WHYTE DESERVES BETTER
JUST when it looked like the heavyweight division was about to turn a corner and give fans what they want to see in 2019, the WBC have made the ridiculous decision to award Dominic Breazeale a shot at their current champion, Deontay Wilder.
With Tyson Fury signing for ESPN, it was always clear that the anticipated rematch with Wilder wasn’t going to happen any time soon. However, it did create some excitement at the prospect of Dillian Whyte finally getting his deserved opportunity to take on Wilder. This latest decision from the WBC once again shows how politics are still running the sport, which is a great shame for fight fans and seemingly honest fighters like Whyte.
The only thing Whyte can do now is keep racking up the wins. I would personally love to see him share a ring with Luis Ortiz. Jody Bullock
JUNIOR AND ‘THE TRUTH’ CHRIS EUBANK JNR comprehensively defeating James Degale on ITV’S pay-perview platform was a big deal. I’m no fan of either Degale or Eubank, and readily admit to being a fan of George Groves. However, when it comes to boxing I’m objective, and despite all of the negative comments made about Eubank since his loss to Groves, he dismantled Degale, who is one of the most naturally gifted fighters to come out of the UK in recent years, as shown by him being an Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion. No one can now say that Eubank can’t cut it at the highest level.
This victory for Eubank was arguably as good as winning a world title, because Degale had only given up his IBF belt to take a bigger fight with Eubank on pay-per-view. Team Eubank should be congratulated for delivering under pressure.
Eubank’s new trainer, Nate Vasquez, came up with an excellent strategy, working on Junior’s footwork, defence and ring generalship. Well done to Junior for executing the strategy, and I’m sure the wise old pair of Ronnie Davis and Chris Eubank Snr helped him, too. After all the criticism the Eubanks have faced, their destiny is in their own hands once again. Big fights await, and as good as Billy Joe Saunders is, his chances in a rematch with Eubank would not be great, in my opinion.
A lot of people are trying to write off Eubank’s win over Degale by saying that Degale was shot, but ask yourselves a simple question: Who has ever schooled Degale and totally dominated him like Eubank did?
On another note, I’d like to state my admiration for Mikey Garcia, who is a top fighter. However, I feel he’s made a big, big mistake in taking on Errol Spence Jnr. He would’ve been better off targeting almost anybody else – even Terence Crawford. A lot of people point to the size difference between Spence and Garcia, and while this is a significant factor, the real difference-maker in my view is Spence’s fundamental skillset. There is a reason Spence is known as “The Truth”, which is something that Mikey is going to find out. Garcia does everything well, but Spence does everything great.
I believe that by the time his career is over, we’ll be talking about Spence as an all-time great. I see some aspects of Marvin Hagler, Mike Mccallum and Donald Curry in Spence. I know Mikey is an excellent fighter and a good ring general, but when has he ever fought someone like Spence? My prediction is that Mikey will either be stopped by Spence or forced to quit. Olu Rotimi