The "Witton Lane" Boxing Chat Thread

[kkr]

for anybody who slept through it

Cheers dude.

[leemond2008]

Why Dya want him to destroy mayweather? For someone to be out for so lon and come back looking so sharp is great and it's not like Ortiz is a mug. I dont think floyd has done anything wrong at all the first rule in boxing is to protect yourself at all times and Ortiz didn't, the only two people in the wrong was Ortiz for the headbutt and the ref for making an absolute hash of it.

I know people don't like mayweather but I think he is great he can run his mouth cuz he knows he can back it up.

Plus what was the matter with Ortiz why did he try to hug him twice after the butt, it should have been a touch of the gloves and get on with it save the hugs till after the fight, it was almost as if he was saying "I'm really really sorry floyd please don't get angry and hurt me"

[jat_r]

Very unfortunate ending to the fight. Mayweather has done that to boxers before though, he did it to Mosley and to Gatti. As much as I think it was a stupid ending to a fight I cannot blame Floyd. Ortiz shouldn't have head butted him in the first place and then he shouldn't feel the need to 'hug' him twice. Naive and stupid. Number 1 rule in boxing is 'Protect yourself at all times'. Just a stupid ending.

I hope there isn't a rematch though because the outcome will be the same, a Mayweather victory.

What's next for Mayweather? Would love to say Pacquiao but don't think he will fight him, not yet, he will wait and see how old he is getting after the Marquez fight!

I'm a big Mayweather fan as well lol!

[villa_shere]

I dont buy that "protect yourself at all times" its a bit like the play to the whistle situation where Henry scored a couple free kicks when the whistle hadn't been blown.

If play has been stopped he had every right to drop his gloves. He may aswel protect himself between rounds too if you have to "protect yourself at all times".

[TheDon]

I dont buy that "protect yourself at all times" its a bit like the play to the whistle situation where Henry scored a couple free kicks when the whistle hadn't been blown.

If play has been stopped he had every right to drop his gloves. He may aswel protect himself between rounds too if you have to "protect yourself at all times".

After watching it again, Cortez says "lets go", then starts looking at the time keeper after realising he hasn't notified the timekeeper to start the clock again. Ortiz is still there going for ANOTHER hug, whilst Mayweather is in his boxing stance, as soon as Cortez said "lets go" Mayweather gets ready to box, Ortiz doesn't, and gets laid out.

It's bad by Cortez because he doesn't follow procedure properly, it's bad by Ortiz for not protecting himself, and you could argue it's unsportsmanlike by Mayweather for sucker punching him, but the guys just blatantly went for a headbutt, then apologised for it way too much against a guy paid millions to punch him. What did he expect to happen?

for anybody who slept through it

Damn the HBO commentators are crap.

Not only do they fail to spot the blatant headbutt sounding surprised when it's called as one, they're giving Ortiz credit for landing shots that never land. His flurry on Mayweather before the headbutt looked impressive, but only 1 of the punches actually landed, the rest Mayweather dealt with pretty easily. Hence the headbutt, Ortiz threw everything he had at him, but Mayweather shrugged it all off, Ortiz was frustrated that he couldn't land.

[villa_shere]

True, to be honest Mayweather was bossing him anyway so he probably saved Ortiz about 2 rounds

[will87]

What a classy guy Mayweather is. That there's why most people will be rooting for Manny Pacquiao to put him in hospital, I know I will.

[Ryan.]

This is boxing isn't it? Really, what do people expect? he said sorry once, get on with it! he shouldn't be head-butting anyway. Victor Ortiz beat himself.

[leemond2008]

I would rather see mayweather win than pacquio, having said that I don't think there are many people who would wish a boxer to be hospitalised either.

[TheDon]

What a classy guy Mayweather is. That there's why most people will be rooting for Manny Pacquiao to put him in hospital, I know I will.

I can't see Pacquiao doing anything to Mayweather.

Pacquiao is a combo puncher, he isn't a hard hitter. Mayweather has the best defense around. Look at the Ortiz fight, Ortiz threw a load of combinations, and Mayweather just brushed them all off, very few got through, whilst Mayweather was hitting with his right at will.

People don't like him because he's not an entertaining fighter. He's a classic counter puncher, he's a master of the Philly shell, you just don't see him getting hit. Definitely no where near enough for him to go down to someone like Pacquiao.

