British Boxing

In my opinion, on of the worst things about modern day boxing, other than things such as corrupt officials, is that in many weight divisions the best simply won’t fight the best. There are a few examples where we have seen the best fight the best in recent times, such as the Golovkin Canelo fights and even Wilder Fury, however both have been ruined by corrupt officials! In this piece, I will look at the reasons why we aren’t seeing these fights, and I will be referring to the heavyweight division as my talking point.

TV Deals

When one fighter signs a deal with one broadcasting company, and another has a separate deal with another broadcasting company, it makes it very hard for fights to be made between these two. The best example of this in the heavyweight division would be Tyson Fury. Fury was pretty much nailed on to have a rematch with Deontay Wilder, before he decided to sign a deal with Bob Arum, which meant he now fights on ESPN in America and BT in the UK with Frank Warren. The WBC reported that Wilder was willing to take the rematch, however Fury wanted to take a separate bout before the rematch, despite the fact only weeks before on a IFLTV interview Wilder was definitely going to be his next opponent. I’m a big Fury fan, but it seems here he has chosen the option of a big pay day on ESPN, rather than keeping his options open and making it easier for the big fights to be made. A rematch with Wilder looks hard to make, with Wilders loyalties to Showtime, and bring in Joshua to this and his role with DAZN, it all makes for bad news for boxing fans. Hopefully the teams of the fighters can come to some solution where all TV companies win, and we can just see the fights we want too see.

Promoters

Promoters. Most promoters in the boxing world have bigger ego’s than the boxers! The biggest obstacle when it comes to making in what is in my eyes the biggest fight to be made in world boxing, Joshua V Wilder, is promoters. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn and Wilders promoter’s Al Haymon and Shelly Finkel have a know dislike for each other, due to there back and forth exchanges through different interviews and also on social media. Hearn claims that Wilder’s team won’t even talk to him about the fight, and that they won’t even negotiate the fight. I hope that the two teams can come to some sort of understanding and realise how big this fight is and how essential it is that it is made sooner rather than later. Also, it would make a heck of a lot of money for everyone involved which is all the more reason for them to get involved.

Money

The root of all problems. Money. I think every fight which either failed to get made or is failing to get made has some relation to money. The best example of this in the heavyweight division would be Joshua V Whyte. Joshua tried to secure a rematch with Whyte for his no disbanded April 13th date at Wembley, however negotiations fell through as Whyte felt he wasn’t getting paid enough, and he also thought the rematch clause included in the contract, which despite the result of the first fight Joshua would always get paid more. Whyte therefore refused the contract, and another fight the boxing fans would of liked to have seen fell through. If fighters all got paid a fair split of the money that would be made, then all of these fights would get made no problem, but what do I know about the financial side of boxing eh.

So to summarise we’ve got the top 3 heavyweights in the world who we want to see fight each other in Joshua, Wilder and Fury. Joshua fights Jarrell Miller, who has done nothing to deserve a world title fight, Wilder fights Breazeale, who AJ smashed to pieces 3 years ago, and Fury is fighting some unknown German. Hopefully this all changed and we can see the fights we wanna see.

Britain’s number 1 ranked light heavyweight (on box rec as of 22/3/19) is the sharp and explosive undefeated Anthony Yarde. The 27 year old Hackney born fighter boasts a healthy record of 18-0, with 17 knockouts, proving his power in the ring. In this profile I will look at Anthony Yarde’s career to date, looking through his previous fights and then looking at where he should be going next.

His Career SO far

Anthony Yarde had a very short amateur career, amassing only just 12 fights before he made the decision to turn professional back in 2015. He made his debut in May 2015 at Wembley Arena, in which he won via a second round KO. He kept him self very busy in his first two years as a pro, fighting 3 more times in 2015 and then 5 more times in 2016. Since then he has remain undefeated on his professional journey, claiming the Southern Area title and the WBO inter-continental and European titles. Despite the fact Yarde has an impressive record, he is still yet to receive a big test in his career, as the majority of people he has boxed have been of a low standard.

WHAT NEXT?

Yarde’s next steps are simple in my opinion, step up the opponents. If Yarde starts to fight top level British and European light heavyweights and wins, he will start to win over more fans and create a larger following. The WBO recently ordered world champion Sergey Kovalev to defend his title against Yarde as a mandatory challenger. Despite me saying I want Yarde to step up his opponents, I don’t think he should take the fight against Kovalev. Contradiction I know, but to go from fighting taxi drivers to a experienced world champion in Kovalev who’s only losses have come against Andre Ward and Eleider Alvarez, I think the step up would be too great and Yarde would simply be outclassed.

