Well, there was a great matchup at 168 for years but we all know Canelo is obviously never taking it.
The RedCafe Boxing Thread
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I'm somewhat hopeful that might be part of this 4 fight deal still, but probably not. Can't imagine he'll go up to 175 again after what Bivol did to him and I'm assuming Benavidez can't make 168 anymore.
I won't say it cannot happen, in the sense I can't rule ghosts are real.
But he had all the opportunities to make it (especially while being at PBC himself !) and that's not among the list of terrible names that have been brought up so far for his Saudi deal (Crawford, Surace, Charlo, Eubank, Sheeraz, Bivol 2...).
Turki said yesterday that he'd possibly try to make it if possible but it's pretty clear Alvarez do not want that smoke and the older he gets the odds are looking worse and worse for him. Personally I feel it's 60/40 or 70/30 in favour of Benavidez now.
I wouldn't mind the limp retirement tour if he was not holding belts hostage. So far there's no plan to face any contender in his own weight class for the next 2 years (!!!), WBO-A-C should have stripped him.
Sad news about John Cooney here in Ireland. Rip.
fecking hell, Chisoras last dance - got to be dedicated to watch this shitfest
Decent scrap this.
Wallin is hopeless
What is Wallin doing with this tippy tappy on the shoulder nonsense?
Outpointed by technical master Chisora
I thought this guy was retiring. 
The 114-112 scorecard was presumably Wallin's Mom.
Canelo fighting Scull next which is, hilariously, one of the better options he allows himself.
Aye, it's a relief compared to Jake Paul. Faint praise indeed. His strength of schedule has went down the toilet since the Bivol loss.
Sad that Joe Joyce is still allowed to fight. The guy can barely speak.
Here you go @Rams https://talksport.com/boxing/2932756/oleksandr-usyk-moses-itauma/amp/
Looks like ya boy is getting his recognition.
Looks like ya boy is getting his recognition.
I can see him taking over to be fair, but not for another 2-3 years.
Interestingly Fury picked Jared Anderson to be next best heavyweight but he's struggled to live up to the promise, looking poor in quite a few fights and getting stopped by Bakole. However there's no reason he can't live up to that early promise like Dubois is potentially doing after a few losses.
I would imagine within boxing circles there’s no doubt who the future superstar of boxing is. Generational talent.
He's rumoured to be lined up to face Charles Martin next. Martin is well past his best but should have enough left to be a good schooling fight for Moses.
Yep 100%, Martin was the opponent I'd immediately had in mind for him after the Demsey McKean fight. I do think he's an elite talent and getting rid of McKean in a round is still impressive, but I thought a lot more was made of it than should have been given McKean has never beaten anybody of note and was being rated solely off taking Hrgovic to round 12.
Martin is crafty and experienced enough I think as evidenced by him taking Jared Anderson 10 rounds on late notice that he should extend Itauma a few rounds and make him have to think a bit to unlock gaps and opportunities to face the stoppage. As long as he is back out by June/July in a bit of a step-up, I think this is a good inbetween fight for him to get some rounds in and deal with a slightly different puzzle.
Dubios pulls out of the fight on the weekend. Bakole steps in to fight Parker.
That sucks but cool for Bakole to get a shot.
Yeah, for a late replacement, it doesn't get much better. Bakole winning would put a spanner in the works of a Dubios v Parker fight.
Crazy turn of events Bakole in on two days notice flying from Congo.
I think Parker beats Dubios if he boxed smart but a fit Bakole I could see giving Parker issues.
Also favour Bakole with a traditional 8 week camp over Dubois. Conditioning is more important for heavyweights than any other division at the championship / contender level. Two days is ridiculous.
I think Parker beats Dubios if he boxed smart but a fit Bakole I could see giving Parker issues.
Also favour Bakole with a traditional 8 week camp over Dubois. Conditioning is more important for heavyweights than any other division at the championship / contender level. Two days is ridiculous.
Not sure what to think of this - for both fighters. It's fraught with risk
I genuinely thought Parker would turn Dubois over much to the "surprise" of British fight experts.
Bakole is a different proposition altogether. He's a harder fight for Parker, I feel. (Much like Ruiz in for Miller against AJ).
