Watched Oosthuizen vs Gonzalez at the weekend.Does anyone else think either would be a good next step for our 2 contenders?
Decent fights but I see both of them going after Bika very soon as he looks beatable. DeGale probably will fight the loser of this fight if Hennessey is sensible.
No,you're right,I think.They were saying on SKY that George and James,plus Paul Smith would walk through Oosthuizen.Not saying the first 2 wouldn't beat him but thats the kind of crap they sometimes come out with.They used to say Enzo would stop Jonathon Banks in a couple of rounds.Would they still say it?Must admit I wasn't impressed with either but as you say neither would be easy.Good scalps and winnable over here,though,I think.
Their next 3 or 4 fights will be crucial They must be matched well,personally I'd avoid bika for now and get in a couple of fights against top 10 guys.they have time on their hands and a trip to America on a big bill would be great exposure As for opponents Jermain Taylor,Andre dirrell,Peter manfredo,will rosinsky,Donovan George,caleb truax are all acceptable fights in the USThen up the competition at home periban,sartision,rodriguez,oosthuizen etc Then a champ bika or Stieglitz as it stands Then you can have big fights like Kessler Abraham or a rematch between groves degale For me there is too much emphasis on going for titles before being experienced enough The key is being active,fighting different styles and learning with how to deal with adversity and fightnight Look at Saul Alvarez or julio Chavez jnr,so many fights at such a young age.great experience and nice progression Degale and groves as well as fury, price,frampton,quigg and more all come into this bracket I think Kell brook was brought along perfectly but typically the matchmaking involved was criticised.also tony bellew has learned on the job with a lot of different questions having been asked of him
The smart thing for either to do would be go straight after Periban and do a real job on him, groves would have the better chance of stopping him but either could outbox him. Apart from losing to bika he has mainly fought Mexican journeymen and didnt look all that special to me. He's probably gettable for a bit of a payday in the uk and wouldn't cost the earth. A statement win against him would mean a definite shot at bika especially if they do what bika couldn't and that's stop him. Bika represents a realistic opportunity for either of them to win the WBC title and if they hang around too long the chance maybe gone or someone else maybe holding it ward will be back from injury before long don't forget. Winning the WBC belt would then almost certainly mean a unification fight against froch in the uk for huge money probably on ppv for either of them. Bika is a risk but he's nothing very special and its a probably a risk worth taking for either of them in their next two fights.
As has been pointed out by others it's certainly a crucial time for both. You'd suspect one of the might go a touch early for the title shot, just to get there before the other as much as anything else. As reasonably neutral between the two (probably slightly shading toward preferring DeGale), I'm really enjoying watching this playout. One point does have to be made though, WTF is going on with Groves "good luck" tattoos?
Either Groves or Degale would beat Bika,Bika vs Periban had be one of the worst fights I have ever seen in terms of quality for a world title.
Bika for Degale. Steilglitz for Groves a mandatory defence then they face each other the winner boxes froch at the end of next year.