Another thing which could help Yarde’s career is considering his management, as his current manager Tunde Ajayi in my opinion is hindering his progress. Continuously putting him in against low level opposition, and also coming out with ridicolus claims that they are the ‘A Side’ in the Kovalev negotiations because they boxed at the Royal Albert Hall are silly. If he got a new manager this could pottentially help him progress.

Matchroom boxing host a show at Liverpool’s M&S Bank arena on March 30th, with newly signed Super Welterwight Liam Smith headlining. The former WBO world champion fights Sam Eggington, in a fight which has the potential to be a very good scrap. In this preview I will look into this fight as well as a few others on the undercard, such as Anthony Fowler and Scott Fitzgeralds exciting domestic bout and the British and European super lightweight clash between Joe Hughes and Robbie Davies Jnr.

David Price V Kash Ali

David Price continues his road to redemption in a 10 rounder against undefeated British heavyweight Kash Ali, who faces the biggest test of his career to date. Price looks to resurrect his career after a brutal knockout defeat to Alexander Povetkin and his disappointing loss to Sergey Kumzin where he had to retire due to an injury before the 5th round. In his last fight, Price won via a controversial stoppage against Tom Little, where many including myself thought the referee stopped the fight far too early.

Price’s opponent, Kash Ali, looks to make a real name for himself on this show, as it is a huge chance for him to make a statement by beating a big British name in Price. I don’t know much about Ali, but with a 15-0 (7 ko’s) record and a few recognisable names on his resume such as Kamil Sokolowiski and David Howe, he could prove to be a tough test for Price.

Price should be fired up for this fight, as it is a chance to prove some of his doubters wrong and prove he still has something left to give to boxing, and will be looking to make a statement in front of his home crowd. I fancy Price to win this possibly via stoppage, however with Prices questionable chin I will certainly not write Ali off in this fight.

Anthony Fowler V Scott Fitzgerald

My personal pick for what I think will be fight of the night, is this feisty domestic Super Welterweight clash between 2 undefeated fighters in Fowler and Fitzgerald. The fight has generated a lot of interest amongst boxing fans as a result of the ongoing social media war between the two fighters, take this into account and the fact that they are 2 undefeated British prospects, it makes for a very very good fight.

I think Fowler will win this fight via stoppage, Scott is a decent fighter but he hasn’t boxed properly for a while due to a hand injury he suffered on the Khan Lo Greco under card. Plus I don’t think he will be able to handle Fowler’s power and constant pressure. On top of this, the fight is in Fowler’s home town of Liverpool so he will have the backing of the crowd.

I think the 2016 Olympian has everything it takes to become a world champion, his work ethic is second to none, plus with a good team around him in Dave Coldwell and Eddie Hearn, I see no reason why he can’t go all the way too the top. With the winner of this fight set to face Ted Cheesman for the British title, I look forward to see the best of these 3, who I think is Fowler, push on for bigger fights in the future.

Liam Smith V Sam Eggington

The headline fight sees the former world champion in Smith fight the former European champion in Eggington, in a 12 round Super Welterweight clash.

This will be Smith’s first time fighting under Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, after recently making the switch over from Frank Warrens stable to pursue new challenges. He fights for the first time after his world title loss to Jamie Munguia, so he will be looking to secure the win and move on to bigger challenges. The only losses in his career have come to Munguia and Canelo, so he is in no way finished, he just needs to work hard and get another title shot.

For Eggington, I think this was a bad fight for him to take. He comes off the back of a shock loss against Hassan Mwakinyo and a points victory agaisnt Sam Omidi. After this 2 low level fights to step up to a world level fighter in Smith, it is a big ask and one I can’t see him winning.

If Smith is victorious in this fight which I think he will be, he could look to secure a fight against fellow matchroom stable mate in Kell Brook, in what would be a huge fight, or he may look to challenge any of the current world title holders such as Jarrett Hurd.

