World middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel defeated bitter rival Billy Papke #OnThisDay in 1909 after twenty hard and close rounds at the Mission Street Arena in Colma, California. 22-year-old Ketchel fought with a broken right hand from the sixth round. With the decision Stanley ended their series of fights with a record of 3-1 in their four encounters.
So Joshua v Whyte II is on. Predictions? I’d say Joshua by knockout again. He’s just a bit better than Whyte. I’d love to see Whyte win though….
Oh! how the mighty have fallen - and I agree it'd be good to see a Whyte win. I reckon with Joshua in the form and head space he's in at the moment he'll have no better chance.
Yep, AJ certainly has had his confidence dented. I think he’s lost 3 out his last 5. But he’s a unit and I think he has a bit too much for Whyte. Hope I’m wrong though. Be nice to see Eddie Hearn and Matchroom in panic again…. The slimy bastards
Yeah - did you notice in the photo above the large pompous gentleman on the LHS with the moustache? There's always a guy holding the purse strings with not much care for the boxers... What they said about Bruno could easily be said about AJ - "The body of a Greek statue and about as mobile"
Bruno wasn’t bad… the heavyweight division was strong during his era. I reckon he’d have done AJ. But we’ll never know…
Barry McGuigan isn't impressed either. https://britishboxingnews.co.uk/blo...t-him-that-doesn-t-go-away-it-only-gets-worse
Totally agree with all that. You could tell from the last fight he had against the roofer that his head has gone. He reminded me of the way my dog, who got attacked by another dog when he was a puppy, behaves when he’s around others of his species. Nervous, jumpy, keeping his distance, all his weight on his hind legs in case he needs to scarper.
And the one with a plaid horse blanket, which supports the claim that boxers were often treated like livestock.
They still are… but I guess they’re relatively richer these days. What did Larry Holmes say… you get your brain shook, your money took and your name in the undertakers book… or something like that…
That is the perfect description... I've just watched the highlights of his first Ruiz fight and his last and I see exactly what you mean. Before he got knocked down in the third by Ruiz he was mobile, dancing, confident & coherent and he actually looked like a boxer if a little amateurish. He & his legs never really recovered from that first knockdown - I'm not sure if it was the knockdown itself or the shock of what a knockdown can do. And in his last fight he looked a totally different man, static, leaden & as you say fearful. I'm not sure if he's fearful of being knocked down again and knowing he can't recover or just fearful of being hit. It's almost like he hasn't recovered from the Ruiz fight. Edit, changed Luiz to Ruiz... doh
Ah well, that’ll be that then. Wasn’t a mouth watering prospect imo anyway. I guess this gives TalkSport a year of ammo… https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/66416584
Yeah, it was never going to be the fight of the century but sometimes a couple of old boys in a car park can make a show of it. So is there going to be a replacement wheeled out who'll go over after 2 rounds I wonder. And does anyone know what the substance was? A couple of lines from a Saturday night out or perhaps one of those obscure chemicals in a 'nutritional supplement'. I see he has history in this area... not reading the ingredients.
I think it might have been a good tear up but as I said before, Joshua has a bit too much for him. AJ’s cash cow team need to pick a mug. Last stand in was Andy Ruiz Jr and as we all know the wheels came off for team AJ. I remember all the snide comments about Ruiz’s appearance. That 3rd round was a cracker
A pertinent quote before tonight's fight. "At 21, his physique, like that of most good heavyweights, is devoid of the dramatic definition and flashy ripples of the body-builders. The muscles are mostly sunk deep under the brown skin, as Louis’s were, and show strikingly only in slabs curving from the neck along the shoulders. It is a body designed to do a job, and if it might not have excited Michelangelo it does suit Angelo Dundee, who is Clay’s trainer."
Is it me or is AJ slowly morphing into a weapons grade twat? We all know Eddie Hearn got there quite some time ago but AJ seems to have had this stark personality implant. I suspect throughout his career his personality has been carefully managed by Matchroom. But because his golden goose lustre has waned a bit, he seems to have reverted to type. No doubt his remand time and drug dealer enforcer past will be outed soon. Something the BBC and MSM in general have kept fairly quiet about so far… I’m fairly sure Joshua will win tonight, well he better do or his career is over. I watched Helenius against Chisora. Great scrap but AJ is next level to these two. Chisora is/was the gatekeeper to the heavyweight division. And Helenius only just got past him over 12 rounds.
I haven't really given much thought to Joshua winning tonight or not. Until he wins a fight against a top grade opponent, I won't think anything except that he is milking (which is fair enough) as much out of the boxing game as he can, whilst he still has the opportunity. Looking back over his career at the sharp end he really hasn't delivered at all, he spent years hiding from Fury and was shown up more than a few times by so called no hopers. AJ's career is already over imo, unless he manages to resurrect it by beating Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury or Usyk
Agree with most of this but in fairness to Joshua, at least he’s getting through the ropes. There’s always the danger of making a mistake and copping a haymaker. Particularly in the heavyweight division… Wilder made very short work of this fella. 1st round knockout I think. I doubt Joshua will do him in the first round but he’ll certainly land one sooner or later.
