 Lennox: should have fought Bowe
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In this blast from deepest, darkest cyberspace, we ask where the buzz is for Shane Mosley v Fernando Vargas, create the best fight card ever in our imaginations, ask why Lamon Brewster is not a star and British super-middle and gob almighty Carl Froch is rounded on.
WHAT'S NEW WITH LAMON?
First Name : James
Last Name : Strafela
Country : Australia
Your Question :
Hi guys. I am a massive Lamon Brewster fan and caught his match in Germany last year while i was over there, and boy can he punch. I hear absolutely very little about who Brewster will be fighting next. He was an option for Wladimir Klitschko until he saw the demolition job he had done to Krasniqi, so Klitschko wisely chose an older Chris Byrd who he has already beat previously. To me he has very few boxers calling for his name and have not heard Don King arranging any fight for him in the near future. Also who is his mandatory challenger or better yet what is planned? Cause his number 2 is James Toney signed for the WBC title. I just don't understand why his profile aint as big as say a Hasim Rahman who will get destroyed easily in my eyes by James Toney. Is it because his title (WBO) version is not as prestigious as say the WBC title? Cause in my eyes he is the true heavyweight champion, taking fighters on in their own backyards.
ANT EVANS ANSWERS: Lamon is my favourite heavyweight. He's a thrill a minute chin or be chinned banger with balls the size of grapefruits. Why he isn't a star baffles me. What's not to like. Rahman is a fraud. What's he done in the last half decade? Lose to Evander Holyfield, get out boxed by Ruiz and have a life and death battle with Al Cole. He's gonna get a painful lesson from Toney, trust me.
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Brewster appeared to turn his career around with his 52 second knockout of Andrew Golota. Prior to that, his close points win over Kali Meehan hurt his reputation somewhat, particularly after Rahman blew out Meehan so easily. I am not so sure that Toney will have an easy night with Rahman. I think it will be a close fight that will go to the cards. But the more we see of Brewster with his explosive style, the better. If he can fight like that all the time, he will be a factor in the division. The word from DKP is that Brewster will fight Sergei Lyakhovich on April 1.
PATRICK KEHOE ANWSERS: James, Brewster is very exciting exactly for the reason you state; the man can flat out hit! His next opponent is Serguei "The White Wolf" Lyakhovich, who sports a pro record of 22-1 (14)... his lone loss was to spoiler Maurice Harris, but he did decision Dominick Guinn last time out in a rugged affair... but that fight was in December, 2004! Brewster last fought in September! "Relentless" Lamon Brewster certainly must have needed a break after two years of hammer and tong, give and take battle royals... he's an exciting guy who's literally looming on the fringes of the heavyweight scene... HBO do like to have him on because he always gives them a show, but for some reason he's never been "A" listed by HBO brass... and he's clearly not being marketed to his full potential... but, if he keeps defending his WBO crown and knocking guys out there's a big payday out there for him in a world with James Toney as champion... for that matter, though not as big an event, Rahman-Brewster would be a war of glorious attrition should that fight ever materialize... to my mind Brewster is thee most exciting heavyweight out there and that's going to pay off for him, IF, he can keep training, concentrating and winning.
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ULTIMATE CARD EVER
First Name : Vaughan
Last Name : Fairclough
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
You are to stage the ultimate boxing show of all time. You can pick any fighter at their peak from any era. Who would you have on your show, and who would feature in the main event. For example Sugar Ray Robinson v Roberto Duran, Muhammad Ali v Mike Tyson.
ANT EVANS ANSWERS: How about a card of the big fights we should have seen but didn't from the last decade or so? Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank III, followed by Roy Jones v Dariusz Michalczewski and topped by Lennox Lewis v Riddick Bowe. All major, major fights which never happened but could easily have done.
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Now here's a question with some imagination! Since this one is going to pay-per-view at US$1049.95, I'll limit it to four fights. We'll start off the night with two of the greatest middleweights of all time, Carlos Monzon vs. Marvelous Marvin Hagler. his has 'war' written all over it. At lightweight, two of boxing's most furious punchers who will surely blow up Compubox, Henry Armstrong vs. Aaron "Hawk" Pryor. My co-main event feature would be one sweet battle with Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Sugar Ray Leonard. The main event would be the "Greatest" Muhammad Ali versus Lennox Lewis. Ali proved beyond any doubt hat he could handle a great bigger man like Foreman. Let's see how he handles the "Pugilistic Specialist" and the best of the big men in recent times. When this card goes down, boxing fans around the world are in heaven.
