Category: All Boxing

DJay’s Boxing News Picks

DJay’s Boxing News Picks

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Usyk vs Gassiev Date and Venue Hits The Rocks

If there is one mistake that the WBSS made it was selling the rights to the final of the Cruiserweight as they had no intention of hosting it . Now they have sold the right to the Russians and Usyk is refusing to fight in Russia due to his political beliefs

MTK Announce 12 Fight Deal With Boxnation

I think we are finally seeing what Frank Warren is looking to do with the BoxNation TV Channel after leaving consumers very unhappy in recent times

A Look Back At Ricky Burns Career

This man will go down as a legend in Scottish Boxing being our little nations first 3 weight World Champion

Wilder Accepts Low Ball Deal

Deontay Wilder has called Anthony Joshua’s bluff and accepted there lowball deal . I am still not confident this deal gets made anytime soon as AJ and his team have never shown any signs of wanting it .

Terrence Crawford Announces Himself At 147lbs

For me Crawford is the best fighter in the world to watch at the minute , the guy has everything needed to an all time great except the the CV . Let’s hope Top Rank make him the fights he deserves

Parker vs Whyte Made And Could Lead To A AJ Payday For The Winner

A really good fight this but how it has made it onto sky box office is beyond me . If Whyte gets the win here there is a strong argument for AJ/Whyte 2

Canelo Stripped of Ring Mag Crown

Well this is a turn up for the books as Ring looked to have let Canelo off last month but he now not even ranked by the Magazine

Derveyanchenko and Jacobs Ordered To Fight By IBF

This a must fight for Jacobs as it will give him real bargaining power when talking to the Big Boys such as GGG and Canelo not to mention strengthen his hand when dealing with Eddie Hearn on a promotional deal

Rocky Feilding will Fight Zeuge For The WBA “World” Super middleweight Title

I like Rocky Feilding so it’s nice to see a nice guy get the chance to fight for a world title .

Sanchez Slams IBF For stripping GGG

For once i am total agreement with Abel Sanchez here as GGG has ultimately been punished for Canelo failing a drug test

Terrence Crawford Announces Himself At 147lbs

Terrence Crawford Announces Himself At 147lbs

My friend’s over at Beyond The Ropes Podcast asked me last week ” When your reporting and writing about boxing do you still get as excited about fights and fighters ” my answer was that you need to become sceptical/cynical to keep yourself honest and to make sure your not caught up in the hype , an answer i firmly believe in , well that is until Terrance Bud Crawford fights .

On Saturday night the boxing world got it’s first glimpse of Terrence Crawford at 147lbs (Welterweight) when he took on the tenacious Australian and WBO World Champion Jeff Horn . I for one was a bit worried about seeing Crawford at 147lbs as I thought he would be to small to mix it with the best at the weight but those fears were soon put to bed .

Jeff Horn hadn’t had the best of build up’s to this fight starting with car crashes , complaints about the Top Rank Gym and then to miss weight at first attempt , you got the feeling Horn was looking for excuses before the fight even started .

Right from the the first bell anybody that had watched Crawford before could see how this fight was going to go . Even though Horn did have some success in the first round you could see that as soon as Crawford found his range he would systematically break Horn down . It is hard to say what Bud Crawford’s best asset is but finding range is definitely one of them and it took him all of two rounds to figure out Horn , something Manny Pacquiao didn’t really manage to do over 12 rounds . Jeff Horn is not a flashy , skilful boxer but he uses his massive frame to rough up and bully opponents something Crawford nullified as any time the big Australian tried to close the gap Crawford continually timed him coming in and walked him onto some big straight left hands .

