Conor Benn signs for Zuffa

No boxer will be afraid to get in the ring. To be honest terms like “duck”, “avoid” etc are just semantics. The reality is that Usyk has decided not to fight Wardley, the WBO champ. He’s obviously not going to be scared of Fabio and most people would back him to completely school and probably stop Fabio after seeing how easily Huni outboxed him.

Like any boxer in his position, he’ll have weighed up the following factors:
- Which opponent generates the most money for me?
- Which opponent is the easiest for me?
- Which opponent hits harder?
- What do the fans/casuals want to see?

Etc Etc

I believe that he’s looked at Wardley and decided that not only can he get an easier more lucrative fight but that “this guy stopped Parker and clearly hits like a freight train topped with an iron chin. I cba with that, I’d rather box a novice boxer and get paid more”.

You can argue that he’s entitled to do that but for me when he’s holding onto the WBC, WBA and Ring championship titles it’s not great for the sport. If he vacated I don’t think many would begrudge him the Rico fight as he’s earned it being a road warrior and fighting anyone at HW.

I agree with people who say Usyk gets off lightly especially compared to AJ and Fury taking these crossover fights. For me it was really poor when he mentioned fighting Wilder and the cope from people suggesting he just wanted to complete the “trifecta” of Fury, Joshua and Wilder was a poor justification since Wilder is so blatantly done as a boxer.

 

This is not what boxing wants its champions doing. Destroys the sport

 

Is Dutch kickboxing that massive to make this fight commercially viable?

The whole thing makes 0 sense

 

3:06 in. Does this sound a bit like something you were talking about @Astro ?

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This is what gets me, I’ve never even heard of this fella. I don’t watch UFC, but I knew Conor McGregor and had heard of Francis Ngannou, so I sort of get those circus fights. Plus a lot of people watch and enjoy UFC, so you’re bound to attract a bit of a crossover audience.

But what fooker watches kick boxing? It’s not been on telly since Eurosport in the 90s, so what new eyeballs is this bringing? Maybe the geezer is big on TikTok or the ‘Gram and that justifies it, but it just seems the most obscure ‘crossover’ opponent you could find.

 

That’s 100% how this came about. Turki saw this guy knock someone out in a kickboxing match in a 10 second social media club and decided that he could pose a threat to Usyk.

 

Probably saw it on his phone while sat ringside at Stevenson - Lopez.

 

I don't want to comment further right now.

I can add that there is a lot of bull**** going on behind the scenes. Boxers being threatened if they sign with Zuffa Boxing etc.

 

Fair enough. What a dirty old business boxing is! Well hopefully all these shenanigans doesn't affect your job in any way.

 

Reminds me of when 50 Cent thought Gamboa would beat Floyd

 

The promoters can shout and scream at the boxers but they can't stop Zuffa Boxing from signing all the big names in the coming months.

 

By the way : Will the fight on March 24th be the last one for Moses Itauma before he signs with Zuffa Boxing ?

 

I just don't believe this.

Students of wrestling will remember the 1980s when the local family promotions and their "territories" got killed off. There has always been secondary wrestling all along because there's always a TV station needing content. TNA can still fill stadiums because one promotion can't accommodate everyone.

I suspect in short order, Matchroom might end up as the second fiddle and might end up going in with the likes of Queensberry for UK promotions, plus other regional promotions around the world to fulfil its DAZN contract.

The comparisons to UFC are a nonsense because there's just no history or amateur pedigree in MMA; when UFC started the point was to figure out what MMA even meant and what style of fighting would take over; boxing has its rules and structure, amateur and olympic boxing, and TKO will only take a few of those at a time.

I'm not remotely a fan of the alphabet bodies but there will always be more boxing than Zuffa even if it's the primary one in casual minds.

 

I kind of thought he would be high up on the Zuffa shopping list. Being a heavyweight with so much potential, it's a no-brainier they would make a move for him.