avidone1

My two favorite sports to watch on tv are boxing and soccer.
These days there is a lot of boxing on tv.
I think most fans of the sweet science are in agreement that the most fearsome boxer right now is GGG
And Choclatito Gonzalez is worthy of the topping the pound for pound list.
The next big fight I want to see made is Canelo vs. Golovkin.
I think Floyd Mayweather will stay retired unless another mega buck fight can be made.
Canelo could be a big money fight for him, he's matured since last they met.
Pacquiao could be big, but Manny has to destroy a name opponent first.
Kell Brook vs Keith Thurman could be a great fight.
And so on.
If anyone cares, I'm listening

fietsbob

I like Boxing Day.. it is the one After The Lord of the manor has their Christmas Day.

Prezzies for the peasants ..




..

Zinger

That's what I'm waiting for right there. Opie & GGG, lol.

Two old Foo threads on the subject.

https://www.bikeforums.net/foo/997711...ing-fight.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/foo/1006226-pacman.html

avidone1

Thanks for the reply zinger, I was feeling a bit lonely.
Manny P. was supposed to have selected his opponent for his farewell bout last Friday, but I didn't see any mention of it.
I would love to see him go up against Keith Thurman.
As it stands right now there is nothing out there that really excites me.
Danny Garcia vs. Robert Guerrero should be a good one and maybe Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal.
But like I said nothing really exciting.

Zinger

That featherweight division is just loaded right now but the guy I'd like to see the most in the big middle of it is Rigondeoux. I don't think he'll ever get another good payday in the superbantams. I don't think a rematch with Donaire would be any different. I like Donaire's style and that show stopping left hook but he's not the right matchup for the Cuban. Any time he tries to pressure Rigo he'll get hurt.

What I'd pay to see is Rigondeoux / Nicholas Walters at 126 or Rigondeoux / Vasyl Lomachenko at 126. I think either of those guys gives Rigo a good enough pressure fight to be fan friendly. Now If we relatively few fans that want it could just talk Arum into it, lol. Probably wouldn't be a casual fan's gate.

Zinger

And it's too bad that contemporary fighters rarely tend to pick a really challenging opponent for their farewell fight. Not that Bradley is any easy fight for Pacquiao. He did squeak by Marquez in their recent fight. But the fans couldn't go wrong with any fifth Pacquiao / Marquez fight. I would sure pay to see another.



Their first was typical. I guess that's why they've had 4 of them, lol.

c0urt

looks like fury just lost his british title, world title, I am curious how that is going to turn out,

avidone1

I too would love to see PacMan and Vazquez. He is such an outstanding counter puncher. Their styles guarantee an explosive show every time.
I can't be upset about Bradley, if that's who is finalized. I thing Bradley is an excellent boxer and Teddy Atlas has brought out the beast in him.
As for Rigodeoux he is just to defensive for my taste. I can admire his skill for a few rounds then I start to get bored. In his last fight though he did attempt
to mix it up a bit so there is hope. Donaire is washed up IMHO. The gorilla in the room for Rigo is Vasyl Lomechencko. He seems to have scraped off the amateur
polish and is ready to rumble.
Who do you like for fighter of the year?

Zinger

Can't really give it to Walters after failing to make weight for his defense against Marriaga. Don't want to give it to Canelo, lol, because I feel that Golovkin is the better middleweight. And I don't quite like the opponents that Golovkin is resigned to having to stay busy with waiting for a shot at Opie's belt. Mayweather fought kind of a safety first fight with Paquiao. I'm a fan of Floyd's but have to be fair. Sergey Kovalev is doing well but his win over B-Hop was last year. Bradley could be considered.

I haven't paid close attention this year and don't see anybody standing out but I'm gonna go with Lomachenko off of his comeback from last year's loss to Salido. And I'm still considering the achievements with the short resume. I would say he edges out Sergey Kovalev.

