Boxing Questions agree or diagree?

Question

I have recently noticed several things going on in boxing that makes me want to ask these questions?

1. Is Mikkel Kessler scared? - He was suposse to fight Edison Miranda, but turned it down after everything was in his favor and now will fight Anthony Mundane for a title that is not even recongnized!

2. Kassim Ouma is becoming a stepping stone for fighters?

He lost his last three, two to fighters who has never had a title shot and are considered journeyman at the moment.

3. What does Cory Spinks have left? Nobody wants to support a fighter not even in his hometown. HBO or Showtime does not want televise him due to his lackluster style.

4. Did Emanuel Steward rush Andy Lee to fast? We all seen what happened to fighters who are rushed to fast.(Fernando Vargas, David Reid, and Davey Moore)

5. Is the Heavyweight division ever going to have its glory like in the past? - Fights and talent has made fans turn their attention to the lower weight classes.

Answers???

Answer 1

You are cheating. You don't want to lose points so you are sqeezing 5 questions into one. So I just going to answer the last question...Now that power punching Samuel Peters already replace boring Oleg Maskaev and knock out artist David Hayes is about to move up, the heavyweight division will again see some firework.

Answer 2

ONE)  Yes, Kessler is scared.  He started to believe his own hype for the buildup to Calzaghe, but he got blasted and now doesn't know what to do with himself.  

TWO)  Yes, it's sad to say, but Ouma is pretty much just a name to have on your record now.  He is a good fighter, but he has too many bad nights to bother with.

THREE)  I've never thought of Cory Spinks as much more than a good fighter with a legendary bloodline who has proven that bloodlines matter very, very little.

FOUR)  I don't agree that Manny rushed Andy Lee. . .I think he got caught, which happens all the time.  He didn't know what to do in the situation, and he paid the price.  I think he'll be back stronger and better in the long run.  He'll still be a champion.  Look at Miranda.  He's lost, and he's still scaring fighters away.

FIVE)  Yes, the heavies will make a comeback as soon as some of our younger talent gets a bit more experience.  Can you imagine David Tua fighting a primed and ready Chris Arreolla?  Or Hasim Rahman fighting Alexander Povetkin or Chazz Witherspoon?  Also, let's see some good matchups with the fighters we ALREADY HAVE!  Wlad. . .how about giving Valuev a shot?  The sheer IMAGE of those two getting into the ring would be enough to give the division the shot in the arm it needs!!!

***GREAT QUESTIONS, and a good space-saver, asking them all together.

Answer 3

1.  Kessler strikes me as the kind of fighter who does not want to leave his comfort zone of Europe, similarly to Sven Ottke.  He will always say that fighting in the U.S. is a top priority, but I doubt that he'll actually do it.  It took Joe Calzaghe this long before he finally crossed the pond.  Kessler will probably win another title and defend it in his comfort zone, unless he gets offered a HUGE amount of money, and as you already pointed out- he was getting everything he wanted for the Edison Miranda fight, but still turned it down.  He may be intimidated by Miranda, but I think he's more scared to fight in the U.S. than anything else.

2.  Yes, it looks like that is the case with Kassim Ouma despite the fact that he is only 29.  He has had the roughest life imaginable though, so its not hard to understand why he looked like c**p in his last fight against Cornelius Bundrage.  After going through what he's been through as a child soldier in Uganda, its not surprising to see him get old quickly; he is no longer a top-level fighter, but I wish him the best with whatever he decides to do.

3.  After losing his title to Verno Phillips, he has NOTHING going for him.  His style is so boring that his last fight had to be offered free on the internet because no channel wanted to broadcast it.  He really disgraced himself in his fight with Jermain Taylor, and after Phillips beat him, he has a long road back.  Look at how long it took him before when Zab Judah knocked him out- I don't think he can climb back up again.

4.  I'm not sure if he rushed him, or simply didn't realize that Andy Lee is not that good.  Before the Brian Vera fight, Steward was talking about having Lee face Kelly Pavlik by the end of the year.  Whether or not the Vera stoppage was quick or if he just had a bad night, it is CLEAR that he is nowhere near that level yet.  Vera busted him up all night, and Steward even said that he had no problem with the stoppage.  Can Lee bounce back?  Absolutely.  Is he as good as Emanuel Steward was claiming he was? Absolutely not.

5.  Back when the heavyweights were in their glory days, the champions had something about them.  Mike Tyson had an aura of invincibility, Joe Louis bridged the gap for black fighters to finally be accepted, Rocky Marciano hit like h**l, Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes had an arrogant personality that people liked to follow.  And even if the champs did not have that "something" they still showed why they were the champs- Lennox Lewis usually put on a good show and entertained the crowd.  With the current guys such as Klitschko, Ibragimov, Chagaev, etc.- they don't have that something that makes them special, and when they get into a high profile bout, they give us terrible performances because they're afraid of being knocked out.  Klitschko only threw like 10 right hands in his last fight, that is pathetic.  The lower weights attract us for a reason- they put on good fights and their stars have that "something" that makes the fans come back for more.  Whether its Floyd's trashtalking and excellent boxing ability or Pacquiao's explosiveness, we will always want to see them fight, the same can't be said of the heavyweights.  Can the heavyweights become the center of the sport again? Sure, but I just don't see it happening for at least a while.

