Dillian Whyte’s body punches too much for Malcolm Tann; Whyte says they’d be too much for Deontay Wilder!
James Slater - August 20, 2017 0 Comments
There was plenty of fine body punching on display in Nebraska last night, as Terence Crawford crushed Julius Indongo with a wicked body shot in the evening’s main event, and as heavyweight Dillian Whyte showed his body shot handiwork on the under-card.
Boxing his US debut, the British heavyweight was, as expected, too much for journeyman late replacement (for original foe Michael Grant) opponent Malcolm Tann. Whyte, beaten only by Anthony Joshua at pro level, stopped Tann in the 3rd round, sending him down a total of four times along the way. And after his easy yet quite impressive win, Whyte predicted how WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder “will fall after three or four rounds” if he agrees to face him any time soon.
“I’m a natural body puncher and try to hurt these guys to the body” said Whyte who is known as “The Body Snatcher.” “Against Deontay Wilder, imagine those shots? With his thin, lean body he’d fall after three or four rounds. I believe in my power. If I land I can knock any of these heavyweights out.”
But can Whyte, 21-1(16) land a fight with “The Bronze Bomber?” Promoter Eddie Hearn has been trying, and is still trying, to lure Wilder in, reportedly offering him somewhere in the region of $3 million to defend his belt against his fighter. But so far, nothing – Wilder has not shown too much interest in facing Whyte. Whether this is because he has bigger fights lined up (Wilder has not boxed since back in February, this KO win over Gerald Washington coming after a seven month layoff due to injury) or is down to something else, only Wilder knows.
Deontay Wilder says he wants “Boogeyman” Luis Ortiz next: If people are scared to fight you, let me tell you who ain't
But for as long as he is active, Whyte is going to continue calling Wilder out and he is going to continue insulting the unbeaten WBC champ. Will Wilder find he’s had enough and decide it’s time to silence the vocal Londoner? Wilder-Whyte would be an interesting enough fight, certainly. One that would absolutely end via KO.
Pulev is looking most likely for Joshua's next opponent in Cardiff in November. Thoughts?
Joshua KO rnd 5-7. I think Pulev will have his moments early on, frustrating Joshua/landing a few shots. He's got a really good jab and is a legit top 5-7 heavyweight and is Joshua's second best opponent. But I think the speed and power for Joshua will take over and he'll get through Pulev's fairly leaky defense. I think Pulev will do better than he did against Wlad though. 70-75k in Cardiff, following 80-90k at Wembley. His only competition for biggest star in boxing is surely just Canelo now (ignoring the May-Mac circus).
Ive never been impressed with Pulev, there is a opinion that he is a poor mans Wladimir klitschko that i agree with.
Operates behind a decent jab but has little in the way of footspeed or power, nor does he have the height or reach.
Can't see him posing much of a challenge at all vs AJ in fact if he wins a round I'll be surprised.
Stylistically he just doesnt match up well to joshua. I dont see how the smaller, slower, lighter hitting man is going to be able to control mid range and give joshua trouble, i see him being backed up early and at that point it's done with.
Reports surfacing pulev has turned the joshua fight down.
Again.
(08-25-2017, 06:18 PM)diehard Wrote: [ -> ]Why? Money? Fear?
Anything would be an assumption on my part but i think likely he sees the other options out there as more winnable
AUGUST 25, 2017
The WBO Corner
By David Finger
It’s been an exciting week in boxing, and although the World Boxing Organization may not be involved in the upcoming Mayweather-McGregor fight in Las Vegas, that doesn’t mean the WBO is taking a break from the action. In fact, 2017 has been on of the busiest years for the WBO in recent memory. From the shocking upset of Jeff Horn over Manny Pacquiao, a fight that opened up Australia in new ways for the WBO, to the crowning of Terrance Crawford as Super Champion in the 140-pound division, this has undoubtedly been a historic year for the WBO.
But maybe the best is yet to come.
“We are waiting for news of the Pacquiao-Horn rematch,” WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel said about the upset of the year. Although the fight has yet to be finalized, it is cautiously expected to take place before the end of the year. And although there had been controversy with the decision in the first fight, there is a general consensus that the Pacquiao-Horn fight put Brisbane on the boxing map and revitalized the sport of boxing in Australia.
Despite complaints about the decision from the ESPN commentators and Manny Pacquiao, the WBO ultimately stood by the decision of the judges after the decision was reviewed by a neutral panel of WBO judges who also scored the fight. It didn’t mollify a lot of Manny Pacquiao’s fans, but it did show those boxing fans that the WBO did have a mechanism in place to review controversial decisions when a formal protest was filed.
