That's a shocker Oddy. Without knowing anything about the medical reports on Mike Towell's health, it's hard to comment on whether those head aches he suffered in the weeks before the bout were caused by an aneurysm or not. Reading between the lines, it's possible that Mike could have brought a medical problem into the fight. Condolences to his family. His opponent Dale Evans will be feel pretty awful as well. Mike Towell
How can someone be allowed to go into a fight having been complaining about constant headaches? "He had been complaining of headaches for the last few weeks but we put it down to migraines with the stress of his fight". It stinks
Parker v Dimitrenko pretty soon. A bit of chat about Parker bulking a bit at the expense of condition. If it goes the distance, he could slow big time as he did against Takam. The talk of him fighting Joshua I think is a bit silly. Firstly I don't think he'll be in the hunt, and would Hearn be able to sell a Joshua - Parker fight? Outside boxing fanatics and people from this part of the world, nobody knows Parker. Parker is the mandatory, but I don't think he'll be Joshua's next opponent. Still, I hope he wins well tonight.
Doesn't read like that to me Cyc. "He had been complaining (who to? how did anyone know) of headaches for the last few weeks but we (who are we?) put it down to migraines with the stress of his fight (sounds pretty irresponsible - greedy at worst, to me)"
Parker fight finished in third with ko to the Kiwi. Dimitrinko copped an illegal blow to the body when on one knee, but ref didn't see it. Dimitrenko's squirming on the canvas was embarrassing to watch. He was certainly the victim of a late blow, but the acting was horrible.
Very sad news about Mike Towell indeed. Clearly without knowing the facts one can only speculate but lets hope they understand what happened and prevent any fighter from ever taking that risk again. Awfully sad and another reminder about how unbelievably tough and brutal it can be.
Unsatisfactory. Cleverly doesn't appear to have much power in his punches. May not be champion for long I'm afraid
I'm pleased for him but it's a hiding to nothing when you have Ward and Kovalev in the division. He's bagged himself a rematch though so it's another earner for him I guess and probably a better one this time around. Wonder if Eddie can get it in the U.K.?
Never! Wouldn't be like Eddie to try and hog the spotlight from his fighters, he's a great lad the boys say
Well it looks like Billy Joe Saunders is finally ready to defend is WBO Middleweight belt. The Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff will see Saunders come face to face with the Russian Artur Akavov on the twenty second of this month. Billy has been calling out some pretty big names in the game, including Gennady Golovkin, but has settled on what seems to be a pretty soft option. Akavov's record looks fine on paper, 16-1-0, but the quality is highly suspect. His last three opponents have a combined record 47 wins, 35 losses and a draw. He's shorter than Saunders, has less reach and owns a knockout ratio of just 41%. Akavov is not listed in the top 15 by the WBA, WBC, IBF or Fightnews. There is a bit of a mystery about his WBO ranking. The site's September rankings have him at 12, but Fightnews who run a rankings site have him at 11 for the WBO. Other than the WBC who don't have him listed in their top 40, I can't find another Sanctioning Body who list below 15. Make of it what you will.
Is he promoted by Frank Warren? Because that explains everything. Always lines up bums for his fighters to beat.
On this day 19 years ago, Lennox Lewis made the second defence of his second reign as heavyweight champion. His opponent was Andrew Golota, a man who's last two bouts had finished with him being disqualified (while in front on point) for persistent low blows. Riddick Bowe being the victim. The bookies were at a loss to separate them in the betting but ended up giving Lewis the slight advantage.
For years now, I've read all over the place about the politics in boxing. At the moment there is a bit of comment on boxing sites concerning the Belarus fighter Keryl Relikh who climbs into the ring in Glasgow in a couple of days, looking to lift Ricky Burns' WBA World Super Lightweight Title. Relikh is the Mandatory challenger. How he became that, God only knows. I've managed to find four of his last six bouts and they were all manned by ****ty opponents. Really ****ty opponents. They'd have to dump a truck load of laxatives into the boxing game to produce this much crap. The Hatton trained fighter is brash in the ring and is full of confidence, but boy he takes some around the melon. He bangs hard though, especially with left hands to the body. Hatton said that his charge thinks he's the next Golovkin. Fat ****in' chance. I don't know too much about Burns, but if age hasn't wearied him, he should be a class above the Belarus fighter. But you never know in this game. Of his 40 wins, Ricky has only put 14 away, while Keryl has retired 19 of his 21 wins. He's also unbeaten. Seriously though, some of his opponents couldn't beat time with a stick. He can bang though. Ricky's chin hasn't let him down yet. He's never been stopped. Will his 33 year old chin serve him as well as it has in the past? Burns. 4-13. Relikh. 10-3. Burns on points. 10-11. Burns by KO, TKO or DQ. 5-2. Relikh on points. 11-1. Relikh by KO, TKO or DQ. 5-1.
But Eddie Hearn's saying on Sky this afternoon AJ-Klitschko is 70/30 in favour of happening... Who that one's kidding I really don't know! Call me a cynic but there's not a hope they are risking AJ in against Wladimir this early, it has to be Hearn talking the brown again I don't blame him in this case either, I don't think it'd be the right move for Joshua now. Your scenario would seem so much more likely and it'd still be a massive fight for the UK. Think I even predicted it a good while back on here, and I'd definitely fancy AJ. It's a great fight as Haye carries huge danger in both hands so AJ's defence will need to be spot on. Beating Haye would certainly go some way to justifying the hype and I think it's ideal for both men. Hayes last big pay day and AJ showing his actual worth as one of the very best in the world and it'd really lead him up for a super fight.
