Magee to have a tune up in Dublin

kevin · Post by **kevin** » 04 Jan 2006, 15:54

Brian Magee has been added to the 28th January card in Dublin

http://www.britishboxing.net/news_1150- ... -show.html

josh fg · Post by **josh fg** » 04 Jan 2006, 21:07

I think its a good idea, always useful for boxers to be active and could give him a bit more sharpness for what promisses to be a very even and good fight.

I would like to see froch get a tune up aswell, interestingly there is an empty looking bill in notingham on the same night (Micheal Jennings and Amir Kahn so far), could there be a deal in the offing with warren? Could they cut a deal and put Froch on the card? just a thought

WayoftheCass · Post by **WayoftheCass** » 05 Jan 2006, 00:20

To be honest if its a bum and he beats him up in a couple of rounds I don't see the point.
Then again if its a tough journeyman who Magee opts to play it safe against and win an uneventful 8 rounder then he just bores everyone so I don't see the point.
If it turns out to be a barnstormer against some surprise package then you can bet the Froch fights isn't going to happen within 2 months time after so again I don't see the point.
I guess I just don't see the point is what I'm trying to say.

THEBUTCH · Post by **THEBUTCH** » 05 Jan 2006, 07:19

I don't like the idea of this either

. Hopefully I'm worrying about nothing but I was more than surprised that Magee agreed to box Froch in the first place, so really don't like the thought of Magee picking up an excuse to pull out and stall Carl's career.

Should Froch beat Magee it will only be his second notch on the Lonsdale belt and I suspect he would like it for keeps, but he is also needing to move on to conquer Europe too and get involved in the world scene so there's little time to waste.

Hence I'm nervous about this warm up and don't trust Hennessy's promotional rivals not to pull a stunt!

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 05 Jan 2006, 07:33

Seems odd to risk a cut or injury so close to the big fight, and a few people must be wondering if he really wants the Froch fight after all.

You'd think Hennessey would have had in the contract no warm ups etc.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » 05 Jan 2006, 07:38

Well i think that Magee has had a few defeats and this warmup fight is just so he can knock someone out infront of his fans and boost his and there confidence before the big fight. Which i cant see nothing wrong with that :)

DavidPayne · Post by **DavidPayne** » 05 Jan 2006, 08:33

Its the squad rotation theory isn't it.

Harrison should have been fighting 6-10 times a year for the past four years.

Hatton will suffer from two fights a year terribly.

He needs to fight four times a year.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 05 Jan 2006, 08:44

Two great posts by Terence and DP....

Warren has far more fighters than show dates now and therefore a lot of his fighters dont get to fight very often at all... Takaloo and Wayne Alexander to name but two... both wanna fight both so inactive... Trouble is Warren pays well so I suspect he cannot really afford to put these guys on a small hall show with no TV as it wouldnt make financial sense... Unless he makes a loss on the small shows and makes major dough on the big shows. Of course if you were fighting more regularly presumably purses could drop a little too??????

It is important to fight regularly for many reasons mentioned already...
Having a date is so important to keep motivation and keep training well.

Its hard getting out of bed a 5am when you dont know when or where your fight is going to be....

Hard to see an easy solution to the problem... a lot of good fighters struggling to get dates and make a living out of the game

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 05 Jan 2006, 08:51

I think the fact is that in this day and age, fighters with a modicum of talent and any sort of following expect to be paid very well every time they fight, and so spend long periods of time out of the ring

When you look at the records of some of the all time greats and how often they fought, it's impossible to imagine todays fighters fighting so often.

Every champion these dates generally fights an absolute maximum of 4 times a year, and even that is a rarity. Sven Ottke fought 4 times every year of his reign probably the only champ in recent memory to do so.

Nobody wants to take risks of getting injured before a big fight, but then people get injured because they spend so long out of the gym getting fat.

I think Magee is doing the right thing having a tune up, this is a hard fight for him, and the fact he is staying busy should be seen as a positive.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 05 Jan 2006, 09:00

Another side to this is that there are not enough people attending live boxing to make it viable to put on the number of shows there were back in the 1950's to 1970's.

Boxing relies on TV money now, and there are nowhere near enough TV dates to have shows on.

Without TV money, how are promoters going to pay for having so many shows?

Economically it doesn't stack up without fighters fighting for what they would consider chump change.

