I agree and good point with the height thing,people say that it's bad to be short,not if you know how to use it in you'r favor,his last 2 opponents were 6'3(Hoye) and 6'2(Henry) and they couldn't use their height
Old or not, Branco's a step up from Henry and Diaconu did not look good in that fight. I would not be surprised one bit if Branco pulled out a win here. I think you Diaconu fans are just trying to sweep the last fight under the rug and are hoping that Diaconu wins emphatically to put it even further in the rear-view mirror. Everybody is allowed to have a night where they don't look so good and even losing is acceptable but when you get a title shot against a nobody in your own backyard you don't let it go the distance and eek out a decision. Diaconu's just lucky that it was Chris Henry in the ring with him that night and not some real threat. That title was manufactured for Diaconu to get and now we'll see if he's really worthy of having it cuz Branco knows this is his last chance so he'll come to fight. Make no mistake.
I don't think that Branco at this point is a step up fron Henry,don't get it wrong,Henry is a good fighter,so is Braco but he is a bit passed it.In the Henry figth Adi had a tone of problems from being sick to a 11 month layoff(and there are a lot)but he still got the job done even if barely,Dawson didn't look good against Johnson either.I seriously don't think that Branco is a step up,Henry is a up and comer,was undefeated,top 10 The Ring,dirty inside fighter,monster chin,and yes Branco has a good chin himself,good heart but he is not a stepup from Henry to me
It's not the 42 year old thing,it's how he has been preseerved:Branco has taken a lot of shots on the chin,he's lost speed but still has the warrior heart and still a good chin,will make for a rntertaining fight.
Well, of course its the 42 year old thing. That means he's had a lot of fights and a lot of wars. Logically, no human being is anywhere near their physical peak at 42 years old so its always a huge factor.
Branco's a step up IMO cuz he's the more experienced fighter. He's no worldbeater but I wouldn't sneeze at having his name in my win column. He's fought just about everyone outside of Calzaghe and even managed to beat a few guys along the way. Henry's a decent fighter, no argument from me there. The thing with him is that he goes from fighting nobodies to fighting Diaconu for a world title in Romania and that's a huge step no matter what anyone says. A fighter in that position may tell you that he belongs before the fight but his body language and actions in the ring tell you otherwise, that perhaps he has to actually convince himself that he belongs on that stage. I'm not making any assumptions but Henry got going late in the fight. Branco's different cuz he's been there before. He knows he belongs and there's nothing that will surprise him. That's why Diaconu has to be ready for a hard fight.
Yeah but if we talk only the age thing,look at Hopkins,he's 43 and hasn't been in wars,he's better preserved as a fighter,that's what I'm saying.
Yeah, thats kinda obvious. This is Silvio Branco we're talking about, not exactly a defensive master. I remember Richie Woodhall doing a job on him many moons ago.
I'm guessing that Diaconu stops Branco late in what will probably be a close fight up until that point. It won't be one of those desperation KO's where Diaconu's down on the cards (see Erdei/Sahnoune for that) but it'll be necessary to ensure that the fight isn't disputable.
I'm not saying it's not gonna be a hard fight,at least in the beggining and I mentioned Branco's wins along the time and there are some good ones(he damn beat Glen Johnson among otheres) but at this point Idon't consider him a step up altough even last year he had a good effort in the Drews fight but I don't think it's gonna be the same Diaconu,he probably will look better,IF HE DOESN'T UNDERSTIMATE HIM,no more problems from the Henry fight.We will just have to see