Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter launched and landed powerful punches until the final bell. Photo / Tom Casino / @ShowtimeBoxing

THURMAN-PORTER, THE BRITS & CANELO

Hi Dougie,
1) What a good and close fight! Keith Thurman/Shawn Porter is the reason why I love boxing: 2 top fighters agreed to fight the one against the other one AND give 100% themselves. I had Porter 115/114 but it’s OK to give the victory to Thurman. Porter’s body punching and willpower took the major part of the first nine rounds then One Time’s precision and sharpness took last three IMO. What is next Doug? Why not a mini tournament? Thurman/Brook and Porter/Spence? If I pray very hardly AL Godhamon; maybe he will fulfill my wishes?

2) With a better footwork, Porter’s ferocious (and smart) style COULD beat a 39-years-old Mayweather and spring an upset like Marcos Maidana nearly did. Do you agree?

3) George Groves is still here, he is live against everyone at 168. On fact, I favor him vs. Gilberto Ramirez, Felix Sturm, Fedor Chudinov, Anthony Dirrell or Lucian Bute. In a good day, I think that he can beat DeGale, Jack and maybe Andr├® Dirrell.

4) Eubank Jr is good and talented but he is too green for the Kazakh monster. I admire Chris’s courage and sense of challenge but I am afraid for him. Why not wait 1 or 2 years? But if he wins, it will be comparable to Ward/Kessler.

5) I remember in 2014, many people (including me) thought that Canelo was going to avoid Erislandy Lara. But I was wrong. Canelo, a boxing star, took a “big-risk-low-reward” fight and he deserves big credit for that. Boxing fans have really short memories. Now, so many people say he avoid GGG like plague. I don’t buy that. A guy who fights Austin Trout and Lara when he can take soft opposition is not a coward (nobody should use this world on a fighter). I simply think that GBP and Ginger became very careful now that the former is rebuilding and that the latter is “the new face of Boxing”. No mistake: this situation is bad. I want to see the best fight the best. Golovkin/Canelo is a competitive fight in my humble eyes. If Alvarez wins, the sky is the limit! If he loses in a competitive and good fight (my pick), he will lose no credibility. Oscar De La Hoya took tough fights every time, sometimes he won, sometimes he lost but his star power increased with that. I prefer a guy who tries to be the best rather than a guy who only claims to be TBE… And if he wants “acclimate himself” to 160, why he fights 147 and 154 boxers?

My excuses for this long message.

MM
Margarito VS Mayorga (147 and 154)
Canzoneri VS Armstrong (126, 135, 140 and 147)
Leonard VS Pryor (147)

I love your mailbag! – Antoine Aubin

I love your enthusiasm! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Antoine.

1. I had Porter 115/114 but it’s OK to give the victory to Thurman. It better be! I had Thurmy winning by two points.

Porter’s body punching and willpower took the major part of the first nine rounds then One Time’s precision and sharpness took last three IMO. Good point about Porter’s body punching. I don’t think body punching gets scored enough in professional bouts, which is ridiculous. The only time it seems that body punching can win a round is when it produces a knockdown or it visibly hurts and doubles over a fighter.

What is next Doug? No idea. Hopefully, Thurman and Porter fight again before the year is out, ideally in significant matchups.

Why not a mini tournament? Thurman/Brook and Porter/Spence? Sounds good. Sign me up. Where can I buy tickets?

If I pray very hardly Al Godhamon, maybe he will fulfill my wishes? I seriously doubt it, but knock yourself out.

2) With a better footwork, Porter’s ferocious (and smart) style COULD beat a 39-years-old Mayweather and spring an upset like Marcos Maidana nearly did. Do you agree? Yeah, if he faced the same version of Mayweather that fought Maidana the first time, or if Mayweather’s age catches up with him. Otherwise, I think the future hall of famer would outpoint Porter in a competitive fight.

3) George Groves is still here, he is live against everyone at 168. I agree.

In fact, I favor him vs. Gilberto Ramirez, Felix Sturm, Fedor Chudinov, Anthony Dirrell or Lucian Bute. HmmmÔǪ I’ll give you Sturmy and Booty. They’ve seen better days. He should be able to outpoint Feddy C., and I would pick Groves to beat the Russian, but the Chudster’s strength and pressure could get to him. A showdown with Gilby is a toss-up in my mind because of the recent improvements I’ve seen in the rangy Mexican lefty. If Groves is gonna beat Ramirez he better fight him sooner rather than later. I think Groves-Dirrell is a toss-up.

