Casual’s Corner : Bowe vs Holyfeild 1

The is part one of the best trilogy of fight’s there has ever been in heavyweight boxing . When Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfeild to see who would become the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World , in an era where that actually meant something , thats what’s we all want to get back to . I was born in 1986 so i do not remember this fight but i do remember my Father sitting up all night to watch it , which meant no one else could have watched it if they wanted to anyway because my Dad had very poor eye sight back then and had to sit infront of the screen and he used to take up the full TV screen so no one could see the fight . For years anytime boxing chat got brought up in our company my old man would always say ” Ali vs Fraizier was fantastic but have seen Bowe vs Holyfield ” . I would say i watch this fight maybe six times a year as it has everything in it .

Riddick Bowe is one of my all time favourite fighters and is usually the case with all the greats he had a very tough upbringing . Growing up in the tough streets of Brownsville , Brooklyn ( the same place Mike Tyson Grew up) Bowe was exposed to the harsh world to drink and drugs at a young age , but after his sister was stabbed to death by a drug addict and his brother died of AIDS , Bowe made it his mission that he was not going to die here . in the early 80s’s he took to up boxing and after a fantastic ameatuer career he turned pro . From there he took personal pleasure in dismantling opponents with his superb power and his jab , which is still regarded as one of the best jabs the sport has ever seen . Going into 1993 Riddick had earned his shot at undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Evander Holyfield , a fight that would go down in folklore

Image result for bowe vs holyfield 1

Evander Holyfeild is another of my faverite boxers of all time , a man who was a master of the dark arts of boxing aswell as having one of the best lead left hooks I’ve ever seen . Although Holyfield was born in Alabama he was raised in Atlanta in the Bowen Holme Housing Projects , a notorious place filled with crime . From 7 years old Holyfield started boxing and took to it like a fish in water . At 21 years old Holyfield went to the LA Olympics where he contraversially lost to New Zealand’s Keven Barry , As some of you may know is now Joseph Parkers trainer . Holyfield went on the beat Buster Douglas after Douglas pulled of the shock of the century by KO’in Mike Tyson in Japan to become the undisputed champion of the world .

Image result for bowe vs holyfield 1

What people need to understand is that Holyfield never got any credit at this time . Buster Douglas got a 13count on the canvas against Tyson that night . Even though Douglas got up and KO Tyson , people just wouldn’t accept Holyfield . Holyfeild’s first defence did nothing to win the fans over as he fought the very old George Foreman and then Journeyman Bert Cooper ( This Was Due To Tyson Pulling Out) . Holyfield wanted to test himself and was eager to take on the monster that is Riddick .

Thing’s To Watch Out For

Keep an eye out for Riddick Bowes jab from half way through the second round .

Also watch how Holyfield try to tie Bowe up inside , but doesn’t realise the giant Bowe is fantastic on the inside .

Finally look at how good Holyfield is at the dark arts , remember that is only cheating if you get caught .

ENJOY I KNOW DID

Bellew vs Haye 2 : Review

Just as i sit here ready to write my review i think i should apoligise to a few people out there that asked when the Haye vs Bellew 2 preview would be up on the site . Due to me being a bit of a socialite i have been out of the UK for the past ten days and added in with the fact i had absolutely no interest in this fight i just couldn’t make the time to write the preview due to being as us Scots say ” Pished ” ( Drunk) . On Saturday night we seen the rematch that no one wanted . A fight that was little more than a money making exercise to top up two old guys pension funds first time round , but due to the casual appeal of this fight both guys grabbed the opportunity to do it all again , and do you know what i will never grudge any man making money for his family , but as a sporting event it was little more than a circus .

In the build up to the fight the little few video’s i did see i thought David Haye did look that bit sharper but for me he was still to heavy on the scales for what his body can handle . Tony Bellew on the other hand looked in fantastic shape considering he isn’t a heavyweight and that is all down to the big scouser and his trainer who i rate very highly Dave Caldwell . As usual there were stories doing the rounds on social media and boxing media that David Haye was still really struggling the weeks before the fight , but as usual i don’t really pay that much attention to these stories as some people just like to act as if they are in the know and 90% of the time it is all bullshit .

