BoxRec

Okay this may sound a weird topic but after reading some "claims" made by certain promoters and general hyping up which goes part and parcel with Boxing i invite you to debate the best and worst of Boxing's "hyperbole"

Some of it is funny or often just downright outrageous.

How can we forget Roman Greenberg being touted as the first "billion dollar heavyweight" ?!

Or after Lamon Brewster beat Klitschko one of his training team proclaimed he was the new Mike Tyson, destined to rule the division for years to come. He struggled desperately in his next bout with Kali Meehan and was ultimately dethroned by Sergei Liakhovich.

Or the laughable George Foreman speech before Axel Schulz's comeback against Brian Minto. Foreman appeared on a big screen and his words made me cringe, "they told me i was too old but i proved them wrong, you can win the world title and unify and they will be talking about you as the greatest fighter of all time" or words to that effect :) Followed by a nod and a wink...Schulz was demolished in 6 rounds.

You get the idea.

Judah - a Pernell Whitaker with devastating power
Khan - next Sugar Ray

How could i forget the daddy of this business....our Audley!! Where do we start with him?

'Bauer Events' calling Gary Sykes 'Yorkshire's Oscar De La Hoya'.

I'm sure it was promoter John Hyland who hilariously predicted the lumbering, china chinned Mathew Ellis would be the first billion dollar heavyweight wasn't it?

Then Barry Hearn said that his rotund cruiserweight Darren Corbett would be the first FIVE weight champ, moving DOWN though the weights.

Yes, it was Ellis who was to be the first billion dollar heavyweight. He even had his debut on ITV when there was virtually NO boxing outside of Sky. It remains for me the most outrageous claim ever made of a boxer, even before he was found out.

Will Mr maloneys prediction for Belshaw come back to haunt him in the future? Quite a bold one wasnt it?
"Will be as good as George Foreman" was that it?

Audley making his entrance to fight Rob Calloway.

Lights dim.

Beat kicks in.

Hip hop 'honeyz' start gyrating.

Queue white middle class middel aged Tim Westwood yelling "AUDLEY HARRISON! MAKE NOISE!"

"AUDLEY HARRISON! MAKE NOISE!"

Audley comes from behind the curtains-

"THE GREAT AUDLEY HARRISON!!!"

Or any number of Brendan Ingle quotes regarding his fighters, i.e.

'Naz will be a 5 weight world champ right up to middleweight', or better yet

'Pele Reid (in 1996) will be the man to beat Mike Tyson. He will go on and unify the world titles'

Ingle for me is the worst of all offenders he routinely spouts complete and over the top b#llocks.

And while it's true hyperbole to call Enzo taking on that hillbilly next time up a "WORLD ( cough cough ) TITLE FIGHT"....I remember being in South Wales, reading the Welsh press about Enzo at the start of his career, on the day of the Swaby fight in fact.

He was being touted as possibly the greatest fighter to be ever produced by Wales: a future heavyweight champ if I recall...then he was shockingly flattened by Swaby later that day.

Well he's turned into an excellent fighter, no doubt about that, and if it wasn't for the painfully cautious approach by SN we'd have a better idea how good he could really be.

I'd agree with those that say Matthew Ellis. Outrageous hype

There was a guy who turned pro with Brendan Ingle who was hyped out of all proportion before he'd even turned pro and then flopped badly on his debut with a draw in South Africa and then seemed to disappear.

Barry Hearn's prediction that Darren Corbett would win three world titles going down the weight divisions.

Sorry didn't see Warrior's post on Corbett

I remember 'The Ring' had an issue wit the headline 'Ande Ward: Boxings best prospect period', and inside was an article about the 3-0 Ward. Jumping the gun a bit there lads!

This article from Britishboxing.net could be hyperbole, because it's such high praise for a guy with one pro fight behind him (the next Miguel Cotto ) :-


Meanwhile Bannan has tipped Eamonn Goodbrand to take the Scottish boxing scene by storm after a winning professional debut at the end of January and has even hailed his pupil as the next Miguel Cotto.

“Eamonn will be a revelation because he doesn't fight like other guys,” said Bannan. “He's a hunter and when he gets in the ring he goes for the kill all the time. In my opinion Eamonn has the potential to become a world champion. He's the second coming of Miguel Cotto.”

Birkenshaw's Goodbrand, 18, took his paid bow against Rocky Muscus on Braveheart Promotions Burns Fight Night at the Glasgow Hilton hotel and certainly threw every punch with bad intentions as he battered the Greek-born Chertsey man with a series of hooks for six two-minute rounds.

Referee Kenny Pringle awarded Goodbrand a shutout 60-54 points decision, which prompted Barn Boxing Club chief Bannan to compare his protégée to the Puerto Rican two-weight world champion. As observed in BBN's report from the show, there was plenty of offence but perhaps some work required on the defence.

Goodbrand will initially campaign in the light-middleweight division and his next outing is on Glasgow-based manager Alex Morrison's dinner show at the Thistle Hotel on 16th March.

THEBUTCH wrote:I'd agree with those that say Matthew Ellis. Outrageous hype

There was a guy who turned pro with Brendan Ingle who was hyped out of all proportion before he'd even turned pro and then flopped badly on his debut with a draw in South Africa and then seemed to disappear.

Who was that guy?

I recall somehting about a super hot prospect signing the pro ranks and then making a bit of a meal of his first fight.

Im sure it was an asian kid.

Answered on another thread, Twinkle Toes.......Khalid Shafiq ! I was racking my memory for his name.

How about this for hyperbole. Scott Harrison KO's Samuel Kebede with the first semi-punches of the fight. When interviewed about the farce, and why Kebede was even approved, Maloney says, with a straight face "WELL, NO ONE CAN TAKE THE POWER OF SCOTT HARRISON."

Priceless.

eddie machen

viciousmaussa wrote:How about this for hyperbole. Scott Harrison KO's Samuel Kebede with the first semi-punches of the fight. When interviewed about the farce, and why Kebede was even approved, Maloney says, with a straight face "WELL, NO ONE CAN TAKE THE POWER OF SCOTT HARRISON."

Priceless.

I forgot about that one Did he really say that??