Cruiserweight/SM Tournament - World Boxing Super Series

[powerpuncher]

Tournaments are the best. It makes each fight way more exciting. All fights are quality.

[powerpuncher]

Let's just hope that this tournament works out well. If it does, then they will do more of them and hopefully it becomes a way to force the best fighters to fight each other and unify belts.

[Fenster]

This looks absolutely fantastic! Much, much better than the super-six (remember Ward especially and Froch weren't fancied/favourites when it started)

The cruiser comp is awesome. Someone is going to have to pick between Kudryashov, Huck and Perez as their "gimme!!!" fight. That's meant to be your "EASY" fight. Fascinating.

And now Smith and Eubank Jr have been added to SM that looks terrific too. Finally Jamie 'broadmoor' Cox gets a shot - either a told you so, or a told ya so, win or exposed. Is Rob Brant the new Ward?

Wow, the addition of Callum Smith to the SMW is brilliant. Even for non Brits the potential for matchups between him, Groves and Eubank is fantastic news. Did you have any bets early on for the Super Six (eventual winner etc) or did you wait until the later stages?

No outright bets on the SS, I thought Abraham would win, but he was one of the favourites.

I didn't like the super-six, I predicted it would never work and it would be a farce trying match losers and winners from different promotional outfits. As we saw it was even worse with - Ward-Dirrell refusing to fight, Ward refusing to leave California, then the whole fucking States. Dirrell refusing to ever leave the States again after Froch. Abraham and Kessler getting shafted by the Americans (so they claim). Pull outs, reserves, took forever.

This is MUCH, MUCH better. Not just the fields but the organisation. Eight weekends in a row to get the semi-finalists.

[Fenster]

As for bets, so far I've backed Rob Brant at 50/1 for the supermiddles - even though he's stepping up in weight he's young, unexposed, plenty of good amateur experience (Ward 2?) and gets Brahmer in the first round, who is not only past his best but boiling down to 168.

At cruiser i'm thinking of backing Dorticos (10/1)

[GAME]

Early predictions…… but given my inability to call a fight expect the opposite

Super middleweights

Groves vs Cox. George picked Cox because he thinks it will be easy. Id have to agree. Cox I don’t think hits hard enough and whilst I’m all for young guys getting an opportunity Im not sure how he got included in this tournament. In the last super 6 we had big names like Kessler in his prime, Taylor and an unbeaten Abraham. The inclusion of Cox suggests this is a level down from the last one but I hope Cox proves me wrong and does well. Groves could finally put those Froch losses behind him if he wins this tourney whilst Carl took two losses in his

Smith vs Skoglund I detailed my concerns on Smith in an earlier post. I don’t believe Joe Gallagher is the trainer to guide him through this tournament but he has a relatively straight forward first fight. Skoglund is unbeaten but doesn’t carry much power. The only names on his record are ancient warhorses like Glenn Johnson and Lolenga Mock, neither of which he could put away. Im going with Callum in this one.

Eubank Abraham winner vs Yildrim I expect Eubank to come out a wide winner over Abraham and that will be good experience to go in with Yildrim who is similarly a come forward strong European style brawler. Eubank has quick enough hands to win pretty much every round vs Yildrim without ever looking like getting a stoppage

Braehmer vs Brant I wouldn’t like to write off a guy like Braehmer who carries power in both hands and always had good skills however what goes against him here is age and weight. He is coming off a loss and then aged 38 he wants to boil down 7lbs to face a young dangerous fighter and Americas only entry in this tournament. I don’t see it ending well for Braehmer. I see Brant outboxing him and maybe stopping him late


Cruiserweights

Usyk vs Huck I’ve a lot of respect for Huck and his career but in this one I favour Usyk strongly. I think he dominates a 1 sided fight on points showcasing his great skills and making it look easy.

Gassiev vs Wlodarczyk Good fight!. Wloarczyk needs to use his vast experience to fiddle his way through the rounds and avoid trading with the younger man. Gassiev is the dark horse of the tournament and I pick him in this fight. Wlodarczyk has never been stopped so it will be a statement if Gassiev gets him out of there but Gassiev was so physically powerful and heavy handed vs Lebedev that he has to start favourite in this fight.
.

Breidis vs Perez Im a bit disappointed for Perez because I was really looking forward to seeing him and rated his chances but unfortunately hes got matched off against Maris Breidis whos arguably the best boxer in the tournament and second favourite to Usyk. Perez has fought at heavyweight with losses to Bryant Jennings and Povetkin so should be use to physically bigger men. However Breidis has a dramatic KO over heavyweight Manuel Charr and made easy work of long time champ Marco Hiuck so this is a really a big ask for Mike Perez. Breidis wins.

