BoxRec

Amir Khans Undercard seems to be a bit static at the moment, especially as it is just over a week away. The two main fights look good, and there are these three brothers, who will no doubt meet three tomato cans- but that still leaves 6 decent fighters without named opponents. I wonder if we will see some late fly-ins.

I hope not, to be honest. The last 2 flyin ins have been poor ( Torres and MacKillop ) , but at just over a weeks notice, are there any domestic fighters who will be able to provide more than a one side 60-54? I try to show enthusiasm, but its hard to sometimes for these type of fights.

Whats the tale of the fighting sullivans? I've not heard of them.

I doubt they will lose, I'm sure they can find some guys to give them a "work out" . cough cough.

Terry D wrote:

whicker wrote: They are unlikely to lose, it would be mad if they did, would you get odds on it?

Possible, but I don't think bookmakers offer odds on undercard fights, for reasons that are pretty obvious!

I hope Khan wins by stoppage and continues apace.

Terry D wrote:

observer1 wrote:

I hope Khan wins by stoppage and continues apace.

We agree on something then

first for everything :P

Well, we have one! Derry Matthews, the 19 win, 0 defeat WBU "world" Champion is fighting.... Nikoloz Berkatsashvili ... A Georgian who turned pro last year, with 2 defeats, 1 by stopage and 0 wins.

Ok, no-one is expecting Matthews to lose- this is just a warm up- but even so- whats the effing point? Surely this Georgian will do nothing more than guard for a round of two, before being stopped.

Derry Mathews opponent is not 0-2 as you say but 14-2 (5ko's)

Boxrec Details below

boxer: Nikoloz Berkatsashvili
Global ID 356788
sex male
birth date 1985-12-07
age 22

division featherweight
rating 142 / 885
nationality Georgia

won 14 (KO 5) + lost 2 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 16

lsg wrote:Derry Mathews opponent is not 0-2 as you say but 14-2 (5ko's)

Boxrec Details below

boxer: Nikoloz Berkatsashvili
Global ID 356788
sex male
birth date 1985-12-07
age 22

division featherweight
rating 142 / 885
nationality Georgia

won 14 (KO 5) + lost 2 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 16

Is the WBU title on the line?

In which case, I stand corrected! I was going off British Boxing, although I think I check boxrec too- maybe they updated just really recently, with his Georgia fights.

No worries, anyway- standing corrected!

Should be a decent, fight then. He actually has " World " title experience, having fought a Mongolian named Choi, in Oldham for the WBF title.

No , the WBU title is not at stake. Although should Mathews lose the title would be declared vacant. The fight is an 8 rounder, Mathews using it as a warm up to a title defense in mid April

lsg wrote:No , the WBU title is not at stake. Although should Mathews lose the title would be declared vacant.

So, as far as Matthews is concerned, it is a title fight- kinda. If he loses, his loses his belt.

Also, there doesn't seem to be many odds on this even offered- other than a queer 1/10 on betfair for Khan, there are not odds at all for his fight.

They have Jennings 1/7 to beat Minter, who is 4/1 . Thats not very appealling, to be honest- although I wouldn't think Minter as such an outsider.

Terry D wrote:

whicker wrote:Whats the tale of the fighting sullivans? I've not heard of them.

I doubt they will lose, I'm sure they can find some guys to give them a "work out" . cough cough.

Top film I watched as a kid that stuck with me based, I think, on a real US family with 5-6 sons who all joined the navy on the same day but were put on the same boat and all killed at the same time. It brought in a new law stating brothers must be split-up. Sorry to go off tangent though.

They are unlikely to lose, it would be mad if they did, would you get odds on it?

Its the same with the Royals, Charles and Wills can never travel together.

Horse wrote:

lsg wrote:Derry Mathews opponent is not 0-2 as you say but 14-2 (5ko's)

Boxrec Details below

boxer: Nikoloz Berkatsashvili
Global ID 356788
sex male
birth date 1985-12-07
age 22

division featherweight
rating 142 / 885
nationality Georgia

won 14 (KO 5) + lost 2 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 16

Is the WBU title on the line?

Do you mean that plastic belt with the tin buckle (not real tin of course, its too valuable) Just think you could win the WBU world title and then move on to bigger things like a UK area championship!!!

I didn't realise that if WBU champions lost non-title fights they would be stripped. The pressure must be unbearable. It would mean Frank having to go down the fishing tackle and sanctioning shop all over again and have Derry fight for the vacant title.

