In what will almost certainly be the most interesting and exciting cruiserweight world title fight of 2016, and possibly a FOTY candidate, period, WBO ruler Krzysztof Glowacki will meet mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk in the champion’s homeland of Poland on September 17th, ESPN.com reports. An absolutely fascinating, can’t-miss fight between two powerful and talented unbeaten fighters, Glowacki-Usyk is as close to a 50-50 fight as you could mention.
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook is an ideal person to predict this Saturday’s big welterweight clash between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, having been in there with Porter; being the only man to have beaten him. Brook won a very close decision over Porter back in August of 2014, to win the IBF belt he now holds and looks to defend against Jessie Vargas, the WBO champ, in a September unification (that still has not been 100-percent finalized).
Brook scored the biggest win of his career in winning a majority decision over Porter – since then, Brook has been ranked as the number-one welterweight in the world by Ring Magazine as well as a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter by “The Bible of Boxing” – and he now picks Porter to upset Thurman in their WBA title clash.
Lennox Lewis: “Can [Anthony] Joshua box? No, because he hasn’t reached that level yet”
Retired heavyweight great Lennox Lewis is not one of those people who agree with claims – recently made by Matchroom’s Barry Hearn – that Anthony Joshua is the best heavyweight in the world today. Speaking with The Mirror, Lewis hinted towards a belief that Joshua might become number-one in the division in the future, but he said that right now Tyson Fury is the best big man on the planet.
British boxing is thriving at present, with the world champion number well into double digits, and the UK has a lot of talent in the glamour division: heavyweight. Tyson Fury is of course THE heavyweight champion, while talented would-be megastar Anthony Joshua holds the IBF belt. Along with this, Great Britain has a number of top contenders at heavyweight. But who are the 5 best British big men on the scene right now?
Kubrat Pulev, last seen winning the vacant European heavyweight title with a 12-round split decision over Dereck Chisora (the fight was not seen as that close in the opinion of nearly everyone apart from one official) will face Poland’s Mariusz Wach in his first defence, Novinite.com reports. The fight does not have a confirmed date yet, but is expected tp go ahead in either September or October, with the likely venue being Sofia, in Pulev’s hometown of Bulgaria.
David Price returned to winning ways at the end of last month, scoring an impressive and, most importantly, confidence boosting KO victory in Liverpool (never mind the calibre of the opponent, Price was happy to get back in there and let his fists fly). The win came after an agonising period for the heavy-handed contender, what with him losing to Tony Thompson and then Erkan Teper – both fighters later failing drugs tests, their wins over Price being severely tainted as a result; Price rightfully feeling cheated.
Returning to the ring for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery after his exciting loss to current IBF heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte will face short notice foe Danny Batchelder this Saturday on the Joshua-Breazeale card at The O2. 28-year-old Whyte, 16-1(13) last boxed in December, the 7th-round stoppage loss to A.J, and he is chasing a rematch with Joshua. As a comeback opponent, Batchelder, 31-11-1(15) is not a bad choice; even if the man from Phoenix has seen better days.
Go back a few years, to 2007 and 2008, and Batchelder was facing former world champions James Toney and Lamon Brewster and giving them good fights, Toney especially, who won only a split decision over him. A top class journeyman/trial horse in his day, Batchelder could always be relied upon to give world class fighters a decent enough test. But Batchelder, who has been stopped six times, has not fought in almost a full year and he lost his last two bouts. Before that, though, Batchelder had reeled off six straight wins (against limited opposition).
The above statement, on IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua, was not made by Eddie Hearn, but by his father, Barry Hearn. Still, regardless of who made the bold statement, it is just that – bold. Many people (myself included) see Joshua, 16-0(16) as a talented fighter with plenty of potential, but nothing more at this stage in his career. Look at Joshua’s record of opposition and you will see two, maybe three decent names. Until he beats an elite heavyweight – a Tyson Fury, a Wladimir Klitschko or a Deontay Wilder for example – the jury will still be out on how good, or great, as Hearn claims, Joshua really is.
Tyson Fury, the lineal world heavyweight champion, is still angry at the way the IBF declared their belt vacant just days after he had won it by beating Wladimir Klitschko in a big upset last November. Fury, unable to defend the strap as quickly as the organisation demanded, watched as Charles Martin became the new IBF ruler, subsequently losing it in double-quick time to Anthony Joshua.
It’s quite hard to believe, but the classic, the inspirational and the just plain terrific “Rocky” movie is 40 years old this year. Released just before Christmas, in early December of 1976, the film was an instant success and all these years later it’s still nothing but a treat to watch. There is just so much to enjoy from this, a relatively low budget, but highly moving piece of cinema. The film of course made a hero out of its star, Sylvester Stallone, but the supporting cast, the theme music, the realistic fight scenes and makeup, all share top billing.