Boxing 2022

First topic message reminder :

2022 starts off with a decent heavyweight showdown. Luis Ortiz vs ‘Prince’ Charles Martin. Winner may get back into the bigger picture, loser is surely finished.

Strange choice picking Lara for Warrington some time back...The more I see the kid the more I rate him...

For a non title fight he was a weird choice..

No doubt he fights Warrington again after the Kiko-shell loses his belt to Josh.

Can't see Warrington beating him..

In an alternate universe Chocolatito could easily be 52-0 and not 51-3.
He was robbed against Srisaket in their first bout, the rematch would never have happened - where Chocolatito would brutally KO’d.
The rematch with Estrada was another robbery.

I didn't think the Estrada rematch was a robbery, Jeff. I thought that was on a knife edge and could have gone either way. Gonzalez was on top late but he left himself quite a lot to do.

I'm actually not quite as big on Estrada as a lot of others. He's a good fighter, can't knock him really....But one of the best pound for pounders as many say? I'm not convinced. He seems to struggle later on against really top opposition and he was quite lucky that Sor Rungvisai was pretty undercooked in that rematch. Sor basically didn't turn up for the first two-thirds of the fight but when he got going Estrada looked a clear second-best for me.

In both the Gonzalez and Sor rematches I can't really begrudge him getting wafer-thin decisions, but he relies a lot more on output and aggression rather than sheer quality in comparison to the other guys and I feel like his wins over them flatter him just a bit. I'd like to see a third fight between him and Gonzalez as I feel Gonzalez should really establish superiority over him before he's done for good.

Rumours doing the rounds that Joshua might be taking on Otto Wallin soon, what with the Usyk rematch not really being viable right now. Thoughts on this?

I can see Hearn's logic here. Not the toughest test for Joshua outside of Usyk and Fury - but a loss to anyone outside of those two would be unthinkable right now. There was no way it was ever going to be Wilder or Joyce. Just too risky, albeit I'd have loved to see Joshua against Wilder in a classic 'last chance saloon' kind of shoot out.

Of course the aim will be to stop Wallin so Joshua can claim a mini-victory over Fury, and allow Hearn to lord it over the fact that Joshua did something Fury couldn't manage. Wallin exceeded expectations against Fury and was in the fight for six rounds or so - he took a lot of punishment after that point but was very game and hung in there well. If that version of Wallin shows up he probably performs admirably and at least gives Joshua a respectable argument before being put away in the mid to late rounds.

He looked absolutely awful in his last fight, though, so if we get that version it could be a very early (and easy) night for Joshua - which might not give us all that good an indication of how things are shaping up with his reshuffled rather than new coaching set up.

Be interesting to see the fate of the WBA, IBF and WBO belts now. Noble sentiments as to why they are currently out of commission but the bodies will have a decision to make if Usyk stays in Ukraine for the long haul, as it'll hold the division up something rotten.

I guess Hearn is offering up a pity payday for Wallin tbh. After the cancellation of the Whyte fight.
Wallin isn’t exactly top draw and I don’t see what Joshua gains from fighting him.
As for Usyk’s titles:
WBO mandatory - Joe Joyce + Joseph Parker #2
WBA mandatory - Robert Helenius + Trevor Bryan vs Daniel Dubois has been ordered for the ‘regular title’.
IBF no mandatory - Luis Ortiz #1 rank and Filip Hrgovic #2

Joshua wouldn’t get to fight for any of the belts should they become vacant.

Don't be naive Jeff...AJ can fight for any vacant belt he wants when he sells out stadiums..

Magically appear in the top 2..

AJ's contractual right to fight for the titles next supercedes mandatory status, he is next in line.

Soul Requiem wrote:AJ's contractual right to fight for the titles next supercedes mandatory status, he is next in line.

Incorrect, it was his own promoter Eddie Hearn that said Usyk is obligated to fight Joshua if and when he’s able.
The titles are not bound to that.

Iain John Lewis has been demoted by the BBBoC from A+ to A standard.

BBBoC has requested WBA/WBO/IBF/WBC makes Jack Catterall mandatory. Seems highly unlikely as Catterall was only WBO mandatory. And WBA ordered their mandatory yesterday for some one else.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Iain John Lewis has been demoted by the BBBoC from A+ to A standard. .

And all it took was fifteen years of consistently inept refereeing and plainly bent scorecards. The mind boggles at how bad things would have to get for the BBBoC to actually take some meaningful action.

Doesn't sound much of a demotion..Let's see how long he is..

BBBC said Lewis card didn't change anything..Really a split decision..

I've said this elsewhere. How can you say the card didn't change anything?

