Dennis McCann vs. Ionut Baluta | TNT Sports - 18 August 2023

[CaptainSpacerod]

Quality fight, what a resume Baluta’s putting together. A draw was probably a fair result although the way it was arrived at with judges not awarding the 9th to Baluta leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth.

McCann had his moments and proved he has the heart but his reputation seems to exceed his talent. If a guy at Baluta’s level is regularly catching him with clean shots he’s not gonna go very far up the ladder.

[ShadrachSimmo]

Quality fight, what a resume Baluta’s putting together. A draw was probably a fair result although the way it was arrived at with judges not awarding the 9th to Baluta leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth.

McCann had his moments and proved he has the heart but his reputation seems to exceed his talent. If a guy at Baluta’s level is regularly catching him with clean shots he’s not gonna go very far up the ladder.

He reminds a bit of Choi from years gone by. Tough as fck and willing to fight anyone. If a decision didn’t go his way he moved on to the next fight. Baluta defo got that same attitude.

[Twinkle Toes]

Brilliant fight but Baluta has exposed McCann there as a world prospect. Liam Davies must be laughing

I dont think he has been exposed, as usual people getting overly excited over someone who was being very carefully matched - Even this one was very much a calculated risk

Davies who took the Baluta fight with very little grounding in the pro ranks raised his game and came through, so should have McCann especially when he's the one been sold as a word class prospect and Davies wasn't.

[TheLeprechaun]

It's great seeing Baluta just keep throwing those wild hooks combinations. Guys eventually stop countering as much and go more defensive as the fight goes on. He really is the kind of guy who improves into a fight.

[rd350lc]

It's great seeing Baluta just keep throwing those wild hooks combinations. Guys eventually stop countering as much and go more defensive as the fight goes on. He really is the kind of guy who improves into a fight.

Yes , that's why he said sparring is sparring coming into this , he knew the rounds would suit him.

[maverick23]

Really good main event and good card with an excellent atmosphere.

Whilst I think the scorecards were fair, it sounds like the judges bottled scoring the final round in Baluta’s favour.

Perhaps it shows how good Liam Davies is. He was pretty comfortable against Baluta whilst everyone else has struggled.

[THEBUTCH]

That turned out to be a very tough outing for young McCann. Scorecards could have gone either way, so no complaints with the draw.

Not sure Dennis needs to go through that again in his next fight, but with the European title on the line in 3 or 4 fights time, that would be interesting & worthwhile.

I think they just need to take it down a notch for a couple of fights and then see if McCann has learnt sufficiently to move on.

LOL at McCann being exposed, he could still have a successful career ahead of him.

[THEBUTCH]

Impressive 1st round blitzing from Nathaniel Collins over Raza Hamza

It must be a dream come true to defend your British & Commonwealth titles in lightening quick fashion like that

[veriton]

That turned out to be a very tough outing for young McCann. Scorecards could have gone either way, so no complaints with the draw.

Not sure Dennis needs to go through that again in his next fight, but with the European title on the line in 3 or 4 fights time, that would be interesting & worthwhile.

I think they just need to take it down a notch for a couple of fights and then see if McCann has learnt sufficiently to move on.

LOL at McCann being exposed, he could still have a successful career ahead of him.

No one hoping for a career at world level would have struggled so much against Baluta. Its the beginning of the end for McCann, people will gloss over it but we all saw the truth. Reminded me of Boy Jones Jnr

[THEBUTCH]

I'm sure McCann is a lot better than Boy Jones jnr.

Baluta was an acid test that McCann neither passed or failed.

Dennis might yet come unstuck or struggle again but at just 22 years old has plenty of time to improve.

I admit it looked touch & go on a number of occasions but on the plus side McCann didn't cave in and did his best to bite down. He now truly knows how hard this game can get after having a lot of things his own way previously.

[margaret thatcher]

i guess it depends what level you're expecting out of mccann, i agree it wasnt really a performance that makes you think 'ya this kids gonna be world class' , but he's young and if he can build on that a euro seems realistic. baluta's a tough guy to fight.

then again travellers can sputter out faster. we'll have to see. i would love to see a rematch over 12.

[TheLeprechaun]

I'm sure McCann is a lot better than Boy Jones jnr.

Baluta was an acid test that McCann neither passed or failed.

