Loving the hypotheticals!

Hagler -v- Hopkins - Tough one & I could make a case for either man winning, but I'm going to give the nod to Marvin in a very close bout.

Golovkin -v- Zale - I'm also going with Golovkin by late TKO, but he'd have one hell of a fight on his hands.

Hearns -v- Mayweather Jr (147) - Points win for Hearns. Nobody is knocking out Mayweather, not even Tommy, but Mayweather would not be able to run away against Hearns & would lose on points; it would have been similar to Hearns -v- Benitez.

Robinson -v- Leonard - Mouthwatering in the extreme: two of the finest welters ever & both called Sugar Ray. SRR wins on a split decision because I just can't pick against the second greatest p4p boxer ever at his prime weight of 147. but SRL gives him fits throughout.

Foster -v- Spinks - Foster was a killer & Spinks was just great! Really hard one to call for me. Spinks had a great chin & little or no weaknesses. Foster had mind numbing power, although Spinks' Right hand was not to be sniffed at either. With much reluctance, I'm going for Spinks on points, but he would earn his money for sure.

Holmes -v Frazier - Cracking fight in prospect. Holmes would not have had the power & physical strength to deter a prime Frazier (circa 1969), but he had huge heart & he would not have not have stopped throwing leather. Frazier loses the first three rounds or so, as he often did, but then warms up & starts smoking; he regularly ducks under Larry's phenomenal jab thus leading to Holmes tiring, but Larry never stops aiming Rights at Frazier's bobbing head. Both men have a grandstanding 15th round & Joe nicks a close decision.

Lewis -v- Louis - I'm in two minds. P4p Joe Louis is above Lennox Lewis for me, but inch for inch, it's practically a cruiserweight against a large heavyweight. Providing it's Lewis after the first McCall fight, he would have won, but the Lewis before that fight would have succumbed to Joe's short, powerful & precise punches.

A wonderful post.

I agree with your last two opinions as well.

If only for the fact that Louis was so bloody great I hate to pick against him but I do feel he was just too small to face Lennox at his peak.

Head to head Lewis is a nightmare for anybody - probably at his best in my top three head to head heavyweights.

A few more.

Ketchel v Hagler - not sure about this but the names spell WAR!

Duran v Leonard - fire meets ice - pick 'em 50-50.

Heard a feature on the radio earlier this morning on the Thriller in Manilla

40 years ago today

(Where does the time go)

Good article by Kevin Mitchell

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blo...frazier-boxing

At least 8 former World Champions, 2 in Unification Matchups. He's a former Olympic Gold Medalist and he holds a professional win over another Olympic Gold medalist.

After Lewis the division scattered into a fragmented mess (as can be the case with 4 world titles) with no stand out and no unifications. Out of this Wlad has cleaned up, and if we're being honest.. with ease. Regardless of the era, to do this in a division. where you can get KO'd by almost anyone at any time means he's an ATG, regardless of the style he's done it in. 18 consecutive title defenses isn't to be sniffed at.

You also couldn't say Wlad has ducked anyone over the past decade could you?

My only hope is that someone beats Wlad before he hangs them up. Otherwise we'll go back to a fragmented mess with no real big names or star attractions. If someone beats Wlad we'll at least have that.

Very well said.

The way many people seem to regard Wlad as some sort of inept bum is absolutely laughable.

He is an all time great heavyweight and anybody with eyes can see it.

Shame that it would never happen, but if the brothers had faced each other, it would have been interesting to see.

Matthyse vs Postol and Broner vs Allakverdiev tonight, should be good fights.

Think Matthysse will win by tko, and stuck a £10 on Allakverdiev to win on ponits.

That fight damn near killed those two men & it certainly finished them as far as top line fighting went.

Frazier was virtually finished before this contest, in fact, I believe that the first Ali fight in '71 took so much out of him that he was not the same guy from them on.

Ali was past his best too, but was still a formidable operator & was able to regain his title & cling onto it until '78 despite diminished skills, but the Manila fight with Frazier ruined him.