Answer 4

1. I was thinking that Kessler might have pulled out of the fight because of Danny Green retiring and he might get an instant shot at the vacated  WBA light heavyweight title which would be in his better interest as their is bigger money at light heavyweight right now. But if he is fighting Mundine or any other supermiddle weight  then that blows my theory out of the water. On May 28 Mundine is scheduled to fight Sam Soliman so that may be misinformation but if you are right it sounds like he is scared to me.

2. I think that Kassim Ouma took too many shots when he stepped up in weight and fought Taylor. He has a tough chin and refused to go down but I don't think he has been the same since that fight.

3. Cory Spinks needs a Zab Judah or Ricardo Mayorga type fighter to make him look good. They are so aggressive that he can counter and be busy and not bore an audience like he did against Jermaine Taylor. His  3 fights against those two fighters were great in my opinion. Also he is pretty entertaining in his to the ring dance sometimes lol

4. I think Emmanuel Stewart is a great trainer but he is way off base sometimes. He said that he wasn't impressed with Kelly Pavlik and Pavlik was not in Taylor's league but found out quite the opposite. Now he has learned something new about Lee as well. I think it is just a matter of being biased toward fighters you work with and like. It is natural and sometimes you are blinded to some of the flaws because you are too close with the fighter.

5. The heavyweights will rise again it is just a matter of time but you are right the lower weight classes are where it is at right now. superfeatherweights through light heavyweights it seems they are all great divisions right now.

Answer 5

Great topics, Devon P. These are a few of the more interesting topics I've seen in the last several days.

1) I'm not Kessler, so I can't say whether he is scared or not of Miranda. I do feel that perhaps he feels the need to justify his significance or rank within the super middleweight division by going after the title shot, regardless of how lightly regarded we think of the title.

2) Kassim Ouma in my opinion was never a big time fighter in my opinion. I compare his caliber status to that of Angel Manfredy or former heavyweight, Michael Grant.

3) All Cory Spinks have left is the well known nameline of his father and uncle. Until he decides to duke it out more or get hit more often as a role of stepping stone to add entertainment, he will continue to have lack of support.

4) Unfortunately, I haven't kept up with Andy Lee's career enough to make a valued opinion.

5) I think the heavyweight will get some of it's excitement back, but it'll probably be a couple of years at least before we see progress in the division. I don't think it'll return back to the prestige of the 60s-80s though, but it will get better than what it is now.

Answer 6

1.  No

2.  No

3.  Nothing

4.  No

5.  Yes

Answer 7

boxing in general under close scrutiny comprises of champions, challengers, contenders, and of course, thanks to king, arum, WBA, WBC, and IBF the pretenders...true boxing purists recognize the real boxers who give fans hope in the survival of the sport.

Answer 8

1. i dont think kesseler is scared he more than held his own against calzaghe who is far better than miranda so why would he be

2.yeah i think your right on this one kassim ouma is a has been

3.i think spinks still has something left to offer hopefully now he might have the enthusiasum needed

4. i think he thought andy lee was better than the rest of us did and he came unstuck

5. im not sure personally i prefer the lighter faster fighters but i think it is getting better and ill be intrested to see how david haye gets on

Answer 9

For questions 1-4 it's all about what the promoters and T.V./ pay per view want as far as who is matched up.

For question number 5? If the Heavyweight Champs would be man enough to unify the belts even if it meant for the Klitchko brothers to fight one another it would be better. Right now there is no clear cut Champ and it is boring the fans. They need to take a page from the welterweights like DeLaHoya and Mayweather and even go up to the likes of Benard Hopkins. These guys have fought the absolute best fighters in front of them. So until there is a unified champ the heavyweight division will be sour. Man I miss Evander, Riddick, Lennox, and even the insane prime Mike Tyson.

Answer 10

1.  Yes, Kessler took the easy fight, instead of the risk of being exposed as a B level fighter.

2. Yes, it looks like Ouma is a stepping stone.

3. Cory never had much to begin with other than that name, I was amazed he beat Judah.  He has little to offer.

4.  Steward can only train a fighter, when the bell rings, a fighter is alone in there and either answers the bell and produces, or he loses.  It's a tough call, but eventually you have to fight the best.  Lee failed, not Steward.  The kid who beat Lee fought his heart out, took Lee's best shots, and answered.  He deserves the credit for succeeding, excuses aside, Lee lost, he got beat, it happens.

5.  Unlikely.

Answer 11

Kessler scared? I doubt it, probably just wants an easier payday. Boxers have been screwed by promoters and managers so much in the sport that they have to look out for themselves. Its not they have less heart then old fighters, their just smarter. Get rid of Promoters and the sport will be saved.

Ouma was always a stepping stone in my opinion. Never more then B class fighter with a good chin.

Spinks is horrible, no chin, no power, no finesse, no charisma. He will go away soon.

Andy Lee got unlucky to have a cut so early in his career. It can totaly confuse a young inexpereinced fighter, its not like it was a huge step in competiton, he was handily winning the fight when the fight was stopped. I never seen the fight except for the clips. But it seemed he just got unlucky. It happens, Bernard Hopkins lost his first profesional fight and looks where hes at. Too early to make any predictions on this kid yet.   Steward knows what hes doing.

The Heavyweight division has its ups and downs, I'm my opinion fate ****** the division when Ibeabuchi got sent away, if he was still around all these other poser heavyweights wouldn't be.  Look for David Rodriguez to make some big waves in the near future.

The things I like about the division is the fact that its perfect timing for another Tyson type fighter to come up and blow these guys out and bring some energy back to the sport. Love him or hating Mike Tyson carried the division and the sport on his shoulders for over a decade.