Dennis might yet come unstuck or struggle again but at just 22 years old has plenty of time to improve.

I admit it looked touch & go on a number of occasions but on the plus side McCann didn't cave in and did his best to bite down. He now truly knows how hard this game can get after having a lot of things his own way previously.

The test was failed. Baluta was actually robbed since they didn't give the 9th to him. Corruption at it's finest. McCann was a big underdog at the time of the finish. He wasn't winning that fight, and everyone understood that.

[margaret thatcher]

i did think baluta was winning but a number of people whose scores i respect had mccann a point ahead, it was clearly a very close fight regardless. but yes baluta not getting the last round was obviously BS, he was putting it on what looked like a spent mccann

[THEBUTCH]

If Baluta had got the decision few could have seriously contested it, but Dennis wasn't taken to the cleaners or lost his bottle.

Baluta is a real handful and McCann could come back stronger for the experience.

Personally, if I was McCann I'd give Baluta a wide berth for his next fight or two and allow himself to develop before trying to set the record straight. There's no need to ruin a talent at 22 years old. He's just not quite at the level that his management had hoped.

[handsofstone]

i did think baluta was winning but a number of people whose scores i respect had mccann a point ahead, it was clearly a very close fight regardless. but yes baluta not getting the last round was obviously BS, he was putting it on what looked like a spent mccann

Had McCann a point up myself but it was razor tight, seen a few people on Twitter including Tebbutt who had Baluta up

[veriton]

It was tight but no matter who was up, McCann was on the way down. He put everything into that performance and I'd argue failed the acid test. Its not as though we don't have another yardstick in Liam Davies plus McCann had sparred a 100 rounds with Baiuta so wasn't a mystery to him.

Final point: when have you ever seen FW look so worried at ringside? He was watching one of his hottest prospects in a life and death at the outer edge of fringe euro level.

[THEBUTCH]

W@rren didn't have to match McCann that tough just yet...they could have milked the prospect angle for a few more fights.

The amount of flack British promoters get when they keep feeding endless no-hopers to their prospects, but here they've stepped up at about the right time and the knives are out

I bet a lot of people completely wrote off Amir Khan when he got iced in a round by Breidis Prescott. I'd love to fail in such a way if going on to become a world champion is the end result !!

[Ruthless-RKO]

We’re never gonna get a rematch.

[D4v3]

This could be the sort of result where even though he didn’t look his best he’ll become a better fighter as a result

[Manchester Hitman]

I don’t think enough consideration has been given to the fact that McCann had been hampered by the headclash. He had blood streaming into his eyes and it also took some f the steam out of him.
Warren should steer well clear of the rematch though.

[Twinkle Toes]

Of course McCann will come again but he's not the red hot prospect that a lot of people where touting. Baluta is a handful, but he's been beaten by fighters than Mccann was already supposedly above in regards ability and skill. Baluta had 4 tough fights on the bounce before this and lost 2 of them. I feel old man Warren thought it was perfect timing for McCaan to go ina ganist him, and it would have been if he was the aforementioned red hot prospect.

[maverick23]

I don’t think enough consideration has been given to the fact that McCann had been hampered by the headclash. He had blood streaming into his eyes and it also took some f the steam out of him.
Warren should steer well clear of the rematch though.

Yeah - good point re: the cut. You wonder how much it would have taken out of him.

I’d be disappointed if they avoid the rematch. I think McCann could try and not get involved as much and also if he avoids the nasty cut he had here then that would of course help.

[magnus]

McCann has moved up in my estimation just by being so competitive with Baluta (I can nearly forgive my bet on the Romanian failing). It impressed me far more than wins over the likes of Ham.

Frank W has lots of fighters in the division - would like to see McCann against the likes of Cain or Bourke. Then rematch Baluta.

Over 12 next time please.

[handsofstone]

This could be the sort of result where even though he didn’t look his best he’ll become a better fighter as a result

Absolutely, might not be the new Naz but still a great learning fight for a young fighter

[maverick23]

McCann has moved up in my estimation just by being so competitive with Baluta (I can nearly forgive my bet on the Romanian failing). It impressed me far more than wins over the likes of Ham.

Frank W has lots of fighters in the division - would like to see McCann against the likes of Cain or Bourke. Then rematch Baluta.

Over 12 next time please.