Joe was magnificent in this fight too, even though he was finished, but he managed to get himself into good enough shape to push Ali to the brink.

Thank goodness that Eddie Futch pulled Joe out rather than risk killing himself in the pursuit of glory.

Both men should be rightly proud of their efforts that night & it's such shame that Smokin' Joe is no longer with us to celebrate the anniversary.

Just listened. Excellent feature. Much as I love Ali, he was cruel and two-faced to Frazier. But both men put their lives on the line that day and deserve to be icons for that fight alone.

Will read the article later.

It certainly would have been.

I've always thought that Vitali was the better of the two, but the longer Wladimir reigns, the more I lean towards him.

Wladimir is great fighter, no doubt & he's turned his career around brilliantly.

It's not his fault, but it's such a shame that he hasn't a true nemesis that he could have tested himself against since he turned his career around & improved immeasurably.

Indeed.

I think he should receive a tremendous amount credit for being unbeaten for eleven years since those early career setbacks.

It's nice to see him getting some well deserved respect on this thread.

If he was a yank he would be a true superstar by now.

A wonderful feature and radio podcast on The Thrilla in Manilla, George Foreman is interviewed, there is a mention of the Four Kings - what more do you want - blood?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...y_contentcard1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03456lr

Against Khan would be a money spinning classic. If Manny's back to his best after the op', I'd go for a Pacquaio victory. Khan reckons he knows all Manny's moves from their sparring days. Sparring isn't ring fighting though, ..

After that Brook would also beat Khan imo, and is right up there now.

Mayweather rematch? If Mayweather came to fight, Manny would have a chance, but there's little chance of that imo.

Brook would decimate Khan and Khan knows it. Khan really needs to move on from the in-ring coffin dodgers and face up to the future players in the sport instead of dodging them.

Yeah it's pretty obvious Khan is scared of Brook. Algeri who has little to no power wobbled him with counters, so if/when Brook lands Khan's going to sleep.

You seem to have misunderstood.

I meant who has Wlad beaten?

Oliver McCall is a former heavyweight world champion and Audley Harrison is a former Olympic gold medalist. Titles on their own mean nothing.

Who has Wlad beaten?

Long shot I know but I had tickets to the fury v klitschko but it's now been moved to my wedding date!!!

If anyone on here fancies it then let me know, have 3 tickets (good seating) & hotel rooms booked too.

If anyone has a recommended site to sell these on then please do let me know.

brook - chaves is off, brook sustained a rib injury in training. this is so dissapointing, i was really looking forward to the fight, its going to be rescheduled for the end of the year apparently...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/34554851

LOL "injury", nobody saw that coming did they. 12th Dec... PPV.

i see nathan cleverly lost last night. Cant help thinking he is going to be another maccarinelli, be a world champ, lose it then never look the same again in a series of comebacks.

Agree with this, similar career patterns after fist defeat... Macaranelli completely fell apart tho

He's not world class but at least he was competitive last night, against a guy who is no bum, he was hurt in the 7th and couldn't out work Forfana after that. He did however look a hell of a lot better at light weight.

Match him smartly with people like Braehmer and Chavez Jr and you could get him a version of the world championship, and he can always make money in Wales with a Maccarinelli fight.

His biggest problem last night was his static in the pocket style and the inability to make a dent in Forfana, despite hitting him with some good shots for the first six rounds, he just couldn't keep him away. That lack of ability to keep people away would be fateful against the likes of Kovalev, Stevenson, Beterbiev and Pascal.

Excellent display from GGG last night, showing his boxing skills in the way he approached the threat of Lemieux, that jab was a real treat in the way it broke up all of Lemieux's rhythm.

Chocolatito... what can you say. P4P king.

Technically a very good boxer, but he can't fight the way Calzaghe could; he doesn't seem to get angry in there. Calzaghe had a perfect blend of Italian heart and fire in his belly, and Welsh humility. Cleverley seems to have too much of the latter and very little of the former.