BoxRec

Frankie Gavin will face former Mathew Hatton conqueror Chris Van Heerden for Van Heerdens IBF International title at the Barclay Card arena Brimingham on May 9th.

Not a bad fight.

Chris is game enough, throws lots of punches and is strong - but not so sure he is any sort of puncher though.

Frankie won't have it all his own way, and he will have to work hard - but I forecast a points win for him.

I see Frankie being out worked in this one. Bold match making.

seanilius wrote:I see Frankie being out worked in this one. Bold match making.

I think bold is a bit far personally, its a decent fight but one I think Frankie will win quite handily.

If Matchroom want him headline an arena and fighting Brooke in the summer (obviously the plan) then this type of fight is not bold at all its minimum requirement.

Not the level of opponent i was expecting given the hype on twitter.

Still not sure about Gavin and i don't think this fight can tell us anything unless he gets beat. It might sound negative but it's more that Van Heerden is not better than Bundu and possibly around the same level as Skeete & Vassell.

I'm not a huge fan of Gavin but I he takes this, Van Heerden hasn't looked great lately iirc

Lower level fight than Bundu for me.

A shot Matthew Hatton went toe to toe with Van Heerden and won at least 4 or 5 rounds for me (2 of the judges gave him 4 rounds)

Van Heerden has two close split decisions against nobodies in his last two.

How is this a huge fight?

Wow after all the English hype on Gavin he's really disappointed so far. Superb amateur, not so good as a pro. I've never seen anything in any of his fights to match up to the hype he had. Hope I'm wrong but he won't break world level, IMO he will be lucky to win this.

Tomasino wrote:Wow after all the English hype on Gavin he's really disappointed so far. Superb amateur, not so good as a pro. I've never seen anything in any of his fights to match up to the hype he had. Hope I'm wrong but he won't break world level, IMO he will be lucky to win this.

I was one of those who really thought he could go all the way to being a genuine world champ but i can't disagree with what you say about the hype and what has happened so far but i do disagree that he'll be lucky to win this.

Chris Van Heerden is nowhere near world level and he would probably struggle to make the top 5 welterweights in the UK so Gavin should win this. On what we've seen so far, it's hard to see which of the top 10 welterweights he would beat at this point in his career.

I can't even disagree and I've been one of Frankie's biggest supporters on here. Apart from the Vassell fight, which I went to, he's not looked even motivated in fights. Also, despite his claims to the contrary, I'm convinced he could do 10st. If he fights Brook, he's going to me massively outweighed and out muscled. If Sky and an arena in Brum don't bring out the best in him, nothing will.

Never seen Van Heerden but he does have some good wins on his record, notably Kaiser Mabuza and Bongani Mwelase.

I'd say Gavin outboxes him but I agree Gavin is definitely missing something when he steps up a level. He just looks so soft in the body too; I know people have different bodytypes but I can't recall ever seeing a welterweight look so soft and without muscle definition. I know it's a fight not a body building contest but he does not look well conditioned and as mentioned surely would be better off at 10st.

freddydoesdallas wrote:

Tomasino wrote:Wow after all the English hype on Gavin he's really disappointed so far. Superb amateur, not so good as a pro. I've never seen anything in any of his fights to match up to the hype he had. Hope I'm wrong but he won't break world level, IMO he will be lucky to win this.

I was one of those who really thought he could go all the way to being a genuine world champ but i can't disagree with what you say about the hype and what has happened so far but i do disagree that he'll be lucky to win this.

Chris Van Heerden is nowhere near world level and he would probably struggle to make the top 5 welterweights in the UK so Gavin should win this. On what we've seen so far, it's hard to see which of the top 10 welterweights he would beat at this point in his career.

I totally wanted to believe in him and thought it was maybe the hype that put me off, but I had Curtis beating him (narrowly) and he wasn't at the races against Bundu, he showed real heart and grit though. So many excuses for his poor performances. He seems to fight and train to his opponents level, which has not stood him in good stead overall. I get the impression he felt he was the finished article as soon as he turned pro and has therefore stagnated since then.

I wish any young boxer all the best in their career as it's a hard game but got to be honest.

He seems a great really good bloke but his heart doesn't look to be in it; it's like he's been in the same job for 20 years and is turning up in body but not mind.

A big yawn from me! please step up Ffs Gavin!

mickey1975 wrote:I can't even disagree and I've been one of Frankie's biggest supporters on here. Apart from the Vassell fight, which I went to, he's not looked even motivated in fights. Also, despite his claims to the contrary, I'm convinced he could do 10st. If he fights Brook, he's going to me massively outweighed and out muscled. If Sky and an arena in Brum don't bring out the best in him, nothing will.

Good post Mickey, like the honesty, you have been a supporter of him since I remember. He's defo better than he's shown and against Denton he was good. 10st easy.

For his second fight under a new promotional banner, and headlining in front of his home fans it's a fine opponent


Gosh most of you like a good whinge

powderPuff wrote:For his second fight under a new promotional banner, and headlining in front of his home fans it's a fine opponent


Gosh most of you like a good whinge

he's not a good opponent for headlining an arena

Yes he is

Why not?

After the Skeete fight and all the rubbish about 'levels' beforehand, I'm inclined to forget about this.

Great fight for Gavin I think,and not one that's a certain win,Van Heerden was good against Hatton and I don't think he'll care too much about fighting away from home

powderPuff wrote:For his second fight under a new promotional banner, and headlining in front of his home fans it's a fine opponent


Gosh most of you like a good whinge

Why does it matter that he's got a new promoter? That doesn't have any effect on matchmaking, I don't think it's a particularly bad fight but it isn't really enough to be headlining a big arena live on Sky and I can't see how having a new promoter is a way to defend it.

powderPuff wrote:Yes he is

Why not?

He's not a recognised name and his best win is Matthew hatton a few years back in a fight that's best remembered for the fella singing 'eye of the tiger'!

I would be very impressed if 10k tickets get shifted for this

powderPuff wrote:For his second fight under a new promotional banner, and headlining in front of his home fans it's a fine opponent


Gosh most of you like a good whinge

that describes most of us to be honest.

expe wrote:

powderPuff wrote:For his second fight under a new promotional banner, and headlining in front of his home fans it's a fine opponent


Gosh most of you like a good whinge

Why does it matter that he's got a new promoter? That doesn't have any effect on matchmaking, I don't think it's a particularly bad fight but it isn't really enough to be headlining a big arena live on Sky and I can't see how having a new promoter is a way to defend it.

Fair point. If deontay wilder signed with Eddie Hearn it wouldn't justify a defence against John McDermott

Warren he done a good job with Gavin and Hearn has picked him up at a high level, he doesn't need to slide back though that Van Heerden looked plenty strong and capable v Matthew Hatton.