From the opening bell it was obvious David Haye was struggling . His twinkle feet of yester year were well and truly gone . Anyone who has ever attended any boxing gym will tell you that although your rear leg should carry most of the weight it should never be flat on the canvas , yet from the opening bell Haye was leaning over his front knee which is another ” NO NO ” in basic boxing whilst dragging his rear leg , he was leaving himself wide open to an uppercut or more vitally he wasn’t leaving enough time to get himself out of range . Now lets not take anything away from Tony Bellew here as i thought he boxed really well . Bellew knew even a slow flat footed Haye has fantastic power that can end fight . It all started to unravel for Haye in the third round when he was caught with a fantastic counter by Bellew which had Haye on his weak back foot , and instead of covering up to survive he threw off balance with his feet square , another bit of fundamental suicide which Tony Bellew was only to happy to punish and send Haye down for the first time . Haye did take the shot well but his legs looked even heavier now and it wasn’t long before Bellew sent him crashing down again but this time we could see Haye was really struggling to get back up to his feet .

Image result for haye bellew — From The Sun …Dont Buy The Sun JFT96

In the fourth round David Haye looked little better than a white Coller fighter as he couldn’t step in behind his jab , his legs had all but deserted him by now . Still Bellew stayed of range picking his shots well and then stepping up the pace to cut off the ring . Going into the fifth and what would turn out to be the final round there was little left that Haye could try , he was in there on a fighter’s heart only . At this point Bellew was just cutting the ring off and Haye had nothing left to offer . He had lost nearly all his mobility and had nothing left throw as he couldn’t tranfere any power from that rear leg. I cannot be a 100% sure of this but i thought i seen Bellew ask Haye to quit in this fight but both time’s Haye shook his head . Bellew had given him the chance to quit to no avail so Bellew took Haye down once more with a beautiful right hand to the head which seen Haye go down hard , and once again he got up , only for the ref to step in as Bellew went in for the kill . A much easier win this time for Bellew and for me that has to be the end of David Haye .

A lot of credit has to go to Haye , to many guys in the modern sport don’t want to go out on there shield . I do think there has to be questions asked about Haye actually being fit enough to step in the ring in the first place . As for for Tony Bellew he deserves a lot of credit for the way he executed Dave Caldwell’s gameplan . He could have been to eager and made this fight a lot hared than it needed be and after having a very difficult few months i bet Tony Bellew is the happiest man alive .

Image result for wbss final — Potential Next Opponents For Bellew

What Next For Tony Bellew

The question was asked of Tony Bellew and i got the impression if the money is right he will go back to where he belongs at cruiserweight and take on the winner of the WBSS ( Usyk or Gassiev ) and I’m sure that’s the fight we all want to see him in .

No Khan Do Kell

This generation of boxing fans have had to put up with something that at no other time in the sport of boxing have fans had to put up with and that is “Fight Marination” and inevitibly as a bye product “Over-Marination” . Some say it started with Floyd Matweather and his super fight with Manny Pacquiao which took around seven years to get signed, which ended up a bit of a snooze fest. Others say it started back in the 90’s when Lennox Lewis looked set to fight Roddick Bowe in what would have been the biggest fight of that golden era of heavyweights, but after square up’s and heated exchanges the fight had over-marinated one thing led to another and intrest petered out robbing fan’s of the chance to see the best Heavyweight Title fight in a generation. No matter who is to blame for this frustrating and greed based addition to making the biggest and best fights, It looks here to stay.