Dorticos vs Kudryashov What a great fight this one is. Both guys could KO the other but Id say Kudyrahov is the bigger puncher with the genuine KO power. The Cuban has the skills and will be favoured the longer it goes but his high KO record is abit misleading because there arent many names on it and in his sole points win he failed to stop Edison Miranda who was KOd by Abraham down at middleweight years ago. If it’s a shootout early I go with the Russian but I see Dorticos being elusive and using his boxing skills to get through the storm and take it late

[Beanz]

Early predictions…… but given my inability to call a fight expect the opposite

Super middleweights

Groves vs Cox. George picked Cox because he thinks it will be easy. Id have to agree. Cox I don’t think hits hard enough and whilst I’m all for young guys getting an opportunity Im not sure how he got included in this tournament. In the last super 6 we had big names like Kessler in his prime, Taylor and an unbeaten Abraham. The inclusion of Cox suggests this is a level down from the last one but I hope Cox proves me wrong and does well. Groves could finally put those Froch losses behind him if he wins this tourney whilst Carl took two losses in his

Smith vs Skoglund I detailed my concerns on Smith in an earlier post. I don’t believe Joe Gallagher is the trainer to guide him through this tournament but he has a relatively straight forward first fight. Skoglund is unbeaten but doesn’t carry much power. The only names on his record are ancient warhorses like Glenn Johnson and Lolenga Mock, neither of which he could put away. Im going with Callum in this one.

Eubank Abraham winner vs Yildrim I expect Eubank to come out a wide winner over Abraham and that will be good experience to go in with Yildrim who is similarly a come forward strong European style brawler. Eubank has quick enough hands to win pretty much every round vs Yildrim without ever looking like getting a stoppage

Braehmer vs Brant I wouldn’t like to write off a guy like Braehmer who carries power in both hands and always had good skills however what goes against him here is age and weight. He is coming off a loss and then aged 38 he wants to boil down 7lbs to face a young dangerous fighter and Americas only entry in this tournament. I don’t see it ending well for Braehmer. I see Brant outboxing him and maybe stopping him late


Cruiserweights

Usyk vs Huck I’ve a lot of respect for Huck and his career but in this one I favour Usyk strongly. I think he dominates a 1 sided fight on points showcasing his great skills and making it look easy.

Gassiev vs Wlodarczyk Good fight!. Wloarczyk needs to use his vast experience to fiddle his way through the rounds and avoid trading with the younger man. Gassiev is the dark horse of the tournament and I pick him in this fight. Wlodarczyk has never been stopped so it will be a statement if Gassiev gets him out of there but Gassiev was so physically powerful and heavy handed vs Lebedev that he has to start favourite in this fight.
.

Breidis vs Perez Im a bit disappointed for Perez because I was really looking forward to seeing him and rated his chances but unfortunately hes got matched off against Maris Breidis whos arguably the best boxer in the tournament and second favourite to Usyk. Perez has fought at heavyweight with losses to Bryant Jennings and Povetkin so should be use to physically bigger men. However Breidis has a dramatic KO over heavyweight Manuel Charr and made easy work of long time champ Marco Hiuck so this is a really a big ask for Mike Perez. Breidis wins.

Dorticos vs Kudryashov What a great fight this one is. Both guys could KO the other but Id say Kudyrahov is the bigger puncher with the genuine KO power. The Cuban has the skills and will be favoured the longer it goes but his high KO record is abit misleading because there arent many names on it and in his sole points win he failed to stop Edison Miranda who was KOd by Abraham down at middleweight years ago. If it’s a shootout early I go with the Russian but I see Dorticos being elusive and using his boxing skills to get through the storm and take it late

Great Summary

[Primo Carnera]

As for bets, so far I've backed Rob Brant at 50/1 for the supermiddles - even though he's stepping up in weight he's young, unexposed, plenty of good amateur experience (Ward 2?) and gets Brahmer in the first round, who is not only past his best but boiling down to 168.

At cruiser i'm thinking of backing Dorticos (10/1)

The theory of picking the young less experienced guys in a tournament like this is pretty solid thinking in my book. The final of the tournament could be over a year, maybe even 2 years away, you never know. in that time, one of the more experienced fancied guys could go over the hill, while the younger guys could pick up experience and just start to peak.
with that in mind , I still fancy Groves, although Callum Smith has to be considered. My fear for Smith is and always has been , how long can he keep fighting at SMW? he's massive for the weight and as you get older, that gets tougher.
I don't like Groves saying that he chose Cox as it was an easy fight, that's a bad mentality to have. To be honest, I was kinda hoping Cox would be fighting Eubank Jr. I really believe Cox would give Eubank a beating. I don't reckon he's anywhere near as bad as people are saying, and I don't think Eubank Jr. is anywhere near as good as people are saying.
Cox has had a lot of issues and problems in his career to date (Many self-inflicted), but I think he is a decent fighter.

[Ron Swanson]

As for bets, so far I've backed Rob Brant at 50/1 for the supermiddles - even though he's stepping up in weight he's young, unexposed, plenty of good amateur experience (Ward 2?) and gets Brahmer in the first round, who is not only past his best but boiling down to 168.

