Brerlappins little hat wrote:Phatman wrote:I'm bored, so here is my boxing predictions. Happy to debate any point.
Big Fight Predictions
Carl Froch vs Jermain Taylor
Physical:
Carl Froch - Very good power in either hand, rock solid chin and excellent stamina. Not particularly quick however, in handspeed, reaction or footspeed.
Jermain Taylor - Very quick with his hands and his feet. Very long reach for a former middleweight. Questionable stamina and chin however.
Technical:
Carl Froch - Nice short power shots, particularly with the uppercut. Underrated jab (even by himself). Has an extremely poor defence however and stationary footwork.
Jermain Taylor - Piston jab and straight right combination. Decent defence and textbook footwork. Timid with power shots, although this is a mild criticism.
Mental:
Carl Froch - Very aggressive and a good finisher. Excellent timing for counter power shots. Big heart for a brawl, doesn't easily break and hasn't thus far. Intelligent enough to adapt mid-fight. Looking for the big shot a little too much however.
Jermain Taylor - Intelligent combination puncher, but seems to lack the heart for a brawl and a poor finisher. Prefers to box than to fight.
Prediction: Froch by stoppage. Taylor to outbox Froch early, but Froch to outlast Taylor and slowly hurt him until the fight is stopped. Probably late.
Ricky Hatton vs Manny Pacquiao
Physical:
Ricky Hatton - Strong physically with good power. Always well-conditioned and surprisingly quick with both handspeed and footwork. Chin seems to be suspect and his reach is extremely poor however. Cuts and bruises easily.
Manny Pacquiao - Lightning quick with both handspeed, footwork and reactions. Good power, but unlikely to be knockout-level at this weight. Well conditioned. Chin is debatable; knocked out twice years ago as a flyweight and seemingly untroubled since, but relatively unproven at higher weights considering that Diaz and De La Hoya barely hit him.
Technical:
Ricky Hatton - Excellent body puncher, extremely underrated jab and solid power shots. Footwork is good when attacking. Defence is questionable, although likely to be better than ever having been tweaked by Mayweather Sr. Ditto for head movement.
Manny Pacquiao - Arguably the best footwork in boxing. Lethal, accurate power shots. Much improved jab. Very reasonable defence. Not great off the backfoot.
Mental:
Ricky Hatton - Very aggressive, arguably to the point of recklessness. Has the heart for a brawl. Seems to be easily rattled however, which destroys tactics.
Manny Pacquiao - Intelligent fighting in a brawl or in a boxing fight. Well disciplined. Good timing and a decent combination puncher. Flustered on the backfoot.
Prediction: Pacquiao on points. Probably won't be close, with Pacquiao dominating from the outside. Hatton should be able to survive and take the fight to Pacquiao, but is unlikely to find a way to win.
Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye:
Physical:
Wladimir Klitschko - Tall, lean and well conditioned. Good reach. Excellent power and reasonable speed for a heavyweight. Very questionable chin however and seems to cut easily.
David Haye - Well conditioned and extremely quick, in reaction, handspeed and footwork. Explosive power in either hand. Very questionable chin as well and questionable balance.
Technical:
Wladimir Klitschko - Great jab and straight right combination. Good defence and fairly textbook footwork. Well crafted power shots. Arguably too textbook in technique, meaning potentially predictable.
David Haye - Great power shots, excellent footwork and an underrated body-puncher. Defence barely exists however and seems relatively poor from the outside.
Mental:
Wladimir Klitschko - Intelligent and always alert, but timid and often misses chance to finish opponents as a result. Predictable at times. Has heart to get off the canvas, but not to engage in a brawl.
David Haye - Aggressive and a great finisher. Wants to be involved in a brawl and has the heart to climb off the floor, but is perhaps reckless. Seems to be indisciplined.
Prediction: Haye by stoppage. Klitschko to be too timid and predictable. Eventually Haye will land something big which troubles Klitschko. This could easily change though if Klitschko lands big first or if he somehow finds a way to keep on the outside and jab his way to victory.
Excellent post phatman
Id agree with most of it, id love to see hatton win but i just cant picture him beating pacman at all
Yup, great post Phatman.
Froch - Taylor: Has the potential to be a great fight. Taylor as you say is technically more accomplished but I've never felt he has the heart to be great in the sport. If Froch manages to turn it into a brawl early on he'll win within 5 IMO. If Taylor works the jab and stays on the outside he could win on points. I can't see Froch getting knocked down, as he's got a strawberry floating granite chin. Some of the shots he took in the Pascal fight would have felled an elephant.
Prediction - I see a cagey opening from both fighters, lots of jabs. It'll warm up near the middle rounds and I see a knockout by Froch round about the 7th, 8th round. Too much power, wants it more. This is his chance to be the new Calzaghe (at least in his eyes).
Hatton - Pacquiao: Really torn on this one. Pacquiao's stepping up in wieght and Ricky's always been best at light-welterweight. However, just look at the state of Oscar's face after the Pacquiao fight and you'll see that Manny took his power up with him. Even though Hatton's made huge improvements with Mayweather Sr, he's got a hell of a contest on his hands.
Prediction - I can see this going one of three ways: 1) Hatton's power is too much and he bullies Pacquiao on to the back foot, starts landing clean shots around the 3rd/4th round and wins by KO around the 6th. 2) Pacquiao's speed and accuracy are too much for Hatton and he takes a prolonged pummelling resulting in a landslide points loss or his corner throws in the towel in a late round. 3) (And I had a dream that this was how it would go) It's a close-fought contest with both fighters rocking the other throughout. However, Manny's handspeed and slashing shots to the face result in a nasty eye cut for Hatton and the ref stops it with Manny sneaking it on points.
Haye-Klitschko: First up, Haye's fighting the right brother. There's no way in hell Wlad can take more than a couple of Haye's straight rights and stay on his feet. It's one of the most brutal straight rights I've seen since Tommy Hearns. Not only is it heavy, it's fast. Wlad can jab and use his size advantage to push Haye backwards but I really think he's scared of Haye's power. However, Haye has a habit of running straight backwards when he defends and I can see him getting knocked down at some point. I don't think Wlad can knock him out, but he can knock him down and score a 10-8 round.
Prediction: Haye by KO, maybe as early as 4. I think Wlad will want to take this one the distance and stay on the outside but Haye's as quick as he is strong and Wlad can't avoid those right hands all night.
But, what I love about boxing is that it's all so unpredictable and the whole bout can turn on its head in a milisecond. That's why I'm putting a few quid on Hatton to win.
On a related note: Edwin Valero wants the winner of Hatton-Pacquiao. Now that is a strawberry floating fight. Anyone unfamiliar with Valero, all you need to know is this: 25 fights. 25 knock outs. 19 within the first round.
On an unrelated note: I was at an event for the THQ UFC game last week at Paul Taylor's gym where I met him and Bisping. Not really a UFC fan, but they both seemed like quality geezers.