Modern fighters on the whole are just not as hungry as the old timers. The only people who are hungry are the journeymen types who make a few hundred quid a fight upwards.

I agree with the business about being undefeated though, today if you aren't unbeaten TV companies aren't so interested, fighters need a long unbeaten run to become a TV darling.

THEBUTCH · Post by **THEBUTCH** » 05 Jan 2006, 10:46

There is no easy answer.

Ideally it IS good to see boxers stay active, be it staying sharp for a big fight on the horizon or just keeping busy to earn money or climb the ratings.

It can further complicate matters when a guy like Froch has experienced pullouts for the British title on no less than 3 occassions, I can appreciate a reluctance to risk important fights falling through due to keeping active. It's two sided.

But it gets very complicated when money enters the equation for the very valid reasons mentioned above from other Posters and more besides.

The point made about less people attending boxing shows is interesting, but again it's two sided and involves trust on the side of the Promoter and the paying public.

If an outfit offers poor value shows (and the reason the show is poor could range from purposely putting on rubbish bouts to extreme bad luck etc) then why should the punter part with his money? The debate could go back and forth. From my own experience in this area if a promotional group consistently puts on value shows then I'm inclined to fork out and support the show and give them the benefit of the doubt if the odd show isn't top notch. Hennessy and the Sanigars are two I instantly think of in this category.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 05 Jan 2006, 11:49

There isn't the audience there used to be for live boxing.

Look at the attendance figures for world heavyweight title fights back in the day, what did they get at the polo grounds for Dempsey v Willard, somethiing like 120,000?

People have TV's now, and Cable and a myriad of other forms of entertainment, plus there are a plethora of nightclubs, restaurants, so many other more satisfying or easy to access forms of entertainment.

Even with good matchmaking it is hard to guarantee a good night's boxing, and in terms of bang for the buck, it's not that cheap either. Not compared to watching telly on the box or renting a DVD.

The world has moved on, and boxing has been left behind, partly because it hasn't really changed much in what it offers since the 1940's.

I notice that the Calzaghe v Lacy fight has a VIP deal going with Spearmint rhino, where you can buy an all-in VIP ticket....

Achybreaky · Post by **Achybreaky** » 05 Jan 2006, 11:51

The last show in dublin was packed to the rafters and the atmosphere was brilliant which could only have done wonders for magee's confidence and for this reason i feel is a smart fight to take and no doubt this show will be packed again with a lot of the same fans who will remember magee and will behind him all the way.

I know the last fight was somewhat of a mismatch but if this keep him sharp and gets his confidence up even higher i think it can only be a good thing and would maybe even eliminate the chances of a pullout against froch as magee may feel he has an even better shout of beating froch.

Magee is a good boxer and his confidence cant have been through the roof after the reid fght and the tyspko fight as well these tune ups could make teh froch fight even better and we will have two men high on confidence going into the ring and putting on a belter. I for one will be at the dublin show and the belfast show as well.

josh fg · Post by **josh fg** » 05 Jan 2006, 16:35

I think it is good for boxers to break there training with a fight, If you have 14 weeks (3 months) training it gets a bit bonkers alternatively if you have 5 weeks and a meaningles fight and a weeks break then 8 weeks then the training always has a focoused.

WayoftheCass · Post by **WayoftheCass** » 06 Jan 2006, 04:10

I totally have to disagree with the notion that beating up inferior fighters in front of a crowd somehow makes you more prepared.
Wayne Alexander, Junior Witter and various other fighters are always moaning about how they are sick of warm up fights and soft touches and how they crave a challenge. This has been underlined by the poverty of their displays in such fights.

I mean I've always regarded 'ring rust' as a bit of an excuse. A big fight is not a week in week out activity. There are always going to be delays of at least 2-3 months inbetween most major fights.

Tsyzu was not a regular performer whilst Sharmba Mitchel was. Then Tsyzu blasts Mitchel out and some people start talking crap about how Sharmba had had too many fights in quick succession and had burnt himself out. The point is that a top level fighter should be ready to fight on the agreed fight night without excuses because thats what they are.

If Magee actually gets in there with Froch and gets beat then is an excuse really going to be that it would all have been different if he beat up some tomato can a few months earlier.

