Cheers Bob Arum! And weekend recap

Arum has only gone and screwed up a fight everyone wanted to see, namely JuanMa Lopez vs Gamboa. The former got knocked out over the weekend, which to be honest could've happened against anyone as his chin wasn't exactly in the Vitali league of standing up to punches.

So after telling Arum the "fans can go **** themselves" it's beautiful irony that this fight will no longer hold the same glittering value and therefore $ for him.

The timing was right to get these 2 together, they'd both achieved a fair bit (pushing P4P lists etc) and it's Arum's cancerous view of keeping fights in house and mostly apart has backfired on him and left the fan short changed of a decent fight.

And moving on

Vicious Victor Ortiz finally lived up to the promise he showed earlier in his career. Showed a fair bit of heart to climb off the floor twice in a fight that'll be shortlisted for FOTY, 4 knockdowns = fun.

Khan's fight was quite possibly the most ridiculous stoppage for a cut i've seen. Shambles of a fight anyway. Sky were well vindicated pulling it as i read somewhere they'd done all of 50 PPVs before downgrading. Couldn't give a monkeys about his performance, looked like he really couldn't be bothered to be in there to be honest and was just running through the motions a bit.

And a nice quote from Dibella:

"Yesterday would have been the 39th birthday of Arturo Gatti. Arturo Gatti would have been very pleased with the fight tonight."

Thoughts guys and girls? And i trust no-one was silly enough to do the marathon?! Aiming to do it next year, 2hrs5m looked easy enough to me.....

Juanma was overrated, in his previous fights his flaws were there to been seen, Marquez would have found him out if not for his injured shoulder.

Gamboa should fight John, it is about time he stepped up too.

I know he's been down before but that left hook, right over the top that first put Juanma down would have taken out most people. Not sure he fully recovered. He stood up to a lot of heavy punishment, but he was very shaky at times. His chin isn't iron but he gets criticised too much for it. It's the nature of the way he fights, leaves himself open and he should have adjusted to that looping right hand at some point. There isn't much else for Gamboa, I think this may even make the fight more likely to happen. One comeback for Lopez and lets get it signed.

Excessive holding spoiled the Ortiz fight a bit, and probably drops it behind Marquez vs Conception even though I personally enjoyed the Ortiz fight more. Impressed with how Ortiz managed to impose himself, and he's now a big player at WW.

Very disappointing end to the Khan fight. Where's the consistency when Morales was allowed to continue without being able to see out of one eye, but if blood could run into it they stop the fight.

Watson fight was a shocker. Completely outboxing Purdy before a massive knockout and he had no idea where he was.

Was the Chris John fight worth a watch?

Was it 2 hours 5 in the end? Incredible.

Morning Scott

Problem is with JuanMa is he's easier to hit than a punchbag. Either he tightens up or he's gonna get stopped more times in the future.

Was quite pleased Ortiz won, seems like a decent chap and some of the flak he's taken was a bit OTT. Still don't think he'll ever get to the top tier, but his fights are usually pretty fun to watch.

Agree about your take on Morales. Guy was blind from 1 round onwards and was still allowed to continue. If he hadn't gone into boxer mode (rather than brawl) i think they may have stopped that one as well, came back into the fight whereas Paul Mac didn't look like winning a second of any of the rounds etc.

p.s. Haven't seen the John fight.

Disappointed Juanma lost don't see the Gamboa fight happening this year now. Might be a good thing from Juanma's point of view though because if he fought like that against Gamboa he wouldn't make it to the 8th round. Always good to see Arum lose money though.

Berto vs Ortiz was a good fight the ref was a bit of a joke should have took a point off Berto for holding it just spoils fight and unfairly stops the other fighter from working on the inside.

Khan never looked all that interested that look like the last time we will see him fight in Britain for a long time unless it all goes wrong in the States.

Well this weeks fights have well and truly screwed up my prediction league!

Juanma fight was a cracker, thought the writing was on the wall for lopez, he has been far too hittable recently if thats a word.

Ortiz finally living up to his nickname vicious - he looked and fought like a newly revigorated fighter. I tipped Berto for this one. Glad Ortiz won it though - hopefully he can put the Maidana demons to sleep now. He fought out of his skin on Saturday.

Not much to say about the Khan fight - he didnt look good and fought like he did early on his career. Over reaching and swinging quite wildly. PM was very awkward but awful stoppage.

No need for a rematch IMO. PM doesnt bring much to the table, lost every round and didnt look like he could win. Would have been another 6 boring rounds if the fight carried on. Not really much else to say about the Khan/McCloskey fight. It's already being over analysed by others.

