Maths isn't your strong point is itDG. wrote: Interesting point you make but isn't froch 32 and JC just turned 36? Hopkins was 43. RJJ 40 and Tarver 40. Big difference I think. Lol
D 
Highly unlikely, the likes of Benn and Eubank had something which Calzaghe and Froch don't - personality. Benn was the brash loudmouth who loved clubbing, fast cars and women, Eubank had a lot of arrogance about himself, was very sure of himself and always spoke to people as if he was above them and also the way he used to pose around the ring and not to mention his dress sense 8) , Watson was the nice guy yet he fought like the devil in the ring. These guys had huge personalities to go with their ability whereas Calzaghe always looks shy and uncomfortable whenever he gives interviews and when he tries to trash talk an opponent it never seems convincing unlike in the way that the likes of Mayweather, Mayorga and Hopkins do. Froch on the other hand just seems like a normal everyday bloke but he doesn't have that exciting persona about him he's a boring personChambers2 wrote:If the fight went out on ITV with the proper advertising then it could be up there with the Benn-Eubank-Watson fights IMO in terms of it's legendary status a decade down the line
He seemed to have a pretty impressive workrate against Pavlik.Autobarn wrote:Well, one difference is, Joe seems to be fresh and still has a big workrate. Hopkins may stil be serviceable but workrate he doesn't have etc
I agree, Pavlik is hugely overrated IMOAutobarn wrote:I think Hopkins has a good workrate on a punch bag - that's what Pavlik was!
Twinkle Toes wrote:Maths isn't your strong point is itDG. wrote: Interesting point you make but isn't froch 32 and JC just turned 36? Hopkins was 43. RJJ 40 and Tarver 40. Big difference I think. Lol
Apologies to you Hooky, I didn't mean to disrespect your article, but time and time again people ask Froch about Calzaghe, and we get the same drivel over and over - That is to be expected, and does get a bit boring.... unless your name is Chambers
Can't you pull some strings and get an interview with Calzaghe?
Yes, but Hopkins fought worse fighters a few years ago, and looked nowhere near as good, Morade Hakkar for instance.Autobarn wrote:I think Hopkins has a good workrate on a punch bag - that's what Pavlik was!
gobbles wrote:Twinkle Toes wrote:Maths isn't your strong point is itDG. wrote: Interesting point you make but isn't froch 32 and JC just turned 36? Hopkins was 43. RJJ 40 and Tarver 40. Big difference I think. Lol
Apologies to you Hooky, I didn't mean to disrespect your article, but time and time again people ask Froch about Calzaghe, and we get the same drivel over and over - That is to be expected, and does get a bit boring.... unless your name is Chambers
Can't you pull some strings and get an interview with Calzaghe?
Froch is 31, Calzaghe is 37 in March, so there would be a six-year age gap if they boxed next, Jones is 40 this month, so there was a 3-year age gap when they boxed.
Very true. I think it was because Hakkar wouldn't lead. Fighters that lead and throw 1 punch at a time, up above their natural weight and therefore slower than usual (Tito, Pavlik), are just made for Hopkins.jamesmcdonnell wrote:Yes, but Hopkins fought worse fighters a few years ago, and looked nowhere near as good, Morade Hakkar for instance.Autobarn wrote:I think Hopkins has a good workrate on a punch bag - that's what Pavlik was!
I had to go off that angle as it's a Welsh paper and sadly most Welsh sports fans have only heard of one boxer......sad but true mate.Twinkle Toes wrote:Maths isn't your strong point is itDG. wrote: Interesting point you make but isn't froch 32 and JC just turned 36? Hopkins was 43. RJJ 40 and Tarver 40. Big difference I think. Lol
Apologies to you Hooky, I didn't mean to disrespect your article, but time and time again people ask Froch about Calzaghe, and we get the same drivel over and over - That is to be expected, and does get a bit boring.... unless your name is Chambers
Can't you pull some strings and get an interview with Calzaghe?
To be honest I think Froch created the C word question himself calling out Calzaghe early in his career. Carl did well beating Pascal so full credit to him but he did get hit quite a bit during the fight. I know he can take punches but I do think he needs to work more on his defense. Having reached World level his opponents are going to be harder to beat and harder to KO. I just dont see him getting a win against Kessler over 12 rounds unless he can improve his defense and up his workrate. Kessler has to be his ultimate goal to get full recognition as a World champion but I dont feel he is ready yet to meet that enormous challenge. I did think Calzaghe/Froch was a possibility a few months ago but I cant see Joe going back to SMW and I cant see Froch fighting at LHW.G0mez wrote:Carl Froch is royally bored with that question (the C word)
Because he answers it as he always does (stating the f*cking obvious) and then you get a load of pro-Calzaghe folk who think the Welshman could knit fog and turn water into wine, get all hot and bothered that Froch dare utter his name.
I was going to state it in the first reply, but though to myself, no i will see if it's different this time.