On a good day, I think that he can beat DeGale, Jack and maybe Andr├® Dirrell. Right now, I’d slightly favor that trio over Double G.

4) Eubank Jr is good and talented but he is too green for the Kazakh monster. He’s not that green, but I agree that he’s not ready for Golovkin. Having said that, I know that his father is not one to rush his son into a fight that he doesn’t believe the lad is ready for.

I admire Chris’s courage and sense of challenge but I am afraid for him. Why not wait 1 or 2 years? I think that would be ideal but we are in an impatient era. Fans want to see GGG in meaningful fights NOW. The money is there to make this matchup and the Eubanks like their chances.

But if he wins, it will be comparable to Ward/Kessler. I think it would be a bigger upset.

5) I remember in 2014, many people (including me) thought that Canelo was going to avoid Erislandy Lara. But I was wrong. At least you can admit it, which puts you ahead of about 90% of the Canelo Critics.

Boxing fans have really short memories. They’ve got full-on f__king amnesia when it comes to Canelo.

Now, so many people say he avoid GGG like plague. I don’t buy that. A guy who fights Austin Trout and Lara when he can take soft opposition is not a coward (nobody should use this world on a fighter). True.

I simply think that GBP and Ginger became very careful now that the former is rebuilding and that the latter is “the new face of Boxing”. I agree.

No mistake: this situation is bad. Well, it certainly ain’t ideal.

I want to see the best fight the best. OK. But are Golovkin and Canelo the two best middleweights, or two of the top-five 160 pounders in the game? I know Golovkin is. I’m not so sure about the redhead and I think it’s weird that many of the same fans who say they want Canelo-GGG because they want the best to fight the best are the same know-it-alls who claim he lost to Lara and barely scraped by Trout.

Golovkin/Canelo is a competitive fight in my humble eyes. I think it would be both competitive and entertaining for at least a few rounds. I’m not sure how long Canelo can remain competitive with GGG.

If Alvarez wins, the sky is the limit! No doubt about it (he might even gain an entire new “demographic” of fans – Oooh! I went there! Bad Dougie! Bad! Bad!!)

If he loses in a competitive and good fight (my pick), he will lose no credibility. You really think so? In this day and age? HmmmÔǪ I don’t know, my man. How much credit have fans given Martin Murray or David Lemiuex or Willie Monroe Jr. for sticking their noses in there, taking the hard shots, getting up from knockdowns and trying to make a fight of it while taking GGG rounds? I gotta be honest, I don’t see a whole lot of respect out there in the Boxing Twitterverse for these guys.

Oscar De La Hoya took tough fights every time, sometimes he won, sometimes he lost but his star power increased with that. True, but he didn’t always fight the top dogs when the fans and the boxing media wanted him to. That’s why he used to have that nickname “Chicken De La Hoya” (given to him by hall of famer Michael Katz). Now, it looks like the fans have passed that old moniker down on Canelo.
And if (Canelo) wants “acclimate himself” to 160, why he fights 147 and 154 boxers? I’m not sure that he does want to acclimate to 160, at least at the present time. I think he’s curious to find out if he can really make 154 pounds (after weighing in a little over the junior middleweight limit since the start of 2014) and operate well during a fight.

Your mythical matchups:
Margarito VS Mayorga (147 and 154) – Margarito by late-rounds TKO or via close decision in a back-and-forth slugfest at 147; Mayorga by close decision in a slower-paced but competitive action fight.

Canzoneri VS Armstrong (126, 135, 140 and 147) – Canzoneri by close hard-fought decision at 126 and 135; Armstrong by close hard-fought decision at 140 and 147. The fights would have been very entertaining.

Leonard VS Pryor (147) – Leonard by mid-to-late TKO.

UNUSUAL QUESTIONS

Hey Doug,

Since we’re about to hit a lull in boxing, I figured I’d send you some unusual questions:

1. Do you think if there was a single world title in each division that the Klitschko brothers would have fought each other? Or would one of them just have said, “no I’m fine being a contender my whole career… you be world champion.” Or the Charlo brothers?

2. I noticed that I scored Porter-Thurman for Porter. I also predicted he would win. How much do you think bias plays into scoring? I mean, almost every major boxing scribe I looked at scored the fight in alignment with their expected outcome. Do you ever feel like bias creeps into your scorecards?

3. What would happen if Showtime and HBO cancelled their boxing budgets? Would the sport die? If they weren’t involved, how would it continue? ESPN aside, there aren’t many channels that would even televise boxing so I’m not sure how it would evolve.