The question that should be answered is HOW did you have Taylor up in the first 4 rounds and surely if you thought he was in front then he should ahve won every single rounds as Catterall hammered him in the first 4.

Also so he's now an A judge instead of A* what does that mean??? can he still referee title fights, if so then it's just a joke.

I'm afraid its an organisation that relies on promoters for its living...The People who work in it are far too close and they think 99% of the time that having the same officials who have relationships with Hearn..Warren etc are okay because they never moan when Campbell Hatton types get a gift.

Problem of course with Taylor v Catterall is they were both British.

Taylor decisions Ramirez like that no one moans for long....Like when that Clown was on his phone while posting a shocker.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I'm afraid its an organisation that relies on promoters for its living...The People who work in it are far too close and they think 99% of the time that having the same officials who have relationships with Hearn..Warren etc are okay because they never moan when Campbell Hatton types get a gift.

Problem of course with Taylor v Catterall is they were both British.

Taylor decisions Ramirez like that no one moans for long....Like when that Clown was on his phone while posting a shocker.

It's where i get really annoyed as people are happy for the bad decisions when they're for their fighter but not when it's not. I can't stand it, i'd rather have seen it scored correctly ad maybe have gotten a rematch as well, instead Taylor is gonna stay far away from now and Catterall misses out on his dream AND what they don't see is the thousands that don't start or stop doing the sport as they don't see the point because of them decisions.

Derbymanc wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I'm afraid its an organisation that relies on promoters for its living...The People who work in it are far too close and they think 99% of the time that having the same officials who have relationships with Hearn..Warren etc are okay because they never moan when Campbell Hatton types get a gift.

Problem of course with Taylor v Catterall is they were both British.

Taylor decisions Ramirez like that no one moans for long....Like when that Clown was on his phone while posting a shocker.

It's where i get really annoyed as people are happy for the bad decisions when they're for their fighter but not when it's not. I can't stand it, i'd rather have seen it scored correctly ad maybe have gotten a rematch as well, instead Taylor is gonna stay far away from now and Catterall misses out on his dream AND what they don't see is the thousands that don't start or stop doing the sport as they don't see the point because of them decisions.

I agree with that...Sadly any sport where scoring is subjective is open to abuse...Bodybuilding being the worst..Arnie wasn't top 5 in 1980..Yet won the Mr O....Look at Everton v City last week..Been a penalty at the other end.

Boxing however sees officials in close contact with Promoters and Boxers 40 odd weeks a year...I expect even if Refs and judges aren't bent they know that these Promoters hold sway with the Board execs...Campbell Hatton was beaten all ends up and that guy scored for Taylor I believe..He is in the clear.

IJL is a problem but as John Lennon wrote..."Not the only one.."

It goes all the way through, even the journeymen aren't 'asked' to lose but they know what theyre there for. it stinks

Anyone taking an interest in Conlan versus Wood tonight? I'll be in attendance, looking forward to it.

Difficult to rate both guys overall - Wood has that regular title but Can looked poor in that fight and let's not forget it wasn't all that long ago that Wood got a lesson off Jazza Dickens. He has looked better since (possibly a rare case of Davison actually improving a fighter) but I'm unconvinced he can make that Ingle-influenced, hands-down style work at a high level.

Conlan has all the amateur hype behind him but I wonder if he's really matured as a professional yet. Could have a touch of the Frankie Gavins about him - very neat points accumulator but maybe lacking that bit of power and industry in the pros. His last fight was pretty lacklustre - but then again a lot of us were saying the same about Catterall in the lead up to the Taylor fight.

Wood has previous form for loading up too much with singles and getting countered cheaply when confronted with a good boxer or tricky target so I wouldn't be surprised if he's outboxed for long spells, but he can crack a bit and Conlan hasn't really had it o
put on him in the pros yet.

I think this one goes twelve, and I'd narrowly favour Conlan....But with Wood having hometown advantage don't be surprised if he holds on to his belt.

As ever with Conlan I hope he loses and badly at that, unfortunately feel he's a bit too classy for Wood.

Soul Requiem wrote:As ever with Conlan I hope he loses and badly at that, unfortunately feel he's a bit too classy for Wood.

Why don't you like Conlan?

I hope he wins cause Woods a Forest fan

Derbymanc wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:As ever with Conlan I hope he loses and badly at that, unfortunately feel he's a bit too classy for Wood.

Why don't you like Conlan?

I hope he wins cause Woods a Forest fan

He used a pro IRA song for one of his ring walks, glorifying terrorism is scummy.

