Otto Wallin vs. Dominic Breazeale - February 20, 2021

[AntonioMartin]

Do you remember Jimmy fighting Big George? Jimmy was an excellent technician for a heavyweight.

I don't think Wallin is top ten, maybe top 20. I can't see him beating Yoka, Hrgovic or some other rising prospects.

I've been thinking for a while, and have said previously, that a fight I'd like to see is Otto Wallin vs Agit Kabayel. Why is that? Well it is a much harder fight to predict than Wallin v Breazeale. They are both on the fringes of world level, both are capable boxers who lack knockout power, and the fight could be very significant in terms of Europe. There are better European heavyweights, but they are looking at world titles. Wallin v Kabayel can forget about world titles but this would be a good European title fight between two guys who might actually recognize they had found their level and who might actually stick around to chalk up some defences of it. It would be one for the purist though. If you were looking for a slugfest you'd be likely disappointed.

Well I was disappointed by Caleb vs Caleb...thought they were gonna be a bit more exciting..lol

But I know what you mean...it would be a good, b level fight...

On the other hand, no, Jimmy and George fought when I was five....but I do know Jim did a job on George! This fight was about half an hour from where I lived at the time in Puerto Rico.....not that I knew it was taking place of course..

[candyslim]

He certainly did. There were a lot of very fine heavyweights in the seventies. Jimmy was one of them but he doesn't get the same credit as many of his contemporaries. This is probably because he was regarded by a lot of people as a great cure for insomnia.

Harsh, but I can certainly see why someone would prefer Foreman v Lyle to Foreman v Young. There was another good boxer who made George look like a lumbering great carthorse using pure technique. He didn't win but it was David against Goliath and he won my admiration. He was an Argentinean name of Gregorio "Goyo" Peralta.

[AntonioMartin]

He certainly did. There were a lot of very fine heavyweights in the seventies. Jimmy was one of them but he doesn't get the same credit as many of his contemporaries. This is probably because he was regarded by a lot of people as a great cure for insomnia.

Harsh, but I can certainly see why someone would prefer Foreman v Lyle to Foreman v Young. There was another good boxer who made George look like a lumbering great carthorse using pure technique. He didn't win but it was David against Goliath and he won my admiration. He was an Argentinean name of Gregorio "Goyo" Peralta.

Yeah those were the days!

When I saw Foreman-Lyle on ESPN Classic boxing, I was about 17 and I could not believe it! It was an all time great fight.

Even the "second level" guys during the 70s in the Heavyweight division were stacked up. That's why by comparison when the 80's came, guys like Greg Page, Eddie Gregg and Trevor Berbick were seen as a disappointment by writers. They really were not and they brought their own excitement to the division too, and many writers have recanted their view of them. But when you compare them to Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Holmes, Shavers, Young, Bonavena, and even Peralta who you mentioned, they were...

Holmes and Foreman, and to a certain extent even through they were burned out, Ali Frazier and Leon Spinks were the only ones who crossed over eras from the 70's to the 80's in Heavyweight boxing..

[candyslim]

Oh yes. Mind you when people slate the state of the current heavyweight division, I think it's only fair to remember the likes of Rudi Lubbers, Joe Roman, Richard Dunn, Terry Daniels, Jean-Pierre Coopman and so forth, just to add a little perspective.

[AntonioMartin]

Oh yes. Mind you when people slate the state of the current heavyweight division, I think it's only fair to remember the likes of Rudi Lubbers, Joe Roman, Richard Dunn, Terry Daniels, Jean-Pierre Coopman and so forth, just to add a little perspective.

TBH Dunn wasnt that bad from what I hear through..

[Cyclops]

This totally puts Fury's win on a better level.

I dunno if it does. I can't remember my post from the "he came from nowhere" thread but I wouldn't be surprised if I posted about Breazeale fighting AJ. Never heard of the geezer before that, only that he beat Monsour while he was getting his ass kicked before Monsour got pulled out because he bit his tongue. He made his name by going rounds taking a pure beating by a still learning AJ before being KO'd, before being KO'd in 1 by Wilder. He's 6'7 and heavy, but he's always pretty overweight and has never showed anything beyond being big and kinda durable. When people used to say him and Joyce were exactly the same I used to wonder if I was being trolled. He's not a good heavy. I still can't put Wallin in the top 10. He beat a fat punchbag on points, and gave Fury all he could handle because of a terrible cut. He needs another decent win before he touches the top 10. Just because DB has been in with world class fighters and lost, doesn't mean he isn't crap. Beat somebody good Wallin and then maybe you kiss the top 10.

[candyslim]

Oh yes. Mind you when people slate the state of the current heavyweight division, I think it's only fair to remember the likes of Rudi Lubbers, Joe Roman, Richard Dunn, Terry Daniels, Jean-Pierre Coopman and so forth, just to add a little perspective.

TBH Dunn wasnt that bad from what I hear through..

I'm trying to think who would be comparable today. He was a 6' 4" southpaw. Among the best at British level which was nowhere near as strong as it is now. He was a decent boxer, had reasonable but nothing special punching power, tended to be a bit ponderous and predictable, and was brave yet brittle. I'm thinking David Price but that's not a very satisfactory comparison.

I think Chisora would have knocked him out but then heavyweights are bigger these days. Not taller in Delboy's case but way bigger, stronger, tougher.

[joe strong]

Breazeale's limitations were exposed by Fred Kassi and again by Amir Mansour but (correct me if i'm wrong) I think the first man to drop him was Anthony Joshua. Breazeale was way too tough for his own good and he took an almighty shellacking from Joshua. Personally I don't think he has ever been the same since, I think the beatdown damaged him physically and psychologically.

I've been guilty of underrating Wallin. I thought he lost a close one to Adrian Granat although that might have been due to confirmation bias as I had considered Granat to be Sweden's best prospect at heavyweight. I think Granat has retired now having lost this showdown after his shocking one round blow out at the hands of Alexander Dimitrenko.

I think Wallin has too much now for the shell of Dominic Breazeale.

You must not have watched the Mansour fight because Mansour floored him early until Breazeale came back & stopped Mansour. Joshua was NOT the first to drop him. Joshua, Ugonoh, Negron & Wilder all dropped him after Mansour so his chin has always been vulnerable to anyone who could punch. I called a Wilder 1st rd KO correctly because he has always been too easy to hit.

I've seen a lot of fights Joe and if I don't remember something it doesn't mean I haven't seen it. I thought as I wrote that that I was forgetting something, which is why I said to correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks for doing so.

Just to illustrate the point I was pretty sure than Dillian Whyte had dropped Oscar Rivas which of course he hadn't (Rivas dropped Whyte I knew that) Memory plays tricks, at least mine does.

My bad as I too watch so many HW fights it is hard to remember who knocked down who & many details from the fight.

[candyslim]

It's funny isn't it? Some incidents from fights are easily forgotten while others are carved into the memory forever. It isn't always the biggest or most significant fights or moments in fights either, it seems quite a random thing.