PATRICK KEHOE ANSWERS: Vaughan thanks for making my day! My co-feature main event would be Joe Louis vs. Muhammad Ali (all-time mythical heavweight championship) and "Sugar" Ray Robinson vs. "Sugar" Ray Leonard (welterweight), Carlos Monzon vs. Bernard Hopkins (middleweight), Roberto Duran vs. Aaron Pryor (jr. welterweights), Ezzard Charles vs. Bob Foster (all time mythical light-heavyweight championship), Alex Arguello vs. Sandy Sadler (featherweight), Erik Morales vs. Salvador Sanchez (Battle of Mexican featherweight Icons), Roy Jones Jr. vs. Michael Spinks (light-heavyweight), Harry Greb vs. Marvin Hagler (middleweights), Henry Armstrong vs. Benny Leonard (lightweight), Khaosai Galaxy vs. Carlos Zarate (catchweight challenge of mini-legends 116) and Gene Tunney vs. Evander Holyfield (mythic cruiserweight special)... tickets would be sold on EBay with half the money raised to go to a special world disaster relief foundation named in Honour of international boxing and half for retired fighters foundations across the world...
CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Hi Vaughn. I think the two fighters you mentioned would make for a great show. Add Julio Cesar Chavez vs Floyd Mayweather Jr and Marvin Hagler vs Rocky Graziano and we have the makings of a tremendous night's boxing.
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'PRETTY BOY' SUMS MAYWEATHER UP
First Name : James
Last Name : Chadwick
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
The Pretty Boy sums up Floyd Mayweather to me. He's pretty to watch, but has no substance or hasn't had to show substance in years. If you look at his record: last fight Sharmba for what was effectively Mitchell's retirement fund. Mitchell beaten by the only real World Class Fighter (Kostya), only fought perpetual whipping boys Tackie & N'dou before that. Arturo Gatti, great to watch as a brawler but again not real World Quality. Henry Bruseles? Who? Out pointed fringe contender Corley, and before that N'dou (who hasn't beaten N'dou?) and lets be honest beaten by Castillo! And he's now fighting Judah, who's on his 20th last chance!!
Now look at our own Mr Hatton. Last two fight against world champions, the first against the best P4P fighter in ther world, and his next fight I think will be against Baldomir the Linear Undisputed Welter Weight Champion He may not be as pretty as Floyd to watch, but boxing is not about being a pretty fighter. It's about inflicting more damage on your opponent than they can on you, whilst not allowing them to inflict damage back, and I think Hatton does that better than any fighter out there..
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: James, you'll get no argument with me that Floyd Mayweather is well overdue for a meaningful fight. In our last instalment of ATE, I discussed the issue of what truly makes great fighters. Just because Mayweather's skills have been so superior to his opponents leading to easy wins to date (apart from his first fight with Castillo), we shouldn't hold that against him. But, he still needs to fight the best out there. We should remember that he is fighting above his normal weight looking for bigger money fights and that is a plus for him. I have written this before and I stand by it, if Mayweather doesn't end up fighting Hatton sooner rather than later, it will be held against him at the end of his career. You can be sure our esteemed Editor Ant Evans will never let anyone forget it. Hatton is the current world champion at 140lbs. No doubt about it. I'd like to see Mayweather fight Hatton, Margarito, Baldomir, Jose Luis Castillo, Cotto and Kostya Tszyu over ! the next two years. If he can win all of those fights, his greatness will be truly confirmed and no correspondence will be entered in to. But I give Hatton a very good chance of upsetting Floyd.
ANT EVANS ANSWERS: Damn right I would, Paul! I am getting worked up about it even now!
PATRICK KEHOE ANSWERS: Well, that's one way to look at Floyd Mayweather's career... another is to say he's fought the toughest guys around with whom a deal could be worked out at the given time... Castillo and Corrales certainly validated their abilities post-Mayweather... and let's not forget his technique and over all boxing skills... even his peers, regardless of division, rank Floyd as a phenom... and don't be to fast to punch in Baldomir for Hatton, cause Gatti's got that fight if he wants it... but... Hatton has his innings coming up and he's right in the mix to fight Mayweather within a year or a year and a half... the only reason HBO wouldn't bless a Gatti-Baldomir fight is if Gatti beat Baldomir and Mayweather is interested in taking the welterweight title, we have already seen that fight, in living colour... OUCH!... so that may be the thinking as to why HBO front load Hatton toward Baldomir, because then they get Mayweather-Gatti for the big fight... but don't forget, HBO need to maximize Gatti's massive popular appeal... so the problem now is logistics... how to they platform Gatti for a major money making outing and still facilitate Mayweather and get that fire burning... because eventually the hope is Mayweather moving up to Oscar BUT ONLY after he's energized himself as a box-office star, to what ever extent that is possible... that's Hatton's one avenue to Mayweather!