At cruiser i'm thinking of backing Dorticos (10/1)

The theory of picking the young less experienced guys in a tournament like this is pretty solid thinking in my book. The final of the tournament could be over a year, maybe even 2 years away, you never know. in that time, one of the more experienced fancied guys could go over the hill, while the younger guys could pick up experience and just start to peak.
with that in mind , I still fancy Groves, although Callum Smith has to be considered. My fear for Smith is and always has been , how long can he keep fighting at SMW? he's massive for the weight and as you get older, that gets tougher.
I don't like Groves saying that he chose Cox as it was an easy fight, that's a bad mentality to have. To be honest, I was kinda hoping Cox would be fighting Eubank Jr. I really believe Cox would give Eubank a beating. I don't reckon he's anywhere near as bad as people are saying, and I don't think Eubank Jr. is anywhere near as good as people are saying.
Cox has had a lot of issues and problems in his career to date (Many self-inflicted), but I think he is a decent fighter.

When Groves said he took it because it was easy it seemed playful, not like mind games or to put Cox down. Just my opinion from watching.

[Kirkland Laing]

I didn't even realize this had all been finalized, good stuff. I'm not familiar with Kudryashov or Dorticos, but could still do without Huck being in it myself. I've never liked watching him and think he's probably on the slide. If they need him to make it 8 solid guys fine, but otherwise I'd rather see a couple of interesting entries like Ward or Kovalev, Mike Perez, as mentioned.

I don't fancy Kovalev at cruiser. 175 to 200 is a massive jump. Punches that floored people at 175 will just bounce off some of these guys. Maybe he can spend a year or so getting used to the weight while this tournament plays out but I don't see him doing anything at this weight especially with how many good fighters there are at 200 right now.

[Kirkland Laing]

I know you can't judge people just on appearance, but if I was going to judge the people in charge of this I would say each looks like a crook

There's supposed to be $20 million in prize money or some figure like that?

Why would anybody put that kind of money up to make these fights? How do they expect to make it back? The promoters are just being handed millions of dollars to put fights on?

[Primo Carnera]

As for bets, so far I've backed Rob Brant at 50/1 for the supermiddles - even though he's stepping up in weight he's young, unexposed, plenty of good amateur experience (Ward 2?) and gets Brahmer in the first round, who is not only past his best but boiling down to 168.

At cruiser i'm thinking of backing Dorticos (10/1)

The theory of picking the young less experienced guys in a tournament like this is pretty solid thinking in my book. The final of the tournament could be over a year, maybe even 2 years away, you never know. in that time, one of the more experienced fancied guys could go over the hill, while the younger guys could pick up experience and just start to peak.
with that in mind , I still fancy Groves, although Callum Smith has to be considered. My fear for Smith is and always has been , how long can he keep fighting at SMW? he's massive for the weight and as you get older, that gets tougher.
I don't like Groves saying that he chose Cox as it was an easy fight, that's a bad mentality to have. To be honest, I was kinda hoping Cox would be fighting Eubank Jr. I really believe Cox would give Eubank a beating. I don't reckon he's anywhere near as bad as people are saying, and I don't think Eubank Jr. is anywhere near as good as people are saying.
Cox has had a lot of issues and problems in his career to date (Many self-inflicted), but I think he is a decent fighter.

When Groves said he took it because it was easy it seemed playful, not like mind games or to put Cox down. Just my opinion from watching.

I never saw it, so I hope so. I'm a big Groves fan, so I don't want him getting too cocksure.
It makes sense that it could be banter because I think they've trained together and probably sparred when Groves was fighting Froch and Jack. Groves was spending a lot of time in Swindon at that Paddy fellas gym. Jamie Cox is from Swindon.

[Master]

I know you can't judge people just on appearance, but if I was going to judge the people in charge of this I would say each looks like a crook

There's supposed to be $20 million in prize money or some figure like that?

Why would anybody put that kind of money up to make these fights? How do they expect to make it back? The promoters are just being handed millions of dollars to put fights on?

It is a good way to launder money.

[Fenster]

The timeline for this means it ends (without injuries/disputes) next May. This ain't no micky mouse super-six, serious money has gone into it ($50 milion prize fund), serious people are behind it. Eight quarterfinals in a eight weeks. The launch night looked incredible for a boxing event (people behind the champions league ran it).

[Fenster]

Groves picked Cox not just because he knows him because the British fans know him. It's an easy sell with Cox being with Matchroom, no problems with TV or anything.

Cox has sparred loads with Groves, Eubank jr and other top fighters through his barren spell (main sparring partner for Canelo recently). His problem is a) he's a luntatic and b) he's a lunatic (been inside a couple of times, should have been DQ'd a couple of times too). We had a Jamie Cox watch thread on here years ago before he went loco.

[Kirkland Laing]

Fifty million is more than Top Rank and Golden Boy put together made in profit last financial year, not to mention Haymon's ongoing multi million loss making fuckup. There's a rabbit away somewhere.