Image result for kell brook — Brook calls out Khan in Liverpool (pic from Metro)

Over the past 6 years Britain has had two of the best 147lbs fighters in the world in Amir Khan and Kell Brook which has seen fans foam at the mouth at the prospect of both men meeting in the ring for what would be the biggest domestic super fight since Benn/Eubank in the 1990’s. For years we have had Eddie Hearn tell us this fight would sell out Wembley stadium. We have had Kell Brook call out,insult and mock Khan on a weekly basis tying to goad him into the fight. Although this fight made so much sense at one time Amir Khan would not budge, bite nor waver in his resolute to throw Brook a bone. You see At the same time that Brook wouldn’t leave sheffield and chase big fights , Khan was out challenging the best in the division and picking up some big paydays along the way in the US . Although Brook was a World Champion his CV was weak and Khan used this to his advantage not to come home and fight Brook as Brook needed Khan a lot more than Khan needed Brook .

I think the real reason that the Khan/Brook fight didn’t happen is that although this fight would have made Khan a career high pay day four years ago , he just doesn’t like Eddie Hearn or Brook , instead of throwing Brook a bone he decided to take on the likes of Danny Garcia and Lammont Peterson , keeping the Brook fight as an option whilst trying to make fights with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Paquaiuo which never happened , in a period that also seen Khan badly KO’d three times , which really calmed all talk of the Brook fight being made and the fight looked all but dead .

Image result for amir khan — Khan with New Promoter Eddie Hearn (pic from the Independent)

Now years have passed and as it goes in the crazy world of boxing Amir Khan has now signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom boxing , reigniting hope that the Khan/Brook fight can now be made , i mean it makes sense right ? ….Well I’m not so sure . A lot of people don’t like to admit this but Amir Khan is still bigger name in boxing around the world than Kell Brook and that’s why i have my doubts that this fight will ever be made . I think Eddie Hearn will use Khan on his Matchroom USA show’s to help get them established in the US . Khan has already said there is more chance of him fighting Adrian Broner than Kell Brook , and that would need to take place in the US to maximise interest , and that would be a great statement by Matchroom that they are serious about there US Venture .

So where now for Brook ? , Well Brook has now lost his 147lbs title and moved up to 154lbs , one of the most stacked divisions out there at the moment but still not a lucrative division . The only route i see open to Brook is the WBO route , where champion Sadam Ali will face Liam Smith in May . Im sure Brook and Eddie Hearn will be praying that Ali wins that fight as it would be a lot easier to get a fight with Ali signed as Smith fights for Frank Warren and there is no way he would let Brook get his hands on the title . Kell Brook is not finished just yet , he could easily cash out with a Jerrett Hurd or Charlo coming to the UK in what would be a Sky PPV event , but i believe Brook’s next loss is his last one so i don’t see him rushing to sign up to fight those guys if he can avoid it .

Frampton vsDonaire – Preview + Prediction

There are some sporting events across the world where the crowd are not only part of the show , but very often they become the show . Crowds where the combination of passion and desire awakes the inner caveman in us as human beings . Here in Scotland we have the Old Firm game between Celtic and Rangers , In Spain there is the El Classico between Barcalona and Real Madrid and even in Holland , the most chilled out country in the world there is the De Klassieker between Feyenoord and Ajax . This weekend we will see that special atmosphere in Belfast when Carl Frampton takes on Nonito Donair at the SSE Arena which will be live on BT Sport .

Image result for nonito donaire — Donaire landing the best left hand in boxing ( pic from Irish Boxing)

Nonito Donaire 38-4-0 24ko’s

Nonito Donaire comes from the same island in the Philippines as boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao but as a child he and his family moved to the US . As is the case with so many poor immigrant children Nonito suffered terribly at the hands of bullies which is why he took up boxing . Over the next 20 years Donaire went on to become one of the top P4P fighter’s in the sport . With his skill , speed , power and aggression Donaire has really been a fans favourite over the years . Now at 35 years old Donaire is not the monster he once was , as is the case with every great fighter throughout history , time has ate away at this future ” Hall of Fame ” boxer but i am sure that what is left is still very capable of causing an upset this weekend . For me Donaire has the best left hand in boxing , whether it comes in the way of an upper cut or left hook it will land with devastation , but this is not to take anything away from his right hand which is also a great equaliser . Donaire of old was the perfect all round fighter who could fight off the front foot and back foot which made him a nightmare for opponents to figure out but now as time goes on his reflexes and ability to let his hands go have greatly diminished . This weekend Donaire will be asking himself for one last great performance and who would bet against him producing it .

