Super happy to see AJ looking comfortable again. He seems to be in a really good place physically and mentally. Weird that I find myself saying this, but I’d love to see him fight Ngannou. AJ seems to be a level above most other HWs in this state. Big money fight would be fun until Fury hopefully comes out of his hole to fight him after Usyk. I also want to see more of Francis’ boxing.
I see your contextless non-sequitur CoD:MW2 campaign reference in a reply-to-a-reply 15 comments down on this thread. I like to think we all have a tiny Keith David sitting on our shoulder, yelling at us to live our dreams.
I mean, we all knew Boots would get titles eventually, but what a lame way for a great fighter to get their first title. Who should his first defense be against though? Ortiz is moving up, sadly.
I actually liked this. Fury looked like trash, but I do think he won. I gave Ngannou 2,3,4 and 8. He showed some really great timing and used a diverse selection of punches effectively, which is not easy against Fury, even on his worst day. Boxing is Ngannou’s first passion and I think he debuted well. This could reignite a dull as hell heavyweight division IF the promoters/alphabelts pounce on the excitement properly and keep the curiosity of the MMA fans. There’s a lot of cool fights to be made here.
I love watching Janibek fight. A very economical style. Small movements, thumping power, and he always finds a way to land that beautiful rear uppercut. He also resets fairly often when his opponent is hurt. He strikes me as a little sadistic; he seems to revel in prolonging the beating. Hopefully middleweight gets some other good fighters that can actually push him.
This fight didn’t feel like Charlo daring to be great. This felt like Charlo daring to be rich.
I’d like to see Joshua, honestly. Maybe Ruiz. It’s kinda sad that this is where the heavyweight hype is, though
AJ just trying to be active out here. Keeps some modicum of faith in the integrity of the sport, at least. Which is tough to come by in boxing.
I don’t like this for Ryan. Teo’s jab is top-notch and against Taylor he showed clever angles and really good range management. His rhythm-interrupting jab is elite, I put it up there with Bivol’s. Ryan’s a very image/ego driven fighter that just took his first loss in a painful way. I think a bit lower-level fighter for him to sharpen his teeth on and build some confidence with his new staff would do wonders. He’s got plenty of time to chase the bad smoke, he needs to be ready when he does. Arum likes the idea because it’ll make him a bunch of money.
I kinda miss the token nice guy version of AJ. Fury’s a loud braggart, Usyk is a stone-cold clown, Wilder is just a little unhinged with the power to back it up, and Jared Anderson is the gifted kid with depression. I think there’s room for the “believe in yourself” speeches from the AJ of yore. It certainly fit him better.
Oh I’ll watch it, make no mistake. His taunt of Charlo mid-fight was the stuff legends are made of, too. I’d love to see him give Boots a boxing lesson before moving up, though. I adore Boots’ style and think he’d benefit massively from the experience and exposure, but it’s bit of a lose-lose for Bud to take. But what a fight it would be!
Heavyweight division is a disaster right now. The lower classes are the hottest they’ve been in a looooong time and the big boys can’t even get their pants on in the morning. Dillian getting retired might be a crippling blow for a struggling division if there was anything left to cripple. Chisora feels like the only decent option that actually has a chance of happening. Don’t really think it’s PPV worthy, though. Since it’s AJ, I’m sure it will do fine numbers in the UK.
With how this fight turned out, do we think a rematch, even at 154, is necessary or interesting? They
“Styles make fights” – Everybody I’m having a hard time seeing Spence changing up his style enough to deal with Bud’s absurd adaptability. Bud also looked very physically strong, I don’t think the extra 7 pounds will give Spence the mass to power through what Bud was dishing out. Most importantly, Crawford was effortlessly controlling the balance game on the inside, which is where Spence has historically dominated with weight-shifting frames leading into steady, thumping combos that wear people down. How does Spence realistically adjust to take the W?
Super happy to see AJ looking comfortable again. He seems to be in a really good place physically and mentally. Weird that I find myself saying this, but I’d love to see him fight Ngannou. AJ seems to be a level above most other HWs in this state. Big money fight would be fun until Fury hopefully comes out of his hole to fight him after Usyk. I also want to see more of Francis’ boxing.