I honestly see Khan as having a bigger chance against Mayweather than Pacquiao. The only way Pacquiao can win is on the cards, and I just can't see him being able to land enough to do that. Khan though has power and speed, and if he gets some shots through could shake him.

But then Ortiz is a guy that put everyone he faced down until he came up against Mayweather. And we saw how that ended.

Mayweather is simply too good to lose to either of them IMO. He'll either retire unbeaten, or keep fighting until he's too old due to his money problems.

[cbr600rr]

number 1 rule..." protect your self at all times"

[Stevo985]

Doesn't the ref normally restart the fight in situations like that?

As in the fighters stand back and he calls them in with "Box!" or something like that?

[Daniel]

Doesn't the ref normally restart the fight in situations like that?

As in the fighters stand back and he calls them in with "Box!" or something like that?

Most times after deducting a point he would instruct the clock to be restarted, he would then say box.

[Stevo985]

I'm guessing that didn't happen here then? Or is it one of those rules that aren't ACTUALLy rules (like giving the other team the ball back in football when there's an injury)?

[TheDon]

I'm guessing that didn't happen here then? Or is it one of those rules that aren't ACTUALLy rules (like giving the other team the ball back in football when there's an injury)?

He bought them together and said "lets go" and then turned to the time keeper to get the clock restarted. So he did it the wrong way round.

[TheWalletInspector]

Big announcement by Warren today about his new channel "BoxNation".

After days of Tweets, leaks and guesswork over the future of BoxNation, a Sky TV channel that was launched in the summer and currently shows reruns of Frank Warren-promoted bouts, BoxingScene.com can reveal the details of channel 456’s fall output, subscription cost and the full scope of their commitment to boxing.

Warren, Boxing Channel Media and Zoom Communications are behind the venture; it will show its first live bill on September 30th when Liam Walsh defends his Commonwealth super-featherweight title against Paul Appleby at London’s York Hall.

"This is what all boxing fans have been waiting for - a dedicated channel, 100% percent committed to showing the best fights from around the world,” declared Warren. “It’s a big challenge in my career, but I’m really excited by BoxNation and it takes me back to my early years when I was at ITV doing a show a week.”

His sons, Francis and George, are at the helm of Queensberry Promotions; they have put together the Walsh-Appleby bill. “We are very proud that the first ever live show on BoxNation will be from Queensberry Promotions,” stated Francis. “We are looking forward to a long standing relationship with BoxNation."

Their will be two live promotions each week featuring action from the UK and abroad, amateur tournaments will also be a staple of their content, starting with the World Amateur Championships and the Royal Albert Hall Cup, Steve Bunce’s anarchic magazine show, Buncey’s Boxing Hour, will also return to our screens, with some episodes broadcast from London’s Planet Hollywood venue, there are to be daily news updates and archive fights featuring Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard as well as reruns of other contests. There will also be a commitment to the MMA here in the UK and abroad.

Warren has joined forced with Sauerland Promotions for a three-year deal that includes the WBO 168lb title battle between Robert Stieglitz and Mikkel Kessler on November 5th plus other bouts from the continent.

Bunce will be joined by boxing regulars Jim Rosenthal, the face and voice of ITV’s Big Fight Live for many years, Paul Dempsey, Sky’s former boxing anchorman, and experienced journalist John Rawling.

Free-to-air for the first few months, the channel will then switch to a subscription, £10 per month, format rather than the pay-per-event model that some had suspected would be implemented.

September’s Walsh-Appleby fight will be followed by an amateur showdown between the UK Combined Services and US Armed Services on October 7th, the show comes from the Royal Albert Hall, before heading to the Liverpool ECHO Arena on October 15th for Nathan Cleverly WBO light-heavyweight title defence against Tony Bellew, a bill that will be topped by a late night trip to Los Angeles for the WBC 175lb showdown between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson.

Rob Norton headlines the following week, defending his British cruiserweight title at the York Hall, Norton’s defence will be packaged with a live broadcast of the mooted cruiserweight unification bout between WBC boss Marco Huck and WBO titlist Krzysztof Wlodarczyk. Frankie Gavin closes out the month, taking on WBO number four ranked contender Diego Gabriel Chaves in a WBO Inter-Continental title defence on October 28th.

November kicks off with Ricky Burns and Michael Katsidis looking horns for the Interim WBO lightweight title, the clash comes live from Wembley on Saturday November 5th and is supported by George Groves’ British super-middleweight title defence against former holder Paul Smith and Ryan Walsh’s first title shot, a meeting with Liam Richard for the vacant English super-bantamweight belt.