4. How do you see these ridiculous mythical match-ups playing out?

– Sergey Kovalev moves up to heavyweight, takes a couple tune up fights, and faces Deontay Wilder at the beginning of 2018. Maybe at a 215 pound catchweight. What happens?

– Prime Tommy Morrison faces prime Wladimir Klitschko but Wlad isn’t allowed to throw power shots to the head. Just jabs. And he isn’t allowed to hold at all or will get disqualified. What happens?

– Floyd Mayweather’s first fight with Marcos Maidana, suppose he had to fight out of a southpaw stance. But he had his normal training window to prepare. What happens?

Anyway, hope you’re well Doug. – Vincent, Winston-Salem

Thanks for sharing your weird thoughts, Vince.

1. If there were only one world title per division, I think the Klitschko brothers would “share” the title by winning it whenever the other lost. So when Vitali is upset by a Chris Byrd or chopped up by a Lennox Lewis, young Wladdy gets revenge and the heavyweight title, until he gets KTFO by a Corrie Sanders or Lamon Brewster, and then Big Bro thumps their assess good to regain the title, and so on. They definitely would not fight each other. With the Charlos, I think one of them, probably Jermall, would simply move up to middleweight and go for the title at 160 pounds (which is probably a more natural weight for him anyway).

2. I noticed that I scored Porter-Thurman for Porter. I also predicted he would win. How much do you think bias plays into scoring? A little bit. Not too much, but it’s a factor.

I mean, almost every major boxing scribe I looked at scored the fight in alignment with their expected outcome. Wait, what are you tryin’ to say, Vince? You callin’ us a bunch of hacks? Boxing scribes NEVER let their egos get in the way of their reporting or writing because we’re the f__kin’ best of the sport media! Don’t hate us because we get paid to watch boxing. You already know we’re smarter than you, don’t make us kick your ass and prove that we’re tougher!

Do you ever feel like bias creeps into your scorecards? Who? Me? F__k no! I’m never wrong so this isn’t even an issue.

3. What would happen if Showtime and HBO cancelled their boxing budgets? Would the sport die? No, but it would be severely crippled in the U.S. – at least for a few years.

If they weren’t involved, how would it continue? By a lot of top fighters and industry folks taking a pay cut, that’s how.

ESPN aside, there aren’t many channels that would even televise boxing so I’m not sure how it would evolve. It would eventually have to go digital/streaming.

4. How do you see these ridiculous mythical match-ups playing out?

– Sergey Kovalev moves up to heavyweight, takes a couple tune up fights, and faces Deontay Wilder at the beginning of 2018. Maybe at a 215 pound catchweight. What happens? He gets KTFO.

– Prime Tommy Morrison faces prime Wladimir Klitschko but Wlad isn’t allowed to throw power shots to the head. Just jabs. And he isn’t allowed to hold at all or will get disqualified. What happens? Wladdy gets KTFO.

– Floyd Mayweather’s first fight with Marcos Maidana, suppose he had to fight out of a southpaw stance. But he had his normal training window to prepare. What happens? Floyd gets KTFO – unless he trained to fight as a southpaw and studied Devon Alexander’s game plan against the Argentine strongman, if that’s the case, he shuts out Chino.

YOUR CANELO BIAS

Dougie,

I have tried to make your mailbag before by asking serious questions without success. As of late you seem to like to use it as your personal sparring forum for arguing with people. So here goes: In the past people have accused you of being a shill for Golden Boy. I have never seen it until now. However, your approach with Canelo reeks of bias. If this was Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Adonis Stevenson you would probably be much more demonstrative in your criticism.

Instead I read: I have nothing against Liam Smith, the unbeaten WBO 154-pound beltholder and THE RING’s No. 8-rated junior middleweight, and I think he will make for an entertaining fight on Sept. 17. Seriously, you have got to be kidding me. To fight this nobody and put it on PPV at $70 is obscene.

Now I know you will respond with “then don’t buy it”—which I won’t but come on it is a blatant money grab and Canelo and GB should be ashamed. I think we are similar age perhaps I am a little older so I think you can appreciate the fact that no one disparages Ali, Duran, Hitman, Leonard or Oscar even etc. for losing. Why? They fought the best.