Having seen the recent 'warm ups' of fighters like Enzo Maccarinelli and Danny Williams I just saw it as lambs to the slaughter. I mean if the fighter doesn't learn anything then what does he gain? And by winning an uncompetative fight how does that prepare you for a competative one? If anything it may lure you into a false sense of security.

As for the post that claims Ricky Hatton will suffer for fighting only twice I again take issue. I mean Hatton's next probable opponent , Arturo Gatti, fought only twice last year. PBF fought only once more (including a mismatch against Henry Brusseles), Junior Witter also fought only once more and so did Cotto. Vivien Harris had only one bout ( a defeat) and Judah also only laced up twice as did Margarito. Corralles only engaged in the 2 Castillo fights and Castillo had only one more fight against Julio Diaz. I believe these guys represent Ricky's core group of rivals. Is the theory that Hatton will suffer but none of these guys will? Also both of Hatton's fights were highly competative matchups and highly demanding fights. Indeed the latter one , through Hatton's horrendous cut, probably underlines just why Ricky doesn't fight all that often. Career preservation comes to mind.

Lenny · Post by **Lenny** » 06 Jan 2006, 04:41

Hatton benefits from fighting more often due to the way his weight blows up between fights. If he fights 4 times a year he will be in shape more often and cause a look less stress on his body than he would fighting twice a year.

Using the Junior Witter argument do you not think what has been more hindering to him is not going past 5 rounds in so long and getting too used to bombing people out? It all depends on the opponent, getting the right mixture of someone to give you some rounds and someone to boost your confidence which is what I assume Magee will get. As opposed to Enzo who I agree has learnt next to nothing recently and will be exposed for it in the future.

WayoftheCass · Post by **WayoftheCass** » 10 Jan 2006, 03:35

Lenny Albert wrote:Hatton benefits from fighting more often due to the way his weight blows up between fights. If he fights 4 times a year he will be in shape more often and cause a look less stress on his body than he would fighting twice a year.

Using the Junior Witter argument do you not think what has been more hindering to him is not going past 5 rounds in so long and getting too used to bombing people out? It all depends on the opponent, getting the right mixture of someone to give you some rounds and someone to boost your confidence which is what I assume Magee will get. As opposed to Enzo who I agree has learnt next to nothing recently and will be exposed for it in the future.

The reason Witter hadn't been going past 5 is because most of the guys in that long knockout streak barely had a pulse. I mean I'll accept him going 12 with a tough nut like N'Dou but if he is serious about challenging for titles then he should be taking the likes of Kotelnick and Lynes out in style.
Witter should have been squaring off with the likes of Magee, Urkal and M'Baye long ago. All were in the same predicament at the time. But it was bum after bum for about 15 fights or so. No way someone needs that many warm ups. Even a domestic challenge like Jon Thaxton would have been much more helpful and challenging for him.
Anyway I don't see much to look forward to for him. Maybe a vacant title. His recent displays have put him in no man's land. And he can bitch as long as he wants because it looks like no one cares. The lesson.......less talking and more fighting Witter!

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 10 Jan 2006, 09:37

Without a doubt. It's all well and good crowing about having a devastating knockout record, but when you're knocking out people like Lucky Sambo, it's really nothing to be that proud of. A lot of the people he fought came in looking like they were ducking under gunfire before a punch was even thrown.

Look what happened against ?Kotelnik, Andreas just covered up and completely frustrated Witter, and Witter looked like he had no idea how to open his opponent up. I don't buy the excuse that he wasn't motivated, he just didn't look like he knew what to do with an opponent who wouldn't fall over or cower in fear when he opened up. If Kotelnik had had more of a punch, Witter could have been in serious trouble.

What on earth would Junior do against someone like Floyd who would barely leave him an opening AND hit him back at the same time?

Maybe Witter can raise his game when the bar is raised, but for me the signs are that he doesn't have a plan B when things turn against him, and seems to become dispirited.

jomothepure · Post by **jomothepure** » 15 Jan 2006, 05:41

Magee's opponent - Danil Prakapsou (scheduled 8 rds?)

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=316367

WayoftheCass · Post by **WayoftheCass** » 16 Jan 2006, 00:37

Fuckin Pathetic....

If Magee doesn't put him away in 2 minutes he must be finished. Just what the hell is the point!!!!

jeej · Post by **jeej** » 16 Jan 2006, 04:53

Hmmm, would it not have been more beneficial just to get tougher sparring partners or something?