Obviously not
G0mez wrote:[quote="gobbles"Twinkle Toes wrote:Maths isn't your strong point is itDG. wrote: Interesting point you make but isn't froch 32 and JC just turned 36? Hopkins was 43. RJJ 40 and Tarver 40. Big difference I think. Lol
Apologies to you Hooky, I didn't mean to disrespect your article, but time and time again people ask Froch about Calzaghe, and we get the same drivel over and over - That is to be expected, and does get a bit boring.... unless your name is Chambers
Can't you pull some strings and get an interview with Calzaghe?
Froch is 31, Calzaghe is 37 in March, so there would be a six-year age gap if they boxed next, Jones is 40 this month, so there was a 3-year age gap when they boxed.
[/quote]Looks like there are differing opinions on who should get paid what for this fight, lets just hope that their is enough money to go round and that Taylor and DiBella aren't trying to take the piss.Will it be Showtime for Taylor?By Steve Kim (Jan 16, 2009)
For years, Jermain Taylor was a staple on HBO, which, from the very inception of his professional career in 2001, chronicled his rise through the middleweight hierarchy. But starting in 2009, he could become a regular on Showtime as he becomes the American centerpiece to what could be a series of anticipated fights in the super-middleweight division.
At the very least, he's a candidate to appear on Showtime very soon.
"Candidate, yes," confirmed Ken Hershman, boxing czar for the network. "And we're hopeful that will happen and we're working hard to make it happen."
This would be like 'Entourage' being on Showtime. But hey, 'Inside the NFL' made the move, so anything is possible. Jim Lampley might go into mourning over all this, but the plan is for Taylor to face WBC titlist Carl Froch on March 28th. To many observers who have followed the career of 'Bad Intentions', seeing him go 'across the street' comes as a bit of a surprise.
"Basically, there are a couple of different issues," explained his promoter, Lou DiBella, on Thursday afternoon to Maxboxing. "One is that Ken has been very, very active in trying to pursue a concept of a '68-pound, in effect, tournament, putting the best fighters in the world at '68 and matching them up with each other and making the best fights you can make in the division because there's so much talent with guys like Kessler, Bute, Jermain, Pascal, Froch, Andrade and Green. This is possibly, other than '47, it's probably the most talent rich division in boxing.
"And Jermain was looking for a date as quickly as possible after the Lacy fight and he also knew that we had the possibility of a Froch fight and HBO didn't like Froch as an opponent- that's their prerogative and the other issue frankly was that they just couldn't accommodate a date. We began talking to Ken and hopefully we can work something out where we have a couple of possibilities out there and we're in the process of pursuing them."
It was believed that Froch had suffered an injured rib that would keep him out till the summer. But his promoter Mick Hennessy has made it very clear that his man is ready to go next against Taylor. The only issue is, what else?
The division of money.
"The problem we seem to be encountering is that in terms of name recognition and economic value in the United States, Froch almost has none," DiBella stated. "But they're looking for a big percentage of the United States money. So we've made them an offer and we're waiting for them to get back to us"
If the Froch fight comes to fruition, DiBella says there is an, "excellent chance" that he would pair that fight with the Cory Spinks-Deandre Latimore showdown in St. Louis, believing that 'the Gateway City' isn't too far from Taylor's homebase and Spinks-Latimore will sell plenty of tickets locally.
If that fails to materialize, the other option for Taylor according to DiBella is 'the Road Warrior', Glen Johnson.
"I'm the co-promoter of Glen and obviously I promote Jermain. Glen, if you're looking for a challenge in boxing, he might be one of the biggest out there. I thought he won the last fight with Chad Dawson and frankly, it was close enough that I'm not going to argue about it," said DiBella. "But it was such a tremendous performance by him. Like Bernard Hopkins, he is not a normal guy pushing 40. He's quite a bit younger than Bernard but this guy does not fight like a 39-year old.
Johnson, who has a steady, grinding style, should press Taylor the whole night.
"It's a tremendously difficult fight for Jermain, he's a bigger man, it's moving up further in weight to fight a bigger man. They would meet at a catch-weight of between 168 and 175. But you have to pursue it because economically Glen is not somebody people are running to and he's not going to price himself out of the fight."
Which suits Hershman, "That's would be fine, too. We love Glen and think that would be a tremendous event."
Taylor's last outing in November took place on HBO versus the faded Jeff Lacy. So it was a bit surprising that the network wouldn't accept Froch, who just recently defeated Jean Pascal in an entertaining affair for the title.
The sometimes volatile DiBella, would calmly state, "Like I said, people are going to make their own decisions and they ultimately have the right to make them. And Froch is a very difficult fight, but y'know what? It's not just HBO making that decision. If I go and I shop Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch to sites in the United States, look, Froch is not yet a pay-per-view attraction in Great Britain. So it's not like he can generate huge dollars in Great Britain. He sells tickets in the area he's from and he's a prime time television guy there, but not a pay-per-view kind of attraction. He has never really fought in the United States, he hasn't made that move over to fight someone yet.