Have to say I am a little bit happy that Arum has messed up the Gamboa - Lopez "super fight" - as with the Lopez-Caballero fight, this one should have been made by now.

Khan - McCloskey was a shocking fight, rudey poo stoppage but McC was never going to win, he was just getting slapped about at range, as soon as he tried to engage he would have been stopped IMO.

Berto - Ortiz was a great fight, some of the shots Ortiz took were massive and he showed a great chin / recovery to overcome them and he seems to have found his fighting spirit - hopefully he keeps fighting in big fights as he will quickly become my fave fighter if he keeps his courage!

wow_j

Not sure why i even watched the Khan fight on a stream, felt like i was going to waste a few mins of my life. Might write to GBP and ask for those minutes of my life back.

What next for Ortiz? Fighting someone like Clottey makes sense, although the latter doesn't deserve a payday after his fiasco fight. Bring Maidana up to 147 for more fireworks?

Could see him against Malignaggi then Maidana or Bradley stepping up. Hope it's not Clottey like you said he doesn't deserve it. If he could win his next couple he coulde be in a position to challenge Pac or Floyd

Morning 1304 (i'm not saying "Hello prettyboy" as that just sounds wrong)

First off - if this thread goes down the route regarding the 2 latter fighters you've mentioned i won't stand for it.

And moving on

Malignaggi would be a decent option. Zero chance of him stopping Ortiz and he's a name fighter. Would fancy Ortiz to walk through him and eventually grind him down to a late stoppage. Too quick, too big, too powerful.

Sadly i can see him getting a "gimme" fight to get him some more exposure. Is a GBP special boy, saying that i was surprised that dumped him in with Berto so who knows

I was going to watch the Khan-McC fight at the pub but ended up ordering it... such a waste of money!

Ortiz has got a few options I reckon (ignoring the big 2);

- Williams at 147lb (if he can make weight) - this would be a FOTY, guaranteed
- Aydin - a good first mandatory that should be an entertaining clash of styles
- Maidana 2 - a chance for redemption & another entertaining fight

Golden Boy seem keen to throw him into good challenges, so any of these could be on the cards I reckon

Coxy, GBP seem pretty content to match Ortiz with tough challenges IMO - Peterson, Maidana and Berto were all pretty high risk considering Ortiz's experience

wow_junky wrote:Coxy, GBP seem pretty content to match Ortiz with tough challenges IMO - Peterson, Maidana and Berto were all pretty high risk considering Ortiz's experience

If GBP and TR can work together we could have a fight for the Ring WW title between Ortiz and Pac later in the year. Maybe Ortiz can pick up one of the other belts to make it more saleable as a fight.

I'd prefer Pac to fight the winner of Bradley - Khan later in the year, but Ortiz - Pac is a great fight on paper

Please stay on topic, don't wish for this to be dragged down the usual route with 2 fighters being discussed.

He's at a certain level, lets concentrate on that level rather than a hypothetical discussion involving the same 2 fighters.

Thanks guys

This is gonna be a big year for Victor Ortiz,a rematch with Maidana hopefully and then Pacman maybe a some point this year on next.He's finally living up to his potential Ortiz.

Agreed Liam, Maidana for me makes the most sense in terms of competitiveness and the $ it would generate

Was a cracker first time round, would fully expect Ortiz to box a bit more this time though. Can't go gunslinger on Maidana as he'll eventually tag you

And Maidana would fight a grizzly bear ffs, so no danger of him not wanting the fight

Ayup Coxy. I've already offered my views on the Khan fight on another thread; in short, a poor night for him in general other than the 'W' to add to his record, one which he'll be keen to put behind him. That said, some of the flack he's taking is unfair. Not sure why people seem to think that McCloskley has nothing to answer for, given the absolute stinker of a performance he put in.

As for Ortiz - where did that come from? Forgive me for the Audley-esque wording of this, but he certainly showed a lot of the things that many (including me, at times) said he didn't have, namely guts and bloody-mindedness when needed. I've never particularly rated Berto and always felt it was only a matter of time before he came unstuck, but it's still a good win for Ortiz, one which should revitalise his career and, of course, it was a superb fight, top three of four that I've seen so far in 2011.

