will Matt Korobov win a world title

Korobov is a beast, a skilled predator, a lethal combination of speed, talent and excellent power. He's so relaxed in there, everything comes naturally, no unnecessary movement and ****, no visible weakness so far, doesn't get overexcited or cocky, he's just a machine. Let's just wait and see, but it shouldn't take too long before we see whether he's the ****.

 

There can be some difficulties with bringing up a prospect as good as Korobov. Namely striking the balance between keeping him winning, and finding guys who can put in rounds against him. He's only banked 11 rounds in 5 fights. In order to gain meaningful experience a prospect MUST put in rounds of actual boxing. With that under consideration, who would you match him with?

 

Right it's hard to imagine their paths crossing anytime soon (although I think Lara can go up to 168 with time). That said I wouldn't count out a potential battle 3-5 years from now.

Korobov will probably stay at 160 for as long as Arum can keep him there, especially if he and Pavlik have a rough split.

 

I think Arum can go bold on opponent selection, I mean Korobov was a standout amateur, and already settled in the professional ring. Build up smartly, yes, but I don't think he desperately needs just rounds. Rounds vs. quality opposition, yes, but he doesn't need dozens of fights to have a try on the elite level. Ward and Dirrell are both ready with less than 20 fight. Abraham had only 18 fights when he went for the IBF title and already beat Eastman, Gardner, Velazco, Hamdan. If they can do it, I think it's safe to say that Korobov can take a shortcut to the top.

 

That's not always been Bob Arum's style though. I'd say by fight 15 or so, he'll start fighting the C or B- gatekeepers of the world. By his 25th fight he'll be knocking on the door to a title shot.

 

Yeah, Arum can be slow as hell, but it still depends on the fighter. Cotto went for the title with 20 fights in the bag. DLH needed just 11. At least in maturity, Korobov is somewhere between them.

 

Would be nice to see Arum sort of jump on Korobov and push him properly. Korobov is at that point where within a year (if he fights 4 or 5 times a year), he could be ready to take on some of the big boys of the MW division. I use "big boys" loosely of course.

 

hes 26 though isnt he?


might have to be moved on a bit faster, which should be no problem cos hes a savage, hes around the age where sooner or later a russian would come through that wasnt in the old soviet amateur style, having a more fluid fighting style with a big punch and hes it.

apparently hes tough old school too. bold prediction but 2/3 weight world champ

 

Not with James DeGale around he won't.:tong


Seriously though, only seen him the once on the Pac-Hatton undercard and the man looked like a beast. It depends though, on whether he's able to remain at 160 for long enough. If he has to move up in weight to 168 in the next 2-3 years he will find it a whole lot harder. But if he progresses nicely then he'll certainly be in with a chance.

 

I too think korobov can move through the ranks rather quickly. When I mentioned rounds of actual boxing, I meant rounds of actual boxing against opponents who can make him work for his win without being to much of a threat. In my opinion he does not need to blow out anymore tomato cans. He could get away with taking another big step up, but who? Joval? Quillin? The Mcgirt kid?

 

James DeFail won't bother him...........

:rofl:rofl:rofl

 

Well if we're looking for a big but safe step up, how about Javier Castillejo?

Great resume (62-8-1) with losses only against top comp (Sebastian Sylvester, Felix Sturm, DeLa Hoya, Vargas) and wins against Karmazin and Sturm to name a few. Sufficiently aged (41 years old) with tons of big game experience. Not a threat to beat Korobov but if you want to give him a quick litmus test to see how ready he is, this isn't a bad opponent.

Howard Eastman is always a viable option as well.

 

I don't like that. I thought about those guys. I thought about McKart too. The problem is I think it's to risky at this point. You put these old ****ers with tons of high level experience in there with a young prospect, and, even though they're shot to ****, they just might find a way to win.

 

But if we're discussing rushing him up the cards, A guy like Castillejo is really the way to go. He's got championship experience and if your goal is to test him after 10-15 fights, Castillejo is a very good opponent.

If it was me after Matt gets comfortable-ish (10-15 fights), I'd go Korobov vs Castillejo, if he passes that test I go Korobov vs Eastman, then Korobov vs Rubio and THEN try to squeeze him into some sort of mando title shot.

 

After 10-15 fights okay, but I'm stuck on his next few.