BoxRec

I watched Friday Night Fights on ESPN last week and noted that relatively new pro fighters, of whom a great deal is expected, were matched fairly aggressively.

The cuban defecter Yudel Hohnson, who won a silver at the 2004 Olympics was in his 7th pro fight and he was fighting 10 rounds against a tough opponent called Ramos. Ramos had 16 wins against 3 defeats (13 KO`s. One of these losses was a against kermit cintron (TKO 5th round)

I`m not saying that Ramos was that good, but he was tough as old boots and came to fight. I doubt any of our prospects would be in agaiants a fighter like that in their 7th fight.

This Cuban looked very good, knew how to pace as fight, looked in control and will surely benefit from these hard fights when he steps up another level.

The undercard showed two unbeaten prospects, one Peurto Rican with 13 wins (13 KO`s) and he was given a masterrclass by an american guy who had won all 11 of his fights. I just feel that our guys would benefit more in the long run if they were matched a bit tougher, ijnstead of east european journeymen that fall over after as single body shot.

George Groves hasn't been matched easily so far, but you could argue the Olympians have been in comparison....

Its not so much easy, its more a case of unstructured. And occasionally common sense seems to go out the window. The aim of the promoter is to make as much money as possible obviously. The aim of the spectator is to watch a good nights boxing. These things don't seem to go hand in hand unfortunately. Every promoter just trying to lengthen that W-L as much as possible.

I liked the way Micheal Brodie was matched. His matches made sense- but unfortunately he stayed at Euro level for perhaps a little too long.

Groves-Haye have both being matched well.

I just think that some promoters need to change their protocol. I think the prizefighter is helping actually. People are realising that a loss isn't the end of the world. Which seems to be the main problem.

Calzaghe was a wonderful exhibit of skillfully timed match making- but look where thats got him. He'll never universally recieve the credit he deserves.

Very good post....

Captain Hook wrote:Very good post....

Thanks

I think so, yes. The Olympians, for example, have spent years as amateurs fighting leagues above where they are now. Fighting bums can only cause their skills to deteriorate.

I wouldn`t call them bums, cos anyone who has the balls to get in the ring, especially when they know they are onto a hiding, gets my respect. However I fully agree that the level they fought at in the amateurs was way higher than the class of opponent we are seeing them in with at the moment.

Fair enough, the pro game is a different kettle of fish, which is exactly why blasting out overmatched opponents will get them noweher long term. They will get sloppy in defence, as they are never forced to defend, they will get over cocky about their power and they don`t learn the skills needed when the going gets tough.

I agree that what we as fans want comes second to what the promoter wants (ie: to make as much money as he can for his fighter through as little risk as possible).

Most shows are like going to the circus to watch a tight rope walker-

only to find he's performing five feet off the ground, with a net. And in some cases a hand rail.

Warren fighters especially.

I was at the Mitchell-Katsidis fight at Upton Park and every single fight I saw was a mismatch that ended in a KO (including the main event, although I don't think Fwank or many of us predicted that to be the case.)

I thought it was all pretty poor actually. I was excited to see the Olympians at first but I realised pretty quick that I was just going to see them beat up some poor dudes fed to them to pad out their records.

It seems Warren prospects have a lot of fights against lower level opposition to build experience and an impressive record before they get put in with anyone dangerous. I mean, it works: Calzaghe and Hatton both did very well out of it. Maccarinelli did OK and got the WBO before everything went to sh*t for him.

Franks got the money, the backing from Sky and the 'good relationship' with the WBO, to build a fighter slowly. If you're not with Warren, then you have to work harder. The non Warren boxing 'stars' we have at the moment (Froch, Haye) have got to a certain level in their career by having far fewer but harder fights than they would have done under Warren.

On a whole I would say yes although I must say recently the prospets as the Olympians are facing some decent competition.. Im not just saying it BUT I do feel Frankie Gavin has been matched brilliantly but by no means easily.. He's learn't in every fight I'd say..imo

Matches with Saville,McDonugh and Tait were good matches on paper and also the french kid!! He was a good fight on paper.. Frankie is just progressing so fast it's unreal...

clopixolacuphase wrote:Franks got the money, the backing from Sky and the 'good relationship' with the WBO, to build a fighter slowly. If you're not with Warren, then you have to work harder. The non Warren boxing 'stars' we have at the moment (Froch, Haye) have got to a certain level in their career by having far fewer but harder fights than they would have done under Warren.

Definitely

I've mentioned something similar in the George Groves thread.

I've got a feeling DeGale could be the one who pays the price on the whole.

Terrrrry wrote:

clopixolacuphase wrote:Franks got the money, the backing from Sky and the 'good relationship' with the WBO, to build a fighter slowly. If you're not with Warren, then you have to work harder. The non Warren boxing 'stars' we have at the moment (Froch, Haye) have got to a certain level in their career by having far fewer but harder fights than they would have done under Warren.

Definitely

I've mentioned something similar in the George Groves thread.

I've got a feeling DeGale could be the one who pays the price on the whole.

I think you're probably right, unfortunately. DeGale seemed to spend too long d*cking about with his opponent that night when he should've got him out of there earlier. He was clearly a lot better. The guy was a bus driver or something, right? If you have too many easy fights you get cocky. DeGale's already got detractors who think that's a trait of his already. It would be a shame.

Oh yeah, he needs to sort out his bright pink shorts. I mean, I'm not homophobic or anything but, come on mate!

The guy was a bus driver

That answers the question.

Generally I don't think we have the talent in Europe as a whole in terms of gatekeepers or with the gyms themselves. Some of the gatekeepers in the US/Mexican have tricks our fighters haven't come across because the boxing gyms have better trainers and there's better sparring to be had. Match making is quite soft, but it reflects the talent we have, if the matchmaking was harder, they'd just lose more and the stardom bubble would be burst

Frankie Gavin aside, over the last 20years boxers technical skills in Britain have eroded pretty badly (Lennox/Eubank were Canadian/American taught). Just compare the skill level of a Buchannon and a Ricky Hatton, polls apart. Look at the improvement in Khan since moving to the Wild Card.