And I'm probably overlooking somebody deserving.

avidone1

Roman "Choclatito" Gonzalez is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. His division is all but ignored in the US. 112 to 115 lbs. but he is beautiful to watch.

Zinger

Yep and he looks like he's bested my pick with those three KO wins this year.

I used to like catching Pongsaklek Wonjongkam on YouTube but he was a flyweight. I'll generally keep an eye on those divisions under 115 only when there's someone whose career I'm following. I used to keep up with Hilario Zapata's career in the '80s but hardly ever got to see his fights until way belatedly when the internet and YouTube came along.

So I've heard Gonzales's name come up in my old boxing forum and I'll have to start following his fights. Our little private forum disbanded earlier this year and I'm going to have to find another so I can keep abreast of the news. I'll probably check into HBO's forum since I know some people over there.

HBO kicked the whole forum out a few years ago, probably for speculating as to whether Pacquiao was juicing or not, but some have trickled back in since.

ooga-booga

not really a fan any more. grew up watching the great heavyweights of the 70's on abc's wide world of sports and managed to catch lots of the fantastic late 70's/early-mid 80's
middleweights/light middleweights until ppv really put a stranglehold on the free aspect. have never really regained that passion for it. seems like there used to be a can't miss
fight every month or two in the higher weight classes. now, everyone loses their mind over a mayweather/pacquio matchup that woulda/shoulda taken place 4 years ago.
the sanctioning bodies nonsense has always seemed like a bad soap opera. lighter weight classes never really appealed to me and could care less about the whole mma/ufc thing.
i guess you could say i've moved on but i still enjoy watching a classic matchup rerun from those halcyon days.

avidone1

It's true that many of today's top fighters don't want to fight each other,and I think the plethora of 'champions' has alot to do with that. I think there is a shift happening though. There are many really good fighters out there. The Eastern Europeans are bringing their amateur chops to the pro ranks with great success. Look up "Premiere boxing Champions" on your TV schedule. they are showing pretty good fights on several networks including NBC and ESPN on a regular basis. There is a really good American Heavyweight named Deontay Wilder. Tremendous puncher. With a new Heavyweight Champion in the Brit Tyson Fury, the big guy division has gotten interesting again.

Zinger

Thanks for reminding me how much the heavyweight division sucks anymore.

Well the fighters at the top can make bigger bucks and sharing those PPVs with company can make them easier to watch when fights don't live up to the hype.

I also liked that late '70s - early '80s lightheavyweight division and the early '80s welterweights too. And watching Alexis Arguello's fights for free. We were lucky to be fans then and I knew it then.

Zinger

Here's a guy I was following since reading a "Boxing Illustrated" piece when he fought another West Coast gate draw, Arturo Pineda, in 1972 and KOd him in 4 rounds. He is the little brother of Indian Red Lopez who fought twice for Cuban expatriate Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles's undisputed Welterweight title in 1970 & '73. Little brother Danny was known as a viscous little puncher but I didn't actually get to see him before catching this first featherweight title defense on a Mexican broadcast out in San Diego in 1977. He didn't disappoint and became my favorite active fighter until he lost twice to the ATG Mexican Salvadore Sanchez and retired. He was known even by this time for picking his butt up off the canvas and paying his opponents back with KOs. Danny grew up on the Ute Indian reservation in Utah and was of Ute, Mexican and Irish ancestry.


And speaking of the '70s heavyweights this is Jerry Quarry with the post fight interview.

ooga-booga

arguello and pryor were two of the few i was thinking of. good stuff.

Zinger

Howard Cosell:

"Maybe Blackmoore will never get a chance to evidence the boxing skills that I suggested he had."

I kid about the articulate Cosell but I actually liked him for boxing commentary. I don't think he fared as well with football fans when he started doing that.

And Blackmoore was rated highly by both sanctioning bodies at the time. This was my first look at Aaron Pryor as I didn't see his title win over Kid Pambele. Pryor vs Mayweather Jr would have been interesting if they weren't a generation apart.