“The review confirmed what we were thinking before: that it was very close,” Valcarcel added. “But the review agreed with two of the officials. The fight was very close and the rematch will be better than the first.”
With the Crawford fight in the review mirror, the biggest fight on the horizon for the WBO is the upcoming Joseph Parker-Hughie Fury fight in Manchester, England on September 23rd. The Parker-Fury fight was originally slated to take place in Auckland, but was moved back after an injury to Fury. But the delay has only added to the intrigue of the fight. Both men are undefeated and the winner could face off against Anthony Joshua in 2018 in a unification fight. It goes without saying that a heavyweight unification fight could be the first real heavyweight super fight in years. Something not lost on boxing fans.
“For me, that is a pick ‘em fight because Fury is fighting at home,” Valcarcel said of the upcoming clash. “All the heavyweights can punch and if he lands against Parker he has a great chance to beat Parker.”
Another exciting WBO fight on the horizon that should be on the radar of boxing fans is the upcoming Gilberto Ramirez vs. Jesse Hart fight for the WBO Super Middleweight title, slated to take place on September 22 in Tucson, Arizona.
That fight with Jesse Hart will be a hell of a fight,” Valcarcel added. “If Jesse Hart fights like he fought in his last fight then this will be a tough fight for Ramirez.”
But the news from the WBO goes beyond just the fights that boxing fans are looking forward to. The WBO Kids Drug Free program continues to make headway all over the world, from Nicaragua to Lansing, Michigan children all over the world have benefited from a championship program that aims to keep kids off drugs by using boxing as a positive influence in their lives.
“We are committed to helping kids around the world,” President Valcarcel added. “We had a banquet in Nicaragua for the cancer hospital, and Koko (WBO European Vice President Istvan Kovacs) is doing great work for handicap children in Hungary. We have a lot of events in Puerto Rico and donated $50,000 for scholarships for an event in Houston (on September 2nd).”
Also, the WBO is in gear to kick off this year’s annual convention, which will take place on a cruise ship leaving from Miami. Some of the biggest news regarding the convention including the presence of former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who has plans to attend the golf tournament on the first day of the convention.
“We invited him to the convention and the October 22nd golf tournament will be a tribute to Wladimir Klitschko.”
Valcarcel was not surprised by Klitschko’s decision to retire.
“No, he was close to retiring,” President Valcarcel said when asked if the move came as a shock to him or to the WBO. “The guy’s been there for ten years. He has nothing to show now. He had a great fight against Joshua. He’s a great guy and a class act.”
Heavyweight excitement: Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz in the works for Nov. 4; unbeaten Jarrell Miller set to co-feature
James Slater - August 25, 2017 15 Comments
Fight fans have read about how a fight between unbeaten WBC heavyweight ruler Deontay Wilder and unbeaten Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz is very much on the agenda, but so far the fight has not been signed. This could change soon. According to a piece on RingTV.com, the fight is back on the radar, for November 4, in Brooklyn, New York, to go out on Showtime.
“Sources” informed the website of The Bible of Boxing how Wilder and Ortiz are in “advanced talks” and that unbeaten heavyweight contender Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller is set to feature on the card (against TBA). The only real hold up regarding Wilder-Ortiz comes in the form of Bermane Stiverne.
Stiverne – who has fought just once since losing his WBC belt to Wilder way, way back in January of 2015 – remains the WBC mandatory challenger and the former champ has reportedly refused a step aside payment (in the region of six-figures according to “sources” who informed RingTV.com) to allow Wilder-Ortiz to go ahead. If Stiverne won’t budge, it’s not clear what will happen as no TV network has a single shred of interest in paying for a Wilder-Stiverne rematch.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman informed RingTV how he hopes to “have a resolution in the next 10 days.” It is to be hoped Wilder-Ortiz does happen, as it is a potentially great action fight as well as being a fight that would provide “The Bronze Bomber” with his stiffest test to date.
And with the vocal and exciting to watch Miller fighting on the under-card, things could get very interesting on November 4. Miller against a top-10 opponent would be great to see. Miller of course has called out Wilder, as well as Anthony Joshua.
Joshua, who next faces his IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev, must then defend against Ortiz, his WBA mandatory. However, if Wilder faces and defeats Ortiz in November, we could get a massive unification showdown between Wilder and Joshua next year some time. Then again, Ortiz is convinced he has what it takes to KO both Wilder AND Joshua.
If things work out we could be in store for some major heavyweight excitement in the coming months.