I'd fancy a fit and prepared Bakole over both these guys if I'm honest and people have actively ducked him because he's brash, has no respect, and is very dangerous as evidenced by him steamrolling Anderson very easily.
However, camps exist for a reason, there's no way he's in peak shape to perform and if he goes in and loses, he's just given the whole division a valid reason to ignore him.
I genuinely thought Parker would turn Dubois over much to the "surprise" of British fight experts.
Bakole is a different proposition altogether. He's a harder fight for Parker, I feel. (Much like Ruiz in for Miller against AJ).
I'd fancy a fit and prepared Bakole over both these guys if I'm honest and people have actively ducked him because he's brash, has no respect, and is very dangerous as evidenced by him steamrolling Anderson very easily.
However, camps exist for a reason, there's no way he's in peak shape to perform and if he goes in and loses, he's just given the whole division a valid reason to ignore him.
I think Bakole has probably got 5 or 6 rounds in him to be honest, if Parker can navigate that early doors he'll take over I think and box his way to a points victory. I see this as very similar to the Zhang fight for him now.
Still, absolutely fantastic that they've managed to draft in one of the other top HW's in the world on such short notice. It's the type of thing you see in with the UFC but never in boxing. I guess the luxury here - unlike with the Shakur fight - is that with it being HW you don't have to worry about a guy trying to cut an extreme amount of weight in a few days.
Very surprised to see a few thought Parker would turn over Dubois. Would have been a brilliant fight and hope we still get to see it but this version of Dubois would have knocked him out, no doubt in my mind. TBH I think current Dubois beats almost anybody in the division and that we need to see him against Usyk again after the controversy of the first fight.
I don't rate Dubois as highly as many do if I'm honest. He carries dangerous power but I feel he's a limited boxer. He had Joshua hurt early on, and a very wobbly Joshua was able to evade him for a good few rounds until he foolishly got sucked in and tried to engage.
Parker with his chin, experience and hand speed could get in close quarters and cause all kinds of problems. Dubois is not known to fight on the back foot, as with close quarter shorter types, the game plan would tend to be to fight on the back foot, keep some distance with your jab and catch the shorter man as he gets desperate and tries to force his way in.
You never truly know with boxing though, so hard to judge fighters who have never been on with each other.
If I were Parker though, I'm not taking this fight. I was due a championship fight and now I'm up against someone arguably more dangerous and with no title on the line.
Honestly don’t think Parker would have done it. I really like Parker and he’s a game fighter but I think he’s being overrated slightly recently on the back of decision wins over Wilder and a close decision over Zhang where he was dropped twice. Dubois is a different level to both of those or anybody Parker has fought tbh.
I think the confidence is there for Dubois now and he’s found his rythm. He battered Joshua if we are being honest and as soon as Joshua even tried to properly take him out he got knocked out. The two losses for Dubois have come against Joyce, which was a silly loss 5 years ago when he was a completely different fighter and then against Usyk, which was a controversial loss in my eyes. I think a few will have some good wars with him but I don’t think many beat current Dubois.
Bakole by the way is apparently still making his journey from Congo (depending on when Sky Sports took the video), which suggests he may not have even been training.
HW boxers have been avoiding him even for sparring sessions so he now spars with Gorilla's in the jungle. He is ready.
Claressa by the way has tested positive for ... weed?!
How much of an offence is that I wonder? Is there a risk of suspension being stripped of belts?
How much of an offence is that I wonder? Is there a risk of suspension being stripped of belts?
Buatsi v Callum Smith is getting good
Great card so far. Turki has saved boxing.
Yeah I don't like the Saudi's taking over all sport but what they have done for boxing has been brilliant. Turki just needs to take over it all and get rid of those cockroaches Warren and Hearn
Going from one fight to the next tonight with no dead time. Thier not messing about.
Hamzah Sheeraz wasn't impressive at all.
Adames absolutely won that fight.
Mental score cards for that fight.
That is an awful decision. The moment I saw Turki Alalshikh run to the back with his hands over his head in anger towards the end of that fight I knew this was coming. Also did anyone notice Frank Warren at the end say just win this round before the 12th.