OnyxTiger

The moment Floyd beat Pacquiao (which was highly disappointing to watch), I knew I wanted to see GGG take him on. But that wouldn't have happened. Too big of a risk to go up against a man going into his prime.

Canelo/GGG would be a fight I'd pay to watch. Two powerhouse knockout artists.

Agreed on Floyd, though I hear some talks are in the works for a Floyd/Pac II. Not excited about that one.

Keith Thurman/Andre Ward would be a fight I'd watch.

Danny Garcia has potential I think to be a good character in boxing, if not for his dad constantly overshadowing his press conferences.

Still wishing the heavyweight division goes back to its golden era, but that probably won't happen anytime soon. At this point, seems like MMA is starting to have purses that rival the sports' bouts. And with the advent of fighter's of old showing damaging signs of the dangers of the sport, coupled with Floyd's model of wealth with no injuries... it would seem to me that most fighters are starting to be more strategic with their opponents. Gone are the days of fighters with triple digit fights.

trsidn 

avidone1

If you like Aaron Pryor, and well you should, check out his first fight against Alexis Arguello..........

avidone1

It's actually unfair to suggest that Floyd is ducking GGG. Gaenady is full fledged middleweight and Floyd is basically a welterweight who can step up to super welterweight for the right purse.
As much as I would like to see genady and canelo go at it, I don't think canelo has a chance. Even at a catch weight. Which by the way IMHO is totally bogus. If you claim to be the middleweight champion then you should be REQUIRED to fight an opponent who makes 160. Forcing a fighter to fight below the recognized limit for weight class to get your belt is yet another example of how the sanctioning bodies are merely employees of of the big promoters. They will do what they are told to get the sanctioing fee.

Zinger

Oh I lost $20 on it so I well remember it. It scared the hell out of me watching Alexis get beat out on the ropes just like when Benny Paret got killed. I was watching with my sister and some of her friends, one of whom was another fan of Arguello's. She was actually in their kitchen crying after that brutal beatdown.

Aaron was not somebody to get trapped on the ropes with which is why he and Floyd would have been an excellent dream fight. And the second Arguello/Pryor fight was no slouch either.


Aaron was another one who could pick his butt up off the deck to knock his opponent out and his belt winning KO of Kid Pambele shows why you didn't want to languish on the ropes with this guy.

Zinger

Yeah I hate that whole catchweight thing that they do now. And if GGG gets in a big hurry for a payday he can always get one with Andre Ward at 168. I'm not going to be betting on him in that one though.

avidone1

Golovkin/Ward would be a great fight indeed, but it looks like Andre is moving up to light heavyweight to challenge Kovalev. That should be a great fight as well.
I think so long as the catch weight isn't too low, GGG will take the fight. Canelo is a huge draw, so the payday will be uber rich. Also genady wants all the belts, so that is another incentive.
It will be interesting to watch how Al haymon will manipulate the system to give his fighters 'championships' once triple g has all the belts.
I see no one in the middleweight division who can beat golovkin.
But then again, we all thought Rhonda Rousey was invincible and look what happened to her. I don't speak whatever language this is in, but it is my favorite clip of the fight. You can clearly see two things. First. ronda has virtually no boxing skills. Her punches were wide, sloppy and pretty ineffective.
The second was the real surprise. Holly was stronger than Ronda. I never would have guessed that. ronda couldn't get a take down. holly muscled her way out of it both times ronda had her in position to take her down. Holly was also faster than ronda. It was really something to see. Very exciting. I don't see how Ronda can beat holly. If I were her, I would use my celebrity to make a nice living without having to get beaten up again. But ronda is still maintaining that she will be back. We shall see

Zinger

I'd rather GGG doesn't move up to 168 just yet. I don't like his chances with Ward. It all depends on what chances he gets at 160 though. Ward / Kovalev would be good.

UFC I don't watch. Lose mine on the ground so I just watch boxing.

Don't watch the ladies fight either. That's just me. Guess I'm just old fashioned.