BoxRec

Take a look at Julius' recent record. Apart from the two-round loss to Oleg Maskaev in Russia last year (Maskaev once knocked out Hasim Rahman and sent him clean through the ropes in the process), Julius has gone the distance with some good men, one or two in 12-rounders. Skelton has never been beyond six rounds as a pro and blew out a fat Rumanian last time out in one round in Germany, hardly ideal preparation for an opponent well capable of dragging him into the later stages.

Only if he falls on Skelton.

more seriously, I have seen accusations of a poor chin re. Skelton - combine that with the low guard he carries and you have a recipe for disaster.

Having said that Julius has never been the most powerful of fighters!

I don't see much in Skelton's future to be honest and with Francis being one of the few fighters out there that I actively dislike - I'll be rooting once more for the classic (yet to arrive I might add) double first round KO.

Yes I think he has, I think a lot depends on his conditioning and his desire, in his day he was a decent enough fighter, and Skelton as yet has proven nothing except that he can punch.

I would be surprised to see Francis pull it out - he seems to have settled into that losing frame of mind. He is up against a very big man who throws a high volume of shots.
It just depends whether Julius has any domestic ambitions left, I would say not.

Having said that I was convinced Pele Ried was gonna decapitate him all the way down from Brum on the coach to the York Hall so...

I think I said on another post it all depends on the condition Francis comes in. The 2 fighters have had plenty of time to train as the fight was confirmed a good while ago. I wanna see Francis beat Skelton, being an Audley Harrison fan I absolutely despise allegedly and all his fighters. Harrison pleaded with Warren to let Skelton fight him unfotunately the politics have ruined it again. If you put Harrison in with either of these 2 boxers only one thing would happen they would be knocked spark out by the A-Force.

yep that was me, I said

"I feel you are all missing out on one major point at the moment.

Francis has been given time to train properly for this fights where as his recent jaunts into Europe have really only been on about a weeks notice.

Now if Francis is still dedicated he will have time to get himself into shape. So we will see how much dedication he has left in the game, or if he is just there for the money.

I am not saying Francis will win, but if he turns up in shape and that is an if then it could be interesting.

Talk about sitting in the fence, I could be a politican"

Just spoken to Skelton on the phone. Wanted to find out how his sparring went with Danny Williams (the two were said to have been sparring in recent weeks). He says he hasn't even sparred Danny for this fight, and sounded very focussed.
As for Williams-Sprott, he says: "it's all on the night."

Bear in mind that if Julius wins this one, he could put himself in position for one big payday. And yes, he hasn't had any time to prepare for his other recent bouts, he's surely going to come in in good shape.

He's close to retirement, but he could squeeze one last good payday out of his career, and he's faced better men than Skelton

Definately, I think if he wins, a Harrison bout would be inevitable if Harrison is looking to come and polish off the domestic scene. Harrison said that Julius was being lined up for his first fight of 2004 but then when Francis lost to Maskaev that fight looked less likely. If Francis comes in in really good shape and beats Skelton then the fight would have to be made for me. Both are willing to fight on the BBC and both are self managed and looking for good exposure. I'm sure Harrison could offer a decent purse as well.

Lets get real here a minute. we are talking about Julius Francis here, its been years since hes show any desire to win in a fight.

He match against sam, which would have set up more paydays, he showed his will to win, by being put down by a half-hearted body punch. that was a pathetic scene. He has no will to win, he will not be able to deal with the sheer volume or power of punches that Skelton will throw at him.

Skelton will finish the ponderous and uninterested Francis inside of 3 rounds.

You never know, especialy with heavyweights. A focused Francis could well plant one on Skelton's unprotected chin. Julius' recent losses have mostly been abroad.
Looking back at his career, he seems to lift himself when it's domestic opposition, as if it gets more personal.
If he's up for it he's got a real chance, but it's hard to know how much ambition the guys got left.

I am hoping Francis has got one more Steffen Nielson type result in him and I don't think it is 100% out of the question. If he can test Skeltons chin who knows what will happen. Skeltons defence doesn't look the geatest either, but after saying all that I think Skelton will stop him

Come on Julius one last hurrah

Skelton is very open,raw and scrappy so if Julius can get himself in shape,focussed and fight how he did against Williams in the first fight and against Pele Reid he could pull this off..