Image result for carl frampton — Frampton landing a big left on LSC (Pic by Irish News)

Carl Frampton 24-1-0 14ko’s

Carl Frampton is one of the most popular fighters in the British Isles , a lad who can bring the divisions of N Ireland together when he’s fighting , a guy who on fight night even us here in Scotland will come together in song and celebration and that is the power Carl Frampton . Frampton fights are rarely dull due to his open and exciting style which see’s him throw punches in bunches , switching between head and body then getting out of danger before his opponent has the chance to counter . Frampton did have power to go along with his combination punching but since moving up to featherweight the power didn’t come with him , now he look’s to break opponents down with accumulative shots rather than that one big punch . The past couple of years have not been easy for Frampton since losing his World Title to Leo Santa Cruz he has fallen foul to management disputes , dispute which are still going through the courts today . He also split with highly rated trainer Shane McGuigan over the same incident which seen Frampton sit idle for ten months . After teaming up with trainer Jamie Moore , Frampton fought Horacio Garcia on his comeback . An unknown Mexican that most of us hadn’t heard of , a fight most of us expected Frampton to walk but when Canelo Alvarez had made the journey over to Belfast it should have been a warning sign that this guy wasn’t here to roll over . Carl had to dig deep in the fight after hitting the canvas to come back and win the fight on the cards in a fight which at one point looked to be slipping away from the irishman . It has to be said that Carl Frampton looks in fantastic shape going into this one and with Donaire having such a big reach advantage over Frampton , he is going to have to work hard and hit hard once in the inside and looks to have given himself every chance of doing that .

Prediction

This is a really hard fight to call as we don’t really know where both fighters are at the minute . Yes Donaire is on the slide but has he slid enough for Frampton to be to much for him ? . Was Frampton’s last fight just a little ring rust or has Frampton peaked aswell ?. I believe Donire has a good 4 or 5 rounds left in him where he will be immensely dangerous , especially as Frampton can be easy to hit . I feel this is a fight where we could see both guys hit the canvas and i also think this is a fight where both fighters will be out to prove people wrong , and that always makes them more dangerous . I think Donaire will start this fight strongly but he will start to fade badly after the fourth . Frampton has been working with Man City’s strength and conditioning coach for this one and i think it will pay off going into the last third of the fight , where Frampton will get a stoppage .

Round 10 KO Frampton

AJ/Wilder – I’m Going To Make Him An Offer He Can’t Accept

In 1972 the world was introduced to Francis Ford Coppola’s cinema masterpiece ” The Godfather ” which to this day is still one of the greatest movies ever made . This movie immortalised Marlon Brando as one of the best actors of all time with his portrayal of Don Vito Corleone , a mafia family leader . Vito Corleone is the kind of character that every man would want to be and every actor would love to play , A charismatic leader of men , a man with the power help or hinder , a character that will will survive time and to top it off he is a character with one of the best catchphrases in Movie History …..” I’m going to make him an offer can’t refuse ”

It has emerged this week that Eddie Hearn has made Deontay Wilder a ” take it or leave it “offer of $12.5m (£8.9m) for what is one of the biggest fights in boxing today , Eddie has took Vito Corleone’s catchphrase and turned it on its head ” He’s made him an offer he can’t accept ” . On the face of it some would think that this is a good offer as it’s five time more than Wilder’s biggest purse to date as Hearn was quick to point out , but it was Hearn’s own language that aroused my suspicion . When Hearn was negotiating AJ/Parker we never heard a figure mentioned it was broken down into percentages , even when the fight was signed all we heard was Parker would receive between 30-35% , so why now is Hearn talking in hard figures ? Is it because he doesn’t want people to know that the offer to Wilder is around 20% , way less than the share received by Parker and Klitschko .

