American, intelligent, opinionated, he should be the face of boxing, especially in the USA, like Sugar Ray Leonard was in the late 70's, early 80's.

But over the years, he's said so many stupid things and shown up on the police blotter so many times that it's hard for the general public to root for him.
 

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Am I missing something, or is there really only one good fight in the next couple of months, Barrera-Juarez II. Seems rather dull to me. I missed the first fight, looks like a close fight. How good did Juarez look then? Can he take out Barrera this time?

As for young and upcoming boxers, I agree with Cotto. He could become something special. Ricky Hatton is another guy I like. He's fought 41 times, but almost always in England, so he goes under the radar. I would love to see him fight Mayweather.

The Ring Magazine Rankings are the only ones that matter.
I'm also a fan of the linear titles. You can't be the champ if you don't beat the champ.
 

BGrif21125

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Forever Red 9 said:
Am I missing something, or is there really only one good fight in the next couple of months, Barrera-Juarez II.  Seems rather dull to me.  I missed the first fight, looks like a close fight.  How good did Juarez look then?  Can he take out Barrera this time?
[post="430480"][/post]​
Barrera was hanging on for dear life at the end of the first fight, if it went one more round, he probably would've been KO'd. I feel very confident that Juarez will win the rematch in a couple weeks. He won't be in awe of Barrera this time and he'll attack him right from the beginning.

As for other fights, James Toney-Sam Peter is coming up in a couple weeks. Most people may not be interested in this one, but I've always liked Toney, even though he is about 80 pounds overweight. Peter is probably the hardest puncher in all of boxing.
Corrales-Casamayor III is on Showtime on October 7.
November will be great with Mayweather-Baldomir on the 4th, a possible Klitschko-Maskaev fight on the 11th, and Morales-Pacquiao III on the 18th. Not bad when the two best divisions in boxing and the heavyweight division all have title fights on three consecutive weeks.

Ricky Hatton is another guy I like.  He's fought 41 times, but almost always in England, so he goes under the radar.  I would love to see him fight Mayweather.
Hatton is a high-energy guy with a big following, and he could be very effective in the US if he stayed at junior welterweight. Per Dan Rafael of ESPN, Hatton is eyeing a fight next year vs. Jose Luis Castillo. That could be a great fight.
But if he ever gets in the ring with Mayweather, he will take an ass-kicking of epic proportions. Think Mayweather vs. Gatti, but worse.
I'm convinced Mayweather-Hatton could sell out a 75,000 seat soccer stadium in the UK, and that would be great publicity for the sport, but I don't think it will ever happen. It's just too lopsided from a competitive standpoint. Mayweather is light years faster than Hatton.
 

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Former fighter? Interesting, what weight class? Local tournaments or something as big as Golden Gloves? Just curious.
Ever get KO'd?
I was usually a high Middleweight to a Light Heavyweight, the classes are different in amateur. There are no in between classes, and theres super heavy. I was pretty good, I fought once at the Holoyke Golden Gloves, lost in the second round. It was tough tho because by the time I started, I was in the open division, which ment sometimes I had to fight older guys once or twice (I started fighting when I was 16). I think I had a 21-8 record. On the KO Question, I got knocked out at Holoyke. Not too fun, but I was the hero at my private school the next day!
 

Gene Conleys Plane Ticket

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5050HindSight said:
Thanks for posting that. I had been looking for it for a while now, and hadn't found it. (for whatever reason, I typed "ring magazine rankings" without the quotes into google, and the first 5 pages bring up nothing related to the ring magazine site. weird.)

I think it's pretty clear the best divisions right now are 147 and 130. With 154 and 140 getting honorable mention.

Who do you guys like as other up-and-coming fighters?

I like Rocky Juarez and Paul Williams. Give me some other names I should be on the lookout for.
[post="423537"][/post]​
Where to begin?? Just a few off the top of my head:

The Peterson brothers, LaMont and Anthony, at junior welter and lightweight, respectively. Both are top prospects but LaMont, the younger, is the more exciting to watch. He's the knockout specialist while Anthony is the slick, cautious boxer. They also have a great backstory, having been homeless and parentless as little kids, wandering the streets of DC day and night until the boxing trainer Barry Hunter took them under his wing.

Andre and Anthony Dirrelll are are another set of brother prospects who bear watching, at higher weight classes (light-heavy and super-middle). Andre won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics.

A couple more Andres, both Olympians, will, I believe, be getting a lot of exposure in 2007.

Andre Berto is a Mike Tyson-style puncher but at welterweight, who though he is actually American was able to fight for the Haitian Olympic team in 2004. He's only 21 years old and he fights very often. is fights so far have tended to end pretty quickly. Look for him to get a lot of attention, face tougher opponents and crack the top 10 in 2007, toward a possible title shot in 2008.

Andre Ward was the only American gold medalist at Athens 2004. He's been brought along cautiously as a pro, facing mostly hopeless opposition so far. But he's got incredible speed and boxing skills. I'd expect he'd get an HBO date or two in 2007.

Allan Green is perhaps the top super-middleweight prospect at the moment. He's versatile -- can either box or slug -- and cocky, so he's fun to see on TV. He's headlining this Friday's ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card (the last FNF until January, by the way). He had last year's knockout of the year when he flattened another highly touted prospect, Jaidon Codrington, in 18 seconds on a much-anticipated ShoBox matchup. Codrington was unconscious for about three minutes. Green was supposed to get a title shot against Joe Calzaghe earlier this year, but when he suffered a surprise knockdown against a journeyman fighter on ESPN this spring, his credibility took a hit so he lost that opportunity. Now he's being talked about as the next opponent for Jeff Lacy, which should be a very interesting fight.