Crawford looked like a man who was really enjoying himself in the ring and as each round past his dominance grew , Horn made up for his lack of skill with a massive heart , but against a killer like Crawford that will only get you so far . In round eight Crawford went into DEFCON 5 and it was painfully beautiful to watch . Horn was thought to be the bigger , stronger man before this fight but the way in which Crawford manhandled him proved that this kid belongs at 147lbs . Every single mistake Horn made was punished by heavy one , two even three accurate power punches , each time Horn’s head snapped back , his face was swelling badly and he had lost eight out of eight rounds . As they came out for the ninth round i was thinking Horn’s corner need to get him out of there as he was being totally outclassed , but Bud took that choice away when he tee’d off again on Horn landing big punches in bunches forcing the Australian to hit the canvas . Horn beat the count but as Crawford came in for the kill again the Ref put Horn out of his misery and it has to be said it was very good refereeing by Robert Byrd .

So what did we learn about about Terrence Crawford ?

Personally I didn’t learn much about Crawford other than he will not be outmuscled by any Welterweight , not even Errol Spence . I firmly believe that Crawford is the P4P No1 and Saturday night just reaffirmed that for me . The way in which he can time opponents reminds me of Floyd Mayweather , the way in which he can switch from Orthodox to southpaw in the blink of an eye and look just as comfortable has shades of Shane Mosley and with the killer instinct of a young Manny Pacquiao , Bud Crawford really is the real deal now he just need that elite level win to prove it . For me the best fight in boxing that can be made in boxing is IBF Champion Errol Spence Jnr and Terrence Crawford and after a slow couple of years for the Welterweight division it owes us this fight .

The Show Must Go On – Frank Warren is having a laugh

The Show Must Go On – Frank Warren is having a laugh

As i sit here writing this article i am watching Matchroom’s Midweek NextGen show at York Hall which will be headlined by Luke Watkins vs Laurence Okolie , a fantastic fight with two young guys who have a great opportunity to to make a big impression on prime time sky sports . Not only is the main event a good fight but Eddie Hearn has made some fantastic match ups on the undercard in a sold out venue on a Wednesday night it really is fantastic promoting , a breath of fresh air after the week Hearn’s rival Frank Warren has had .

Last week I wrote an article called “Why are boxing fans treated with discontent ” which seemed to go down really well with most that read it but little did i know that the best example of this discontent was going to come a few days AFTER i had published . On Sunday the news broke that Billy Joe Saunders vs Martin Murray was cancelled after Saunders pulled out with injury for a second time ……but hey all you people that bought a ticket’s and booked hotels , travel etc to see Saunders vs Murray don’t expect a refund as the show will still be on , just not the main event you paid for .

Rumour has it that this show had only sold around 3000 tickets but it has to asked what was Frank thinking when this fight was made ? It was a fight that nobody was asking for . Since the turn of the year Warren has had nearly as many show’s or fights postponed or cancelled as he has go ahead , it’s actually at the point now were i would advise people not to buy tickets to his shows , and as a boxing fan that really pains me and i would ask what the BBBofC think about this as again fans are being hit in the pocket , not to mention fighters who have paid for full training camps .

I can’t help think that BT Sport have got to be questioning there own decision to partner with Frank Warren to launch boxing on there top class sports platform . Whilst Hearn seem’s to moving on from strength to strength , putting on NextGen shows that could match some of Warren’s card’s , Warren seems to be staggering along like an old dog waiting to be put put his misery .

DJays Top Boxing News Picks

DJays Top Boxing News Picks
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Hearn tells Wilder “accept offer or we move on “

Eddie Hearn looks to be trying his hardest to save face for him and AJ , lets be honest they haven’t dealt with this Wilder fight well at all

Warrington is now a target

Josh Warrington was impressive winning his IBF world title a few week ago but he is now the target in the division .

Horn wants to shut Americans up

No air con in the desert ……..sounds to me like there is some dark arts afoot here but my god it would been funny to see .

Tony Bellew being Tony Bellew and talking pure shit

Tony Bellew is that kid in school who craves constant attention as if he came off his mum’s tit to early .

Billy Joe Saunders could be up next for Canelo

The list of opponents Canelo is chasing down instead of GGG has three impressive names on it ….personally i think BJS gives a clean Canelo fits .

