One for the Boxing fans!

[Keef]

Only just realised the Khan fight is live on ITV. Unfortunately I'm away, so can't even record it. Looking forward to Kevin Mitchell's fight, which I hope to watch in the hotel bar...

[ruffers]

Bit of a kerfuffle at the Khan Malignaggi weigh in for those who haven't seen it -

[Keef]

Oh dear Kev. Wanted him to win that, but even from the first round it looked like he could be rocked by the power.

[mooosh]

Mitchell had a poor training camp apparently...

[Jeremy]

Glad Khan won (even though he's a bit of a dick sometimes)... I thought Malignaggi would prove too slick, but I couldn't have been more wrong!

I always felt Mitchell would be out of his depth in this fight, and unfortunately this was the case... back down to domestic level for him I think...

[Keef]

Apparently Pac-Man has agreed to compromise on the blood testing issue (agreeing to let them take blood up to 14 days before the fight, which Mayweather had previously offered as a compromise).

Fingers crossed this means they'll get it on in November. Manny says he'll have one more fight, and frankly, if that is against anyone other than Mayweather, it will be a horrible "what if" for a long time to come.

[KidKruger]

Yeah I read on BBC Boxing that if Pacman takes on anybody else it may be Antonio Margarito, which would be a real shame as I think Pacman would dismantle him fairly quickly (though Marg's head IS made of granite).

What was more intruiging this weekend was Ryan Rhodes' defence of his European Light Middle crown against the Italian Messi, I didn't watch it (Sky) unfortunately but by all accounts Messi was outclassed. This doesn't necessarily mean Rhodes is ready for a world title, but his age (33) may just push him to a title fight faster than may be best for him at this time. I really like Ryan's style and his contest against Jamie Moore was great, Moore looked invincible, too solid, but Ryan moved well and starting landing big in the early middle rounds. Would really like Ryan to pull off a World but time's not his bed fellow.

[Jeremy]

Time to resurrect this one, because it's the big one... the fight we've all been waiting for... NOT.

Haye vs Harrison officially announced : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/8968472.stm

[Keef]

Well that's a bit pathetic. Harrison will probably be knocked out first round, and Haye will just look like he's knocked out a journeyman.

"Quality opponent" my arse!

[KidKruger]

Yes it's a bit disappointing isn't it. There were rumours of this the last few weeks. it'd be easier to swallow if you knew the details ie. no other fights available due to other commitments of potential opponents, money/purse issues, wanting to keep busy (well for half a round anyway !!) while waiting for a 'bigger' fight, etc.

The cynical side of me suspects Haye is waiting for the Klitschkos to 'age'. An extra 12-24 months is a lot when you're in your mid-late 30's compared to when you're in your 20s/early 30s. If Haye really does want to retire at 31 it leaves precious little time to 'unify' the belts given how long fights can take to line up. I'd say it's not possible now unless they are lined-up for him like ducks, which is unlikely.

BUT..

On an entirely brighter note it was most refreshing to see Ricky Burns trounce the feared Sergio Martinez for the WBO SuperFeatherweight world title on Ssaturday evening in Glasgow. burns was dropped inthe 1st round with a decent right and but got up (IMO far too) quickly to try and indicate he was OK. However he dominated the fight, keeping Martinez (fearsome puncher) at length with jabs then mixing it up close in bursts. Burns moved well and could predict his opponent's intentions, which, on occasion were telegraphed almost with the use of huge neon billboards. He got the decision which remarkably was split. Considering the odds were stacked massively against him, Ricky has done Scotland/UK proud.

Next big nights for me are Sat 18th Sept when Frank Warren is laying on an exceptional (for THESE days) card, this has De Gale, Cleverly and other well known UK boxers and not against pussies either. 6pm start, a whole night of domestic boxing - top hole !

I think the Vladimir Klitshcko v Samuel Peter contest will be a foregone conclusion, since Peter's been beaten by both brothers previously. However I think (may well be wrong) Peter MAY have dropped Vladimir a couple of times when they met before. He was beaten on points by Vladimir I think and withdrew against Vitali when Vitali was making his 'come back' fight 2/3 years ago from injury (knee/leg ?).

Plus of course Froch v Abraham who are both coming off losses and need a win to stay in contention of the Super Six.

[Jeremy]

I've no idea what Samuel Peter has done to warrant another shot at Wlad.

[KidKruger]

The Frank Warren card on Saturday was a great showcase of British Boxing, true, it probably didn't deserve PPV status but having watched it with buddies it was a fine night.

Nathan Cleverly showed his mettle against a very tough opponent and, when he calms his wildness a bit, should be in contention for a world title within the year. He wants Bernard Hopins, which I think is a bit ambitious, he may get the win but it could get real ugly because although Nathan's work-rate is high (like Calzaghe's was) Bernard spoils and can make him look real bad. I fear for Nathan against Jean Pascal (who he also wants), perhaps in 18 months but it's too early now, he needs a few mre decent Americans rather than Europeans under his belt.

Kell Brook showed his fluid, there-not-there, skills but I am not yet sure he should be billed the 'second coming of Naseem Hamed' !

Enzo Maccarinelli unfortunately was taken down quite harshly by his tough opponent, I think he was quite careless, being desperate for a huge win (and ascendency to world title contention again). The KO he suffered could have happened in any of that or the three previous rounds IMO, he could have bided his time and ground-down his man for a win in the later rounds. The only thing tarnishing the contest was that he was allowed (by his corner) to continue after the heavy drop, I think that bad decision made the difference between whether he will be adviced to/not to box professionally again. Given his prior heavy KOs perhaps he should retire. A real shame as he's lost his chance due to impatience IMO.