However it is more likely that Skeltons power will be the telling factor and i expect Skelton to stop him around the 4-6 rounds.

Would love to see Francis pull this off though.

HH

From secondsout:

Francis: “I’m really looking forward to it, that night is going to be great fun. It will be hilarious to see the looks on the faces of all those people who say I’m too old while Skelton’s this and that when I knock him out. As long as I do my homework this is an easy fight for me. I can’t wait.....

I give him credit for stepping up. As I said when the fight was signed, I’ve been there, I’ve seen it and I’ve done it all. Skelton, at the end of the day, hasn’t done anything in this sport. People say he’s this hard-hitter but he’s not stopped anyone who didn’t want to get out of the fight. And whether he can punch or not is immaterial anywayl: the important question is whether he can take one back because he’s going to get hit for the first time in his boxing career.

“No-one’s hit him back, no-one’s gone forward against him, no-one’s put pressure on him – but all those things will happen to Matt Skelton in two weeks’ time.”

Skelton destroys Francis in 4 for me. Francis had his chances early against Sam but looked ponderous and unfit, eventually caving in mid fight. Skelton will be out to make a statement and i think his ferocity and intense style will prove to much for the old Francis. Saying that i hope Skelton is a little more reserved than he was against Costa Marin as he rushed a little and showed his inexperience. If he treats Francis with respect and holds off and picks his punches like he did with Draskovic then there can only be on winner here for me.

So is Julius going to be abandoning his usual style then?

Unless he feels all he has to do is rock Skelton once and the fight is as good as over, like against Pele Reid.

Don't be surprised if Julius boxes his ears off.

mrbassie wrote:Don't be surprised if Julius boxes his ears off.

I think Skelton will KO him in 6.

maybe he will, neither outcome would surprise me. Francis is ancient and Skelton is talentless

I wouldn't be overly shocked if Francis wins. He will certainly tells us more about Skelton than all of his previous opponents put together. If Skelton hands even a 39 year old Francis a quick beating, then we know we have a real talent here.

Francis has lost many fights on the trott, but these have been against good europeans (most ranked higher than Danny Williams). If Francis loses to Skelton, which I suspect he will, it will truly be all over and I hope he will retire.

I'm expecting Skelton to take him out within 3 rounds.....if Julius' heart is really in this fight and he manages to frustrate Skelton and keep it past 5 rounds then things could get interesting but I'd be surprised if Skelton got beat.

Matt skelton will KO Francis inside 6.
I was speaking to one of his sparring partners and they said they'd NEVER been hit so hard.This guy was no 'bum',either.Francis had his Tyson payday yesteryear and full respect to him.It will be very interesting to see how far Skelton can go,and to those who say he can't box dont know they're stuff.For a genuinely big guy he can move and box well AND have no doubts about his punch.Lets hope he can get in the ring with Audrey !

It's a tough call. I reckon Francis will know how to survive the first few rounds whatever Mat can throw at him even if he wins nothing.

What will Skelton do when he doesn't have the energy to bounce around throwing bombs? Will he know how to clinch, survive and work on the inside?

Skelton early or Francis late. Oleg, Tyson & Vitali are the only fighters to have blasted him out early and Skelton hardly compares to them. I'm leaning towards Francis.

Does anyone have evidence of Skelton being chinless? (or has that rumour come about because the bottom of his head ends at his lower lip )
Just joking, just joking.

Incidentally Francis said after the Sam fight that he had damaged his ribs in a car crash a week or 2 before the fight. Benefit of the doubt on that one?

If an 18 stone man hits you or anyone clean on the chin your gone.We all know either man CAN win but lets stick money on one or the other !
Anyone can spread rumours - try basing your arguments on things youve seen.Read 'looking for a fight' for step-by-step instructions on how to be a real boxer !!!

I'd love someone to dig up the thread where alot of people were raving on about Skelton. Quite a few rated him but now it seems alot have changed their opinion on him.

Skelton KO 3