Hello boxing fans and dedicated haters. Here’s another week’s worth of my bulbous sack, bulging with gooey, salty truth, in your face. Enjoy. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Shakur/Zepeda/Oscar, Jake Paul, and Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois.
A Golden Duck?
Hey Mags.
I know you, of all people, are loving the irony of Oscar De La Hoya calling out Shakur Stevenson for William Zepeda, but when the WBC orders the fight, he backs out. LOL. You can’t make this shit up. If that ain’t the king of all ducks, I don’t know what is.
– Tyler from STL
Hey Tyler.
Yeah, that was good fun. It wasn’t unexpected, though. As I have to tell people over and over and over again-- boxing is a business. Having Zepeda take on the risk of a Shakur Stevenson fight right now makes no business sense whatsoever. Oscar is goofy and immature as hell, but he knows boxing and he knows a bad styles matchup when he sees it. As I wrote over at my other gig at BoxingNews.co, making a Shakur fight for Zepeda right now would be like cashing-out on him before they’ve really made any cash from him. It makes no business sense, just as it didn’t when Golden Boy turned down a title eliminator for Zepeda against Shakur last year. Most likely, Zepeda (who is no. 1 lightweight contender for all four sanctioning bodies) gets pushed in the direction of WBO titlist Denys Berinchyk or takes some interim or “regular” title given to appease him and Golden Boy. With some sort of belt around his waist, he can cash checks for awhile and he’ll have a built-in excuse as to why he’s not fighting the other guys-- “Hey, I can’t force the other champs to unify...I have my own mandatories!”
Jake Paul, World Champ?
Hi Paul.
You’re going to call me crazy, but when Jake Paul says that he’s going to win a world title in 2025, I kind of believe him. Cruiserweight isn’t an especially deep division and he may find a loose belt somewhere to win. Personally, I don’t see him as bad of a boxer as some people like to say he is. He’s got some skill. What do you think? Does he got “it” or should he stick to fighting scrubs like Mike Perry?
– Mark Z.
Hey Mark.
Yes, you are crazy. In Paul’s 10-fight pro resume thus far, he’s faced a YouTuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers. In what universe does that lead one to believe that he’s, in any way, ready for world class opposition? Paul swears up and down that he’s been working hard in the gym this last year or so to develop next-level skill. But we won’t find out how good he really is in his pay-per-view boxing match this Saturday with bare-knuckle boxer Mike Perry, who is about as skilled as one would expect from a bare-knuckle boxer, or against a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November. One can only assume that if Paul were really that secretly skilled, he’d be fighting actual ranked boxers. So, forgive me if I doubt his world title aspirations at the moment. I will say that he’s actually pretty good for a novice with his level of experience, but I’ll leave my assessment at that until I see more and better.
Joshua-Dubois, Thoughts?
Hi Paul.
What are your thoughts on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois fight? I’m not especially high on either, but I think it makes for an interesting matchup as both need a win and can’t afford a backward step. I see AJ somewhat energized lately and I think he could take Dubois out. Maybe around the eighth? What’s your breakdown of the fight?
– George the Brit
Hey George.
Joshua-Dubois is a good matchup and a logical one, too. Both have a history of uneven, inconsistent performances with good outings in their recent past. It’s totally conceivable that one may come into this fight flat...or both may come in flat. So, for me, the big factor will be Joshua’s edge in one-punch power, which could bail him out of any bad spots and, also, keep Dubois tentative and respectful. I’ll agree with your take. Joshua should stop Dubois. But I see it happening a bit earlier, maybe around the fifth or sixth.
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