Like you, I've been desperate to see Lopez and Gamboa for a while now. I'm disappointed that it can no longer be a battle of the undefeated if it does happen, but that said I don't think we should get too down on that subject just yet. It may be a case of clouds, silver linings and so on, but trying to take the positives from Lopez being sent sprawling, this may just convince Arum to get the fight sorted as soon as possible now. Of the pair of them, it was always more likely to be Lopez who had a blip first, but he can bounce back and I expect that he will. One loss doesn't end a career and with his style we probably shouldn't be all that surprised. Styles make fights and, while I had Gomboa pegged as the narrow favourite already should they ever meet, what happened on Saturday isn't going to suddenly convince me that Lopez will be an easy night's work for him.

coxy0001 wrote:Morning 1304 (i'm not saying "Hello prettyboy" as that just sounds wrong)

First off - if this thread goes down the route regarding the 2 latter fighters you've mentioned i won't stand for it.

And moving on

Malignaggi would be a decent option. Zero chance of him stopping Ortiz and he's a name fighter. Would fancy Ortiz to walk through him and eventually grind him down to a late stoppage. Too quick, too big, too powerful.

Sadly i can see him getting a "gimme" fight to get him some more exposure. Is a GBP special boy, saying that i was surprised that dumped him in with Berto so who knows

Sorry Coxy it will never happen again.

Afternoon Chris

Hopefully this is a kick up the bottom for Arum, but i doubt the old git will change his ways.

Had Gamboa as my pick if/when he fights Lopez, for me he smashes him based on Sat nights performance. Can't give someone with the power of Gamboa a free target, would fully back him to spark Lopez. Saying that, Gamboa isn't exactly up there when it comes to iron chins.

Coxy he doesn't have an iron chin but he is hard to hit and a great counter puncher which is probably more important for the style of fighter he is. Would love to see Gamboa and Lopez fight but Lopez is just to easy to hit and with Gamboas speed he would get a beating.

prettyboy

Isn't that what i said? Lopez = easy to hit, gets taken out?!??!

Coxy, not trying to pick an argument, but I'm sure on the old 606 I saw you say you favoured Juanma in any matchup between the two?

Fists

By all means find the comment, i may have said it some time ago but i've been in favour of Gamboa for some time now.

Something about Juanma's chin has never quite convinced me he could live with Gamboa's speed and power.

That's fair enough, not trying to discredit you, just recalled you saying that you were backing Juanma.

To be honest, I think many people will have thought along the same lines...the earlier part of their careers it looked like Juanma may have been the man, but flaws since the slight step up in class have forced people to re-evaluate somewhat.

coxy0001 wrote:prettyboy

Isn't that what i said? Lopez = easy to hit, gets taken out?!??!

Yes you said Lopez was easy to hit. You also said Gamboa didn't exactly have an iron chin which I agree but I was making the point that it's not an easy chin to put one on. His speed and counter punching are awesome.

people where can i watch the berto vs ortiz fight?


salido vs lopez was fun
khan's fight was terrible could only have got better shame about the stoppage.

Fists of Fury wrote:That's fair enough, not trying to discredit you, just recalled you saying that you were backing Juanma.

To be honest, I think many people will have thought along the same lines...the earlier part of their careers it looked like Juanma may have been the man, but flaws since the slight step up in class have forced people to re-evaluate somewhat.

Think you might be getting a bit confused, can't remember being on Lopez to win... As i found the below article i wrote from back in January 2010!!

"For the record Gamboa knocks JuanMa out within 4, the latter gets hit more times than Katsidis does for christ sake!"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A62326785

Fair enough mate, maybe you just said you were a big fan of Juanma in terms of excitement then? Either way, I think we can all agree that your above prediction is in all likelihood correct!

alma wrote:Always thought JuanMa was overrated, and got slated on 606 for saying so.

Name and shame 8)

Never rated Juanma or Berto. I thought marquez was going to be the one to knock him out in the rematch, guess it happened one fight earlier. He is way too easy to hit, doesn't clinch and doesn't have the best chin either.

Never rated Juanma? Bit harsh the guy has talent he is easy to hit but looked like he could take them until the weekend. He was stopped but not blown off his feet.
Agree on Berto though proper hype job.

Apparently Juanma has to lose 50lbs and is going through a divorce (according to Arum and we all know what a truth sayer he is). But weight loss and being drained could be an issue. He is also moving up a division.

Divorce is an issue I have read nothing about but imagine it could be a bit of a distraction.
Weight drain is an issue but if he is having to drop that much weight he is not looking after himself properly. He is lucky the Gamboa fight never got made if he turned up like that for Gamboa he could have got seriously hurt. Gamboa can hit Salido isn't that big a puncher.