Anyway, Matthews is #1 with the WBO. Once Terdsak gets taken out of the rankings after fighting Luevano, there'll be the totally original prospect of Matthews having a WBO eliminator against Marcos Ramirez.

Well, its up!

Nicky Cook has got a 39 year old bulgarian, looks a bit dodgy, expect a "confidence boosting" 2nd or 3rd round stoppage.

The rest looks pretty typical undercard fare- James Tucker is possibly going to cause the most minor of upsets against Tommy Saunders, Tucker looked decent enough when I saw him recently.

WildWaylon wrote:

Horse wrote:

lsg wrote:Derry Mathews opponent is not 0-2 as you say but 14-2 (5ko's)

Boxrec Details below

boxer: Nikoloz Berkatsashvili
Global ID 356788
sex male
birth date 1985-12-07
age 22

division featherweight
rating 142 / 885
nationality Georgia

won 14 (KO 5) + lost 2 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 16

Is the WBU title on the line?

Do you mean that plastic belt with the tin buckle (not real tin of course, its too valuable) Just think you could win the WBU world title and then move on to bigger things like a UK area championship!!!

Or .........

You could win a Junior Olympic Gold Medal, win the ABA Title in your first year as a senior, build up an impressive undefeated pro record, graduate to be English Champion by stoppage victory, claim the WBU Title by winning practically every round against an undefeated champion and follow this up by defeating the reigning British Champion in your first defense of the title. You could then win the boxing writer's Young Boxer of the year award and move up the rankings of two of the big 4 sanctioning bodies and aim towards a title shot late in 2008/9.

It's just a thought Wildwaylon... but hey , I'm sure you're right and Mathews hasn't done a tap since he first laced up the gloves as a kid.

WildWaylon wrote:

Horse wrote:

lsg wrote:Derry Mathews opponent is not 0-2 as you say but 14-2 (5ko's)

Boxrec Details below

boxer: Nikoloz Berkatsashvili
Global ID 356788
sex male
birth date 1985-12-07
age 22

division featherweight
rating 142 / 885
nationality Georgia

won 14 (KO 5) + lost 2 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 16

Is the WBU title on the line?

Do you mean that plastic belt with the tin buckle (not real tin of course, its too valuable) Just think you could win the WBU world title and then move on to bigger things like a UK area championship!!!

Or .........

You could win a Junior Olympic Gold Medal, win the ABA Title in your first year as a senior, build up an impressive undefeated pro record, graduate to be English Champion by stoppage victory, claim the WBU Title by winning practically every round against an undefeated champion and follow this up by defeating the reigning British Champion in your first defense of the title. You could then win the boxing writer's Young Boxer of the year award and move up the rankings of two of the big 4 sanctioning bodies and aim towards a title shot late in 2008/9.

It's just a thought Wildwaylon... but hey , I'm sure you're right and Mathews hasn't done a tap since he first laced up the gloves as a kid.

WildWaylon wrote:

Horse wrote:

lsg wrote:Derry Mathews opponent is not 0-2 as you say but 14-2 (5ko's)

Boxrec Details below

boxer: Nikoloz Berkatsashvili
Global ID 356788
sex male
birth date 1985-12-07
age 22

division featherweight
rating 142 / 885
nationality Georgia

won 14 (KO 5) + lost 2 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 16

Is the WBU title on the line?

Do you mean that plastic belt with the tin buckle (not real tin of course, its too valuable) Just think you could win the WBU world title and then move on to bigger things like a UK area championship!!!

Or .........

You could win a Junior Olympic Gold Medal, win the ABA Title in your first year as a senior, build up an impressive undefeated pro record, graduate to be English Champion by stoppage victory, claim the WBU Title by winning practically every round against an undefeated champion and follow this up by defeating the reigning British Champion in your first defense of the title. You could then win the boxing writer's Young Boxer of the year award and move up the rankings of two of the big 4 sanctioning bodies and aim towards a title shot late in 2008/9.

It's just a thought Wildwaylon... but hey , I'm sure you're right and Mathews hasn't done a tap since he first laced up the gloves as a kid.

I think in fairness to Waylon he was questioning the credibility of the WBU rather than the abilities of Matthews

steve689 wrote:I think in fairness to Waylon he was questioning the credibility of the WBU rather than the abilities of Matthews

Sure Steve, I accept that the comment is sarcastic but it suggests that Derry hasn't done sh*t and to say he should graduate to a Central Area title reads a little harsh to me.

