Damian Knyba vs Top 15 HWs today

Exactly. If we go by probabilities then fights should be called before they start by looking at betting odds only. I found the early stoppages of Parker / Wardley and Rico/Usyk frustrating as well, but this one was literally at the beginning of the fight with Knyba having seen barely any damage. Would Kabayel have one it either way? I definitely think so but sports is about surprises and upsets.

 

I saw on the broadcast Bradley was completely unimpressed and said the guy is doing nothing against anyone around the very top. I remember Crawford disagreed when he said all he has is a long jab, Crawford said everything is set up off the jab and lulls the opponent into a false sense of security and he can do what he did to Andy and whip something surprising in. Ruiz is getting old but he still is one of the more durable heavyweights so it would be interesting if he could drop someone else notable.

 

He beat a guy who used to box a long time ago, a guy whose physical deficits- short arms, slow feet, rusty timing- were tailor made for a tall jabber with light feet and a good gas tank.

Frankly, I don't see him beating many guys in the top 10, maybe Fury if he has truly fallen to new lows.

 

Interesting take. Can’t see him doing well at all with Fury. Fury is much to slick and knows how to fight 12 rounds. Odd you pick Sanchez and Parker to win but not Fury. It all comes down to how far has Andy Ruiz fallen? Otherwise Knyba has very limited experience and we need to see more. A great crowd fight would be Knyba vs Prenga in Atlantic City. Large ethnic crowd. Think Knyba would win.

QUOTE="PopPellegrino, post: 23927925, member: 133598"]Let me go based on BoxRec's top 15 (excluding Usyk because he's basically retired). The Boxrec list is crazy flawed, but it's one of the few places that gives a top 15 and isn't a sanctioning body:

Daniel Dubois: I think Dubois can struggle for the first couple rounds, but once he gets into a groove, Knyba is in trouble.

Agit Kabayel: We've seen this one. Yes, the stoppage was too early, but it was clear Knyba would have gotten out of there soon anyway.

Murat Gassiev: Gassiev loses this if he fights his normal tentative counter punching style because he won't touch Knyba. If he gets on the front foot, his feet are too slow to give Knyba problems. Knyba by decision or KO.

Anthony Joshua: Apparently these two spar, so that could certainly affect the matchup. But I struggle to make AJ the favorite in any fight because of that chin he showcased against Prenga. Knyba does need to be more aggressive to do his best against AJ, but if he lands that right hand he landed on Ruiz, AJ will be flat on his back. Knyba by KO.

Tyson Fury: Fury is currently bad, and I think that fight with Wach puts into question whether he can beat any fighter with a pulse and a brain (sorry, Makhmudov). I think this would be a close fight, but I would edge Knyba based on the simple fact that Knyba has some power in his hands, and that would certainly equalize the lack of offensive variance against Fury.

Filip Hrgovic: I take Hrgovic by decision. He'll outwork and outbox him for most of the fight.

Lawrence Okolie: I don't know if Okolie looks good without PEDs. I will give Kynba this win.

Fabio Wardley: Wardley is going to have some trouble due to his lack of boxing skills, but his killer instinct will be too much for Knyba, who doesn't have the best recovery.

Richard Riakporhe: I think Riakporhe has some good pressure fighting skills, and I think he can beat the giant to a decision. But we haven't seen him enough against good competition at heavyweight for me to make that statement with any confidence.

Frank Sanchez: I almost see this fight the same way as the Ajagba fight, but I think Knyba would do better than Ajagba and possibly be up in the fight until Sanchez eventually counters Knyba and really hurts him. Sanchez by KO.

Efe Ajagba: Jab battle! I think Ajagba is the more well-rounded fighter, but he has significantly worse feet. However, he has a similar reach to Knyba, which basically mitigates the distance problem. He does have a better chin, though, and he's more experienced than Ajagba. Ajagba by decision.

Joseph Parker: I think Parker is going to win quite comfortably if he loses weight.

Artem Suslenkov: Quite a basic fighter. He only really beat Joyce because Joyce didn't have the stamina, was overweight, and had been out of the ring for over a year. Knyba keeps him on the outside with his jab.

Nelson Hysa: I said this before, but Knyba is everything Hysa is marketed as: a tall guy with a good jab, good feet, and a killer right hand. Hysa's terrible defense ends with a Knyba KO.

So in total, I have him beating Gassiev, Joshua, Fury, Okolie, Suslenkov, and Hysa.[/QUOTE]

 

@KirkK

I think Fury isn't the fighter he once was. He's 100% washed. He would struggle with a guy who has a longer reach, decent stamina, a good right hand, and is intelligent. Fury, who never had great power to begin with, has looked like he's had a sharp decrease in power in recent fights and training clips. He's become sloppy, his stamina has taken a hit, and he has many defensive lapses.

Parker needs to lose weight to comfortably beat Knyba because he's quite flat-footed when he weighs 260, but he can still beat Knyba at that weight because he's still a good fighter. Sanchez has a great deal of power and is a very good counterpuncher. He's too patient, but he's not like Fury in any way, so I don't know why picking him to beat Knyba somehow puts my Fury vs Knyba prediction into question.

 

Plenty Of evidence. It is barely on tv anymore. Went from one of the top sports in the United States to being on the same level as bowling and tiddlywinks.

 

IN THE UNITED STATES. It is healthy elsewhere in the world.

You said the sport was in its death throws. Incorrect on multiple levels.

1) It is a fringe sport in the United States. It is healthy elsewhere.

2) You said in its death throws. Arguably, the decline is over and we are in a little Netflicks bounce. Dana White just created a league that will be more American based.

3) "Death" is a pretty absolute word. The sport has been around since the dawn of time--it ain't going anywhere. They had boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts (pancreation) in ancient Greece. I am sure there were people arguing over which was better then, as well as those that would just rather watch the nude javelin throwing.