That's just a few that I can think of at the moment. The best places to catch up-and-comers are the ESPN2 shows, Friday Night Fights and Wednesday Night Fights, and also Showtime's irregularly scheduled ShoBox cards, which air on Fridays at 11 pm, usually once a month, but sometimes more and sometimes less. The Spanish-language networks, Telefutura and Azteca, also sometimes showcase decent prospects in their broadcasts on Friday and Saturday nights.

Have fun!
 

BGrif21125

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Another young fighter who's getting a lot of press is Andy Lee, who's a super-middleweight from Ireland. He trains at the Kronk Gym in Detroit under Emanuel Steward. Dan Rafael said recently that he thinks Lee is a future world champ. He's only had 4 fights so I haven't seen him, but I think he's getting an undercard TV fight in the next couple months.
 

5050HindSight

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Thanks for all the recommendations, guys. I'm definitely going to put a lot of these fighters on my radar.

Have any of you seen either Joel "Love Child" Julio or Julio Caesar Chavez Jr.? I've heard good things, but have yet to see either in action. And I have no idea if JCC Jr is any good or if they are using his name to draw and putting him in vrs cream puffs. He has a decent match in September (might have been pushed to November) vrs Grover Wiley, who was the last opponent of Chavez Sr.
 

eddiew112

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Lee was an Olympian for Ireland in 04. Hes got a lot of potential, but considering most of his hype comes from sparring with Jermain Taylor, we need to see him fight some1 real. JCC Jr. is good, but he hasnt faced anyone that you could consider a real opponet. Right now my favorite prospects are Andre Berto (who might be fighting in Providence), John Duddy, and Paul Williams.
 

5050HindSight

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BGrif21125 said:
I haven't gotten a chance to see Diaz personally, but I have heard a lot about him.
[post="428172"][/post]​
I was just tooling around on my tivo online looking for some boxing programs to record, when i noticed that ESPN Classic will be re-airing one of "The Baby Bull"'s fights from January 2005. I think they will show the fight twice on September 4th. Might be worth checking out.
 

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Lennox Lewis seems pretty content in retirement to me, but even if he did come back, he would never do it to fight a guy who he's already beaten and who doesn't hold a belt. Vitali is living in a fantasy world.
 

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5050HindSight said:
Thanks for all the recommendations, guys. I'm definitely going to put a lot of these fighters on my radar.

Have any of you seen either Joel "Love Child" Julio or Julio Caesar Chavez Jr.? I've heard good things, but have yet to see either in action. And I have no idea if JCC Jr is any good or if they are using his name to draw and putting him in vrs cream puffs. He has a decent match in September (might have been pushed to November) vrs Grover Wiley, who was the last opponent of Chavez Sr.
[post="438367"][/post]​
Julio's an exciting young fighter just because of his explosive punching power, but he took a pretty bad beating in his HBO debut a couple of months ago against Carlos Quintana (NOT the former Red Sox first baseman -- THAT would have been interesting). It was the first time he faced a really skilled boxer and he couldn't handle it. Julio realy needs to work on his boxing skills and his next few fights will tell whether or not he can do that. Kind of reminds me of Jeff Lacy in that way.

Chavez Jr. looks pretty good so far and he sure has a great left hook to the body, but like many Mexican fighters his amateur experience is pretty limited and he's basically learning to box as a pro. Which means he's being brought along very slowly, VERY slowly. Of course, he's also very young. But he's been fighting a lot of no-namers and no-hopers -- a lot of hard-headed white guys from the midwest who bring a lot of heart and not much else -- and with the exception of one fight, which ended in a draw Chavez Jr. has had a pretty easy time of it. At this point, it's impossible to even call him a prospect, though he may turn out to be one, just because he hasn't fought anyone. He gets a lot of TV exposure and that's clearly only due to his name.

Andy Lee, by the way, will fight on OLN's "Fight Night" show Sept. 18.
 

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Gene Conleys Plane Ticket said:
he took a pretty bad beating in his HBO debut a couple of months ago against Carlos Quintana (NOT the former Red Sox first baseman -- THAT would have been interesting).
[post="445480"][/post]​
I was at McCoy Stadium on the day when stud-1B Carlos Quintana was pulled out of the game and sent up to Boston. I bet you guys are all insanely jealous.
 

5050HindSight

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Gene Conleys Plane Ticket said:
Julio's an exciting young fighter just because of his explosive punching power, but he took a pretty bad beating in his HBO debut a couple of months ago against Carlos Quintana (NOT the former Red Sox first baseman -- THAT would have been interesting).
[post="445480"][/post]​
Didn't Quintana name all his sons Carlos Quintana? Could it be one of his sons? Is Quintana the hispanic George Foreman?

As always, thanks for the info. I'll be looking for that fight on OLN. I didn't realize they showed boxing. On Sunday, Sept. 10th they are rebroadcasting a fight with Kelly Pavlik who has a pretty impressive record so far (27-0-0, 24KOs) even if it is against stiffs. Have you guys seen him fight? I might check this one out.
 

Gene Conleys Plane Ticket

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5050HindSight said:
Didn't Quintana name all his sons Carlos Quintana? Could it be one of his sons? Is Quintana the hispanic George Foreman?

As always, thanks for the info. I'll be looking for that fight on OLN. I didn't realize they showed boxing. On Sunday, Sept. 10th they are rebroadcasting a fight with Kelly Pavlik who has a pretty impressive record so far (27-0-0, 24KOs) even if it is against stiffs. Have you guys seen him fight? I might check this one out.
[post="445685"][/post]​
That's a repeat of OLN's premiere "Fight Night" show from a couple of months ago. It's worth watching. Pavlik is a good fighter but you're right, it' about time for him to step up the competition.