Billie Joe Saunders v Matthew Hall - Boxnation Thursday Fight

Not too bad to see a bit of boxing on a Thursday night! Tidy little domestic dust up here, and Matthew Hall will be a decent test for Saunders and to see how well he has progressed. Hall does tend to get beaten by the better fighters he's come up against, but will provide a good yardstick.

Also one of my favourite fighters Peter McDonagh giving Bradley Skeete a decent test first. He's come in to the ring in an leprechaun's hat and beard.... hope it gives him some luck! I don't think he gets the breaks he deserves, but Skeete boxes well on the outside and might be a little too slick for him.

Any results you can update us with please mate

Skeete cruised past McDonagh - really decent performance from him and just kept McDonagh from working and worked well with the jab. He's coming on, although he'll never be a great entertainer.

Saunders is currently keeping ahead of Hall as we edge towards the middle of the fight. Hall been caught well once, and is maybe 3-1 down after four.

Saunders is dominating the second half of the show now, looking very good, boxing well behind the jab and winning the trades when they happen. Saunders will either finish well with a KO, or win a wide UD. Two rounds remaining.

119-110, 120-109, 120-108. Would maybe have given Hall another round or two, but Saunders was dominant and really went on to look very good indeed. Still only young too, but he's got to be one of the biggest hopes over the next four or five years.

Saunders is not a strong enough puncher to keep any class middles off him. He had Hall almost gone but could not finish the smaller man. He struggles as he slows midway through a fight and allows the opponent to get closer and land as the fight goes on. Luckily for him tonight it was a smaller man but to me he just doesn't have that special something to make it to the top. Not strong enough.

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Originally Posted by ross

Saunders is not a strong enough puncher to keep any class middles off him. He had Hall almost gone but could not finish the smaller man. He struggles as he slows midway through a fight and allows the opponent to get closer and land as the fight goes on. Luckily for him tonight it was a smaller man but to me he just doesn't have that special something to make it to the top. Not strong enough.

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He's still a little boyish in his physique....he'll grow and become stronger over the next few years, and when he does he will become very good. Hall has only been stopped by noted heavy hitters, so I don't think that not stopping him is that big a deal for Saunders.

I had £30 on saunders in points at 12/5

im not overly sure what i got back is the right amount, can someone work out what they think it should be please

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Originally Posted by erics44

I had £30 on saunders in points at 12/5

im not overly sure what i got back is the right amount, can someone work out what they think it should be please

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£102 returned (30 stake + 72 profit)

yeah thats what i got

soz i was being a thicko

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Originally Posted by superheavyrhun

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Originally Posted by ross

Saunders is not a strong enough puncher to keep any class middles off him. He had Hall almost gone but could not finish the smaller man. He struggles as he slows midway through a fight and allows the opponent to get closer and land as the fight goes on. Luckily for him tonight it was a smaller man but to me he just doesn't have that special something to make it to the top. Not strong enough.

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He's still a little boyish in his physique....he'll grow and become stronger over the next few years, and when he does he will become very good. Hall has only been stopped by noted heavy hitters, so I don't think that not stopping him is that big a deal for Saunders.

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I think he should have stopped the smaller exposed Hall and it just reconfirmed his lack of power. Like ross, I believe he'll be found wanting up in class due to a lack of strength.

Can't believe they said he might move up in weight either, surely he should be trying the opposite?

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Originally Posted by Fenster

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Originally Posted by superheavyrhun

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Originally Posted by ross

Saunders is not a strong enough puncher to keep any class middles off him. He had Hall almost gone but could not finish the smaller man. He struggles as he slows midway through a fight and allows the opponent to get closer and land as the fight goes on. Luckily for him tonight it was a smaller man but to me he just doesn't have that special something to make it to the top. Not strong enough.

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He's still a little boyish in his physique....he'll grow and become stronger over the next few years, and when he does he will become very good. Hall has only been stopped by noted heavy hitters, so I don't think that not stopping him is that big a deal for Saunders.

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I think he should have stopped the smaller exposed Hall and it just reconfirmed his lack of power. Like ross, I believe he'll be found wanting up in class due to a lack of strength.

Can't believe they said he might move up in weight either, surely he should be trying the opposite?

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he doesnt look that tight at the weight does he, looks like he could have a chance of moving down

hall is a tough fella like, i dont think not stopping him at this stage of his carear is an indication of his lack of power

i think some other fights have shown that though

I think his lack of power has been apparent for sometime. Hall is tough like Bradley Pryce and Nick Blackwell but you'd expect the top British middleweights to stop them. The fact BJS couldn't is quite telling.

Up in class I can see fighters walking straight through him.

its a pity innit, coz hes got the skills that pay the bills ;D

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Originally Posted by Fenster

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Originally Posted by superheavyrhun

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Originally Posted by ross

Saunders is not a strong enough puncher to keep any class middles off him. He had Hall almost gone but could not finish the smaller man. He struggles as he slows midway through a fight and allows the opponent to get closer and land as the fight goes on. Luckily for him tonight it was a smaller man but to me he just doesn't have that special something to make it to the top. Not strong enough.

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He's still a little boyish in his physique....he'll grow and become stronger over the next few years, and when he does he will become very good. Hall has only been stopped by noted heavy hitters, so I don't think that not stopping him is that big a deal for Saunders.

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I think he should have stopped the smaller exposed Hall and it just reconfirmed his lack of power. Like ross, I believe he'll be found wanting up in class due to a lack of strength.

Can't believe they said he might move up in weight either, surely he should be trying the opposite?

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Yep, he looks as though he could move down to light middle. Look at the bodys n the top fighters, not an ounce of fat. I dont reckon hes training that hard. His power would be better. Hall came up a weight and looked better at the weight than Saunders did.

Thanks for the updates, just had a chance to check back in.

I think Saunders can go on and do well, not sure what to expect really, he needs to get some proper momentum going and show us something special. Looks good from what I have seen though and it doesn't hurt to be going the distance now. Good for ring fitness, if he was bashing everybody out in a couple of rounds everyone would be raving about him, but then he could cme unstuck in a long hard fight and everyone would turn on him.

He has the fitness and skills now, just needs progressively tougher opponents to keep improving and i'm sure the power will develop to bring some good stoppages. If it doesn't then a wins a win however it comes.

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Originally Posted by armyash

Thanks for the updates, just had a chance to check back in.

I think Saunders can go on and do well, not sure what to expect really, he needs to get some proper momentum going and show us something special. Looks good from what I have seen though and it doesn't hurt to be going the distance now. Good for ring fitness, if he was bashing everybody out in a couple of rounds everyone would be raving about him, but then he could cme unstuck in a long hard fight and everyone would turn on him.

He has the fitness and skills now, just needs progressively tougher opponents to keep improving and i'm sure the power will develop to bring some good stoppages. If it doesn't then a wins a win however it comes.

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He didnt purposefully carry Hall to get rounds in. He threw everything at Hall in I think the 9th round to put him away and he couldnt. He knackered himself and was very greatfull it was only a blown up british journeyman in front of him and nothing more. Also, Hall did hurt him a few times as you could see with the stupid show boating. Who needs to put a show on that they have not been hurt against a british level jouneryman?

Skeete is a good and sometimes exciting fighter.

Saunders does lack power and if he has any intention to further his career at the highest level he should us more body punching and have the fitness to go the distance without losing concentration.

I don't think that guys who do turn pro young such as Saunders, Cleverly etc should be too worried about a lack of power early on in their careers.

Body punching definitely looked like a potential weapon for Saunders, as he was digging in quite well, although maybe not frequently enough.