I am watching 88Chris05, not been si ce Froch V Pascal but it is a great arena, just a shame its in Nottingham. Derbymanc, I've always backed Notts fighters, big Derby fan but I'm close to Notts border and it always feels like a local fighter to me so normally want to see a Notts fighter do well. All in all, you would assume Conlans movement and footwork will win him plenty of easy rounds, but Wood has developed and he looks like he might have that ability to 'pick a punch' which can turn a fight. So I will sit on the fence a touch, but feel Conlan will win by late TKO or more likely a UD.

Commentary is appalling..... again. Conlan landed a fluke, no great setup like it was made out to be. Just a standard long looper at the end of the round, they miss 99.9% of the time and Wood just switched off. Conlan was also terrible in the second round. A dead dog would of finished Wood off, yet Conlan let him off the hook.

Apparently Wood is struggling with the speed and accuracy of Conlan...... Again, what the heck do the commentators watch. Wood is struggling coz he blindly walked on to a massive shot. Conlan is almost winning by default, he's been poor.

Conlan 4 up at least through 5 rounds. You could argue he is 6 up, but it's a an odd fight.

Might be controversial but I like Woods work in the last few rounds. Conlan still winning by at least 3 after 9 but it could be getting close.

Wood wins 10 for me. Conlan 2 up with 2 to hold for me.

Whoa, this is deffo now close.

Hope the kid is okay..

Apparently he is..

Terrific fight in the end. Not necessarily the highest quality, especially from Wood, but great drama and ebb & flow.

Turns out Conlan was ahead on all three cards going into the twelfth - justifiably in my view, with the 105-102 card ringing truest for me - and he had a good eleventh before the knockdown which meant there was still plenty to play for in the twelfth. Have to admit despite Wood being buoyed by that (the knockdown looked a bit soft from our seats - my instinct was that it was more a slip than anything but will have to watch it back) I didn't anticipate that kind of ending. Conlan had been bending forward at the waist and retreating to the ropes throughout the fight, so to see him suddenly slumped like that was alarming.

Conlan boxed well in general and looked like he was making some good investments to the body but struggled with the pace and physicality (he needs to work on his inside game). Nothing to be embarrassed about, he was always going to struggle to keep that level from the first few rounds and he should be confident that he could win a return providing there is no lasting damage from this defeat.

Very determined and gritty fighter, is Wood, and I'm enjoying his relatively late-career success. Not the most talented but his fitness and power keep him in there even when he's a little outclassed technically at times.

As a side note, cracking atmosphere tonight. Been a while since I've seen any boxing at the Arena but both sets of fans put on a good show.

Soul Requiem wrote:

Derbymanc wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:As ever with Conlan I hope he loses and badly at that, unfortunately feel he's a bit too classy for Wood.

Why don't you like Conlan?

I hope he wins cause Woods a Forest fan

He used a pro IRA song for one of his ring walks, glorifying terrorism is scummy.

Haha tell me you've not listened to Celtic Symphony without telling me you've not listened to Celtic Symphony. On a more serious note you ought to understand the part of West Belfast Conlan is from and the brutality that was inflicted upon his local community by British state forces before you call him a glorifier of terrorism. He's honestly a class act when given the chance to speak and doesn't have a bigoted bone in his body.

Anyway, Belfast is gutted for you Mick Conlan. Represents our city really well just in the same way Carl Frampton did, even though they're from opposite sides of the political "divide".

Obviously hope he's alright, a hell of a fight and congratulations to Wood for a really gutsy performance and class in his concern for Mick.

Great Post 'theslosty' and it is indeed very easy to make snap judgments based on a press report.  The truth is often far too convoluted and complex to compress into a single 'eye grabbing' headline, so thank you for adding in a small portion of the context in concise manner.

Back to the fight itself, I personally had it closer than some and thought it level (or Conlan 1 up) after the KD in the 11th.  It was a KD IMO, Wood landed a really good short right seconds earlier and although the punch which ultimately knocked Conlan down was scrappy, it was the final contributor to the act rather than the main course, so a deffo KD for me.

That said, Conlan should have had Wood done and dusted in the 2nd.  I don't know what was said in the corner, but Conlan and his team misjudged the situation.  Wood was seriously hurt and he need to be 'jumped on' in the 2nd, but Conlan really coasted and this was a grave error for me. I understand it's risky to put the 'pedal to the floor' so early in a fight, but it can be risky 'not too' also, so for me this was a missed opportunity for Conlan.  

Wood though deserves a lot of praise and although I have no idea whether he deliberately played a high risk strategy of staying in the pocket to get his rewards or whether he just fought purely on instinct (I suspect the latter), he continually landed quality short right shots which eventually was the deciding factor in the fight (and also why my scorecard was closer than some).  