We have also seen Eddie Hearn use his buzz words to make this look like Wilder is ducking Joshua , buzz phrases like ” Five times more ” , “If THEY don’t want it” and my personal favourite ” Thats all Wilder is worth , AJ brings the rest to the table ” . The projected figures for AJ/Wilder is it will make in excess of $50m which is much more than AJ/Parker so how can Hearn say Wilder doesn’t bring anything to this fight . There is also a contradiction to this ” take it , or leave it offer ” as Hearn finished up by saying

“If they don’t accept it, the fight’s not dead. It just means we’re going to fight Alexander Povetkin next, and we’ll talk again in December, or February or March of next year.’’

So my question is to Hearn what will change ? If both sides are the width of the Atlantic ocean apart just now in what they rate Wilders worth at , what is going to change to bring them closer …..Dillion Whyte ? ( laugh and now recompose for the last paragraph )

Now i am a working class boxing fan , i don’t like to discuss how many millions these millionaires should get , and to be quite frank i don’t care If i am being totally honest a big part of me thinks Wilder should just take it as $12.5m is more than enough for any man . All i want is the biggest fights in boxing and this offer just put’s AJ/Wilder way back , in a division where there is no real competition for either . AJ and his team have kept throwing obstacles in the way of this fight and they know this offer won’t be accepted and that has me asking myself the question , Is this a case of greed masking fear ? .

Super Welterweight Has Come To Life

Last year Terrance Crawford became the undisputed champion at 140lbs and as a massive Crawford fan it was bitter sweet for me as i had long known Crawford was the best in the 140lbs division and although this verified what i had known i couldn’t help but think this was just prolonging Crawford moving up to welterweight (147lbs). Since unifying Crawford has now moved to the welterweight division and will fight Jeff Horn this summer for the WBO title , but more excitingly with Crawford out of the picture at the Super lightweight division has burst into life with the lime light now turning on emerging talents like Josh Taylor , Mikey Garcia , Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez all looking to fill the void left by Crawford .

Now at Super Welterweight (154lbs) we are seeing something similar happen since the departure of Canelo Alverez from the division . Now i know you will be saying to yourself right now ” He’s talking shit as Canelo wasn’t the unified champion at 154lbs ” and you might right , but with the massive superstar that is Canelo out of the division he is no longer eclipsing guys like Jermell Charlo , Jerrett Hurd, Lara or Julian Williams they can now get the attention there skill’s deserve . On Saturday night we were treated to one of the best boxing cards you will see this year which featured two great fights in relevance to the 154lbs division , which will be attached at the bottom of the page . We seen Jroc Williams vs Nathaniel Gallimore fight in what became an entertaining fight with loads of inside action , but in the end Jroc just had to much in the tank for Gallimore and beat him convincingly on the cards .

Image result for hurd vs lara — Lara taking the fight to Hurd (pic from boxing news )

Then we had our main event when WBA Super Champion Erislandy Lara took on the giant IBF Champion Jerrett Hurd in a unification in what turned out to be a contender for fight of the year . It has always be aimed at Lara that he is a boring fighter but on Saturday he needed every bit of his skill if he was to stand any chance against Hurd . Jarrett Hurd stands at 6ft 2inch which is massive for this weight and as much as Lara showed just how good a boxer he was , he just couldn’t escape , Hurd walked him down and then broke him down , putting the Cuban on the canvas in the last round which was so decisive when it came to the cards . Hurd won a very close split decision by one point on two cards in a great fight against a top level opponent , infact an opponent a lot of people thought beat Canelo and all the credit must go to Hurd as he has become unified champion at 154lbs within a year of winning his title .

Sitting ring side was Errol Spence Jnr who thinks he might have a part to play 154lbs and beside him was stablemate Jermell Charlo who for me is the best in the division . After the fight we seen Hurd call out Charlo and i have no doubt that this one will be made soon as i don’t know how Hurd makes the weight but i don’t think he can do it for much longer . Whats next for Jroc ? well i think he will have a close eye on the WBO title fight between Saddam Ali vs Liam Smith , if he can get that WBO title i think he will be in there amongst the big boys . Britain’s Kel Brook will also have an eye on Ali/Smith as Spence Jnr has promise Brook a rematch if he can pick up a title at 154lbs .