"He doesn't generate money from a site, he doesn't generate a lot of public recognition. He's just a very, very good fighter. And I applaud Ken for being interested in it. But at the same time, this is one of the reasons economically we're having a hard time putting this fight together."
It also seems that to HBO's new math: Chad Dawson > Jermain Taylor.
"Again, I'm a little surprised because there are more matchups and talent and a deep talent pool and I think name recognition at '68-pounds than there is at '75," opined DiBella, rather placidly. "They like Chad Dawson, he's a good fighter, they're entitled. I guess they fell in love with Chad Dawson and my guess also was that they're trying to build up something between Dawson and Bernard Hopkins, who's looking for a fight over there.
"Listen, I can sit here and second guess things all I want, but things are what they are. I began talking to Ken when that was necessitated because I didn't have an immediate date and because I wasn't entertained (with that offer). But like I said, I have other fighters at HBO I work with and they're entitled to make their decisions. To be honest, if we wind up on Showtime, we're going to be very happy to be there because we've been heavily pursued and there's a future game plan there for the kid."
For Showtime, Taylor is just part of a bigger picture, which is a landscape that is overwhelming with potentially explosive match-ups.
"I think it's a great division with Jermain, Andre Ward, Mikkel Kessler, Lucien Bute, Andre Dirrell, and Froch. I think you have the makings of a lot of tremendously exciting fights and it's a division we can be active in at a high level for the foreseeable future," Hershman says.
As for when the deal (for either Froch or Johnson) will be consummated, Hershman would say with a chuckle, "I don't know. You'd have to check with the promoters on that. I think that we expect all this should be wrapped up within the next couple days."
SUPER MATCHUPS
I love the concept of making a series of fights in divisions such as the super middleweight class. While maybe not a true tournament, it will at least be a round-robin of fights. Question is, just how realistic is it?
"It's very difficult because there's a lot of different agendas and personalities involved but all we can do is try our best to make the most compelling matchups and hope it all falls into place," said Hershman. "And I think there's a good chance of success here. We don't have to have any single fight work out but there's enough in the mix that we'll get a good number of significant fights."
By Rick Reeno
The mystery continues. Nobody knows exactly when Jermain Taylor (28-2, 17KOs) will return, or the opponent, or the network. The scenario right now has Taylor returning on March 28. Showtime, not HBO, is the frontrunner to carry the fight. At the same time, nothing has been written in stone.
Taylor is the mandatory to WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch. The purse bid is scheduled for Friday. Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella has presented an offer to Froch's team. They have not responded, yet. Froch's promoter Mick Hennessey might be killing time to take his chances at the purse bid.
Light heavyweight Glen Johnson was the proposed "Plan B" opponent for Taylor. The fight would have happened at the likely catch-weight of 170-pounds. When reached for comment this morning, DiBella, who co-promotes Johnson, did not see that fight coming off.
"It probably won't be Glen. We made an offer to Froch. I'm waiting to hear back from them. Right now nothing is out there. There is not a lot to choose from. We may look at an Andre Ward or an Allan Green," DiBella said.
Dan Goossen promotes Ward (17-0, 12KOs), a 2004 Olympic gold medal winner. Goossen recently told BS that Andre was very interested in a fight with Taylor. Ward returns on February 6 in a Showtime televised bout against Henry Buchanan. Allan Green (27-1, 19KOs) is promoted by DiBella and probably the easiest fight to make. Green has one decision loss on his record to Edison Miranda [March 2007]. He won four since then, with three of them by knockout.
I thought he was mandatory and he was looking at March? I'll check out the other thread..Chambers2 wrote:from http://www.BS.com
By Rick Reeno
The mystery continues. Nobody knows exactly when Jermain Taylor (28-2, 17KOs) will return, or the opponent, or the network. The scenario right now has Taylor returning on March 28. Showtime, not HBO, is the frontrunner to carry the fight. At the same time, nothing has been written in stone.
Taylor is the mandatory to WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch. The purse bid is scheduled for Friday. Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella has presented an offer to Froch's team. They have not responded, yet. Froch's promoter Mick Hennessey might be killing time to take his chances at the purse bid.
Light heavyweight Glen Johnson was the proposed "Plan B" opponent for Taylor. The fight would have happened at the likely catch-weight of 170-pounds. When reached for comment this morning, DiBella, who co-promotes Johnson, did not see that fight coming off.
"It probably won't be Glen. We made an offer to Froch. I'm waiting to hear back from them. Right now nothing is out there. There is not a lot to choose from. We may look at an Andre Ward or an Allan Green," DiBella said.
Dan Goossen promotes Ward (17-0, 12KOs), a 2004 Olympic gold medal winner. Goossen recently told BS that Andre was very interested in a fight with Taylor. Ward returns on February 6 in a Showtime televised bout against Henry Buchanan. Allan Green (27-1, 19KOs) is promoted by DiBella and probably the easiest fight to make. Green has one decision loss on his record to Edison Miranda [March 2007]. He won four since then, with three of them by knockout.