You may want to sit down before you read on because I have a shocking take on Hunter.... Deep breath... I think Eddie Hearn is actually telling the truth on this one! There, I said it. I think Eddie would love to have a top US HW signed up to Matchroom USA and he correctly identified Hunter as a talent. I just don't think he was able to make the money fights he hoped. There's no buzz around MH, which is a shame because he's a class act. He doesn't have the big KO punch that the casuals want to see in HW fights. He's relatively small. He's not a brash trash talking type like Miller or Wilder. He's just very good at what he does which makes him high risk low reward, which is a bad combination to be if you want to make a big fight.
In many ways I agree with that but Hearn from his power of strength could have made him a name. Could have put him in with Whyte or Chisora and a win would have propelled him to big time.
I predict he will, especially if Whyte gets a KO. He will do the whole shtick about Whyte 'coming back from adversity' and some parallels about his own life.. being bullied at school and his genius misunderstood by teachers, then conveniently becoming a stud with ladies and employed by NASA in the space of a few years. Something like that. He will say he 'never said Whyte is the best fighter but I admire his ability to bounce back'.
Yeah I had Hunter winning 8-4. I think he's amongst the top 5 most talented guys in the divison and too high risk and low reward for the top guys. Last i heard hes in talks to fight Wach before the end year. I would give Fury the upmost respect if picked Hunter as his next voluntary title defence.
He could've made the Chisora match and as a UK fan I'd have enjoyed it, but how much credibility would a win there earn Hunter in the US? Has any casual there even heard of Del Boy? What do DAZN say when Hearn tells them this is the fight he's made for them to expand in the US, a smaller quiet well spoken technician against a past it nearly man with next to no Stateside profile? What's in it for Whyte? How does a match up with high risk low reward Hunter benefit him? Is that a match up that suggests his promoter has his best interests at heart? Finally, lets say Hunter beats Whyte, how does destroying one of his HW assets benefit Hearn? He'd been patiently manoeuvring Whyte into a prime position in his chess game with Haymon and Arum for control of the HW division. Why does he risk all that work one someone who isn't doing the numbers? Far better to pick Povetki... DOH!
I get your point. But as for Hesrn saying he done all he could for Hunter, that is nonsense. He should have tried promoting him like he does Chisora and Dave Allen. As for Whyte, he should not be a PPV headliner, so his choice should be fight A or no PPV slot. Whyte did fight a life dog in Povetkin anyway and got knocked out. I say life as against Whyte but Povetkin's legs have gone, as a result his punch resistance has too. Hearn could have got a Kownacki or Ortiz for Hunter. He drew with Povetkin but most had him winning, never got him a rematch but made sure Whyte got one after being knocked out by same opponent. Hearn could have and should have done a better job with Hunter.
No, I'm not ignoring the fact that AJ pitched a shut out in the 2nd fight ..... that's why AJ is rated #2 by me. If he hadn't come back with a solid win like that I wouldn't have him rated in the top 2. But the LOSS to Ruiz was pretty bad and was just two fights ago. .... and Ruiz wasn't even rated in most people's top 10s at the time. If you think that it doesn't impact AJ's rating, that's fine, that's your opinion. But for me, going 1-1 in his last two fights against a fat guy who was not top 10 at the time .... that has to impact his rating. The fact I have him at #2 still, despite that crushing defeat two fights ago, shows how much I value his ability, his resume and recognize the win in his last fight. You try to deflect from your insane hatred of Fury and make out we're all AJ haters but that doesn't really work. I'm not even arguing that Fury has a great record, but of the mediocre crop of heavyweights out there today, he's currently #1.
I love Povetkin, but I did have Hunter winning by 1-2 rounds. I think 8-4 is harsh though. There were many close rounds, which is why I think Povetkin got his draw. I think a Draw was probably a bit lucky for Povetkin, but it was hardly robbery. I can see why some people may have thought Povetkin won more rounds than I thought. I don't think either fighter was dominant.
Joshua has a better body of work over the last 5 years. But Fury was off for 2 1/2 years, no one denies that. Whyte Martin Breazeale Molina Klitschko Takam Parker Povetkin Ruiz LOST Ruiz Klitschko Seferi Pianeta Wilder DRAW Schwarz Wallin Wilder Yes, Fury's fought a few bums, awful to see him fight a man like Seferi. But you say Kabayel is a "bum" too. If Kabayel is a bum, don't you think the likes of Molina, Breazeale, Martin and Takam are bums too ?
Fury's record could be better, but so could any other boxer's record. One things for sure, Fury had never been knocked down 4 times and then given up like AJ did. And as for AJ doing a trick in the rematch Vs Ruiz Jr, well, Ruiz didn't even train by his own admission, which takes some of the shine off it. Yes, AJ looked in shape (he always does) and yes, he danced around and beat him on points, but Ruiz Jr did not even train, so who knows what could have happened if he had bothered to turn up like he did in the first fight.
Yeah, it was clear the fame went to Ruiz's head. He had no idea how to react or adapt to winning such a huge fight. I followed him on Instagram and he was partying, buying property, buying cars, going on talkshows - must've been a huge shock to the system. Fantastic win in the first fight. People act like the 'wrong has been righted' with AJ - but Ruiz beat him emphatically, Joshua just got a fairly boring points win in the rematch. A shut out, granted - but nowhere near as emphatic.
Right. But Wilder shat his pants when offered 120 million and unification to fight AJ. That's almost as good as a win. Fury turned down the AJ fight too, remember? So no, fighting each other doesn't trump any of AJs win . Not at all actually
So, Fury can just keep fighting cans and still be #1 in your book? Will he be an all time great without ever fighting a good, prime heavyweight? You are ok with that?
Not really, i see the next fight as a means to an end But he has agreed 2 fights with AJ next year AJ is your number one is he not? Not a can then, i also dont think he is an all time great Many do but i prefer to analyse a fighters career after they hang the gloves up