u/JEST-Boxing

There has been a significant controversy in the world cup.

A player received a red card, and this has been suspended for one year by FIFA, meaning he can continue to play in the tournamant. This is unprecedented and has caused serious beef in the community, UEFA are concerned about the integrity of the whole sport, etc.

Imagine these guys being boxing fans? We have PED bans kept hidden from the public, then backdated once revealed so the fighter effectively serves no ban. We have referees blatantly supporting the home fighter, allowing fouls, judges giving rounds to the A side.

And there is an international uproar in the football/soccer community about a single red card being suspended. Makes you realise how crazy boxing is

Haven’t seen anybody talking about him in here yet.

19 years old, Irish heavyweight. Decorated amateur. He is pretty huge and has a good skillset. Looked really good in his 2nd fight the other day, KO’d the guy in R2, the same guy that took Leo Atang the distance.

I think he is one to watch for the next generation of heavyweights, a serious talent that is surely going to the very top. What do people think?

I’m going to step away from the constant hype narrative surrounding Moses Itauma and give my take on the Hrgovic fight.

I recognise Itauma’s natural ability and potential, but I worry this is a step too soon, based on a few things.

Moses said the pace is making him work too hard after R1 in the corner against Franklin. In R4, Franklin has a spell of success and jabs Itauma up a little, Moses is fine but he seemed surprised he’d been caught. Against Balogun, just before the KO, Moses just about blocks a big hook and again, he seems thrown off/slightly panicked by it for just a moment.

Against two journeymen, he went the distance and seemed frustrated that he was not blowing them out of there. Even leaning on the ropes and showboating a little.

Now, Moses is fine in these instances, but he does not seem to take a shot or adversity incredibly well. This is something experience teaches you. Hrgovic is a fast starter and an excellent boxer. If he sets a pace and puts a stamp on the fight in the first 3, has Moses got the experience and mentality to break the pattern of the fight?

Personally, I don’t think so. If he gets through this easily, I am sold, but don’t forget the 100s of prospects who didn’t live up to the hype. Happened before and it can happen again, this is a serious test for Moses.

What is next for Tommy Fury?

I don’t think he is the worst boxer to be honest, in the grand scheme of things. He has a little bit of skill and stays in shape constantly. I don’t think he could win even a British title, so these cross-over fights are the best for him.

Darren Till? I seriously think he would outbox Till comfortably. Till is very limited as a boxer for me, and I think Tommy would box his head off.

Jake Paul and KSI? I think current Jake Paul could beat Tommy so they wont take it, and who cares about KSI now? Does he even fight?

Should Tommy just do a ‘bum of the month’ tour and wipe out the misfits roster? You’d have to make him favourite against all of them. What do we think?

Padley vs Fiaz turned out to be quite entertaining.. I had low expectations after the Dalton Smith fight was cancelled, but was pleasantly surprised in the end. Here's my thoughts on the main card.

Padley vs Fiaz

Many people counted Aqib Fiaz out in the build-up. The talented 26-year-old has yet to blow people away in his professional career, having been bested by Reece Bellotti and seen numerous fights fall through before coming to fruition. Josh Padley, on the other hand, has a fantastic reputation domestically, beating Mark Chamberlain at Wembley before famously taking on Shakur Stevenson as a last-minute replacement, and has had some good nights since. Padley also shifts a lot of tickets. This meant he came in as a 1/4 favourite, and I think most agreed with that sentiment.

From round 1, Padley looked to be the classier operator, but I was impressed with Fiaz's strength. Padley is usually the stronger man in there, and Fiaz looked like he had more than enough to deal with it. Throughout the fight, Fiaz put his head on Padley's chest and kept coming forward. Both men delivered sickening body shots in the pocket and showed excellent variation, going high and low. Just when you thought one guy was taking over, the other would rally back and turn the tide. Neither man looked completely bested at any point, but Padley was probably just about edging those tight rounds.

It was a very entertaining fight where both men traded on the inside, and Josh Padley especially showed incredible heart and grit to get through it. Both were absolutely exhausted by the end. Fiaz threw an incredible amount of low blows, some of them very blatant and intentional. He eventually had a point taken in the 9th for a headbutt. In my opinion, it wasn't enough for a point deduction in normal circumstances, but it was justified by the low blows from earlier.

The cards came in at 115-112 Padley, 114-113 Fiaz, and 114-113 Padley. Without the point deduction, it's a draw. I thought those were fair cards and would honestly accept 7-5 either way. It was a tough one to score that ultimately came down to 'what do ya like': aggression or cleaner work? Great fight. Aqib has come out of it looking better than he went in, apart from the dirty reputation he'll have to shake now.

Undercard

Ibraheem Sulaimaan took on Ibrahim Nadim in the co-main event. Nadim was walked to the ring by Barrera, which was surreal. Sulaimaan shut Nadim out completely, winning 100-90 on two scorecards and losing just one round on the other. He sat on the back foot all night and let Nadim come to him, punishing him every time he tried to work. Nadim just looked a level below.

Leo Atang returned against Fouad Shaili in another learning fight. Leo is very young for a heavyweight, and I liked this matchup. Fouad is not as bad as you might think. As usual, Atang's speed overwhelmed his opponent, who couldn't keep up with where the shots were coming from, even if he wasn't particularly hurt, leading to a first-round TKO victory. There was some controversy with the stoppage, but I can see why the referee made the call in the moment.

I don't think Atang is a KO artist, to be honest. He is slick and fast, and I think when he gets into competitive fights, he will be looking to box, move, and counter rather than overwhelm opponents for the stoppage. He's an exciting prospect but still so young that he can't be pushed too quickly and needs more rounds.

Aaron Bowen vs Troy Coleman opened the night. Aaron Bowen's leaky defence makes him an incredibly entertaining fighter, and he is as tough as old boots. I felt the commentary was a bit off, and it was a competitive fight until around the middle rounds. Bowen would hurt Coleman and look like he was about to get him out of there, only to get clipped himself and have the stoppage "reset". This pattern repeated in a back-and-forth mini-war until the ref finally saved Coleman in round 9. I like Aaron Bowen. I think he has a clear ceiling due to his defensive vulnerabilities, but he is entertaining to watch, and you can't fault that.

Overall, a fantastic night of boxing with some entertaining scraps. I have not watched Zuffa yet, so can't comment on that. Let me know what you all thought of the night; who did you have winning, Padley or Fiaz?

I can’t help but have a bad feeling about Wardley activating the rematch clause against Dubois. We all saw the sickening beatdown that took place, and most of us were begging the ref, corner or doctor to save him after R9.

It is crazy to me that his team let him activate the clause 6 days after the fight. The guy is crippled in bed, recovering from that and nobody stopped him? It feels wrong to me.

I guess you can’t stop a grown man making his own decisions, but I feel somebody looking out for him would not have let him. He had one route to victory: land his best shot. He did (twice) and it wasn’t enough. It’s most likely going to be another nasty beating.. dangerous sport.