Davis wants to settle differences with Floyd in the ring

This lad should be careful as Floyd is rich enough and petty enough to really damage his career .

Liam Smith agrees to fight the man mountain Munguia in July

All the respect in the world to Liam Smith , i predicted he would duck this fight so i am over the moon he has proved me wrong ……i just hope he has a step ladder .

Prince Naz calls for Brendan Ingle to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame

I love this story , everybody knows the history between these two guys but this is an insight into how even the confident and arrogant Prince knows Ingle helped make him the fighter he was .

That’s enough from me guys , il have my pick of the top story’s going up twice a week

Why Are Boxing Fan’s Treated With Utter Discontent

Why Are Boxing Fan’s Treated With Utter Discontent

Today i have been sitting reading the news that GGG vs Canelo rematch is all but dead due to negotiations breaking down because a dispute over purse splits , this come’s just a week after AJ vs Wilder broke down in negotiations and now also look’s like it wont be happening anytime soon . After such a promising start to the year the past month has really took the wind right of my sails which has me asking myself ….Does any other sport treat there fans with the utter discontent that boxing does ? .

Time after time we see fight’s that make sense at the elite level fall apart in negotiations , to the point that we see more of these fight’s fall apart more often than they are made . Ever since AJ beat Joseph Parker to pick up his third world title his team have been pushing this narrative that Deontay Wilder did not want to fight AJ . As a war of words kicked off between the two via social media Anthony Joshua told Wilder

“You pay me $50m and il sign the fight tomorrow ”

When Joshua made this statement it was a throwaway comment but to his shock team Wilder came up with the $50m , which would be Joshua’s biggest ever payday so the fight should get made right ? ….Well no as the next demand made was that AJ wanted home advantage , a move that would cap the earning potential of this fight , a demand that the money men behind this offer couldn’t agree to . As of now this fight looks dead in the water which is no big loss to AJ as he could make that kind of money in three easier fights here in the UK keeping his sponsors like StubHub happy as they make millions from ripping fans off to go watch AJ , but why are we as fans willing to accept this just because it’s AJ ? Boxing fans lost all respect for guys like Adonis Stevenson and Danny Garcia for doing something similar .

Over in the the US we have GGG insisting on a 50/50 split when he fights the biggest name in boxing Canelo Alvarez in there long awaited rematch . Now this one is a little bit more complicated due to Canelo failing a drug test in April and his fight with GGG being cancelled . The fight was due to take place in May with all sides agreeing on 65/35 split in favour of Canelo , giving GGG 5% more than he got in the first fight but since the failed drug test GGG and his team feel they should be compensated . Now i am GGG fan but there is no way that he brings 50% to the table, Canelo is by far the main draw here but when we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars there is more than enough cash on the table to get this fight made and to be honest it makes me feel sick that both sides cant get this fight made when I’ve spoke to guys who can’t even cover there training camp due to there purse being so low .

Could you imagine any other sport where the best don’t test themselves against the best . Imagine for a second that in football Barcelona refused to play Real Madrid or in tennis if Andy Murray refused to take on Djokovic . Why are we so willing to accept being treated like this as fans ? At the end of the day our power lays with the pounds , shilling’s and pence that is in our pockets , I think these so called superstars need to remember it is us the fans that put them where they are and we can bring them back down .

Fail To Prepare Then Prepare To Fail: Is Warren Going To Ruin Frampton’s Big Night At Windsor ?

There is an old saying that an old boss of mine used to use ” If you fail to prepare , then prepare to fail ” and at the time it used to rile me but after seeing how Frank Warren has handled this whole Carl Frampton fighting at Windsor Park in August , i am now finally starting to see wisdom in his words . After Frampton beat Nonito Donaire in his last fight it was announced that Carl would be fighting next in Windsor Park on the 18th August . At the time it had a lot of us thinking who is it going to be as most other real contenders already had fights scheduled and would not leave a lot of time to turnaround .

