Not seeing many mentions of this around the web but it sounds awesome
Once the add Usyk anything else is gravy
http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/i...ght-tournament
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Not seeing many mentions of this around the web but it sounds awesome
Once the add Usyk anything else is gravy
http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/i...ght-tournament
This is turning into exactly what it was meant to be. Take a weight that isn't recognized and get all the best fighters and give them a chance at money and stardom.
If Ward meant half the stuff he talked about 'moving up anything's possible' after night club punching Kovalevs nuts into wet oatmeal..he'd jump on this quality tourney. Put Perez on a cruiser comeback trail as a standby.
they could do with a couple western/british/American names in it
I think Janie cox is signed up for the super middles too innee?
I get what you're saying from a marketing perspective to Western people. But I assume they will just hold fights in other countries where those men are popular.Quote:
Originally Posted by erics44
I've never understood the mentality of liking the home guy anyway. Probably from growing up in Michigan with most every profession franchise sucking I learned to root for the teams I like to watch. Boxing when I was too young to stay up and watch the US fights I'd watch foreign fighters on Wide World of Sports. So rooting for guys because of country never made sense to me. To me it is Ukrainians and Russians that are the best in this class, okay, we'll watch Ukrainians and Russians. No difference. As long as good fighters are fighting good fighters I'm in.
The class seems hot right now. Will be good to know if it is hot or it's an illusion from soft match making. Like Usyk, I thought he was going to be really good but as his competition got harder I haven't seen the progression from him. Would love to see him take the next step. And Kovalev is thinking about going up to cruiserweight. I would love to see him dive right into this. There's a spot for him but I doubt he will make a decision so quick. July 8th will be very interesting to know who fills the last spots
Ward or Kovalev could both do a ton of good for themselves if they join. Kovalev would totally revitalize his career and continue to be perceived as a top fighter in the sport. Ward could cement his legacy as on of the best fighters in this generation if he wins it. I hope that one of them decides to join.
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.
yeah I know what youre saying, the tournament would be a high quality if they picked the fighters dependent on their ability rather than where they come fromQuote:
Originally Posted by Ron SwansonI get what you're saying from a marketing perspective to Western people. But I assume they will just hold fights in other countries where those men are popular.Quote:
Originally Posted by erics44
I've never understood the mentality of liking the home guy anyway. Probably from growing up in Michigan with most every profession franchise sucking I learned to root for the teams I like to watch. Boxing when I was too young to stay up and watch the US fights I'd watch foreign fighters on Wide World of Sports. So rooting for guys because of country never made sense to me. To me it is Ukrainians and Russians that are the best in this class, okay, we'll watch Ukrainians and Russians. No difference. As long as good fighters are fighting good fighters I'm in.
The class seems hot right now. Will be good to know if it is hot or it's an illusion from soft match making. Like Usyk, I thought he was going to be really good but as his competition got harder I haven't seen the progression from him. Would love to see him take the next step. And Kovalev is thinking about going up to cruiserweight. I would love to see him dive right into this. There's a spot for him but I doubt he will make a decision so quick. July 8th will be very interesting to know who fills the last spots
theres a massive market in the west tho, so a couple of fighters from there, particularly if they do alright, would probably raise the profile of the event and the eastern European fighters in it
kudryashov is a good addition because he is arguably the biggest hitter at the weight with all 21 wins coming by Ko but in his sole loss he was knocked out and looked abit stiff and clueless so he's certainly gonna bring entertainment to this win or lose. Huck I think has been thrown in because he's been a long time cruiser champ and probably deserves one last chance but I can't see it ending well for him. I'm with you about mike perez' inclusion. Get him in there! His last fight didn't show us much because his opponent flopped but he looked in terrific shape and I'm keen to see him at cruiserweight.Quote:
Originally Posted by p4pking
they need Marius breidis in it as an unbeaten champ and gassiev who's another puncher who beat lebedev. Usyk obviously should be in otherwise we have another situation like super 6 where after the tournament some people still ranked Bute as number 1.