James DeGale overpowered Carl Dilks in a single round and now wants George Groves (who beat him in the amateurs). This is interesting as many thought the contest would be made much later when both boxers had made their mark professionally and a large all-British contest could be made. The Frank Warren 30th annniversary (of promoting, I presume) on Dec 11 is the billed date for this contest amongst a host of other intersting match-ups.

Shame Ryan Rhodes wasn't able to play due to his injury - i wonder if age will get the better of him now and his chance will come too late as he's approaching his mid-30s.

It's worth watching these domestic shows as quite soon some of them will be the UK world title holders we support in the pubs when they are famous.

[Keef]

Hatton has licence revoked

I know he wouldn't have had another fight (if he was wise), but a sad ending.

[KidKruger]

Great quote:

The BBBC decided not to withdraw his promoter's licence as "Hatton Promotions is a large organisation... ".

Lucky it wasn't a medium-sized organisation then, I guess. He's either a goody or a baddie surely, does the size of his concern really have a bearing on the punishment given ?

[Emerson Crane]

How the mighty have fallen eh? Still, I'm afraid he was the architect of his own downfall. What a shame/waste.

[Keef]

Great quote:

The BBBC decided not to withdraw his promoter's licence as "Hatton Promotions is a large organisation... ".

Lucky it wasn't a medium-sized organisation then, I guess. He's either a goody or a baddie surely, does the size of his concern really have a bearing on the punishment given ?

Meant to answer this at the time. I thought exactly the same, and equally, when they said

"Ricky Hatton is not an active boxer and his current physical condition is such that the board decided to withdraw his boxer's licence."

So if he'd been fighting and fit, he would have gotten away with it? Whoever speaks to the press for the BBBC needs to have a real think about their wording.

Anyway,

Well at least someone from the UK gets to fight a Klitschko!

Obviously Chisora won't be demanding anything like the share of the purse that Haye would, but this just sucks basically. I appreciate all these guys turn pro to make money out of fighting, but surely there is some pride left, and they want the big fights!

[Jah Lush]

The Klitschko's continue to fight patsys while David Haye gets to fight Audrey Harrison. The heavyweight division is rubbish these days.

[KidKruger]

Chisora put in a fine strong win against Sexton last month on the Sept 18 'magnificent 7' Frank Warren card, very gutsy and he showed his toughness as per last time he beat Sexton.

However, to automatically be eligible for a shot at either Klistchko is surprising.

I think it shows how thin the Heavyweight division is right now. In fact it's so weak that almost any heavyweight who gets any kind of internationally recognised win is being set-up for a Klistchko bout.

I would have thought Chisora needs 6-8 contests against seasoned operators before facing a Klistchko, those Russian boys are solid and if Chisora gets hit as much as Sexton caught him, he will be in trouble.

Of course anyone can knock anyone out so stastically there's always the chance of a win, but come on, this is too early for Dereck.

I really don't understand how the Klistchkos are not made to either fight each other for the other belts or, at very least, forfeit the belts they hold if they refuse. The brothers are clearly no.1 and 2 in the world so if one holds a belt surely the other must be the mandatory challenger for it - I don't see the point of, nor agree with, exception sbeing made. It's also tying-up the division more than if there were true seperate (unrelated!) belt holders IMO.

[Jeremy]

KK, I don't think that's how it works... say for instance, Wlad got himself into a position as the mandatory challenger for Vitali's WBC belt. Wlad would not be obliged to take the fight if he didn't want it. Also, all the bodies have their own rakings - your logic implies some sort of cooperation between them, which simply doesn't exist.

Wlad vs Chisora is every bit as meaningless as Vitali vs Sosnowski or Haye vs Harrison. But it is not uncommon for fighters to take the occasional "tune up" bout in between the genuine contenders. It is not a new thing, and it's not exclusive to the heavyweights. Here's hoping that Wlad and Haye take on more dangerous challengers next time, i.e. each other.

[KidKruger]

Jeremy I hear you, but what I'm saying is that if the various (let's say the 4 main) belts seriously do NOT place both Vlad and Vitali in their top 2 in terms of contention (which is what the ranking is meant to signify, right ?) then there is something askew with the way they rate the boxers on their list.

For their first time in ages the no 1 and 2 spots are fairly widely agreed with little subjectivity.

This being the case each brother should be the no.1 contender for the belt(s) they don't hold.

I know you don't always have to fight the no.1 contender (no.2 on rankings) but I think that can only happen for a limited time, then there is an obligation to face him.

I just checked the main belts' rankings and there is no situation where both Klitschkos are both in any of the rankings lists, this has to be a fabricated situation because if they were 'seperate' guys this could not be the case - it's like ignoring one of the boxers completely, like they don't exist !

[KidKruger]

Anybody fancy watching the Harrison v Haye contest later ?

I'm thinking of a stroll down to CPT to see if they're showing it, maybe around 8.30-9pm.

Will check this thread later as I'm off out now.

Cheers,

Kid

[Jah Lush]

I'm there. The CPT are definitely showing it. Haye to win in the 2nd round.

[Keef]

Same here.

[KidKruger]

Great - Jah/Keef do you 'stand out from the crowd' ?

How will I recognise you it would be good to put a face to a name (handle) ?

I think the undercard is a good' un, especially George Groves, he's an up-and-comer.

See yous there !

[Keef]

I'll probably be sitting at the bar in the lounge, watching the big screen. Red top on.