Image result for carl frampton frank warren

It had been expected that Warren was hoping that the winner of Warrington/Selby would come through unscathed , even Carl Frampton was ringside to call out the winner which suggests to me that even Frampton thought this was the case . After Warrington beat Selby he looked to be up for a quick return to the ring in Belfast but Frank Warren soon put that to bed in the post fight media conference ……So what now ?

World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will also be busy when he takes on Abner Mares , who is another top ten fighter in the division . Garry Russell Jnr just fought another top 10 contender in Jo Jo Diaz last weekend which would all but put them out of the running  , There was talk that Kid Galahad might be drafted in but word is that Galahad will be served up to Josh Warrington as mandatory  . Oscar Valdez is recovering from a broken jaw he received against Scott Quigg …..Well there is Scott Quigg who would love to have a rematch with Frampton but there is the small matter of him being an Eddie Hearn fighter and with no title on the line I’m sure Hearn would rather see this show fall apart than let his man save it . One go my friends made a decent prediction that it could be Rigo at a catchweight but i doubt that Carl wants that .

Image result for carl frampton frank warren

My big fear is that Frank Warren is looking to cash in on Frampton’s fanbase and take advantage of his thousands of die hard fans . The fact is that an opponent has to be named soon to give sufficient time to have a proper camp and the closer it gets the more it is looking like it is going to be an inferior opponent . Frampton said he signed with Warren with the guarantee that he could fight at Windsor Park so i think that puts any talk of this show being cancelled to bed , especially when you factor in that if and when Frampton/Warrington happens it will be in Leeds and not Belfast as Warrington is World Champion and a massive draw himself , whilst Frampton fans have proved in the past they will travel in there thousands . I fear the backlash Warren and Frampton could receive if they don’t pull a rabbit out of the hat here .

Stevenson vs Jack – Preview +Prediction

 

Image result for Adonis Stevenson vs jack

We already have the preview up of Warrington vs Selby which is a massive domestic fight taking place this weekend in the UK , but as much as i am looking forward that one my eyes keep being drawn across the Atlantic to what is happening in Montreial , Canada . This weekend we will get to see the unification fight between Badu Jack and Adonis Stevenson  , a fight that has all of boxing intriuged .

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Badu Jack 22-1-2 13KO’s WBA Light Heavyweight Champion

Badu Jack over the past five years has become one of my favourite boxers . This is not due to his skill’s or ring craft or anything like that , I am a fan of Jack because of his hunger and desire to fight the best . In has last five fights he has fought Anthony Dirrell , George Groves ,James DeGale , Lucian Bute and Nathan Cleverly , that deserves respect . I have always said that Jack doesn’t do any do anything outstanding  , but he does everything well , and thats rare .  Jack’s biggest asset is his jab which is crisp and sharp which he uses so well to open opponents up for combination . The way in which Jack switches  from head to body is also very impressive and as Nathan Cleverly found out it is so effective when breaking an opponent down . Although Jack doesn’t have one punch power i wouldn’t call him feather fisted either , he has enough power to keep opponents off him and from what I’ve heard he’s actually brought more power up to light heavyweight . I think Jack is a superb talent but he does have some flaws that Stevenson will be looking to exploit . Jack can sometimes stay in range for to long and that’s something you can’t do against a guy like Stevenson . Jack also goes through the gears at the start of a fight and i am sure Adonis will try to exploit this early door’s .

