atsch :| i am really disappointed now. sultan vs. wladimir could EASILY make that date. 1. wladimir hasn't announced a new opponent and usually when it's announced it's on. so he's still free. 2. chagaev pulled out, but why couldn't unification continue? wladimir does not have to fight a mandatory until at least 2009, due to IBF tournament :yikes 3. i realise evander brings huge money to the table, but guess what? so does wladimir! sure most of the money would from europe instead of america but if sultan is fighting a 45 year old super faded fighter, then he's choosing the easier option without a doubt. 4. as naive as it sounds im still hoping against hope, that chagaev pulled out to face wladimir instead. obviously this is 99.99% not the case, but stranger things have happened. if this is the case, then sultan and warrior boxing promotions are going to be the reason for no unfication ever if the potential ever arises again. same for chageav. if he isn't unifying with wladimir then he and co. are to be blamed for future fallouts in potential negotiations. 5. this screwup by both fighters have just ruined their legitamacy! if they both ever squeal and say reasons for why a unification is difficult, then i choose to believe wladimir or his brother once he gets the wbc belt. :-( a sad day for boxing fans. but a good day for evander fans. of course it could all be legit. maybe chageav has a serious injury but somehow i feel holyfield paid a huge sum as step aside, and likewise to sultan. disgusting the whole mess. no more predictions from me :-( american's should vote with their feet. stop watching past legends on their senior tours guide and either A. fight legit top ten fighters to earn their shots, and if they try for belts based on nostalgia and cash, then B. stop watching them all together. no more PPV's. the decay in american boxing is getting worst. not world boxing. look at all the recent fights. jones jr., holyfield, toney, hopkins. carefully crafted to look like they still have something when if they actaully fought a young hungry REAL champs they'd be OUTTA there! at least holyfield will learn the hard way like a lot of old champs do :-( p.s. i nearly forgot. roy as stated he is thinking of a tarver jones 4th fight... and you know what? he'll do it cause nostalgic fans would rather see two 40 year olds posture and pose for 36 minutes than watch fighters that might be foriegners but really put on a fight (briggs, adamek springs to mind in jones/tarver division). and THEN the american public and sport writers have the audacity to bemoan the ENTIRE state of "world" boxing! really!
When is the fight definitely happening? The Sultan v Holy one? Wlad could make the fight and would take it. But do any of the champs want to take the fight and take an L with it?
the holy vs. ibragimov fight is still on the same date that was for unification. october 6th. sultan would already be in decent shape before serious training starts (im sure he's learnt something from the austin fight), and wladimir as we all know comes into camp in shape to begin with. wladiimir only needs a 8 week camp due to constant fitness outside of camp. to slip holyfield in there is unbelievable after all the bull shite that warrior promotions went on with. and im ashamed to say, i fell for it big time :-(
Vlad is too high risk for them, even if he would give them the biggest purses of their careers ..... Lets hope Chagaev makes a quick recovery and takes a unification fight with Vlad.
Wlad couldn't make the date. He was supposed to fight once more on HBO before the end of the year, but, due to a hand injury he suffered in the Brewster fight he isn't going to fight for the rest of the year now. It is one of the reasons HBO ponied up extra money for Calzaghe-Kessler, 'cause they didn't have to pay Wlad for one more fight this year.
:bart I don't believe that for a second. I'm not calling you a liar but you've been misled, bamboozled & run amok! Even if the fight date had to be moved due to Wlad's in jured hand, as much as a month later, they could've gotten it done, they just chose not to - period. I've lost a lot of respect for both Ibragimov & Chagaev, esp. if Ruslan's injury turns out to be slight.
I don't think Evander being 45, and after merely beating a Big Lou, will bring in the PPV buyers like they are hoping for. People won't see Evander as a credible enough opponent, yet. And Ibragimov is only known by his immediate family, his buddy Timor, and a few fans in Germany. So there's no real draw there, either. LOL I think whomever set this fight up is in for a letdown, come time to count up the PPV buys. :blood
im still waiting to find out what exactly is wrong with ruslan. and about the hand injury wladimir himself shot down the rumours stating it was swelling of the hands (knuckles area? can't remember). he said it would not affect his next fight date towards end of year. also mentioned that this hand injury is something that happens after some fights. no big deal was his words. however if wladiimir was bullshitting and the hand is indeed screwed then iggy is in the clear. seriously wladimir has a 18+ months window of freedom before next mandatory... i think iggy will beat evander, so if he and warrior boxing just shrug and say they are tied up with mandatories afterwards then im not trusting a word that comes out of them ever again. P.S. actually after some more thought i realise that even more pressure will be applied by fans after this fiasco. since wladimir has free reign to pick his opponents until early-mid 2009, that means iggy and even ruslan will have to constantly make excuses for why they might potentially avoid wladimir. i mean, ruslan will have 1 mandatory in 2008... but iggy will potentially be free after the holyfield fight. why? cause i just remembered reading somewhere a while back that the WBO would consider making holyfield a mandatory if the fight took place... this means if wladimir and iggy are free for all 2008 who is to blame? in 2008 i will believe wladimir's case for difficulty if it arises since sultan will have dashed his credibility after holyfield fight. what can he and warrior boxing say in 2008? errr... we fought out mandatory and err... want to wait for ruslan to get healthy again?
H . fair enough maybe i was generalising a bit there. i know a lot of american fans want things to improve. but overall the situation is frustrating and people do have to stop buying PPV's of certain fights
nah, i was just trying to be typical. it is definitely frustrating. personally, i'd prefer all champs defenses to be televised (minus guys like John Ruiz) and on regular tv too.
Posted TODAY by Dan Rafael at ESPN I'm not calling you ignorant, I'm just saying that you choose to ignore boxing personnel more knowledgeable about the sport than yourself to proliferate your own less than informed personal opinions...
