Boxing

[Mike]

Andy Lee to fight Golovkin in late April is almost signed and sealed.

RIP Andy Lee.

[Doc_Piptorious]

RIP Andy Lee.

Bit tasteless, but only see one winner to be fair.


But if it does come about it is a bit of a no lose situation for Andy. Nobody at all will expect him to win, but if he puts up a good show (and he has no shortage of heart) then his stock will rise.


There simply is no fighter in the division good enough to beat Golovkin.

[Mike]

Bit tasteless, but only see one winner to be fair.


But if it does come about it is a bit of a no lose situation for Andy. Nobody at all will expect him to win, but if he puts up a good show (and he has no shortage of heart) then his stock will rise.


There simply is no fighter in the division good enough to beat Golovkin.

He's going to get knocked out, but I agree with what you say.

Decent payday, got nothing to lose etc. I have never really rated Andy Lee personally. I've seen him live last time he fought on the Froch Groves undercard and he looked decent, but never world class.

[Doc_Piptorious]

He's going to get knocked out, but I agree with what you say.

Decent payday, got nothing to lose etc. I have never really rated Andy Lee personally. I've seen him live last time he fought on the Froch Groves undercard and he looked decent, but never world class.

Andy's biggests problem, imo of course, are stamina and a reluctance to trust his own abilities a bit more.

He carries decent power with both hands, has a good chin, reads fighters well, has no shortage of heart, and does not get overawed by opponents.

But he is a thinker. He is an intelligent guy, and he carries that into the ring with him. And this is where the problems start imho. A thinker can over analyse when in the ring, a thinker can make things too complex for himself, and a thinker can be prone to being very rigid in how they move.

Have seen an awful lot of Andy over the years and have seen him spar a lot. When he has sparred against bigger men, against heavyweights in some cases, he tends to let himself go (in a positive way) and let's instinct take over. The rigid upright stance you see him use against other middleweights morphs into a much more fluid stance, and the guy lets his abilities and talent kick in.

But come fight time, he gets in the ring against another middleweight and the brain kicks in imo. Sometimes a fighter just has to trust his own ability and not try to treat the fight like a game of chess. If you think too far ahead in boxing then you don't see what is right in front of you.


Having said all that, if he gets in the ring with Golovkin he will be fighting the very best middleweight in the world, he will be fighting the champ. How many of us who used to wear the gloves, or who wished we wore the gloves had dreams of being in the ring with the best in the world with a strap on the line? Every single one of us I wager. I don't see Golovkin being beaten if it happens, I don't even see Golovkin being tested, but just to go in with such a fighter is living the dream.

[Mike]

Andy's biggests problem, imo of course, are stamina and a reluctance to trust his own abilities a bit more.

He carries decent power with both hands, has a good chin, reads fighters well, has no shortage of heart, and does not get overawed by opponents.

But he is a thinker. He is an intelligent guy, and he carries that into the ring with him. And this is where the problems start imho. A thinker can over analyse when in the ring, a thinker can make things too complex for himself, and a thinker can be prone to being very rigid in how they move.

Have seen an awful lot of Andy over the years and have seen him spar a lot. When he has sparred against bigger men, against heavyweights in some cases, he tends to let himself go (in a positive way) and let's instinct take over. The rigid upright stance you see him use against other middleweights morphs into a much more fluid stance, and the guy lets his abilities and talent kick in.

But come fight time, he gets in the ring against another middleweight and the brain kicks in imo. Sometimes a fighter just has to trust his own ability and not try to treat the fight like a game of chess. If you think too far ahead in boxing then you don't see what is right in front of you.


Having said all that, if he gets in the ring with Golovkin he will be fighting the very best middleweight in the world, he will be fighting the champ. How many of us who used to wear the gloves, or who wished we wore the gloves had dreams of being in the ring with the best in the world with a strap on the line? Every single one of us I wager. I don't see Golovkin being beaten if it happens, I don't even see Golovkin being tested, but just to go in with such a fighter is living the dream.

The point you make about being rigid is a good one, he looked just that in his last fight, but I put that down more to not fighting for a while beforehand.

I take your point about having confidence in his own ability but from what I've seen he has never really shown enough to make me think he will be a world champ, I rate Macklin higher out of the two. How do you see him spar by the way? Are these public workouts or do you know someone close to him?

[Doc_Piptorious]

The point you make about being rigid is a good one, he looked just that in his last fight, but I put that down more to not fighting for a while beforehand.

I take your point about having confidence in his own ability but from what I've seen he has never really shown enough to make me think he will be a world champ, I rate Macklin higher out of the two. How do you see him spar by the way? Are these public workouts or do you know someone close to him?

I know him myself, and have sparred with a number of the fighters that were in Emanuel Steward's camp. Was mostly in the European camps (Germany for the most part) but also did some work in the US.

The rigid stance is not down to inactivity though. It is unfortunately something that has not left him during competitive bouts.