Once the dust settles on that one, the channel will switch to Denmark for the aforementioned Stieglitz-Kessler clash. Kessler is seeking to get back amongst the titles after a mixed Super Six tournament that saw the Dane lose to Andre Ward before bouncing back with a win over Carl Froch.

November 18th features the return of newly minted British and Commonwealth featherweight holder Lee Selby. The Welshman looked top drawer in his shocking victory over the highly regarded Stephen Smith at Liverpool’s Olympia on Saturday night, he takes on Scotland’s tough, uncompromising John Simpson, the York Hall once again the venue.

Richard Brooke will chair BoxNation; Simon Green, their CEO, has two decades of experience in boxing and believes that the channel will help develop British talent as well as delivering international fights; Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy CEO, is also onboard.

“We are very pleased to start working with BoxNation and bring some of the compelling boxing content to the British Fight Fans,” stated Schaefer. “The first one being the historic showdown of Bernard Hopkins against Chad Dawson. This fight illustrates the commitment BoxNation has to boxing.”

The final word goes to ITV legend and fan favorite Jim Rosenthal. “This a truly exciting new venture and I’m delighted that I’ll be involved with BoxNation,” enthused Jim. “Not only am I passionate about presenting at boxing events, but I’m also a big fan of the sport and I think this is great news for boxing fans everywhere.”

Forum reaction to the news has been mixed, with some declaring that they will not pay for the channel despite an absence of the full launch and schedule details. Many British fans, this writer included, shell out for ESPN and Premier Sports, bemoaned the loss of Bunce and Setanta a couple of years ago and have asked for a dedicated boxing channel. News of Warren’s venture has been greeted with one or two groans, which is strange considering the often-expressed need for further TV commitment to the sport.

At £10 a month the subscription fee is not a back breaker. There looks to be a lot of boxing on BoxNation if the early pace is maintained and with one or two declaring in the past that Setanta was worth the money purely for Buncey alone it makes one wonder if the quibbles over BoxNation relate directly to the previously ‘through a glass darkly’ description of what is on offer or are directed towards Warren himself. In the final analysis, the channel will live and die on its commitment to the sport, with punters deciding if the amount of shows and features justifies the monthly commitment.

Certainly, it looks to be better value than PPV, has greater scope than Premier Sports and ESPN as well as catering to the need for both UK and International bills, with those who do subscribe likely to enjoy a number of boxing marathons over the coming season. May we live in interesting times.

Link

Sounds pretty good for us Boxing fans to me.

[Oaks]

Hmmm i don't know whether i want to play £10 a month while already paying for Sky Sports although the content sounds decent, how many good fights does Warren have? Im quite interested what sky do.

[TheWalletInspector]

Hmmm i don't know whether i want to play £10 a month while already paying for Sky Sports although the content sounds decent, how many good fights does Warren have? Im quite interested what sky do.

It's not just Warren's fights. It's Sauerland shows, Golden Boy shows, Amateurs, possibly Top Rank shows, some MMA, Bunce Hour, A daily news show, and a load of archive footage to fill the gaps. For less than £2.50 a week I'm happy to pay for it personally.

Here's the schedule at the moment. I think everything on there is going to be free to view.

Frank's said that he's going to honour his contract with Sky until next July but I'm not sure how that's going to work. Hopefully Sky just spread his dates between Matchroom, Hatton, Maloney etc when the new contracts come in.

[leemond2008]

I don't know about this, how many of them fight would have been free on SS fight night, ok there will be no PPV but how many months will you have that channel and there not be a massive fight on?

At the moment I pay for sky sports watch fight night every week and the pay per view stuff on boxing which comes along at 10/15 quid every couple of months.

The last few big PPV's have been on prime time...are they just going to disappear or will I find myself paying 25 quid for the boxing every couple of months.

That line up at the moment looks pretty good but he was never going to start a new channel that has no fighters anyone has ever heard of, he needs to suck people in and then it wouldn't surprise me if the quality and big names dwindled quite dramatically

[The_Rev]

Boxing is different to most other sports though. Boxers are a lot freer to do their own thing with regards to being shown on TV because they arent relying on a league or an organisation to sell the rights to a broadcaster for them. If Warren can convince boxers his channel is the place to be then it might just flourish. I do hope they arent exclusive to SKY though because I dont have a satellite dish and I have no intention of getting one.