‘The Thrill’ Jordan Gill recently stepped up to the plate as he impressed in his home town of Peterbourough, whilst headlining a JD NextGen show. He moved to 23-0 (7ko’s) and also captured the WBA International featerweight title after stopping mexican fighter Emmanuel Dominguez in the 3rd round of a punch perfect performance. In this post, I will be looking at Jordan Gill’s proffesional journey so far, and what the future holds for this exctiting 24 year old.

The Journey so far

Gill turned pro at the age of 18, having his first fight in July 2012. He had a fairly slow start to the pro game, fighting journeymen or low level fighters for the majority of the first five years of his career. For the first 16 fights of his career, he fought out of the Ingle gym in Sheffield with trainer Dominic Ingle, but felt he was going stale there and was not active enough, so he decided to make the switch over to Rotheram based Dave Coldwell, and now trains alongside the likes of Anthony Fowler, Dereck Chisora and the McDonnell twins. Since the switch, the featherweight has come on leaps and bounds, capturing multiple wins agaisnt decent level opposition, including Jason Cunningham, then Ryan Doyle to capture the commonwealth title and more recently Emmanuel Dominguez. Gill and trainer Coldwell look a great pairing together and have high ambitions for the future, and look to quickly move on up through the ranks and claim more titles.

What Next?

There are many fights available for Gill to take next. The British Boxing board of control have recently ordered Ryan Walsh to defend his British featherweight title against Gill, and have set a deadline for purse bids for April 10th. At the end of Gills last fight, he also called out current European champion Kiko Martinez for a bout, which would also be a good fight for him to take, and if he won it would shoot him up the rankings and put him in contention for big fights in the future. In my opinion, I think the Walsh fight would be perfect for Gill and Coldwell to take, as it would allow him to capture another belt and also cement his place as one of the best domestic feathweights around. After this fight he could then move onto tougher teste at European level such as Martinez, and I hope to see him move on to world level fights before long.

Boxing returns to the Copperbox on March 23rd, as Charlie Edwards headlines his first show and defends his WBC world Flyweight title for the first time. The undercard contains some very good fights, with 2 British title fights in the light heavyweight and cruiser weight division, as well as plenty of entertaining bouts. I will be previewing a few selected fights, looking at each fighter and weighing up who I think will come out victorious.

Lewis Ritson v German ARgentino Benitez

Lewis Ritson looks to bounce back from his European title defeat against Francesco Patera in his Super Lightweight debut. Ritson was originally scheduled to defend his British lightweight title against Andy Townend, however as he has moved up to 140lb now he has vacated that title and Townend will face Joe Cordina on April 20th for the vacant belt.

Ritson fights Argentinian Benitez for the WBA Intercontinental belt, in a 12 round bout. This will be the first time Benetiz has fought outside of his native Argentina, and I can only see Ritson winning this fight convincingly, most likely via a later stoppage. I think Ritson will have no problems carrying his power and speed up to his new weight, and look forward to seeing how he performs.

Lawrence Okolie V Wadi Camacho

Okolie and Camacho clash here in a big cruiserweight dust up, with both the British and Commonwealth titles on the line. This fight has the potential to either be a entertaining, exciting bout with two big punchers coming together with a bit of beef between the two fighters, or it could be a dull, depressing hug-fest, if Okolie gets up to his hugging antics. I hope the two boxers use their power to their advantage and create an entertaining fight, and if this happens its hard to call who can win, how ever i’d slightly edge my bets on Okolie winning by late stoppage.

Joshua Buatsi V Liam Conroy

This is probably my pick for what will be fight of the night, arguably Britians best boxing prospect Buatsi fights for the British light heavyweight title against a decent opponent in Liam Conroy and probably his toughest fight yet. Buatsi is the undeniable favourite in the fight, and I predict him to come out of this fight in ease with a stoppage win, as I believe his speed, power and shot selection will be too much for Conroy to handle.

I very much look forward to watching Buatsi’s career unfold, and hope to see him in big domestic fights and further down the line world title fights very very soon.

Charlie Edwards V Angel Moreno

WBC world flyweight champion Edwards makes the first defence of his belt as he headlines his first event. He fights spanish Moreno, who comes into the bout with a 19-2 record, and hopes of taking Edwards crown away from him.

I see this fight being a fairly straight forward defence for Edwards, as I dont think Moreno will bring too much that will trouble the champ, and I think he will cruise to a unamious decision victory. I hope that after this fight Edwards goes onto unify in the flyweight division, or moves up in weight and becomes a multiple weight world champion.