Bunce Hour & 5live Boxing: 2 Hours of Radio Boxing tonight

Yea, caught a fair bit of this earlier tonight, it was fairly decent.

 

I liked the way they referred to people who didn't back a Harrison vs Haye fight, as 'boxing purists'.

A compliment, a very welcome one too, but I think that's pushing it a bit to say the very least!!

People just wish to see the best in the division fight, something Haye himself has been shouting his head off about for years, they'd all get paid ridiculous amounts of money for doing so too.

I don't think calling for Haye to fight the other belt holders in the division, makes one some kind of total boxing puritan, some sort of mental boxing extremist!?

 

I have got to agree with Barry Hearn on the point he made about the Haye v Harrison fight, if fights are just made to please die-hard Boxing fans like us, Boxing will never grow.

Fights like Haye v Harrison will reach out to the wider public and maybe keep them interested in the sport.

 

Very good point:good

 

I thought Lou Bella was a revelation last night - he really says it how it is. The essential point he was making was the lack of quality match ups and for a promoter to come out and say that is very refreshing.

I thought the radio pundits really exaggerated the state of play in the UK and completely avoided the fundamental point that De Bella was making - the complete lack of quality match ups. Sure there are brilliant prospects coming through and many that are on the cusp of world title fights - but it seems that everyone of them is steered away from their top domestic rivals.

Some of the match ups in the magnificent 7 are welcome i.e. Sexton-Chisora and Brook-Jennings but we are being asked to pay for this and we need to get these type of fights on every card:good

 

Lou Dibella and Kevin Iole were brilliant on this show. Both totally honest and were right about everything. On the other hand, I thought Bob Arum and Barry Hearn were bad for the sport of boxing with their dishonest, selfish comments.

Boxing is going downhill and frankly it's becoming a disgrace. Yes it's a business, and yeah it's a tough one but at the end of the day it's also a sport. That's why it gets sanctioned and isn't banned. Of course money comes into it as it does to any sport but what's going on right now in boxing is nothing to do with sporting competition and all about money making. The best fights in boxing aren't being made because promoters are short sighted and only interested in making as much money as possible for themselves, hence why we've got a Pacquiao-Margarito (Top Rank only) fight and other genuine world class contenders are getting dismissed because they're not 'big enough names'? Ridiculous.

As for the Haye-Harrison joke.. Wladimir Klitschko is the world heavyweight champion, David Haye isn't. That's as near a fact as is possible in boxing these days. Right now Haye is the top contender and should be doing everything to make this fight happen, like he was a year ago before he was offered a meaningless alphabelt instead. If Haye now goes and fights Audley Harrison (the world ranked number 42..), it's a backward step and he'll lose half the fanbase he's got left.

 

I have to say I was bemused by some of the comments about that. There they were talking generally about the state of boxing worldwide with too many meaningless fights and titles, then one of them had the cheek to say that British boxing is in good shape because Amir Khan and David Haye hold alphabelt titles?

And you're right this magnificent 7 card is a very good card (or at least was until the inevitable pullouts), but these type of fights should be on every card. That's the only way to put boxing back in the mainstream but I don't think that'll happen for another few years yet until they're really struggling.

 

A flop?
Now that is a joke.
Roberto, that is just mad.

Adios.

 

I agree with this also, as much as the die hard fans perhaps dont want to see it, this fight WILL sell, and the die hards will end up watching it.

A Klitschko fight is inevitable, it will happen, we just need to be patient and see through all the trash talk.

 

Is it?

 

Rob has a point Bunce. When there is a boxing match coming up people I know will ask me about it. In this case I will confirm that it is a terrible match they shouldn't pay for and they are likely to listen. Rob will do the same I am sure, and so on.

I'm a massive Haye fan who has followed him around the country (and to your Bethnal Green stand up show) by the way. But what is right is right.

 

Wrote my post before I saw your response Rob, but I think we agree. A bit worrying.