The most underrated and unappreciated boxer of all time that I recall was Joe Bugner. He was always reluctant to get too aggressive and I think that might be because one opponent died in the ring when fighting Bugner. It took someone to hurt him t get him going. He went the distance with Ali and Frazier. His biggest problem was defeating Henry Cooper which turned the entire British public against him and basically forced him to leave the country. Shame really as he had talent, a good physique and was athletic. I remember Ali really standing up for Bugner in a TV interview with Parkinson, who was very anti Bugner. He was good, no doubt about it but I doubt many have heard of him
That fight was in 1970 when he was on his way up. He beat Cooper on points the next year. It was a hotly contested loss. The sole judge was the ref who scored it 73.75 to 73.5 to Bugner. Cooper's corner were furious. Bugner was 21 and Cooper 37. Bugner took Cooper's European, Empire and British belts with the win. Joe was a decent fighter Ron. He fought Ali in Las Vegas in 1973, losing on points. Very next fight was against Smokin' Joe Frazier at Earls Court. Again he went the distance, losing on points. He had a points win over Jimmy Ellis in 1974 and again lost to Ali on points, this time for the Title in 1975. Bugner had 11 fights in Australia where even in his old age, he proved too good. He won them all. An interesting sidelight to those wins, was his second last bout where he met a gent named James "Bonecrusher" Smith. Smith was once a victim of a rampant Mike Tyson who defended his WBC & WBA belts. It went the full 12, but Smith was bashed from pillar to post for nearly every round. During his career, Smith met some serious fighters. Larry Holmes (twice), Joe Bugner, Axel Shultz, Micheal Moorer, Greg Page, Mike Weaver, Donovan Ruddock, Mike Tyson, Tim Witherspoon whom he beat for the WBA World Title, Jose Ribalta, Tony Tubbs, David Bey & Frank Bruno. Anyway, both Bugner and Smith had one last crack at another title in 1998. It was one of those paper belts, the World Boxing Federation World Heavyweight Title. Smith was 45 years old and Bugner was 48. It was Joe's second last fight and Smith's third last. Smith weighed in at 20 stone, Bugner at about 18 and a half. The large lump on Smith's shoulder at the end, looked ugly.
Interesting times ahead for WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker. He has a massive face off against Hughie Fury on September 23, a fight he'll have no end of trouble with, but if he's successful, his next fight might be against Tony Bellew. It seems that both camps are well into discussions. The Parker - Fury bout should be a really tight affair. Parker will come forward all night, while the elusive Fury will try to win it from the outside. I think Fury might have the edge, but am hoping like crazy that Parker starches him.
Here's an interesting read on the violence of old time boxing. http://www.thesweetscience.com/feat...st-tommy-ryan-iii-vicious-bout-boxing-history
I wonder if Eddie Hearn is getting sick of waiting on Wladimir Klitschko to make up his mind on the on the Joshua rematch? Even though Vlad seemingly hasn't made up his mind yet, Hearn is pressing ahead with plans for the fight. He has been in Navada chatting with MGM and the T-Mobile Arena. They've penciled in November 11 for the fight. Hearn has also applied for a licence to promote in Navada. With the long wait and no firm answer from the Klitschko camp, maybe Hearn is starting to ramp up the pressure. He can't have Joshua sitting on his hands doing nothing, the lad needs to stay active. I guess the ball is now back in Vlad's court. With only three and a months up his sleeve, Klitschko will soon have to make the call, fight or not. Hearn will have a contingency plan in place if Vlad pulls out. Joe Parker's team have had serious talks with Matchoom of late, so maybe the Kiwi is next up if he can get through Hughie Fury.
The bookie boys don't share your pessimism on Parker Cyc, he's a general 4/6 shot against 6/5 Fury. I think that's about right, Hughie has never really impressed me and seems to spend a lot of time in the ring doing very little. The one intangible to weigh up is how much his rare acne/skin disorder affected him. Sounds like it drained his energy levels considerably which would go a long way to explaining my criticism of his ring work, or lack of. It'd be a fight both fighters view as being highly winnable but I'd take your man over young Fury anyway.
http://www.skysports.com/boxing/new...ight-champion-tyson-fury-announces-retirement Shame if it's true and it is the end. I don't like him or rate him I've made that quite clear but he reinvigorated the heavyweight division and made it relevant again. AJ has now taken over now in his absence but I feel like on some level AJ's career, no matter what happens from now on will always be slightly tainted for not having fought Fury.
Carl Frampton failed to make weight for WBC Title eliminator against Andres Gutierrez http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/40756159 Fight live on Channel 5 10:10pm tomorrow night
It's a bit of a shock Red, but I suppose stepping back down a weight class at his age was always going to be a challenge.
Looks like the fight's now off. Andres Gutierrez has gone turtle in the shower and busted his face. Fans who bought tickets are really pissed especially after Frampton's failure to make weight.
There's a nice heavyweight fight on the Garcia - Broner under card tomorrow. WBA No8 Gerald Washington will tangle with WBC 8 & WBO 3, Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller over 10 rounds. Miller has many fans with high hopes for him, but Washington is no push over. Miller is 4-7, Washington 2-1. The weigh in and face off.
This stuff's getting more interesting by the day. Sky Sports has just dished out five hundred million pounds for the broadcast rights to the Mayweather - McGregor bout.
The more I see of McGregor the less impressed I am. The only times I've seen him knock anyone down with one punch is when they have run at him inviting it. Even then he has to jump on them at hit them while they are down or knee them etc. His punches are so telegraphed, even Haye could have got out of the way with his bad leg. McGregor will get schooled and it could be embarrassing. If he wins it will be a fix to get another big payday. My son reckons McGeggor will be all over Mayweather and eventually nail him. To be honest I don't really care and I wouldn't watch it if it were free.