Image result for Adonis Stevenson

Adonis Stevenson 29-1-0 24KO’s WBC Light Heavyweight Champion 

Anybody that follows us on twitter will know i don’t have any time for Adonis Stevenson due to his past , but i really cannot wait for this fight . Adonis is a top class World Champion who has refused to fulfil his own potential over the years . Time after time Stevenson has refused to step up against the best , to the point now where most boxing fans outside Canada see him as irrelevant until now . There is no doubt Adonis Stevenson has unbelievable power in that left hand , something Tony Bellew found out to his horror back in 2013 . Now at 40 years old there is no doubt Stevenson is past his best but with the lack of top class opponents and Stevenson’s style he doesn’t have to much on the clock so don’t let age fool you , this guy’ only needs to land one punch to end a fight . Stevenson’s full style is set up for him to land big left hands which see’s him plant his feet , square up and lunge a lot of the time which may have worked so far but i have no doubt Jack will be looking to punish each and every mistake Stevenson makes and he has the quality to do so .

Prediction: 

This is a tough fight to call this one as nobody really knows just how good Adonis Stevenson is as he has never pushed himself against the best , that is in contrast to Badu Jack who has went out and improved as a fighter and won respect after being KO’d in the first round back in 2014 . I think Adonis is going to come out and try to catch Jack cold early and with the power Stevenson has i wouldn’t bet against him finding the target . If Badu Jack can survive the first four rounds i think he will start to impose himself on the fight . At some point in this fight these guys will stand and trade , Jack has to make sure that it happens later in the fight when the 40 year old Stevenson will be feeling the pace . I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack and Stevenson both go down in this fight . All week i have been thinking Jack will take this fight on the cards but as i sit here writing this i have managed to convince myself that Jack will get the KO late on in the fight .

Jack KO round 11

 

 

Warrington vs Selby – Preview + Prediction

The weekend just past gave us one of the most technically skilled fights you will see this year when Lomachenko defeated Jorge Linares , so no matter who was going to follow it this weekend they would have a near impossible task . This Saturday we might not have the glamour and technical ability of last weekends fight but it is equally intriguing all the same . Over 25 thousand fans will pack out Elland Road when Josh Warrington will take on Lee Selby in a fight that has been in the making for some time but now we will finally get to see if Warrington is the real deal .

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Lee Selby 26-1-0 9KO’s 

As one of the UK’s longest reigning world champions Lee Selby is practically unknown outside of hardcore boxing fans but don’t let that fool you as Selby is a very skilful boxer . For me Selby’s biggest asset is his movement and the way in which he works off his movement with the jab is fantastic . Selby will keep his opponents at the end of his long jab and if they finally do get inside his quick feet get him out of harms way . Even me as a Lee Selby fan has to admit that this style can become boring to watch  , but my god it is efficient as he is usually to elusive for opponents to land anything meaningful over a full fight . Selby does have a noticeable lack of power and killer instinct in the ring which see’s him go twelve rounds all to often against guys you would expect a world champion to stop and that could be a factor on Saturday night as Warrington will be coming to put pressure on Selby from the start .Image result for selby weigh in

Something else that could be a major factor on Saturday night is for years now we have heard stories of Selby nearly killing himself to make weight and that looked very apparent before his last fight . When weighing in Selby’s ribs were clearly visible and looked to be trying to burst through his skin and that is never a good sign , this lets you know the extreme lengths this guy is going to to get under the 126lbs limit and i really don’t know if Selby has it left in him to take a fresher , hungrier fighter the full twelve rounds .Image result for Josh Warrington

Josh Warrington 26-0-0 6KO’s

Josh Warrington is the perfect example of why it is so important to get a good team around you that have your best interests at heart . Some young fighters in the sport are ready to be pushed on early in there careers and other might have the skill needed to be a top fighter but need more time to refine there style , Josh Warrington is the latter of the two . In Warrington’s last few fight’s as he’s been chasing down this Lee Selby his level of opponents has been stepped up , beating guys like Kiko Martinez and Dennis Ceylan which will prepare him well for his biggest challenge to date . Warrington has improved as a fighter over the years and proved against Martinez he can dig deep when he needs to . Warrington likes to keep fights at a high pace and is also willing to take shots to land them . I also believe that Warrington has more power than his record would suggest , maybe not the kind of power that can get guys out of there , but the kind that over a fight will slow opponents down and easier to hit . My one criticism of Warrington is that he can be to eager to get in range sometime leaving himself wide open and against someone like Selby who has quick hands an quicker feet he could play right into the Welshman’s game plan  .

