By Gav Duthie: It seems unbelievable that it is 40 years tomorrow since Muhammad Ali knocked out the seemingly invincible George Foreman in Zaire, 1974. At 32 years old Ali was seen as a washed up ex-champion but managed to deliver the most stunning victory the sport has ever witnessed. Today Foreman might be seen as guy who invented ‘The George Foreman Grill’ but back then he was the most feared boxer on the planet.
George Foreman
Going into the Ali fight George was 40-0 (37), he was the world heavyweight champion and had knocked out his last 24 opponents. These stats alone however were not what made George such an overwhelming favourite. Ali was 44-2 (31) when he challenged the champion. His two losses had come against Joe Frazier and Ken Norton by decision. Conversely ‘Big’ George had not only beaten both Frazier and Norton he had destroyed them. He dropped Frazier 5 times on route to a second round knockout and he defended his title against Norton with the same result. He was simply invincible. This made Ali a 3/1 underdog with the bookies.
By Gav Duthie: As 2014 draws to an end I thought I would take a look at an undefeated prospect from each division and study their chances of becoming a world champion in the new year. Many undefeated fighters are heavily protected and sometimes prospects who have suffered loss early and moved on become champions quicker.
By Gav Duthie: So King Arthur Abraham won’t end up with an undefeated record like Sven Ottke but he certainly is finishing his career like him. Abraham is in what I like to call ‘The German Comfort Zone’. It’s a place like no other where:
By Gav Duthie: Shane Mosley Jnr suffered his first professional defeat in only his third fight last night. After winning the first bouts by stoppage he was far from impressive against a similarly inexperienced opponent finding himself on the wrong end of a split decision. It makes it quite difficult to believe Mosley Snr when he says his son will be world champion because boxing is in his blood. So who are the more successful boxing sons in the sport today? 
By Gav Duthie: Anthony Dirrell might be right about George Groves not deserving a title shot after back to back defeats to Carl Froch but the fact is there isn’t much else out there. 
By Gav Duthie: Despite two defeats in 2014 for Marcos Maidana the Argentine has probably enhanced his reputation after running Floyd Mayweather Jr close on both occasions. His record now stands at 35-5 (31) and his next bout is crucial in shaping his future career. Many will be looking at Maidana as a stepping stone to big fights and will rightly feel a convincing win over him may lead to a fight with Mayweather himself. 
By Gav Duthie: Love him or hate him you couldn’t take your eyes off him. Prince Naseem Hamed was box office. Everything from his ring walk to his fighting style was pure showman. Time passes on and it was 12 years ago that we last seen him in a boxing ring. Hamed was so popular during his reign as featherweight champion he put boxing on the map in Britain and no doubt inspired many to take up the sport especially in the English/Arabic community. We are now starting to see the fruits of his labour with a crop of exciting stars who have adopted a similar style coming through. 
By Gav Duthie: I had hoped that the Super 6 conceived by Sauerland Promotions for the super middleweight division in 2009 would be a mainstay in the future of boxing but it definitely now seems to be a one off. I have secretly hoped it would return just to add some spice into certain divisions but now I really feel the idea or something similar is essential for the Super Bantamweight division.