I have no respect for Canelo for taking this fight, it is shameful, same as the Khan one. Floyd vs Berto was less ridiculous than this fight, consider that. Yes Canelo fought the best at 154 I give him that credit. However since beating Cotto its been an obvious cash milking exercise that seems like it will go on for another year. Not spreading hate just giving an accurate analysis of the situation it would be nice if you did. As far as GGG he should take some risk as well. Go up to 168 the only guy worth fighting at 160 is Jacobs.

All the best. – Aaron, Miami

Yeah, thanks for that, Aaron. You know what never ceases to amaze me? The fact that every time someone wants to accuse me of a particular bias in the mailbag, they always spout off a little too much and expose their own bias(es). Isn’t that funny, Aaron?

Those last two sentences – “As far as GGG he should take some risk as well. Go up to 168 the only guy worth fighting at 160 is Jacobs” – confirmed my suspicions about your own bias. But I’ll get into that later.

For now, let’s focus on Canelo. You want an “an accurate analysis of the situation?” OK. I think it’s too early, too soon, to brand Canelo a coward, or to be outraged by his choices of opponent. That’s my analysis. It’s just an opinion. I’ve got mine. You’ve got yours. You don’t have to agree with me. It’s not a big deal, but if it bugs you too much, you may want to consider a Dougie-cott to go along with your Canelo-cott.

But honestly, I think you – and many others – are overreacting to Canelo’s recent decisions. He fought Cotto in late November. It hasn’t been a full year since he won the WBC and THE RING middleweight titles. He inherited Cotto’s obligation to face Golovkin with the WBC belt, so he vacated it. It’s not like he’s holding it hostage (which was one of the main beefs hardcore heads had with Cotto). If Canelo remains at 154 after the Smith fight, THE RING title will be vacated, too.

Now, fans can give him all the s__t they want for talking tough after knocking out Khan and then giving up the WBC belt rather than immediately fighting GGG. That’s fair. But the expectation to fight Golovkin after beating his first notable middleweight (who was really a 35-year-old junior middleweight) – especially when proven middleweights with major titles have been avoiding GGG for years, and continue to do so – seems unfair to me.

And if fans want to s__t on Golden Boy Promotions, they can do so until their anuses wear out. The company is just being a little shrewd with their No. 1 bread winner. If they rush him into a GGG fight and he winds up getting smashed and ruined (physically and/or psychologically) Jeff Lacy or David Reid style, they failed as a promotional company. I’ll be the first to point that out, but sadly, so will all of the writers and fans that DEMANDED the fight happen 2016.

I’m not going to keep on addressing this subject in the mailbag because it’s not fair to all of the fans and regular mailbag readers that aren’t obsessed with the Canelo-GGG Saga. I’ll probably pen a commentary piece that I can direct disillusioned fans like you to read rather than repeat the same old s__t in every mailbag column.

Here’s the bottom line on Canelo, I’m just fine with anyone who hates him or has lost respect for the Mexican star (as well as his promotional company) because of the manner in which they’ve handled negotiations for a potential Golovkin fight.

But I don’t share the degree of criticism that you and others have for Canelo. Why? I just haven’t run out of patience with the young man. Will I feel the same way next summer if it looks like GBP/Team Canelo and K2/Team GGG can’t reach a resolution to make a fight? Probably not. But I’m not going to worry about that now.

As of late you seem to like to use it as your personal sparring forum for arguing with people. As of late? Try for the last 15 years. I’ve NEVER shied away from arguing with fans and regular readers, and as long as they are respectful, I’m usually respectful. But if they are rude, I’ll get rude back. If they insult me, I’m not gonna be cool. If you don’t like that about me, there’s no reason to subject yourself to this boxing column ’cause I ain’t gonna change (read those last five words with an Ozark Hillbilly accent).

So here goes: In the past people have accused you of being a shill for Golden Boy. Yeah, but haven’t you noticed that most of those people were idiots, cretins and/or mentally ill?

I have never seen it until now. However, your approach with Canelo reeks of bias. If this was Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Adonis Stevenson you would probably be much more demonstrative in your criticism. Come on Aaron, I ignore those fighters more than I criticize them. I think it’s silly to compare Canelo to two 20-year-vets (and future hall of famers) or to a lineal champion who has avoided the best fight in his division for more than two years. You can’t say that Golovkin and Canelo are the top two middleweights in the world. GGG is, Canelo isn’t – not yet anyway. But Stevenson and Kovalev were/are the Nos. 1 and 2 light heavyweights. When fans say they want to see the “best fight the best,” that’s exhibit A. But Stevenson has not only found ways to avoid that showdown, he hasn’t been facing top competition. So, yeah, he’s gonna get a little more criticism from me than Canelo. But if Canelo pulls a “Stevenson” in the next year, or he pulls half – no, one-quarter – of the bulls__t that Floyd and Manny have over the years, I’ll happily diss him in print and on camera.

