Boxing

Momentums changing here .. come on Uysk

well done Uysk

Tyson can wrap it up how he wants but we all know what we saw , ref saved him in the ninth round or it would of been a stoppage . But like you say was cuntish to say what he said , just sour grapes at the end of the day

Been reading that Uysk may well retire (probably nothing in it) , i think he should , he has nothing to prove , hes done everything he set out to do and no one can take away what hes achieved in his career from the very beginning to last night .. undefeated and undisputed cruiserweight and undisputed heavyweight champion .. doesnt look bad on the old resume

New Ring Pound For Pound List

(1) Oleksandr Uysk
(2) Naoya Inoue
(3) Terence Crawford
(4) Canelo Alvarez
(5) Artur Beterbiev
(6) Dmitry Bivol
(7) Errol Spence Jr
(8) Gervonta Davis
(9) Jesse Rodriguez
(10) Junto Nakatani

Just read that the IBF will very likely strip Uysk of their belt within two weeks (they did say about this beforehand) but its a bit shite as far as im concerned , he has the rematch with Fury in play at the mo but no ones activated the clause yet , and hes only just won the bloody belts .. you look at some of the 'champions' who have been allowed to sit on their belts without defending against mandatorys etc .. handpicking easy pickings and they are allowed to keep their belts .. the whole thing is a joke tbh

Alex Krassyuk , Uysks promoter , has said that they will honour the rematch clause with Fury should he choose to activate it "We are men of our word. Its not about paperwork - if we shake hands and promise something , we do it. I see no reason for the rematch not to take place"

Saturday 25th May -

Dina Thorslund v Seren Cetin
Dina Thorslund (21 Fights - 21 Wins (9 KOs)) puts her WBC , Ring and WBO Bantamweight titles on the line against the unbeaten Turkish fighter Seren Cetin (11 Fights - 11 Wins (7 KOs)) , think it'll be an interesting fight where Cetin comes to fight but i think theres a slight chance she could come up a tad short , shes fighting a more experienced fighter whose the best shes faced to date in my opinion. From what ive seen of Cetin (not alot admittedly) she'll come to win but Thorslund is once again fighting on home soil in Copenhagen and the fans will be behind her which could prove daunting for Cetin whose never boxed outside of her native Turkey and the Ukraine. On paper Cetin looks to be quite a banger as shes despatched 7 of her 11 opponents but i'd have to say none of those were anywhere near the level of Thorslund and i think shes gonna struggle to land cleanly here , for me Thorslund is a class act , and i can see her breaking down Cetin , nullifying her power and outboxing her , a stoppage is a possibilty but i think a unanimous decision could well be the call. But for me Dina Thorslund retains her titles.

Dina Thorslund To Win

Christian Mbilli v Mark Heffron
Well Oldham boy Mark Heffron (34 Fights - 30 Wins (24 KOs) - 3 Losses - 1 Draw) travels to Canada to try and hand Christian Mbilli (26 Fights - 26 Wins (22 KOs) his first loss and he's gonna have to work bloody hard and be at his very best if he's going to achieve this from what i've seen of Mbilli. Heffron comes into this on the back of a second round TKO of Serhii Ksendzov , that was nothing to get excited about tbh as Ksendzov is a journeyman with 4 wins and 24 losses to his name , i think that was basically a confidence booster after his third round stoppage loss to Jack Cullen back in September of 2023 , his best win for me was his beating of the decent Lennox Clarke back in 2022 , but he is gonna have to up his game considerably to deal with Mbilli imho. From what ive seen of the pair i think that Mbilli has the better boxing fundamentals , and though neither have really met any one of note as yet , i think Heffron edges it resume wise so far .. the one thing that both can do is punch , and punch hard so this is a fight that i really dont see going the distance. I see Heffron putting up a valiant effort but ultimatley i see Mbilli coming out on top , and i think the fight will be over by round eight.

Christian Mbilli To Win ... By Stoppage (By Round 8 or Before)

Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall
Well a long awaited re run of the controversial fight they had back in February 2022 where Taylor took the decision but everyman and his dog thought that Catterall had won the fight , so to be honest this one is well overdue. Taylor (20 Fights - 19 Wins (13 KOs) - 1 Loss) , he last fought back in JUne of last year when losing to Teofimo Lopez , where he lost the WBO and Ring Light Welterweight titles and to be honest he looked a shadow of his former self in that fight , there was just no spark , nothing about him at all and i think its time for him to move up in weight as he does have trouble making 140 and its showing so its a surprise that hes not gone for a catchweight contest here tbh , that was his only fight since the Catterall bout. Catterall (29 Fights - 28 Wins (13 KOs) - 1 Loss) has fought twice since meeting Taylor , both last year , first he beat Daragh Foley and then he beat the legendary Jorge Linares , whose powers are on the wane admittedly but still a decent name to have on the resume i'd say , he was slated for that win though because he failed to stop Linares which despite being stopped six times in his career isnt the easiest thing to do and hes not predominantly known as a puncher in all fairness , I mean Devin Haney beat him by decision and i didnt see / hear people slating him for failing to stop him. Despite that he looked decent enough in those fights , if not in the same form as when he 'lost' to Taylor , but he definatley looked better than 'The Tartan Tornado' when last seen. Theres a lot of animosity here and i can see this fight being a war of attrition , not pretty to watch , one where both fighters dig in and go for it , as ive said Taylor seems to need to move up and that wont help his cause here imho , hes looked on the slide whereas Catterall has looked in better nick , is younger and will be eager to rectify that last time decision loss. Its gonna be close i think , and its not easy to pick if both were at their best , but i can only go by what ive seen , and last time as ive said Taylor was pretty woeful so i see a Catterall victory here.

Jack Catterall To Win

Thursday 23rd May - Jermaine Franklin v Devin Vargas

Heavyweight contest where im seeing Franklin furthering his career towards a future crack at a title and climbing the rankings , Franklin (24 Fights - 22 Wins (14 KOs) - 2 Losses) beat Isaac Guiterriez last time by unanimous decision and looked pretty good in doing so , before that he had upped his credentials by facing first , Dillion Whyte and then Anthony Joshua , and despite losing both of those bouts he held his own and in all honesty was unlucky not to get the win , or at least a draw , in the Whyte contest. Vargas (32 Fights - 22 Wins (9 KOs) - 10 Losses) has lost his last four , first of those against Zhilei Zhang , then Charles Martin followed by two bouts against Deontae Pettigrew .. at one time he looked to be a prospect but now at 42 years old , and losing more than hes winning , in all honesty hes beginning to look a little washed up , technically it could be said that he could well of lost his last six as he lost his sixth fight and in the fifth only won because his opponent was disqualified , so doesnt come into this with any ringing endorsements lets be honest. He still carries a bit of power so the threat is there but Franklin will come into this fresh and eager to look good infront of his hometown fans. Hes now proven he can step it up with the bigger names in the division and i expect him to put in a dominant display against the veteran Vargas here , the one thing that i think Vargas is here for is as a confidence builder , Franklin has looked good but i think his team want to stop someone and Vargas could be the ideal candidate , hes durable and still a little dangerous but Franklin should be putting away this leavel of opposition before the final bell so i can see a stoppage victory in this one.

Jermaine Franklin To Win .. By Stoppage

Well werent expecting this but Joe Joyce apparently takes on Derek Chisora on July 27th at the 02 Arena in London.

Gotta be honest and say i didnt see that one coming

Del Boy says he has three fights left .. one in London , against Joyce , one in Manchester and then one in Zimbabwe

Friday 24th May - Lawrence Okolie v Lukasz Rozanski

Brit fighter Okolie (20 Fights - 19 Wins (14 KOs) - 1 Loss) attempts to become a two weight world champion when he takes on the WBC Bridgerweight Champion Rozanski (15 Fights - 15 Wins (14 KOs)) and its an interesting match up to be honest , Okolie travels to Rozanski's homeland , Poland , where he'll be sure to face a raucous home crowd egging their fighter on. Okolie hasnt been since his majority decision loss to Chris Billiam Smith back in May of 2023 , around the same time as Rozanski has been out of the ring , he took the vacant Bridgerweight title when beating Alen Babic by a first round stoppage in April last year .. so they've both been out for around a year .. Rozanski only knows one way to fight , thats to come forward and try to get his opponent out of there and its been successful 14 times out of his 15 fights which goes to show the power he carries , the only time he went the distance was in his second fight which was a four rounder , which means that in his pro career he has yet to see the fifth round with all his stoppages coming within the first two rounds , so Okolie is gonna have to buckle up and be prepared for the onslaught thats gonna come his way when that first bell rings. And thats something i worry about , hes technically a decent enough boxer , better than Rozanski , but he seems to be wary of getting caught which does worry me as theres no way that he aint gonna catch one or more from Rozanski. He does carry some decent power of his own but he hasnt had a stoppage since September 2021 when he KO'd Dilan Prasovic in the third round , which makes me think he doesnt want to throw a big punch incase he gets caught by one on the way in and he has a habit of clinching (he was deducted a couple of points for it against Billiam Smith) which makes for a boring fight and isnt gonna work against someone like Rozanski who basically justs want to sledgehammer you. Okolie has a height and reach advantage and now going up to the new weight will be heavier than usual so hopefully he'll feel more confident about letting his hands go but looking at his last few fights im not totally convinced , he was dropped two or three times against Billiam Smith but if he gets caught by Rozanski i think he may well have trouble getting up. He has done well against Poles to date beating three of them including Glowacki but hes never travelled to Poland to fight and they do get behind their fighters which will only spur on Rozanski imho , if Okolie can last the first four / five rounds i give him a good chance of winning but can he last that long ? .. Id like him to walk away with the win as hes a Brit but i am having trouble seeing it from what ive seen of him in recent fights , i think Rozanski retains his title by a stoppage win (although i would like to se Okolie win)

