BoxRec

We have four fights coming up (4th one waiting to be confirmed) that will shape the division for the next year.

Parker v Fury, Joshua v Pulev, Wilder v Ortiz & Bellew v Haye.

The reason I added the latter fight is because if Haye wins, and looks spectacular in doing so, this will be an easy sell for Eddie to make against Joshua. Maybe not with the die hards on here but you know it would sell out anywhere in the UK.

But assuming AJ wins, who do you think he'll fight next? Ideally it would be the winner of Wilder v Ortiz but they might not want to make that fight until the summer so would he go for a Spring bout against the winner of Parker & Fury? If Parker wins I think he'll want a fight against AJ but if Fury wins I can see him making a few so-so defences. Or even fighting Bellew if Tony turns back Haye again.

Anyway, this is all just speculation & blokes talking about boxing

But how do you see things in your crystal ball?

My crystal ball tells me that Parker beats Fury quite convincingly. Either a late TKO with Hughie stopped on his feet or a fairly wide decision.

Think Pulev tries to box Joshua bit smarter than he did against Wlad in the hope of testing the gas tank but ultimately feels the need to start taking chances and winds up getting stopped around the 8th.

Always maintained that Wilder is shite so I should really be picking Ortiz but after the Cuban's last 2 performances I think that Wilder might edge out a decision. Possibly similar to the Stiverne fight stylistically but with a lot more hairy moments for Wilder.

Ortiz was AJ's WBA mandatory so that's dealt with now that he's gone for Wilder. That should give Joshua the chance to pick his own opponent if he fights next Spring. They'll definitely do the Whyte rematch as some point but think they might keep it back until after Joshua-Wilder next summer rather than cramming all of their "blockbuster fights" into 1 year.

As for Haye-Bellew 2, on paper you'd say Haye but I don't trust his body to hold up and more importantly, I'm not sure that he does. If that happens I think Bellew finds a way to win again. Should add though that last time I saw an interview with Haye he looked much leaner which I think suits him a lot more. Looked far too top heavy since his return which, in my completely uneducated opinion, can't have helped with his injuries.

Taansend wrote:We have four fights coming up (4th one waiting to be confirmed) that will shape the division for the next year.

Parker v Fury, Joshua v Pulev, Wilder v Ortiz & Bellew v Haye.

The reason I added the latter fight is because if Haye wins, and looks spectacular in doing so, this will be an easy sell for Eddie to make against Joshua. Maybe not with the die hards on here but you know it would sell out anywhere in the UK.

But assuming AJ wins, who do you think he'll fight next? Ideally it would be the winner of Wilder v Ortiz but they might not want to make that fight until the summer so would he go for a Spring bout against the winner of Parker & Fury? If Parker wins I think he'll want a fight against AJ but if Fury wins I can see him making a few so-so defences. Or even fighting Bellew if Tony turns back Haye again.

Anyway, this is all just speculation & blokes talking about boxing

But how do you see things in your crystal ball?

Fury beats Parker via points
AJ stops Pulev on his feet
Wilder beats Ortiz via points
Bellew stops Haye again

ElJefe wrote:My crystal ball tells me that Parker beats Fury quite convincingly. Either a late TKO with Hughie stopped on his feet or a fairly wide decision.

Think Pulev tries to box Joshua bit smarter than he did against Wlad in the hope of testing the gas tank but ultimately feels the need to start taking chances and winds up getting stopped around the 8th.

Always maintained that Wilder is shite so I should really be picking Ortiz but after the Cuban's last 2 performances I think that Wilder might edge out a decision. Possibly similar to the Stiverne fight stylistically but with a lot more hairy moments for Wilder.

Ortiz was AJ's WBA mandatory so that's dealt with now that he's gone for Wilder. That should give Joshua the chance to pick his own opponent if he fights next Spring. They'll definitely do the Whyte rematch as some point but think they might keep it back until after Joshua-Wilder next summer rather than cramming all of their "blockbuster fights" into 1 year.

As for Haye-Bellew 2, on paper you'd say Haye but I don't trust his body to hold up and more importantly, I'm not sure that he does. If that happens I think Bellew finds a way to win again. Should add though that last time I saw an interview with Haye he looked much leaner which I think suits him a lot more. Looked far too top heavy since his return which, in my completely uneducated opinion, can't have helped with his injuries.

I love this post. I disagree about Parker Fury but that's fair enough.

Everything else I am with you 92.57%

ElJefe makes some good points on what fights have already been matched up.
I believe the objective of the OP was also to predict matches after the ones that are already set up?
I think the winner of Fury Parker will face the winner of Bellew Haye. I'm not sure the winner of Ortiz Wilder will face AJ straight away. Maybe in time. Given what we have seen of Wilder, he might revert back to bums after he beats Ortiz and forfills his mandatory of the Breazeale Stiverne winner. I hope not. But he might rest on the shred of credibility he earns until he retires. He is pretty big about keeping his "0"
That's if he wins.
Personally I would like Parker to have a go at Miller or someone in the top 10 adding he gets through what I have listed above.
He's never going to put up much against AJ and it would be nice if he could keep his belt for 2 years tops. Earn a bit look like Wilder has done without resorting to bumfights of course

Wilder would have loved to fight AJ & Ortiz last year. He definitely won't hold up any big fights. He's as confident a fighter as I've ever met. If he wins those two fights it's an and wilder for all the marbles. 60/40 aj for me but either guy could get stopped a minute in.