I know he wasn't ranked in the WBC's top 2 but c'mon, what else does he have to do to get a shot? He's 7-0 as a cruiserweight and has stoppage victories over the undefeated Russian fighter and Rudiger May in his last 2 fights. Normally, that would be enough under any circumstances to warrant a title shot. What has Fragomeni done besides hanging in tough against Haye? Who has he beat? Hide deserved this fight.
Frag has fought in WBC eliminator with Haye and is Euro champ. That is what has kept him high in the rankings. Hide has done well, I hope to see him do something worthwhile. I want to see Hide and Enzo clear up cruiser.
But he lost that fight and hasn't beaten anyone of note since then. Hide is the WBC international champ. This was a title held within the organization itself and not some independent belt like the EU championship. That should count for something ranking-wise.
Yep. I am kind of disapointed in the match up between Fragamoni and Kraj but I feel this is more of a step up fight for Kraj to look good in and help him progress. Kraj is a fantasic talent and although he can be lazy at times he is maybe the second best prospect in the division behind Alexeev. The choice of Fragamoni as his opponent is a good one. Fragamoni is still a decent name and has a wealth of experience but on his last performance I can not see him lasting the full distance with Kraj, I do not believe Frag has enough left in him to force the pace and take the rounds. Fragamoni has been hand picked and Hide still offers too much of a threat for a young fighter. Maybe Hide can get a crack after one or two more fights but he really needs to step up in opposition. The undefeated Russian was decent but May was a joke and fought awful like he had been doing for awhile. Hopefully Hide will get an eliminator if his promoter pushes it. I can see him beating most of the top 10 but he may be considered a big risk for most of the prospects to face. Hide vs Cunningham/ Firat or Goddfrey would be interesting.
I didn't know he was WBC int champ. That's weird because that belt gets you a top 20 ranking. I'm sure it's just a case of Frag getting lucky with the rules. However I'm sure Frags had soem good fights.
Yep. I can see him getting a shot within the year. A couple more good fights and a step up in opposition will do him no harm.
Yeah but he's no kid. Some of these champs tie the belts up for months at a time. Easy defense after easy defense with long layoffs thrown in for good measure. We'll have 2 new titleholders aside from Arslan and Cunningham. Arslan gave a dangerous fighter like Wilson a chance that was completely unwarranted but don't expect him to be charitable to Hide. I highly doubt that Arslan would take 2 dangerous fights in a row. Cunningham's busy fighting Adamek next and would probably be looking towards a unification fight should he win. I'd imagine Adamek would do the same in the case that he wins. Herbie's not a mandatory so why take the risk? Herbie's gonna have to wait for things to unfold, fight a couple more fights, and become the WBC's mandatory.
Hide was supposed to fight Fragomeni..well it was talked about anyway. So he's not ducking people at cruiser. It would be good to see him get a title shot and he should get one against Krajp resuming he gets by Fragomeni. Hide can be a bit of a knob but i'd like to see him get a shot too.
Kraj will stop Hide inside four rounds. I like Hide and think he can still do a job but he is untested against decent opposition at the weight in terms of the guys in the top 20. Hide vs Frag would have been good and I would have picked Hide to win. He always has a punchers chance against anyone but I can not see him beating Kraj or Alexeev.
There is no reason for Macca not to have everything left. Hide isn't what he once was but with some intelligence and scary power, he is still a force.
I agree that Hide has built up a decent stoppage record, (mainly against very moderate opposition), and a fight with Enzo Macc would be interesting. However, intelligence has never been Herbie's biggest asset.