Lukasz Rozanski To Win .. By Stoppage

JERMAINE FRANKLIN WINS ... BY STOPPAGE

Okolie Wins .. First round stoppage

Rozanski was truly dreadful lol As i said tho kinda glad Okolie got the win

Dina Thorslund Wins
Jack Catterall Wins
Christian Mbilli Wins ... By First Round Stoppage

Saturday 1st June -

Deontay Wilder v Zhilei Zhang
A fight that has the potential to go either way if im being honest , neither fighter comes into the bout in great form .. Wilder (47 Fights - 43 Wins (42 KOs) - 2 Losses - 1 Draw) has lost three of his last four fights , lost the last two of the Fury trilogy , then knocked out Robert Helenius in spectacular fashion in the first round then lost a one sided fight by decision to Joseph Parker whilst Zhang (29 Fights - 26 Wins (21 KOs) - 2 Losses - 1 Draw) lost a contraversial decision to Hgrovic (which i personally think he won) , then looked good in absolutely destroying the Juggernaut Joe Joyce twice before losing to Joe Parker last time .. so both have a bit to prove and i think that this could possibly be the last hurrah for one of them. This is a hard one call tbh , Wilder has the punch that can end a fight in the blinking of an eye but if he comes into the fight and performs as he did against Parker then i cant see him going the distance against someone who hits as hard as Zhang , let alone winning the fight. BUT on the other hand if Zhang doesnt manage to stop Wilder early , say before round 6/7 , i can see him tiring , he does have a tendency to gas out around the middle rounds , and this would give Wilder a chance to land one of his haymakers on him. Its all a bit of a conundrum i reckon. Zhang , although slow , is definatley the better boxer and has a higher boxing IQ but as i said earlier if Wilder is back to his usual self for this one hes gonna be ramped up and looking to land that right hand. Zhang has a pretty decent defence whereas Wilder not so much , i see the early rounds going the way of Zhang , outboxing Wilder and maybe catching him a few times , can he take the power of Zhang ? Im not sure , hes heavy handed and hits a lot harder than Fury who dropped Wilder a few times , but then can Zhang take a Wilder right hander ? God knows , if he catches him clean with it i would say its probably game over. Hard one to weigh as it all depends on Wilders attitude / demeanour etc .. if its the old Wilder then i can see him winning later on , if it isnt then i see him getting stopped. An added incentive for Wilder is that he/people want to see him fight AJ and if he loses to Zhang now then i think that bout is gonna get binned off , so its pretty much a must win for him whilst Zhang is getting old and he isnt gonna get many more chances at the top i dont think .. As i say im having difficulty calling this one but im gonna go with Zhang to win , mainly cos hes the better boxer and i like him more than i do Wilder lol .. But if hes back to his old self then Wilder definatley has a shout .. If i were to bet in this i would probably go with the fight to end by round 10 by a stoppage , either fighter. But for the purpose of this thread im gonna side with Zhang.