Waylon has a downer on Derry anyway. Don't worry though, it doesn't bother the kid. I showed him all the "Dirty Derry" stuff from this forum and his response for his next fight against Matthew Marsh was to have the word "DIRTY" accross his waistband instead of "DERRY". Those of you who caught the fight on Setanta would have noticed I'm sure. It was a tounge in cheek gesture of course and not a mission statement and it raised a few chuckles among the press contingent.

To me it wasn't a criticism of Derry Matthews, rather it was a piss take of the WBU.

Matthews is a quality boxer, but in a way the "WBU" world champion tag is a hindrance, rather than a boon.

Derrys an excellent boxer, been very impressed with him especially in the Foster Jr fight (I wasn't expecting that result), but why doesn't he target real belts such as British, Commonwealth, Euro.... instead of these fake world titles. Thats not a dig at Dirtys boxing skills, just his boxing careerpath.....so far (still along way to go)

Chambers2 wrote:Derrys an excellent boxer, been very impressed with him especially in the Foster Jr fight (I wasn't expecting that result), but why doesn't he target real belts such as British, Commonwealth, Euro.... instead of these fake world titles. Thats not a dig at Dirtys boxing skills, just his boxing careerpath.....so far (still along way to go)

I'd say it's more down to his promoters and matchmakers rather than himself. I'm sure Derry would love the traditional route like any boxer with an interest in the history of boxing, but he is going to take whatever is offered and if he's told he's fighting for the WBU title he isn't going to kick up a fuss and reject it. It's a decent payday and it's a fight that keeps him active after all. Some struggle to even get a fight these days.

I don't really think you can put massive pressure on the no. 1 promoter in the country unless you are his goldpot.

As for Derry Matthews talent wise, i'm backing him all the way, he is excellent and probably the best talent to come out of Liverpool in the past few years. I'm looking forward to seeing him and Paul Smith at the Echo Arena.

Neri wrote:

Chambers2 wrote:Derrys an excellent boxer, been very impressed with him especially in the Foster Jr fight (I wasn't expecting that result), but why doesn't he target real belts such as British, Commonwealth, Euro.... instead of these fake world titles. Thats not a dig at Dirtys boxing skills, just his boxing careerpath.....so far (still along way to go)

I'd say it's more down to his promoters and matchmakers rather than himself. I'm sure Derry would love the traditional route like any boxer with an interest in the history of boxing, but he is going to take whatever is offered and if he's told he's fighting for the WBU title he isn't going to kick up a fuss and reject it. It's a decent payday and it's a fight that keeps him active after all. Some struggle to even get a fight these days.

I don't really think you can put massive pressure on the no. 1 promoter in the country unless you are his goldpot.

As for Derry Matthews talent wise, i'm backing him all the way, he is excellent and probably the best talent to come out of Liverpool in the past few years. I'm looking forward to seeing him and Paul Smith at the Echo Arena.

I agree that its probably more the promoters fault than Dirtys, but surely he has some say-so in his careerpath. I expect he earns more money for defending the WBU title than he does for fighting to move himself up the British/European rankings (which is annoying!)

Chambers2 wrote:Derrys an excellent boxer, been very impressed with him especially in the Foster Jr fight (I wasn't expecting that result), but why doesn't he target real belts such as British, Commonwealth, Euro.... instead of these fake world titles. Thats not a dig at Dirtys boxing skills, just his boxing careerpath.....so far (still along way to go)

I know what your'e saying Chambers mate but sometimes you have to take the opportunities as they arise, it's a short career and you can't afford to sit on the shelf for any length of time. He started with the English Title and then wanted to challenge Andy Morris for the British. The Board made Simpson the mandatory so he would have had to wait in line. Derry agreed to defend the English against Rendal Munroe but whilst preparing for that fight , the fight between Foster and Morris fell apart and Derry was asked if he would step in against Foster.
If you were his manager, would you take the fight with Munroe for the English and then sit around for 6-12 months waiting to be made mandatory challenger for the British ....... or ....... take the fight with foster for 3 x the money in a support to Calzaghe v Bika shown on
ITV1 ????

If Derry had been mandatory for Morris , he would have took that instead.

Morris elected to pull out of the Foster fight and defended against Simpson (and lost). Derry stepped in and beat Foster and then beat Simpson. Incidentally , Simpson's people only took the fight with Mathews after clarification that the British Title would not be at stake.

Meantime, WBO No4 and IBF No 9 so possibilities of progressing to bigger things in next 12-18 months are genuine, but the prospect of giving up the belt to get in line with the others ,no matter how noble the purist may view it to be, is not on the agenda.

Cheers mate