We have a huge year ahead of us. Hatton has another shot at the pinnacle of the sport in an absolute megafight. To boot, Pac is a better matchup for him, which I give him a decent chance of winning. Lose it, and he is probably finished as an elite operator, and he can only tempt up some LW's, and clear out LWW. Still has loads of options, but if he beats Pac it opens up about 3 or 4 megafights at LWW for him, ie Diaz, Marquez, Campbell. Hatton still has time to become a great, if he beats Pac. Then we have Haye - Wladimir. He will probably lose, but it will be fun and full of hype. And if he does win, then we have a new Star, and a megafight with Vitali on the horizon. Could be where it all begins for him. Calzaghe, I think will fight again. Hate the *****, but he is obviously not content with retiring, otherwise he woulda announced it. Hopefully Dawson or Johnson. And he will win either fight and enhance his growing legacy, so its all good. Froch will probably get Taylor. Dont think he will win, but if he does, he might set up a good fight with Kessler or Bute. So another possible star. And Khan. I have a nasty feeling he will beat Barrera, and that will establish him as a decent contender/prospect. And not a complete hypejob. On the other hand Haye, Khan and Hatton may get destroyed, (More likely outcome) and Calzaghe stays retired. Froch gets schooled by Taylor. Its a make or break year, British boxing is on a great high ATM, we have some genuinely elite operators, but all of which may crash and burn in 09. Gonna be fun though.
Hatton will lose by knockout, he will be outclassed in all likelihood. Haye I give a reasonable chance, but logically I have to take Wladimir. Calzaghe would have a very tough fight on his hands with Dawson, I'd slightly favour him for his experience and work-rate. I'm sure he'd beat Johnson. Froch will lose to Taylor easily by decision. I havn't decided on Barrera/Khan yet. I would prefer to see how MAB looks in his upcoming fight before making any final judgements. So if these fights happen, I predict the Brits will go 1-3 with one undecided.
We have this thread every round of fights. We had one in September-ish before Hatton-Paulie, Haye-Monte, Joe-RJJ and Froch-Pascal. They all won.
Hatton-Pac-Man , Haye-Wlad, both Hatton and Haye will be the underdogs but these are fights which are as winnable as they are loseable JC-Dawson if Joe hits top form as per usual he wins UD Froch-Taylor worries me with his speed and slickness but Froch HAS THE POWER!! i'm sure
Mixed bag. I reckon Joe C to retire Hatton to oupoint Pac Haye to be beaten Froch to be beaten I'll reserve judgement on Khan until I see a little more of this version of Barrera, but I presume a Khan win based on FW not lining him up for another loss!
I think this will be both Joes and Rickys last year and the possibility of Haye getting knocked out is always there. Maybe somebody will take us by surprise on the world stage but i wouldnt get my hopes up too soon.
Pac 60-40 Hatton Haye 50-50 Wlad (I really think it is a 50-50 fight) Froch 40-60 Taylor (not likely to happen anyway) Khan 70-30 Barrera Joe C 70-30 Dawson/Johnson So I believe every british fighter has a good chance in their fights, plus other factors making it a big year include; Cook defending his world title Enzo trying to get back to world status in the cruiserweight division Ryan Rhodes possibly fighting for a world title at the end of the year Brook, Cleverly, Murray and Appleby all continuing to progress Mitchell possibly fighting for a title Hide possibly fighting for a world title if he wins his next fight The 'olympians' beginning their journey in the pro ranks Thaxton and Munroe defending their european titles Fury and Chisora trying to add some credibility to the british heavyweight scene. Jennings giving it his all against cotto and not doing a 'lockett' ...Just to name a few!
This year really could be the one to end a few golden years for british boxing though. Hatton and Calzaghe have led the resurgence and got worldwide fame and recognition. Haye has emerged as a genuine contender for being a worldwide star as well. However, Calzaghe will probably retire, Hatton will probably get spanked and retire, and Haye will probably get beat, and British boxing will be back down the shitter. Scary thought, but more than likely.
Wlad is there for the taking I will be putting money on this when it's announced. Haye has greater speed, equal power and arguably a better chin. Froch will KO Taylor for sure. Taylor strikes me as a guy who just in boxin for the money and doesn't actually enjoy it so he wil be nowhere near as hungry. JC outpoints whoever is put in front of him as always. Hatton has a great chance against Pac, he is the bigger man, bigger puncher and has the better chin. See, loads to look forward to!