Prediction :

When i go over this fight in my head i can see it being an exciting matchup and i can see ways in which both guys can win . There is no doubt that Lee Selby is the far superior boxer of the two but i how long can he keep cutting weight like he does ? every time a fighter does that he loses a little bit of himself and this might just be the night it all come falling down for Selby . Josh Warrington will be fighting at his favourite football teams ground in front of 25 thousand fans who will all be behind him . After working so hard for this chance he might just step it up another gear and show the world he has arrived . I think this will be Selby’s hardest fight since Eric Hunter and Selby is not the same fighter now who beat Hunter . I think Warrington is going to come in with a game plan to keep the pace high and stay ontop of Selby not giving him a minutes rest . I think Selby will win this fight but only by the skin of his teeth , and if you are looking for an upset this weekend this fight could most definitely be it  .

Selby ( Split Decision )

Lomachenko vs Linares – Preview + Prediction

Lomachenko vs Linares – Preview + Prediction

If i can ask you to cast your mind back to a few months when we all thought the month of May looked to be a dream month for boxing fans , but that dream has slowly became a nightmare . Firstly we had the final of the World Boxing Super Series called off due to an injury to Oleksandr Usyk then the super fight between GGG and Canelo was called off due to Canelo failing a drug test and being suspended by the Nevada Athletics Commission . So who will save this Month for us ?…..Step forward Vasyli Lomachenko and Jorge Linares . This weekend we will see two of the best technicians in boxing go toe to toe and i cannot wait .

Jorge Linares 44-3-0 27Ko’s

I have been a fan of Jorge Linares for a good few years now , so much so i made the trip from Glasgow to Manchester to see him take Anthony Crolla apart . Linares in full flow is a joy to watch , with his lightening quick hand’s and superb shot selection Linares is really is a handful . Linares isn’t just a nightmare offensively for opponents , due to his fantastic footwork Linares is very rarely tied down or caught against the ropes and can even make his opponents look foolish when they try to do so . There is one criticism that has always stuck to Linares and that is that he lacks heart when things get tough , now i don’t know how much stock i can put in this nowadays as Linares has just came through a hard fight with Luke Campbell , a fight that maybe at one time Linares would have folded mentally but i do think he has matured mentally as a fighter . Linares also has a another flaw , a more biological problem than a flaw in skills and that is that Linares is a bleeder and i do think that could be a big problem for him this weekend .

Vasyl Lomachenko 10-1-0 8Ko’s

Well what else can be said about this man ? In just eleven fights Vasyl Lomachenko is a two weight World Champion and he will fight in his twelfth fight to become a three weight World Champion , an absolutely outstanding statement of intent from the Ukrainian . Where do you start when talking about Loma , never have i seen a man with the ability to destroy opponents mentally , forcing them to quit like his last four opponents giving Loma the nickname “NoMasChenko” in reference to the infamous Leonard vs Duran 2 fight . The beauty of watching Lomachenko is that when you watch him fight you realise you are seeing are a great in the making , the way he glides across the ring literally acting like a matador toying with a raging bull , the way he launches attacks from obscure angle’s that opponents don’t see coming . I don’t have any negatives to say about Loma , so far he has been perfect …disregarding the shambles of a fight against Orlando Salido of course .

Prediction;

Well as you probably can already tell i have made my pick . I think Vasyl Lomachenko really is something special and no matter how good Jorge Linares is I just cant see him getting the better of Loma . The big question is will Linares make it to the end of the fight or will be another quit job ? ….Well i think Linares will make it to the end , i feel with the fight being Loma’s first at 135lbs he will maybe just lacking the power to hurt Linares …….then again I wouldn’t put it past Loma to stop Linares and make no mistake he will going in there to get the stoppage .

watch it