would this work? He was masterful against direll. Will the final be Uzi v smith? And if so....Would he beat smith in the final?
Excellent news as a back up. Ideally it's best that the final is Groves and Smith but if that ends up not possible it's vital it contains two of the best super middleweights in the world, and not someone who has already lost in the tournament.
Hang on ...that would rule out eugod....er I mean Eubank. Imagine if smith gets an injury...and its Eubank v Uzi in the final!!! I think Uzis would beat smith....
I was amazed at the improvement uzcategui showed from a few years ago, he really has added so much to his game. Against direll he showed great intelligent yet aggressive movement, particularly sophisticated head movement,a very active guard, constant feinting, moving side to side and up and down, great footwork and balance, lots of tricky shots from both hand from awkward angles etc. He kept the pressure on for 3 minutes of every round. I don't rate uzi as a puncher, but I really think he would give smith or groves a torrid time. I'm not sure either could cope with him.
I need to See a bit more of him to be honest to make my mind up but from what I did see the other night and it was only part of the fight he looked very impressive. Will watch more of his in the coming days.
He did well against Dirrell but Dirrell was done, really. But he has definitely improved. His feet are still clumsy but he'd be Smith's best win, if he was able to. Would be nice if Zurdo stopped trying to make a fight with Fielding and offered to step in.
Dirrell was shot and a sitting duck target. Yet still landed some big single hand shots on Uz. I haven’t been impressed with Smith in the tournament but I’d back him to destroy Uz. Don’t want to see it anyway, Groves in the final or just scrap the whole thing.
Us would give smith a good fight but it would ruin the final if they replace groves. They should wait for him to get fit or at least replace him with a world title holder.
Hang on ctf. Even if direll was "shot"....and he seemed well prepared and confident going in....a win like that over a shot direll still easily trumps Smiths performance against the elderly kick boxer, surely? No way does the limited, stiff, one dimensional smith from that last fight "destroy" Uz. I doubt smith beats him at all, never mind destroy him.
I don't really want to see any final except Groves vs Smith, even if it means waiting a bit longer what's the harm? As a stand alone fight Uzgategui vs Smith is a good fight well worth watching.
Its not the final then though it's just another fight. They HAVE to have the 2 finalists or no pint completing the tournament
I think most European level SMWs would have a good shot at being today’s Dirrell. Andre’s legs have gone. Time will tell how good Smith’s win over Holzken really is. I think Holzken proved he is better than we all expected. Uzcategui gets hit too often, I think Smith would have a field day.
That’s how I feel. Can’t have a final of a tournament with someone who’s a) lost in an earlier round or b) hasn’t fought their way to a final!
