Based on what Hopkins has said, my main guess was GGG, followed by DeGale or Stevenson, with the latter two being unlikely due to the HBO/Haymon situation. However, now those two guys seem like the best candidates IMO (I think Beterbiev is still injured)..
Wow, that was sad. Something is seriously off with Alvarado.
Overall, a pretty bad card. What's worse is there isn't another significant card for another month.
It seems a bit far fetched to me that the fight could have been fixed. Stiverne was throwing KO punches throughout the fight and landed a good one here and there. How would he know those punches wouldn't KO Wilder?
This is the same guy who struggled against Ray Austin.
Interesting matchup. Stiverne's is so sluggish on his feet that I think it might be difficult for him to get in range against the height, reach, and speed of Wilder. I mean look at his performance Austin where he looked completely mediocre in a fight that was close to even before he got the...
That's true but I just feel like Pacquiao's speed and countering ability is so much greater that it will likely make him hesitant about opening up as has been the case with many Pacquiao opponents. Maybe he won't shell up quite to the extent of Mosley but I just feel like he won't be doing...
Roach mentioned that Pacquiao told him that he wants to KO Algieri in the 1st round and that he never says things like that so we might see an aggressive Pacquiao in the 1st round. Personally, I think Pacquiao's speed is going to be too much and either he's going to get Algieri out early or...
I've been around since the Nikepark days and remember when Niketalk was first formed. I lurked for a little bit and then signed up at some point in '00 and again in '04.
I'd have to favor Kovalev vs. Stevenson. Both possess great power and don't take the best punch, but I got to go with the guy who seems to have a higher level of skill and I believe that's Kovalev.
Looks like Michael is saying Beterbiev is ready for Kovalev right now. Not sure how realistic...
Here's some prop bet options for Hopkins-Kovalev (courtesy of 5dimes.com):
I'm tempted by the +2000 for the Hopkins winning within the distance. I know to most it probably sounds like a sucker bet considering Hopkins hasn't stopped anyone in 10 years but I have my suspicions about Kovalev's...
Yeah, I don't think he'll get knocked out. He spoken about how he knows there's a segment of the fans and media who would love to see him laid out on canvas with his mouthpiece having to be taken out and it just seems that he doesn't want to give anyone that satisfaction. Kovalev hasn't really...
Yeah, I thought it was kind of strange they aired it so far in advance.
EDIT: I forget that it was aired after the Golovkin-Rubio card and HBO doesn't have any other cards in between. Maybe they get more viewership when airing directly after a card opposed to having it aired by itself on a...
That's true but it's a different network. I don't want to speculate too much since I don't know the ins-and-outs of their business but whatever reason HBO typically doesn't invest too much into the promotion of non-PPV cards not to mention it's quite expensive to produce a 24/7 series...
Don't forget this is a non-PPV card and it probably isn't in their budget to produce a multi-part series for this type of card In fact, to my knowledge, they've never produced a multi-part series for anything other than a PPV.
Here's a little bonus (~10 minutes) that HBO uploaded yesterday...
Actually, Algieri isn't promoted by Arum/Top Rank.
Honestly, I think there's a lot more to be gained from Pacquiao winning and Algieri was probably chosen because he's not perceived to be too threatening. Generally Arum likes to keep fights in-house because even in the event of an upset, at...