Glad to know Conlan is OK and hopefully we will see them both again.

Did anyone watch the Sandy Ryan fight??? i noticed she lost and as she was looing like the next big thing wondered what happened.

Well done to Leigh Wood btw and both fighters absolutely classy afterwards. Glad to see Conlan is okay.

Last night Sandy Ryan fought Farias over 10 rounds and got a 97-94 nod off Boxing ref Michael Alexander..

No way Farias didn't win 5 rounds clearly with another three closer.

Farias won so this guy gets away with that..

Either the referees/judges are far too involved with Promoters and fighters here or they are just plain useless..

Like to think it's the latter but I'm not naive.

That was Woods fifth stoppage after the ninth round in his last six fight, impressive to carry power that late so consistently.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Last night Sandy Ryan fought Farias over 10 rounds and got a 97-94 nod off Boxing ref Michael Alexander..

No way Farias didn't win 5 rounds clearly with another three closer.

Farias won so this guy gets away with that..

Either the referees/judges are far too involved with Promoters and fighters here or they are just plain useless..

Like to think it's the latter but I'm not naive.

Cheers Truss, I read the reports and whilst I think Ryan can go very far i did wonder if the scorecards weren't a little in her favour (even though she lost). She'll be back I hope and fingers crossed it's not a bunch of easy opponents but who knows.

Jaime Munguia is continuing his cherrypicking ways. Withdrew from WBO interim middleweight bout. Claimed he was going to fight Charlo for WBC title. Subsequently withdrew from that as well.

David Benavidez vs David Lemieux - WBC interim super middleweight title.

Demetrius Andrade vs Zack Parker - WBO interim super middleweight title.

Caleb Plant vs Anthony Dirrell - Plant rejected September fight with Benavidez.

Benavidez and Andrade could face each other if they win their respective bouts.

Artur Beterbiev vs Joe Smith Jr - IBF/WBC/WBO unification. June 18 in New York.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Jaime Munguia is continuing his cherrypicking ways. Withdrew from WBO interim middleweight bout. Claimed he was going to fight Charlo for WBC title. Subsequently withdrew from that as well.

Munguia is frustrating as hell. So much potential then seems to disappear, before returning against a nearly fighter, claims to be going for someone decent then seemingly gets cold feet. One day we might actually find out how good/bad he is.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Artur Beterbiev vs Joe Smith Jr - IBF/WBC/WBO unification. June 18 in New York.

How is this going ahead when the WBC/IBF/WBO aren't sanctioning fights with Russian fighters?

Mr Bounce wrote:

Jeff Navarro wrote:Artur Beterbiev vs Joe Smith Jr - IBF/WBC/WBO unification. June 18 in New York.

How is this going ahead when the WBC/IBF/WBO aren't sanctioning fights with Russian fighters?

Beterbiev has dual nationality Russian and Canadian. Should be good to fight under his Canadian passport.

Fair enough. Don't reckon it will go the distance!

WBO has just announced Jack Catterall has been demoted to #3 in latest 140lbs rankings.
As such if/when Josh Taylor vacates, Catterall will not fight for the vacated title.
WBO #1 Liam Paro vs #2 Teofimo Lopez
No idea how Lopez is getting a shot after losing his titles at 135lbs

Regis Prograis beat Tyrone McKenna by 6th round TKO to get in line for another title shot.
When Josh Taylor vacates, Jose Zepeda and Jose Ramirez will fight for the WBC title. Winner is obligated to face Prograis.
Prograis is open to facing Catterall rather than waiting around.

Edgar Berlanga Delivered another subpar performance in a 10 round UD over Steve Rolls. Rolls, a blown up middleweight, outboxed Berlanga at times.
Berlanga talks a lot but seems a hype job.
For reference, GGG wrecked Rolls a few years ago at 160lbs.

Don King has won the purse bids for Trevor Bryan vs Daniel Dubois, Bryan is King’s fighter.
King’s bid was $3.1m beating Frank Warren’s $2.5m bid.
Bryan gets 55%
Dubois 45%
WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title.

Lomachenko has decided to not take Kambosos Jr fight and remain in Ukraine.
Kambosos’ promoters are now trying to get full division unification with Haney instead.

Perfect way to put Taylor behind him and quosh it from his cv.....Beat the guy that beat him...

Only for a slice of pie though..

I know I knock Hearn but I do admire his eye for easy titles and pouncing on opportunity..

Warrington becomes a two time champ tomorrow against Billy Backus Kiki..

Haney will get to wear belt galore by beating Buster Douglas Kambosis.

Certainly while not being fan friendly..Hearn is where you'd want to be if you were a decent fighter looking for honors.