Im not sure it's a wise move for Kovalev to mix it it with these guys. If he felt wards punches albeit illegal shots I don't see him coping with guys like gassiev, breidis, usyk or in fact kudryashov. I'd make him underdog in those fights.
i don't see Ward joining being the diva he is. He'd want home advantage again in every fight like super 6 and it would invalidate the whole tourney if they granted him that. Let him fight in Russia and see what he can get away with there
Update on this. Usyk is signed on so they have
Usyk(WBO)
Dorticos(WBA)
Breidis(WBC)
Gassiev(IBF)
Huck
Wlodarczyk
And at 168
Groves(WBA)
Skoglund
Cox
The whole boxibg super series is decided except the Eubank/Abraham winner will enter. Someone mentioned wanting Mike Perez in it I believe, he is
http://www.boxingscene.com/world-box...eeding--118273
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?
The best Usyk is the stand out guy at Cruiser-weight hell of a boxer Bellend with still be living off his victory of Haye for years to come so he will not risk fighting a bunch of very good fighters, remember now Tony is a super star in his own front room.
The SM tournament may hold a few surprises all in all good for boxing and us fans.:)
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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeanzWow, 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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
Yeah both tournaments are looking great now. Interesting that eubank Abraham winner will enter because I was convinced jnr was going to defend an ibo title in leisure centres on itv Ppv for the rest of his days but he will have to fight good fighters if he enters this. Callum gave up a chance at the wbc title to do this so he must be confident but my concern for him is his trainer. He can't go out with his ear muffs on taking punches with no strategy like Gallagher instructs all his fighters to do. He needs a better trainer if he wants to compete at this level. George groves will start as one of the favourites and him vs eubank or smith in this tournament would be great
as much as I'm looking forward to the super middleweight tournament the cruiserweight one is going to deliver the best fights. Hard to believe that in this day and age the champs would be willing to put ego aside and fight the best with the exception of Tony bellew. He's looking for a final payday with Ward and isn't serious about being the best cruiserweight but would call himself p4p best if he won vs SOG.
usyk I agree should start as odds on to win the tournament but Maris breidis has a great boxing brain and can bang so he's one of the favourites. Gassiev is a beast with a Ko punch so he's gotta be up there. You can't write off a guy like kudryashov either, he's always dangerous and you've gotta give mike Perez a chance especially now he's dedicated. Greats fights wherever you look
Im assuming it's just single elimination?
Do the winners of their respective weight divisions fight one another at catch weight?
Glowacki and Feigenbutz confirmed as reserves
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
Groves selects Cox and says it's a long tournament so he wanted an easy fight first. Cox says he looks forward to burying a seed
Callum Smith selects Skoglund says it matches stylistically, Skoglund says he's honored
Eubank Sr selects for Jr/Abraham winner and selects Yildirim says because he's a come forward fighter for a spectacular fight. Yildirim says it's his time
That leaves Brahmer vs Brant, both are respectful
Where are you watching this?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Swanson
Boxingnews24 has a stream, stupid song debuting now, next is cruiserweight
Gassiev v Wlodarczyk is announced first because it is mandatory. Both respectful as people who struggle with the language usually will be
Usyk first to choose, chooses Marco Huck because his fans and Huck says it is wish opponent
Breidis chooses Mike Perez because he is a great fighter, Perez looks forward to it
That leaves Dorticos vs Kudryashov foreign speaking so know clue why Kudryashov is happy with this
Thanks for the updates Ron. So all fights have been decided for both tournaments
Super middleweight
Groves vs Cox
Smith vs Skoglund
Eubank/Abraham winner vs Yilidrim
Braehmer vs Brant
Cruiserweight
Usyk vs Huck
Gassiev vs Wlodarczyk
Breidis vs Perez
Dorticos vs Kudryashov
I don't think we've ever had so many big fights announced on one day. Which fight are you guys looking forward to most? So many to pick from
Tournaments are the best. It makes each fight way more exciting. All fights are quality.
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.
No outright bets on the SS, I thought Abraham would win, but he was one of the favourites.Quote:
Originally Posted by BeanzWow, 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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
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.
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)
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 SummaryQuote:
Originally Posted by GAME
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Primo CarneraThe 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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by p4pking
There's supposed to be $20 million in prize money or some figure like that?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Swanson
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?