As to rating Andy or Macklin....well Macklin has an easier on the eye style and is a decent fighter in his own right, but I would lean towards Andy Lee if the two were to meet in the ring. Probably 60/40 in Andy's favour.


Macklin has a habit of leaving himself open to straight lefts, and can have a little trouble with southpaws in general, and if there is one thing that Andy Lee has, then it is the ability to throw a very effective left.

Macklin also seems to have a habit of getting caught in two minds when a southpaw throws a straight left that he cannot slip. He does not step into the punch early to stop it reaching full power, but neither does he roll with the punch in what I regard to be an efficient or effective style.

Now he would of course not have many problems with lesser fighters, but I have seen him troubled by southpaws like Jaime Moore in the past, and then when he went in against a somewhat light fisted (but talented) Southpaw in Martinez a few years back, that vunerability to straight lefts still seemed to be there.


Andy Lee would not have as fluid a style as Martinez, nor would he have the same speed, but he would carry more power than Martinez, and would have enough technical savvy to trouble Macklin. Would rate Lee more highly than Jaime Moore, in that he would be a cleaner more accurate hitter, and Moore's level of power was enough to unsettle Macklin.


All of that is just my take of course, but Lee takes Macklin more often than not for me.

[marcus50bucks]

Agreement reached for Froch v Groves II (May 24th). To be announced on ringside tomorrow

[Doc_Piptorious]

Agreement reached for Froch v Groves II (May 24th). To be announced on ringside tomorrow

Was never going to be no rematch. Too much money (in domestic terms) to be made from it.


Am still sticking with my take from just after the last fight though. That Froch will not be as poor in a rematch and Groves will not be able to better the performance he put in during the first fight.

Think Froch will beat Grove again, only this time it will not be a controversial finish.


The fight I want to see Froch in is another rematch. Would love to see him in with Andre Ward again, and for Ward to school him for the entire fight this time.

[spud_gun]

Jaco, you fight professionally?

[Mike]

I know him myself, and have sparred with a number of the fighters that were in Emanuel Steward's camp. Was mostly in the European camps (Germany for the most part) but also did some work in the US.

The rigid stance is not down to inactivity though. It is unfortunately something that has not left him during competitive bouts.

As to rating Andy or Macklin....well Macklin has an easier on the eye style and is a decent fighter in his own right, but I would lean towards Andy Lee if the two were to meet in the ring. Probably 60/40 in Andy's favour.


Macklin has a habit of leaving himself open to straight lefts, and can have a little trouble with southpaws in general, and if there is one thing that Andy Lee has, then it is the ability to throw a very effective left.

Macklin also seems to have a habit of getting caught in two minds when a southpaw throws a straight left that he cannot slip. He does not step into the punch early to stop it reaching full power, but neither does he roll with the punch in what I regard to be an efficient or effective style.

Now he would of course not have many problems with lesser fighters, but I have seen him troubled by southpaws like Jaime Moore in the past, and then when he went in against a somewhat light fisted (but talented) Southpaw in Martinez a few years back, that vunerability to straight lefts still seemed to be there.


Andy Lee would not have as fluid a style as Martinez, nor would he have the same speed, but he would carry more power than Martinez, and would have enough technical savvy to trouble Macklin. Would rate Lee more highly than Jaime Moore, in that he would be a cleaner more accurate hitter, and Moore's level of power was enough to unsettle Macklin.


All of that is just my take of course, but Lee takes Macklin more often than not for me.

Although I personally rate Macklin higher, I don't think he is as good as people make out in the media. He doesn't have an effective jab (if at all) and can be exposed like you said.

[Shaggy]

Froch v Groves II, May 31st. Old Trafford a possible venue.

[RichC]

I'm hoping it's the Emirates

Going to the rugby during the day but if I can snag tickets to this I'll be going.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Jaco, you fight professionally?

Had a brief spell in the paid ranks (at heavyweight) and a decent run in the unpaid ranks before that.


But to be brutally frank I was never going to be anymore than a decent journeyman at best in the paid ranks, so a knee injury did me a favour (though I did not think so at the time thanks to having the ego of a fighter ) as it meant I then moved into coaching and conditioning.

But it did mean that I got to work with some good fighters over the years, be it as part of a training team or as a sparring partner, and have had the opportunity to learn from some very talented people.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Although I personally rate Macklin higher, I don't think he is as good as people make out in the media. He doesn't have an effective jab (if at all) and can be exposed like you said.

Yeah I think that Macklin has had a lot of very good press that maybe flattered him.

I do think he is a decent fighter, and I do think that he has been a smashing pro in how he has conducted himself etc throughout his career. But like Andy he has always carried a few flaws that stopped him from being the more rounded fighter he might have been.

[Vermilion]

Steve Bunce reckons Khan won't get the FM fight, thinks he may be on under card v Broner.

Usa boxing journo on now saying talk there is that it'll be Maidana too.