One note of concern has to be Hatton's weight though... judging from how he looks right now, he had better get into a gym somewhere and get training...or go for a run! ANYTHING... cause he looks very puffy right now... just a word to the wise.
CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Hi James. I don't agree that Mayweather has no substance. I believe Floyd is the best pound for pound fighter in the world today and you don't get to that status without having substance. Both Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather are great fighters but with two totally different styles.
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IN DEFENCE OF THE IBO
First Name : john
Last Name : mcdonald
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
Does Leonard rank the IBO on how old it is? yes it is the newest, are you saying the IBO holds fifth place to the other four bodies, ask the champions what they think. I think they'd prefer to be ranked by a computer can not rank you because it likes you or your manager?
PATRICK KEHOE ANSWERS: There's a lot of truth to what you say John, or, at least you would think there should be... the reality in boxing still revolves around politics and traditional forms of influence... the IBO hasn't really been able to popularize their 'objectified rankings' quite yet... and so the old guard still hold sway, and for more than that reason, of course... rankings are just one of the many issues and elements to a sanctioning bodies contributions to the sport of boxing... though a key indicator of integrity, to be sure.
CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Hi John. In an ideal world I would like to see just one champion in any one weight division. But in the now saturated media world where new sports channels and outlets are emerging frequently there seems to be more of a need for titles. The fact is that the WBC/WBA and IBF are the three that matter. All the very best fighters in the world have held these titles at some point or another.
Having said that I believe the IBO have two great assets that are second to none and that is a well respected figurehead in Ed Levine and the computerised ratings systems.
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Trying to rank the sanctioning world bodies these days is like trying to rank the top 30 mini-flyweights! There is no doubt that the IBO belt is becoming more accepted amongst the fans and boxers. But boxing as a whole seems to be in a quandary these days, whether to let go of the historical connection to the WBC and WBA titles. Some of the decisions by the major four bodies make it hard to stay loyal to them. Many of today's boxers are forgoing the title belts to save money on the sanctioning fees. Unfortunately, I can't ever see this being resolved. It comes down to each persons own philosophy on what the titles mean to them. Boxing is so uncontrollable that bringing in uniformity for the recognition of world champions is almost impossible. It is one of the major issues the sport is faced with when it comes to securing a new generation of fans to replace those from boxing's glory days.
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JOE C WILL MURDER LACY
First Name: James
Last Name: Cook
Country: USA
Your Question:
Well gentleman, Lacy-Calzaghe is a few weeks away. Is everyone still on the Lacy bandwagon? Joe C is going to do a number on this lad i'm afraid. I'll enjoy seeing the Yanks get stuffed as they're crowing awfully loud about how Lacy is such a beast. How they have such scant regard for the Welsh southpaw mystifies me. This fella has loads of skills, bags of heart and stamina and he hasn't lost since the amateurs. Didn't Lacy get stopped in the Olympics? Rocked to his boots by Sheika? Joe's liable to send him out of the ring into Paul Upham's lap! All kidding aside, can't wait for this fight. Do any of you feel differently about this fight as the hour draws near?
PATRICK KEHOE ANSWERS: James, I have said for a while now there's a bit of Robert Duran-Davey Moore about this fight. We just don't know how much! Joe Calzaghe has not been at top, top form in a while and the question is can he get back to that level for this fight. That is, to me at any rate, thee critical question heading into this fight. Because on top form I think Joe can beat Jeff Lacy. The general feeling is that on current form and the way Lacy has been developing and learning to utilize his over all strenght advantage, he's going to be a difficult guy to handle physically for Calzaghe. True, technique often dispells the menace of all out attacking physicality, but, it has to be almost flawlessly executed. Then again, that's why this fight should be interesting.
CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: I think your getting carried away with yourself a bit, James. Jeff is fast approaching his peak while Joe is slightly on the decline. It's a great fight and I do lean towards Lacy but not with any great amount of confidence.
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: James, Joe should be honoured to have so many loyal fans prepared to stick it to me. I'm still tipping Jeff Lacy to win, but I'll be more than prepared to publicly praise him if he does beat Lacy. I remember prior to Hopkins-Trinidad, after I had tipped Hopkins to win, receiving a flurry of red hot emails from Puerto Rican fans telling me why I was so wrong. There was one man who e-mailed me afterwards to acknowledge that I was correct. I had a lot of respect for that fan. All jokes aside, if Calzaghe does win, my question will then be, why didn't he step up sooner and insist on more meaningful fights? I'm just glad that we have a contest where opinions are so divided, which shows it is a real fight. Too many times these days, we sort of know who is going to win before it happens. I just hope that the match happens and that it is a great fight.