I just wanted to write this peice to say that i had never been that big a fan of the 154lbs division but after that watching Charlo Ko Lubin last year and then be treated to two really good fights at the weekend the division has new fan .

DeGale vs Truax ~ Preview + Prediction

Every so often boxing will throw up a big upset and last year’s biggest upset was when Caleb Truax beat IBF Super Middleweight Champion James DeGale in a very convincing victory in what was supposed to be a relatively easy fight for DeGale . That night the 21st century got it’s very own Cindarella Man …..Well to an extent . This weekend we will see DeGale look to avenge his defeat in Las Vegas on the Lara vs Hurd undercard which will be shown live on Boxnation and BT Sport .

James DeGale 23-2-1 14Ko’s

There are some guys in boxing who go out and make things happen for themselves and James DeGale is one of those fighters . Since winning Gold at the 2008 Olympic Games DeGale was earmarked for big things in the sport whilst building a fanbase here in the UK , but that all came to a shuddering halt in 2011 when he fought George Groves and Groves beat him . After that loss though DeGale done well to rebuild himself and in 2015 he won the IBF super middleweight title on the road in Boston against Andre Dirrell . DeGale successfully defended his title against Lucian Bute and Rogelio Medina on the road again , in fights he was expected to win but we seen DeGale form a bad habit in these fights , a habit of taking a one sided fight and turning them into battles which has seen DeGale really start to slip in recent times . DeGale also fought Badu Jack in what became a classic battle in which he took some heavy and sustained punishment and if you go back and check DeGales post fight antics ( bottom of the page ) its clear to see he was acting out of character , almost insane like which suggested me he must have had a concussion , and after these previous fights where DeGale has took punishment i really think it has started to deteriorate DeGales reflexes which really showed in the first fight with Truax .

DeGale also has a poor gas tank which can cause him to take a rest on the ropes which leaves him so vulnerable . It’s not all doom and gloom for James DeGale though as i have always thought he was superbly talented fighter who looks fantastic when throwing quick combinations to the head and body and then pivoting back out of range . DeGale knows going into this fight that he is the better boxer of the two so if he boxes properly he should win .

Caleb Truax 29-3-2 18Ko’s

Now i have to admit i have seen Caleb Truax a grand total of one time , but in that one performance he did really impress me . Truax is very basic in his style but is also quite smart in how he uses the talent he does have . In the first fight Truax made DeGale look very ordinary trapping him on the ropes and going to work , even showing a bit of class when destroying DeGale with a left hook then a spin out of range which DeGale couldn’t answer the full night . I am also a big believer that once a fighter becomes a champion something changes in there mentality and they start training like a champion , they now have something to protect and that will make Caleb Truax more dangerous .

Prediction

This fight has really flown under the radar up to now , not getting any coverage which is a shame as this should be a good fight on a good card . In the last fight DeGale looked to be really struggling for most of it which some put down to DeGale rushing back from injury , but i think it is something deeper than that , i really think James DeGale is showing signs of being a shot fighter , the big question is can he muster enough up to to avenge his defeat to Truax ? . I have went back and fourth with this in my mind but the more i think about it i have a feeling Truax will retain his title . I don’t think James DeGale’s heart is still in boxing and when going to America he will be fighting a man full confidence in Truax .

I think the American will take this fight on the cards but I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Caleb Truax stopped DeGale .

Joshua vs Parker – I Review Sky Commentary , AJ/Wilder …Oh and we Discuss the Fight

Well I’ve took a few days before sitting down to write this review of the AJ vs Parker fight thinking once i had digested it i would be able to find some positives , i thought that I would have put some sort of spin on it by now , but no matter what the sky company men have been saying or even AJ himself since the fight , it was still a very poor fight . I will struggle to keep you entertained talking about it , so i will keep the review of the fight short and sweet and maybe divulge into other aspects of what we seen like one of the worst commentary performances I’ve ever heard and maybe even take some time to clear up this whole Deontay Wilder stuff and hopefully that’s enough to keep you a reader .

