100 per cent. More a compliment than anything to both Ricky and yourself. He actually done allright against Arthur with what i can remember. Just pretty much nothing stuck out early to suggest he was going on to be a World champion or better yet a three weight World champion.
Fielding was one of the best pieces of promotional manoeuvring we've ever seen. A winnable fight against a regular champion, market him as a "world" champion, line up retirement money against Canelo and get out. He never was a real world champion but posed with the belt long enough for people to believe it.
Eddie Hearn getting Rocky Fielding a fight with prime Canelo for big money must be his greatest achievement in life.
He didn't earn as much from that fight as you may think, certainly not retirement money form that fight alone. Circa $500k if I remember rightly.
Still way more than he would get for other fights / fighting guys his level. And he earned between £1mil-£2mil.
Easy money again on that night. I watched that Zeuge struggle with a shadow of Paul Smith. Easy money backing heavy handed Fielding to stop him.
I know he was way out of his depth but Rocky should have had his purse docked. Never seen someone so happy to lose.
Even if that was true, there were dozens of guys more worthy than Rocky Fielding who could have got the fight.
It was Canelo that reached out His way of dipping his toes in to that division with little to no risk