By Gav Duthie: Eddie Hearn has dubbed his October 25 card in Hull “The point of no return”. Matchroom have decided to take a huge risk with two of their promising lightweights Luke Campbell 7-0 (5) and Tommy Coyle 19-2 (8). Campbell is being matched with Argentine Daniel Brzuela 26-3-2 (8) and Coyle is facing the legendary Michael Katsidis 30-6 (24).
Gavin Duthie
Today’s most underrated fighters
By Gav Duthie: Some fighters are loved, some are hated as the saying goes the only thing worse is indifference.
There are many boxers today that no matter what they do they seem to fail to get the credit their exploits deserve. Their are many underrated, under appreciated boxers but in my opinion there are 3 in particular fighting today. All 3 are good boxers, near the top of their division, have all been world champions and always face difficult opponents.
The trainer/boxer relationship
By Gav Duthie: Anyone who witnessed Marcos Maidana’s lumbering display against Devon Alexander in 2012 on his welterweight debut would be forgiven for thinking he would never share a ring with Mayweather let alone a rematch. The improvement in the Argentines set up since then can be laid purely at Robert Garcia’s door.
If Maidana is to have any chance of dethroning Floyd it will mean Garcia will need to come up with the perfect game plan. The role between the trainer and the fighter in boxing is probably more important than any other sport. Here are some other of my favourite examples of how vital a trainer has been in a boxers success.
Scottish Boxing: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
By Gav Duthie: Despite the nation only having 13 ex world champions in the history of boxing there have been a couple of times where Scottish fans have had the excitement of watching two of them face each other. Ricky Burns v Scott Harrison is not one of those times. This is a fight that Harrison doesn’t deserve and Burns doesn’t need. If Ricky wants to be a genuine contender at 140lbs he needs to fight a genuine contender at the weight. I hope they are not going to try to make this into some sort of a grudge match that it is not.
Ricky Burns- The Good
Despite his drop in form Ricky has more than surpassed any expectations that local fans had for him. He was fighting well under the radar in the mid 2000’s in the shadow of Scott Harrison and Alex Arthur.
Does Mayweather Promotions have a life without Floyd fighting?
By Gav Duthie: We may all be getting a little fed up of the tit for tat, handbags battle between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson on social media but something the rapper said recently made me wonder about the future of Floyd’s promotional company Mayweather Promotions. In response to a Mayweather picture posted on instagram portraying two cheques totaling over $72 million, Jackson said:
“Look [expletive] the cheque say Golden Boy. That mean you work for Oscar (De La Hoya) [expletive]?, I don’t hold grudges. I remember facts”.
Is moving up in weight really the answer?
By Gav Duthie: It seems to be a continuing trend that when a boxer loses a fight he isn’t supposed to, weight issues are often given as the the excuse. Ex 2 division world champion Ricky Burns is the latest to make a strategic move up to 140 lbs as he tries to rebuild his career.
Burns joins fellow Brits Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew who made the big leap from light heavyweight to cruiserweight as well as Alfredo Angulo to 154 from 147 and Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr to 160 from 154.
What makes a fighter successfully move through the divisions? The question is with these fighters in particular is whether the move is the correct one? Are they past their best? Or were they not good enough to begin with?
Heavyweights: where would they be now? (part 3/3)
By Gav Duthie: Magomed Abdusalamov 18-1 (18)
Magomed Abdusalamov is the most unfortunate of all the fighters in this piece. Not only has he had to fight for his life over the past few months his medical bills for his care are crippling. ‘Mago’ fought Mike Perez in early November 2013 in what was a candidate for fight of the year after which he ended up in a coma. The bout is very reminiscent of the great tragedy that befell Gerald McClellan at the hands of Nigel Benn. As good as these fights were I cannot personally bring myself to watch them again.
Why should Brook fight Thurman?
By Gav Duthie: I’m trying to get my head around the fact that people think Kell Brook 33-0 (22) owes a fight to Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman 23-0 (21). To be honest I think Thurman should be flattered that Brook even mentioned him post fight. I can’t remember any American fighters dropping Kell Brook’s name in any interviews in the last five years.
Parallels with Brook
I see a lot of similarities between Thurman and Brook as completely avoided fighters. Thurman is at the stage of his career where fighting him is not financially lucrative enough for the champions to risk facing a top opponent like him with a high risk of losing. Brook was in the same situation before Saturday night and I would ask Thurman to do the same as Brook and bide is time, His turn will come.
The heavyweights: Where would they be now: Part 2/3
By Gav Duthie: We haven’t seen ‘Baby’ Joe Mesi in the ring since 2007 after he retired with a perfect 36-0 (29) record. Even now he is only 40 years of age which is nothing for a heavyweight these days. He was 19 when the started boxing and before he turned pro boasted an amateur victory over Hasim Rahman.
Brook v Khan is the only fight that makes sense
By Gav Duthie: There may be other fighters more deserving of a title shot but new IBF champion Kell Brook 33-0 (22) would be mad not to fight Amir Khan 29-3 (19) for his first defense. Before Saturday’s fight had Brook lost he would have been nowhere but now his opportunities are endless. The main two reasons for a fight with Khan is:
1. The payday which would be considerable (compared to other fights)
2. The chance to take Khan’s place in the queue for a Mayweather fight.
American fans will rightly state that Devon Alexander, Keith Thurman and Tim Bradley are more deserving but its a simple case of financial mathematics. It is also the best fight for Amir Khan, Matchroom and Golden Boy promotions and to an extent even Floyd Mayweather.