Image result for AJ vs Parker — Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but another win for AJ (pic from daily mail)

The Fight

Since Saturday there has been a spin attached to this fight which started ten minutes after the fight ended and has mothballed into something amusing but so inaccurate at the same time . Just after the fight we had Sky pundits describe how well Joshua boxed then even AJ himself called his performance a “A introduction to the sweet science ” . Now anybody that seen the fight will know this is just pure make believe and I’ve seen enough on social media the past couple of days to know that even the biggest casual fans know what they saw . There is credit to be given to AJ i had him winning 9 – 3 or 8-4 in rounds which is a clear victory against a good opponent but this suggestion of “Sweet Science” is way over the top , and even though the gameplan was the right one by McCracken to get the job done , for the most part i don’t think AJ boxed that well . AJ was happy to keep Parker at the end of his long jab which Parker didn’t have the head movement or ring craft to get past , so for that you have to give Joshua credit but there was little in the way of creativity from Joshua and even tho his jab won him the fight it got progressively worse as the fight went on as two one dimensional fighter plodded away in what was a poor mans game of chess . Another major issue in this turning out a stinker was the referee who was shocking and totally overwhelmed by the occasion . The key to the fight for Parker was him being able to get inside and work on AJ but the ref was far to eager to get in between both guys killing any chance of this one catching fire which you could see was frustrating both fighters as AJ is very good on the inside also . Then I must comment on the poor judging with two judges only giving Parker one round and the other giving him two rounds which is so disrespectful to Parker who for me won a minimum of three rounds clearly and you could add another couple of swing rounds on to that so yet again a big fight is partly killed by officials . In the end Joshua this was a clear winner but Parker can take positives from this fight , he stayed in there and fought for the full twelve rounds against AJ , something no other person has achieved so far and the AJ Hype Train keeps rolling on with now with just one more title to collect to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world .

Image result for carl froch commentary — Carl Froch trying his very best to ruin my night

Sky BoxOffice Show (commentary)

This is not something i usually comment on but i feel obliged to say something on how bad Carl Froch was as part of the Sky commentary team on Saturday night . Now usually i just turn the sound down enough that you can barely hear what’s being said but loud enough to still hear the crowd , after all what you want at home is to still capture the atmosphere and i think that is something that is being lost by most shows shown on the TV as they continually speak all the way though the show but on this occasion i watched it in a friends house so we had to listen to the ramblings of cliche driven mad man . It is obvious that TV commentary teams nowadays have been instructed to have no free air , no prolonged periods of silence , no time to let fans sit and enjoy the fight , which would be fine but it encourages complete drivel to be spoken which if anything distracts you from the fight . Froch was a world class boxer but he is not a fan of boxing and his knowledge of fighters and division is little to none and egged on by Adam Smith , Froch continually makes a fool of himself and it really does make for painful listening . This week we will be putting another classic fight on Casual’s Corner so listen out for how less is more when it comes to boxing commentary . Casual’s Corner

AJ/Wilder

To top off Saturday’s show we finished up with Eddie Hearn pushing this narrative that because Wilder didn’t come over to the UK for the fight he doesn’t want to fight AJ ….What a load of nonsense . Deontay Wilder was booked to come over right up to ten days before the fight when Hearn announced that Wilder would NOT be allowed in the ring to call out AJ , a tried and tested stunt which is proven to drum up interest in a fight After hearing he wasn’t allowed to enter the ring Wilder read what was on the wall , he was going to be hijacked by Dillian Whyte who Hearn is now selling as a gatekeeper to AJ . Hearn jumped in the ring and started insulting Wilder right away about ticket sales etc , he’s spent the past four weeks insulting Wilder’s manager because they dared to expose the emails between both camps showing that Eddie doesn’t want to make AJ vs Wilder . Whilst Eddie Hearn was was mid rant post fight i couldn’t help but think , I’ve watched Wilder/Ortiz five times i don’t think i will ever rematch AJ’s last two fights . Lou Di Bella says it best in a fantastic interview with FightTalk.Net .

