boxing tonight

[presto]

joe calzaghe vs Peter Manfredo Jr
can't see past calzaghe here. (go to america for a decent fight joe!)

and yet more pointless fodder for amir khan against Steffy Bull.

bull is world ranked 260 - so don't accept the commentators saying it will be a tough fight for khan - it won't, it's just another notch in the win collum.

[mathare]

Yeah, should be easy wins for both Khan and Calzaghe but reallly looking forward to watching both fights

[presto]

will probably watch, however they are total miss-matches. calzaghe should be fighting kessler or off for a big fight in america instead of ducking the big fights, and khan should be after a british title.

de la hoya vs mayweather in a few weeks though - that wil be worth watching.

[presto]

after 2 rounds - i don't think khan's opponent has thrown a punch

[presto]

pathetic fight - total miss match.

[mathare]

Yep, Bull just ran around a lot trying not to get a good pasting. I thought Khan worked the body pretty well but it was a complete mismatch as you say.

Frank Warren has confirmed Khan will fight for a title in July though so that may be a better test of him

[bigcumba]

You have to laugh at the pathetic attempts of the commentators to talk up these numpty opponents... and Bull's manager supposedly said Khan was over-rated... what does that make his man!? I reckon Khan is the best fighter at his weight we've seen in many a year... and it'll be very interesting to see him in a proper title fight in the summer.

[yerotsluap]

great atmosphere for the calzaghe fight

[presto]

still think he's a bit behind the likes of diaz, casamayor, katsidis, freitas, barrios etc....... but hes on his way - a deffinate top 10 LW.
but fighting the opponents he has been doing is proving nothing. theres a massive domestic fight available with jonathan thaxton which i am sure both fighters will be after - maybe next year. but he should have a british title by now.

[presto]

easy for calzaghe

[bigcumba]

Very impressive from Calzaghe

[yerotsluap]

dont see the americans can complain it was stopped too early the way it was going if the ref didn't stop it Manfredo was going to get hurt he was just stood there trying to take calzaghes punches without throwing any of his own or trying to defend himself

[presto]

at least we don't have to pay for these poor fights. the yanks are pissed off to say the least after paying $49.99 for the khan / calzaghe walkovers.

[yerotsluap]

looks like Jermain Taylor next for calzaghe in July

[presto]

looks like Jermain Taylor next for calzaghe in July

will be a good fight
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................. unless calzaghe pulls out with 2 weeks notice, because of a broken hand or something

[mathare]

Was it stopped early? Maybe. But Calzaghe was battering the bloke. Ok, he wasn't pasting Manfredo into the canvas but the hand speed was incredible and for 50+ punches to fly in like that with Manfredo covering up and not even attempting to hit back the ref has to step in.

The post-fight interview from Manfredo showed he was gracious in defeat but it also showed his face was a bit beaten up.

Calzaghe did what he had to against an opponent who was never likely to test him. Just a shame it wasn't more of a contest.

Oh yeah, and Manfredo looks a fat bugger from the back. And his shorts are stupid.

[mathare]

And the Maccarenelli fight was a joke too. :(

[presto]

tonight was just another reason why MMA is now a bigger 'possibly better' sport than boxing.
theres just no 'big' fights anymore - well there are, but few and far between.

wheras every MMA match is organised by the governing bodies to produce the best match ups, not agents fighting over the pures protecting there fighters win record.

[mathare]

I just can't get into MMA. It's too wrestly for me and I don't understand the holds and the dynamics of the grappling. Two blokes standing up throwing punches or kicking I can understand. But all the MMA I have seen ends up with a cuddle on the floor

[presto]

i can see your point mat - it all really depends what fighting styles each fighter has, some prefer stand up some grappling / wrestling, but i suppose it all adds variety.

[bigcumba]

I'm with Mat here on the MMA... I first saw it a couple of years ago on holiday in Germany, on Eurosport I think, and wasn't at all impressed... saw it a couple of times that fortnight as there was nothing else we could watch - we all found it pretty boring and repetitive.

[presto]

i will make mma fans of you all one day :)

[mathare]

i will make mma fans of you all one day :)

I can see why it is gaining in popularity but without an understanding of some of the history of the sport and who's who I struggle to get interested in any sport. You need to feel involved and have a genuine interest in what is happening. And I must admit I have no desire to understand wrestling any better than I already do.

It's weird. I can watch darts, bowls, snooker, golf etc on TV but as soon as an MMA fight goes to the floor I reach for the remote control. It comes across as a dull power struggle punctuated by the occasional smack in the face. Not great TV in my opinion. Sure, if you understand the ins and outs of the grappling then it may be good to watch but I don't and don't really want to.

[mathare]

at least we don't have to pay for these poor fights. the yanks are pissed off to say the least after paying $49.99 for the khan / calzaghe walkovers.

It was free-to-air in the States yesterday. Which is probably only fair as it wasn't a major fight from their point of view and it would have been on at around teatime on the east coast and mid-afternoon on the west coast. Hardly prime time over there.

[bigmazey]

And with Calzaghe 1.48 to win by KO, TKO or DQ it was stealing money.

[mathare]

Calzaghe broke his hand in the Manfredo fight.

Quelle surprise

He broke it during the onslaught that cause the ref to stop the fight apparently. He reckons it'll keep him out of action for 4 weeks or so and then he'll start training for the fight in July although his opponent for that fight is currently undecided. The way things are going it won't be a huge fight though. Names like Taylor and Kessler were mentioned but now it's Froch and Denis Irkin are in the frame.

Is Joe more interested in records than career-defining fights he might lose with fragile hands?

[presto]

the frotch fight wouldn't be too bad for a domestic fight, but i am sure calzaghe wont fight him. frotch is a total gob and calzaghe has always said i don't like him and won't be giving him a big payday. a fight against inkin wouldn't prove anything either although he is undefeated.

[Street cry]

calzaghe will avoid froch he has nothing to gain fighting him he is not poor enough for a walkover yet should he beat him doesn't exactly open anything up for him and besides what he says i don't think froch would be desperate to jump in with calzaghe .
all probability calzaghe would win and then froch has no where to go albeit he would get a pay day out of it . If calzaghe is going for the big american names taylor for me is the one to avoid i'd be looking anywhere but there if he wants much more longevity out of his career , would be agood fight though probably not very exciting a points verdict one way or other .
I would try and get kessler over here for a unification bout and then go for a really big fight in the states but at light heavyweight more options then .tarvner , hopkins jones jr, glen johnson ?? probably tarvner as an ideal but not my decision to make fortunately .