ANT EVANS ANSWERS: I take Lacy to really do an impressive job in 10 rounds.
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CARL FROCH CAN TALK BUT NOT WALK!
First Name : Stevie
Last Name : Crozier
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
Great site! What's your take on Carl Froch guys? My opinion is so far he can talk but cant walk. There is confidence, and then there is conceit and arrogance. I thought his remarks about Brian Magee after that dismal display on Saturday done nothing but detach himself even further from neutral boxing fans. Guys like Naz could carry that sort of behaviour of and fill arenas, Froch just looks embarrassing and has to fight in a half full arena 200 mile from his hometown. He needs to shut up, focus and learn some defence before he spews more rubbish in more boxing sites and publications. Never ever felt so negative about a British fighter ever before and certainly would never ever spend my money watching such a man.
CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: First of all Stevie I have to say I like Carl as a person. Away from the cameras he really is a nice down to earth guy. But to be honest I think he has been fed too much bull from his promoter and the people around him. Unfortunately he has been taken in by all the embarrassing hype his promoter's pr machine have put out. There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence and Carl comes over as completely arrogant, no question. Naz, Ali and Mayweather can talk the talk all they like because they could all fight. But Carl is not convincing anyone, especially on Friday's performance.
We all heard Audley Harrison talk the talk but fall flat on his face when it was time to walk the walk. Carl may think he is ready to mix it with the likes of Calzaghe, Lacy Kessler and co but last Friday's night's performance just confirmed how far away Froch is from competing in world class.
ANT EVANS ANSWERS: I agree with Clive. I like Carl, he's a funny, intelligent guy away from the cameras but the utter, reeking bullshit that has been put in his mouth is a big turn-off for fans who would otherwise be supporters of the Cobra. Froch's performance last Friday was pathetic, if we judge Carl by his own lofty standards. Why on Earth he struggled with a club fighter like Westerman is as big a mystery as why on Earth Sky Sports showed such a poor fight.
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WHERE IS THE MOSLEY v VARGAS BUZZ?
First Name : Alex
Last Name : Pacey
Country : Australia
Your Question :
How times change - a week away until a fight between Mosley and Vargas and the noise on the site is minimal. Understandably, I guess as the stock of both fighters is hardly on the rise, but I find this an intriguing match up none the less. I'd be interested in the guys opinions on this one. My view is that Moseley may edge it - despite his protests to the contrary Vargas' new style is a departure from that he employed previous to his enforced lay off. Secondly where do you see the winner going afterwards - since Oscar seems to have little interest.
PATRICK KEHOE ANSWERS: If Vargas wins, he will at least get the chance to go all over North American TV from ESPN's Friday Night Fights programs to LA based sports shows and ask boxing fans, "Why does Oscar want to fight me?" Believe it or not the possibility of Oscar vs. Mayweather is more likely than Oscar vs. Vargas... things do change... and Vargas is still demographically popular... so that fight being made will come down strictly to the numbers... which might be there if he can get past a supposedly re-energized "Sugar" Shane with something serious to prove to himself, his father and boxing fans across the world...
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Alex, if this fight had been made, five years ago, you are right, the BUZZ would be much bigger. You won't get much argument from most people that both boxers are past their best, but this is still a very interesting match-up. I can imagine scenarios where both men can win. Vargas' physical concerns have been a problem over the last few years. He does not seem to be the same fighter as the one before he lost to Trinidad. Vargas at his best could win. Mosley's career appeared to change course during his first loss to Vernon Forrest. He just doesn't seem to fight with the same confidence as before. It's like that one big shot on the ropes from Forrest caused him to lose something which has never been able to regain. I would still make Mosley favourite to win this fight on points. Mainly because I still have concerns over Vargas' physical ailments. I think it will be a close fight though. Let's just hope it is exciting as well.
ANT EVANS ANSWERS: I can't get wood for it, sorry. I need pugilistic Viagra for this one. This is two desperate, almost fully faded veterans cashing in what name value they have left. This is an interesting undercard fight, nothing more. That's the way I feel.
And, by the way, I believe SecondsOut's Paul Upham is the only writer who has interviewed both men on a one-on-one basis so SecondsOut IS covering the fight as if it were a major title fight, thank you very much!
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