( Follow the fight talk guys on twitter @Sam_OReilly1 @craigscott209 @Fight_Talk1 )

Joshua vs Parker – Preview + Prediction

Five years ago i predicted that the heavyweight division was coming into another Golden Era after years of mediocrity , and i predicted this due to the likes of Tyson Fury , Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker all coming of age and with the likes of Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin already around the top of the division the future looked bright , but it hasn’t panned out that way . Tyson Fury had a brief stint at the the top of the division when he beat Wladimir Klitschko but then served a ban due to drugs and had retired from the sport , Povetkin is another who had failed a drug test and since his return to the ring hasn’t looked the same fighter so now there are three and this weekend we will see two of them go toe to toe on Saturday night when Anthony Joshua takes Joseph Parker of New Zealand .

Anthony Joshua 20-0-0 20Ko’s

This weekend the AJ hype train will again roll up in Cardiff as Anthony Joshua looks to get his hands on another World Title to go along with his IBF and WBA straps when he fights Parker for his WBO title on his way to being king of the heavyweights . Over the years the hype that has been built up around Joshua has been like nothing ever seen before in this country which has even swept up the most cynical of us at times , and now building up to one of AJ’s biggest fights we must strip back the all hype and separate the man from the myth when trying to break this fight down . There is no doubt Joshua’s main asset is his power and shot selection , which even after all this time watching the big Englishman still has the ability to shock . We seen a great example of both assets when AJ took on Wladimir Klitschko last year when Joshua caught Wlad with a superb uppercut which nobody saw coming , not even the legendary Klitschko and although that wasn’t the Knockout punch it was the punch that won fight .

Countless times we have seen AJ pull a variety of power shots out of the bag to the expense of opponents like Dillian Whyte and Carlos Takam . For all AJ’s power and shot selection impress there is no getting away from Joshua’s biggest flaw ….his gas tank . We have seen AJ gas out after four rounds against 42 year old Klitschko who showed the world the blueprint to beating AJ is with movement and agility and had Wlad not been so old or inactive i firmly believe Joshua would have picked up his first loss . There has been a lot of talk coming out of AJ’s camp that they are looking to come in light for this fight which would suggest they have been working on his stamina , but is it enough to last twelve rounds ? …..I’m not so sure .

Joseph Parker 24-0-0 18Ko’s

Around 18 month’s ago i wrote a scathing review for the Boxing Asylum on Joseph Parker when he took on Andy Ruiz Jnr in a fight he won narrowly won on the cards . After being high on Parker for a while i had seen him gradually lose all the qualities that made him a top prospect not to mention he looked to be coming in far to heavy . Since then i have found out i may have been a bit harsh on Parker as he was struggling with injuries on his shoulders and elbows at the time , which has since been operated on and i have to admit Joseph Parker is coming into this weekends fight in the best shape i have ever seen him . The best tool in Parkers locker is his lightening quick hands which he will need to use to full affect this weekend . Seeing Parker coming in so light for this fight means he is coming to be mobile , which isn’t really his style but if he does it right he might just be able to pull it off . Joseph Parker can be very one dimensional and has a habit of getting lazy the longer a fight goes on which could be his undoing against AJ .

Prediction

If you would have asked me two months ago who was going to win this fight i would have told you AJ would win easily , but seeing Joseph Parker this week it really does look as if he means business . The talk from Team AJ is that they have been preparing for a twelve rounder and i really hope he has been as i can see Parker employing a hit and run tactic which would kill the engine of Joshua . So who is my pick for this weekend ? ….Well i am going to stick with my original pick of Anthony Joshua but rather than predict it will be a 4 round demolition , now i am going to say a 9th round KO in a game of chess type of fight . I think Parker will implement his gameplan early but he will get careless at some point and that’s when Joshua will pounce .

Anthony Joshua 9th round KO

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