Zhilei Zhang To Win

Daniel Dubois v Filip Hgrovic
Quite looking forward to this one as weren't expecting it , sort of come out of left field , tough one to call though to be honest. Dubois (22 Fights - 20 Wins (19 KOs) - 2 Losses) comes into this after stopping Jarrell Miller in the very last round last time , back in December of last year , and though Miller looked out of condition he fought okay tbh and Dubois handed him his first pro loss , after the Joyce loss people were writing Dubois off but he's come back and knuckled down and got stuck in , he racked up four victories before losing to Uysk , but there was no shame in that one lets be honest .. hes fought whose in front of him , hasnt ducked anyone so fair play to the lad. Hgrovic (17 Fights - 17 Wins (14 KOs)) is , as yet , unbeaten but personally i think he lost the Zhang fight , he beat Mark De Mori last time (same card as Dubois beat Miller) stopping him in the first round but in all honesty , that couldnt of been anything other than a stop gap fight as Hgrovic is levels above De Mori imho. Before that he stopped the well touted Aussie Demsey McKean in the twelfth and final round , a solid enough effort but as someone whose ranked so highly you'd be expecting him to win these fights. For someone ranked so highly theres not many 'names' on his resume , the best would be Zhang by a country mile , whereas Dubois has Uysk , Joyce , and Miller could be thrown in there as well , so resume wise , for me , he edges it i think. Its a close one , as i say despite being so highly ranked Hgrovic hasnt yet proven himself to be champion material but winning this would be a statement of intent , Dubois on the other hand seems to be learning and getting better as he goes along , Hgrovic seems to be a bit robotic and hes a notoriously slow starter and im not 100% about his stamina so if Dubois is out of the blocks quickly , like he was against Uysk , then i think he has a good chance of maybe catching him early , and theres no doubts about his stamina either .. the one thing that is in Hgrovic's favour is his mentality , he seems to be alot mentally stronger than Dubois , so when the going gets tough he keeps going .. boxing wise i dont think theres much in it to be honest , both can bang as well but i would rate Dubois as the harder puncher and Hgrovic is certainly gonna have his chin tested in this one i would think , as is Dubois. As i say its a tough one to call , and both are capable of winning it i think , bookies odds currently favour Hgrovic as do most people which is fair i suppose but i dont think people should be writing Dubois off so quickly , apparently the winner could be looking at a huge fight at Wembley against Anthony Joshua so theres no doubt in my mind that both will be going for it. I have to side with Daniel Dubois , its entirely possible that Hgrovic wins but if Dubois can start quickly strongly i think he has a serious chance of taking this , and if he can remain resilient and mentally strong in the patchier times hopefully he can come through and get another win on his resume.

Daniel Dubois To Win

Hamzah Sheeraz v Austin Williams
Another quality fight thats very much a 50/50 affair in my opinion , Williams (16 Fights - 16 Wins (11 KOs)) is definatley an up n coming fighter whose looked good so far and he has the tools to test Sheeraz and he certainly has the power to test his chin which has yet to have a real test. Sheeraz' best quality is his destructive power and hes going to certainly test Williams resolution. Williams has the better resume and for me is probably the better boxer but Sheeraz is getting better with each fight , and his last time out first round TKO of Liam Williams shocked alot of people given hes a tough nut to crack. This is a cracking fight for two of the most exciting Middleweight prospects out there , and to have it early (ish) in their careers is good , as theres always a chance that theres a repeat , maybe , later down the line. Eddie Hearn has said that whoever wins this will get a shot at a title fight so its a given that both fighters are gonna be giving it their all. I think both need a few more fights under their belts before challenging for titles tbh , Sheeraz has a decent height advantage over his opponent and i can see him utilizing that , and i can see him coming out and trying to get Williams out of there as soon as possible but if he doesnt manage that then theres a chance Williams can start to gain the upper hand as Sheeraz can get sloppy at times and Williams will be all over him if he makes any mistakes. Hard one to call i have to say but from what i've seen of them i think Sheeraz can get the job done.

Hamzah Sheeraz To Win

Raymond Ford v Nick Ball
And another cracking fight , quite looking forward to this one as well , unbeaten Ford (16 Fights - 15 Wins (8 KOs) - 1 Draw) makes the first defence of his WBA Featherweight title , which he won when he stopped Otabek Kholmatov last time in the final round despite losing the fight upto that moment , whereas Ball (20 Fights - 19 Fights (11 KOs) - 1 Draw) comes into this on the back of what can only be described as a travesty of a decision when he drew with Rey Vargas .. Its a difficult one to call as Ball is relentless , forever coming forward and throwing , he never gives up and Ford will have to be at the top of his game to deal with with his opponent. He is slick and technically better than Ball i think and he picks his shots well , and will probably handle Ball better than alot of his previous opponents. Its a genuinely hard one to call , i like Ball and i like his style , but i feel that Ford is gonna outbox him , however as he throws so many bombs theres always a chance that Ball could catch him and because of his relentless style you couldnt honestly write his chances off at any time in the fight. I like Ball and i would really like to see him win it but i feel that Ford is gonna have too much about him and that he'll take the fight and keep his belt , probably by decision.

Raymond Ford To Win

Dmitry Bivol v Malik Zinad
Well due to Artur Beterbiev being forced to pull out of his scheduled undisputed bout , Bivol (22 Fights - 22 Wins (11 KOs)) now faces Malik Zinad (22 Fights - 22 Wins (16 KOs)) for his WBA Light Heavyweight Title , obviously we're all disappointed at the fact the undisputed aint going ahead but injuries happen and at least Bivol is facing someone rather than just giving the date a miss. However it has to be said that he could of faced someone a tad more worthy than Zinad , who , will all respect , hasnt faced anyone off or even near Bivols level before. He may be unbeaten but taking into context with the opposition hes faced to date that dont mean much when faced with an elite fighter like Bivol. Fair play to Bivol for keeping the date and also to Zinad for stepping up but unless something goes mightily wrong i can only see a Bivol shut out in this.

Dmitry Bivol To Win