The Big Debate: Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter vs. Taurus “The Bull” Sykes.

Forget the future, is Peter the best right now?

Samuel Peter (23-0, 20KOs) takes on Taurus Sykes (23-1-1, 6KOs) for the NABF and USBA heavyweight titles. In the weak heavyweight division, I see him as the best natural and gifted fighter there is today. Peter is only twenty-four-years-old and was

an Olympic quarterfinalist at the 2000 games. He possesses speed, power and a brooding presence in the ring. I might be nuts saying this but he reminds me of a more intelligent, cool-headed and much smarter version of former heavyweight, the now incarcerated Ike Ibeabuchi. Some even think that the best fighter in the division is still in prison and that is bad for a coveted division. Since the retirement of Lennox Lewis, the heavyweight division has been trashed and the topic of many boxing conversations for its lack of depth and champions.

Join us for the “Big Debate” with David Shipman arguing for Samuel Peter and Jim Cawkwell for Taurus Sykes.

Vitali Klitschko is often injured, Hasim Rahman talks all kinds of trash but barely backs it up, Chris Byrd never fights, John Ruiz is the most boring fighter of this generation, and Andrew Golota is given many undeserved title chances. I will make an argument that Peter will beat any of those guys, and beat them easily. He will be the best pound-for-pound fighter by his twenty-sixth birthday, just pencil that in as a gimme.

Peter is very active which, a great plus because almost all of the heavyweights now wait at least seven to nine months to fight. Someone should give him a shot at one of the ABC titles in the division (WBC, IBF, WBA for example) and a chance to show off his skills on a pay-per-view stage. Peter is already in the top ten, and should be much higher right now. He is the brightest and best heavyweight in the world and on Saturday night, he will defeat Taurus Sykes.

Jim……

Somewhere along the line, Taurus Sykes got the nickname of “The Bull,” but he did not get it for being a destructive puncher. With only six stoppages in twenty-three wins, Sykes is the boxer between himself and Samuel Peter and makes no secret of the fact that boxing is the way he plans to get past Peter on Saturday night. The odds are against Sykes being able to fulfill his prediction, but they are not so long against us having to witness yet another heavyweight disappointment.

Peter is exciting to watch but extremely basic in his style and much like IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd has made a career of out-boxing much bigger and stronger heavyweights, Sykes faces a similar problem in his attempt to derail Peter. It has become the norm to see a highly-touted prospect fall well before the final hurdle these days, and while Sykes is not as quick or as skilled as Byrd, he will aim to outmaneuver the predictable Peter en route to a decision victory.

What is favorable to Sykes’ cause is the fact that Peter seems to be some way above ideal fighting condition, he appears overweight for his height and one wonders that if he expends a lot of energy trying to knock Sykes out, as expected, the later rounds may be deep enough water for him to drown in. Sykes must develop a rigid fight plan that will not deviate at any time as Peter will exploit any openings given to him. The two fighters have exchanged heated words and I wonder if Sykes can make Peter’s intensity work against him with good movement and intelligent defensive work. Sykes can score from the outside and opt to move off or smother Peter on the inside. Peter is a great offensive machine, but if he is frustrated and has to think more about what he is doing, and if the intended target does not co-operate with his plans, I wonder if he can hold it together, especially under the mounting pressure of being the next big thing in the heavyweight division.

Whether Sykes is capable of pulling off the type of performance that can defy the odds and defeat Peter is another matter, but if he can, I see a decision win for “The Bull.”

David Shipman can be reached at davidshipman1@yahoo.com

Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk