Main eventing tomorrow on BoxNation, card running from 8pm-midnight UK time (3pm-7pm EST). On the line is a chance to dethrone Miguel Vazquez.
I bet Vazquez makes an unification fight. There is not much money in fighting the winner of that fight. (Or is one of the guys known?)
Gethin, not outside the UK. Ammeth "Cloroformo" Diaz (whose given name I swear used to be spelled "Ameth" :huh) is a respectable veteran of the world scene, a longtime contender with power in both hands but the all too frequent puncher's curse of a flimsy mandible. He is a former challenger, actually, so for him it would be a somewhat unappealing rematch as he lost a shutout in Vazquez's 3rd defense last January. Fans outside his native Panama would know him mostly for the UD loss to Vazquez, a previous UD loss to prime Joan Guzman in 2008, and for the improbable turn of events that led to his title shot with Vazquez (he was KTFO in 1 by Ji Hoon Kim in an eliminator on ESPN2 FNF; then after Kim fought Vazquez for the IBF title and lost he was himself KTFO in 1 by Lenny Zappavigna...and Diaz, having worked his way back up the rankings in the meantime, then brutalized Zappavigna in another eliminator to once more completely unravel A>B>C logic)
So both of them wont be big fights. If Vazquez is smart he wont fight them instead going for an unification fight. He has a good chance against Burns.
Well, it's kind of like when Tony Thompson got decisively put away by Wladimir Klitschko, but then earned his way back into a rematch by sweeping aside the refuse ahead of him on the IBF conveyor belt. The only people higher ranked than Diaz in the IBF are: Darley Perez (about to get in with Gamboa next week) Raymundo Beltran (over whom Diaz has a h2h victory) Marvin Quintero (inactive and coming directly off his loss to Vazquez last October) So if he keeps beating who he is supposed to and claws his way up through eliminators, you can't really be salty with him for getting the rewards even though as fans it might not be ideal as we've already seen a rather uneventful 12 rounds of it. That said, despite the shutout, and despite Vazquez's excellent defense, Ammeth Diaz is ALWAYS in there with a big puncher's chance. The same can't be said of Gethin, who's done nothing past domestic level and even there has only racked up 11 stoppages in 28 days out - and some of those were quick "British" ref stoppages.
Wladimir could not make any big fights. I just say I would make an unification fight in his position. Especially because I think he could win against Burns. Beat him in the UK. Then make good money for a rematch.
I'm all for unification, but Ricky Burns has other business to sort out (Jose Gonzalez deserves a rematch) and in the meantime I hate to see guys jump through organization's hoops and earn shots only to be left hanging. If Vazquez's plans involve anything other than Burner, Abril, or Broner as his next opponent to unify - he needs to honor the mandatory commitment against Diaz or Gethin, whichever. I'm more interested in fairness than "big fights" for their own sake (although obviously unification is a boon for the division & sport on the whole so it always takes precedence)
Hearn wants an unification fight for Burns. And I really dont think Hearn and co. want any part of Gonzalez again. Also it will be hard to sell (Brits dont like "quitters")
Does Hearns want that unification bout specifically? As formidable as Broner is (and likely unwilling to fly), that leaves two spoilers nobody looks good against: Miguel Vazquez with the IBF and Richar Abril with the WBA. Pick your poison, but they're not impossible to separate. Vazquez is better than Abril. Worse risk for reward ratio. I can easily see Burns getting a (maybe unpopular) decision over Abril, especially at home. Vazquez would be very difficult.
He said he wants to make Burns-Vasquez in an ifilm london interview. I dont know wich interview it was but it was in the last days. Maybe even the last long one. As I said if I were Vazquez I would jump at a Burns fight. Good chance to win.
I've been hearing rumblings about it for a long time now, but suspect it to just be lip service. There's dosh to be made keeping Ricky in Glasgow importing foil after foil culled from the WBO top 10.
Looking forward to the fight in question Really can't make up my mind,could be one of those where they fight 10 times and every time different Gethin is vastly improved but never fought at this level Diaz is a puncher and chinny I've gone Diaz pts
Can you lot shed a bit of light on the co-feature? Chris Keane vs. Neil Dawson 10x3 for the vacant WBO International cruiserweight title Dawson I remember being very competitive with Matty Askin before getting stopped, my first time seeing him on Sky a couple of years ago. He's since had ups and downs, edging out Menay Edwards in a shootout and smashing unbeaten Tony Conquest in two minutes flat only to get eliminated in the Prizefighter quarterfinal by Danny McIntosh. Keane I'm much less familiar with. His surge of combination punching to make Shane McPhilbin crumble (after lulling him with a relaxed start behind his jab) was impressive - and his resume has obviously not been padded with many tomato cans, including a KO1 over a 4-0 fellow prospect and shutting out premium Lithuanian journeyman extraordinaire Remy Ziausus. Is Dawson too far up a step for him?
I think Keane will beat Dawson by KO, I think Gethin will lose on points. He has done well to rebuild his career but he is not a world level operator.
The general feeling is Dawson has been picked as the perfect match for his development Keane is big powerful and throws good combos You have all the relevant info it seems,Dawkins win over conquest was a shock but you have to give him credit the shot was a beauty.they were planned to rematch but it fell through Dawson has gone from being inactive to getting out regularly the last few months so I've gone for a stab in the dark and predicted he stops keane To be fair keane has shown no signs of being fragile I've just punted on Dawsons much harder past fights meaning he has too much for keane now I'm probably wrong as everyone else I know has gone keane ko but although Dawsons not a world beater he is a big step up from the terrible Shane mcphilbin
