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The "Witton Lane" Boxing Chat Thread


Dr_Pangloss

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Just now, stuart_75 said:

The sport is corrupt after what Ive just seen.

 

No corruption.  Gjergjaj shouldn't have been in the ring with Haye, he was shitting himself at the weigh in yesterday and he was so far out of his depth it was embarrassing.  That's not on him though, that's between Haye, his promotions and the fans who are buying tickets.  I can't see why people would buy a ticket to this fight for anything other than a day out on the sauce.  He can't fight a no name next time out.   He's actually announced Shannon Briggs as I type, that will put bums on seats but Haye will win that by KO too.  I can't see him troubling Fury at the moment, maybe that's why he's calling out AJ. 

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4 minutes ago, The_Rev said:

I can't see him troubling Fury at the moment, maybe that's why he's calling out AJ. 

I noticed that, seemed to call out everyone but Fury. 

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The Haye fight would've lasted longer if he was boxing the ref.

What an appalling night of 'boxing.' Knocking out a bunch of saplings is called entertainment. There was more excitement when the camera panned to Mourinho than from anything in the ring.

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It was worth watching just to see how feeble the opposition was.   You could probably see the entire fight in gif form, the first knockdown was a decent shot,  Gjergjaj  looked like he wanted to cry after the second one (half a second after the bell) and then he threw himself to the ground a couple of times before the ref took pity.  

VeneratedUnkemptGemsbuck-size_restricted

(this wasn't even the worst dive. He basically elected to sit down about a minute later)

It was obvious at the weigh in that Gjergjaj was totally intimidated by the whole thing and was only there because he probably made more money from tonight than he has done from any fight before or will do in any fight after this one.  There's probably a decent market in promoting no name fighters with decent records and serving them up to the likes of David Haye.  He can't get away with it many more times though, people can see through it.  He needs a test after Briggs, not another guy who's got about as much chance of beating Haye as I have. 

The post fight interview was hilarious too.   The interviewer had to ask Haye to comment on how shit his opponent looked tonight and Haye pulled the classic "he had the second longest unbeaten record in the heavyweight division so he can't have been that bad lol"  line and tried to make out like he didn't really have that much say in who he fought while standing in front of ropes and turnbuckles which were branded in the name of his promotion company. 

 

edit - fight is on YouTube at the moment.  Will probably get taken down before long but if you are quick: 

Briggs needs to lose the grey beard.  It makes him look like an old man. 

Edited by The_Rev
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Haye is a two weight world champion.  AJ is still a prospect. 

Coming off a long lay off he cant be expected to be fighting the likes of wilder etc. AJ is currently the champion but they've another bum for him and already talking about Chisora after that

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AJ is still a paper champion in my opinion.  He got served it because he's marketable. I'm sure he'll step up at some point but he's still not beaten anybody of note in the ring.  I'm not sure what this has to do with David Haye beating the shit out of bums though.  Yeah, Haye has been out for a while but he'd have learned more in the gym than from fighting that clown who shared the ring with him last night. It was a pure money making exercise, dunno how much he got from TV (probably not much) but it was a big gate at a big venue and he would have taken the lion's share of the purse so it was easy money.  He just can't do it again, at least Briggs is a 'name' who carries a threat.  I can't see him getting anywhere near Haye because he's very slow, but he has the proverbial punchers chance.   

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3 hours ago, YGabbana said:

Thing is Haye has been out for a long time.

AJs opponents have been of the same quality yet he doesnt get near as much stick for it

Actually have to disagree. Hayes last two opponents are street sweepers, AJ's have been C/D level. 

Haye's goal is to build up buzz and then cash out. I doubt he plans to fight someone credible before facing off with someone like AJ (his cash out fight). 

Haye looks slower to me, father time has set in, the hand speed isn't what it was, and the reflexes look stiffer. He's also a lot heavier than he used to be. 

Haye has never been able to fight effectively up close, he likes to keep his distance, but when you're keeping distance against heavyweights who are in excess of 6 ft 6 with longer arms it's very difficult to get your offence off. Hence he lost by landslide to Wladimir and will struggle against the really big super heavyweights out there today who know how to command distance and work behind a jab.

Edited by Dr_Pangloss
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So Ricky Burns becomes a three weight world champ, claiming some version of the WBA junior welterweight title. Reading between the lines, of course, Burns has never been the top guy in any of the divisions he has been champion in. Last night was a mystery in the sense that he was competing for a vacant title, having not fought even a world level junior welterweight, against a guy who would be regarded as European level at the very best.

That said, he's a likable character and an example of someone who has made the most out of a very limited skill set. He has some good wins, in particular at super featherweight, against guys like Katsidis (who still had a bit left in the tank at that stage), Rocky Martinez and Moses (considered a dangerous opponent at that stage). He beat Kevin Mitchell at lightweight, a win not to be sneezed at, but ultimately lost clearly when he stepped it up - Crawford, Beltran (no way was that fight a draw) and Omar Figueroa (whom he put up a very good fight against). 

Tony Bellew fighting later for the WBC Cruiserweight title against Illunga Makabu. Makabu is not widely know but is the clear bookies favourite. The inside track on him is that he's powerful, has speed and good combinations, but is a slow starter and often fights in spots, so somewhat lazy. He is most comfortable fighting at mid range. He's too small for the weight to fight long (he's generously billed at 5'11 but looks a little smaller to me) and probably not heavy enough to fight on the inside. 

Tony has shared the ring with higher calibre opposition over his career and is more experience, Makabu's best win is against the highly rated South African Mchunu. Mchunu is an exceptional fighter but some what vulnerable, Makabu knocked him out late having fallen behind on the cards. 

Tony can fight at range, using his height and longer arms to work behind a decent jab. Expect Tony to build an early - mid round lead on the cards, being cagey, jabbing Makabu and using his feet a lot. The question is whether Tony can deal with the mid-late round onslaught that will come his way, the bookies seem to think not and I'm inclined to agree with them. I do not think Tony can stick to a game plan for 12 rounds, Makabu isn't that easy to hit, as he has decent defense, the best time to clip him is to punch with him, which of course is dangerous. Tony also has a tendency to lean in and negate his height advantage, this will play into Makabu's hands. The only wildcard in Tony's favour is the fact that he'll be fighting at Goodison Park, the atmosphere will be very partisan and this may affect Makabu. But all things being equal I expect Makabu to pull off the victory by stoppage.

Edited by Dr_Pangloss
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