Instead I read: I have nothing against Liam Smith, the unbeaten WBO 154-pound beltholder and THE RING’s No. 8-rated junior middleweight, and I think he will make for an entertaining fight on Sept. 17. Seriously, you have got to be kidding me. To fight this nobody and put it on PPV at $70 is obscene.

I wasn’t talking about the pay-per-view event. I think the HBO PPV is a very hard sell. But I think the matchup – Canelo vs. Smith – is a good one on paper. Smith is strong and aggressive. Whenever Canelo is in with this type of style/ring mentality, he’s in a good fight. But don’t give me s__t for saying something respectful about a solid young contender. The fact that you view Smith as a “nobody” says a lot about you as a fan. It tells me that you really don’t follow boxing and that you have your own biases (which we will get into later).

Now I know you will respond with “then don’t buy it”—which I won’t but come on it is a blatant money grab and Canelo and GB should be ashamed. A “blatant money grab”? From a promotional company? Oh my God! What has the world come to! Promoters shouldn’t try to make money while building fighters and bigger events! They should take half a billion dollars or so from a gullible investment firm, buy air time on several basic cable and “free TV” networks, overpay fighters to primarily engage in mismatches and only fight the so-called “premier boxers” twice a year. That’s the RIGHT way to conduct the boxing business, eh Aaron?

I think we are similar age perhaps I am a little older so I think you can appreciate the fact that no one disparages Ali, Duran, Hitman, Leonard or Oscar even etc. for losing. Why? They fought the best. OK. I hear you. But are you telling me Canelo hasn’t fought anyone who was considered “the best”? I know everyone he’s faced hasn’t been a world-beater but that’s also the case with Ali, Duran, Hearns and the other ATGs/HOFers you noted. Ali fought Liston, Patterson, Frazier, Norton and Foreman, but he also fought Alvin “Blue” Lewis, Rudi Lubbers, Jean Coopman, Richard Dunn and Alfedo Evangelista. Duran fought DeJesus, Palomino, Leonard, Cuevas, Benitez, Hearns and Hagler, but he also faced Zeferino Gonzalez, Wellington Wheatley, Jimmy Batten and Kirkland Laing (who beat him). Hearns mixed in the likes of Marcos Geraldo, Ernie Singletary, Luigi Minchillo and Fred Hutchings between his showdowns Leonard, Benitez, Duran and Hagler. I trust you get my point.

Canelo is 25. He’s already faced three future hall of famers (Mosley, Mayweather and Cotto). Mayweather was the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound king when they fought. He’s faced two top-five junior middleweights (who were arguably No. 1 in the 154-pound division when they fought), Trout and Lara. He didn’t have to fight Trout or Lara in order to make money or to earn his shot at Mayweather. I think you and the rest of the Canelo Critics should stop pretending that he’s a cherry picker (or worrying that he’s going to become one).

I have no respect for Canelo for taking this fight, it is shameful, same as the Khan one. I think you’re overacting juuuuuust a tad.

Floyd vs Berto was less ridiculous than this fight, consider that. OK, now you’re doing more than overreacting. Now you’re just talking out of your ass. Mayweather was on top of everyone’s P4P when he fought Berto, who was UNRANKED and 2-2 in his last four bouts (including a 12^th-round stoppage to Jesus Soto Karass), going into that Showtime PPV “event”. Smith is unbeaten, he holds a belt, he is a legit top-10 junior middleweight, and unlike Berto he’s not shopworn.

Yes Canelo fought the best at 154 I give him that credit. It doesn’t sound like you are at all.

However since beating Cotto its been an obvious cash milking exercise that seems like it will go on for another year. You’re acting like he fought Cotto in 2014. It was on Nov. 21, 2015. He’s fought ONCE since the Cotto fight. Go check Boxrec.com if you don’t believe me. If you want to worry about what Canelo might do for another year, that’s on you.

As far as GGG he should take some risk as well. Go up to 168 the only guy worth fighting at 160 is Jacobs. AhÔǪ you had to toss some shade Golovkin’s way, didn’t you? Gee, I wonder what that’s all about. Why is Daniel Jacobs the “only” 160 pounder worth fighting? What makes him more worthy than unbeaten WBO beltholder Billy Joe Saunders or even Chris Eubank Jr.? Don’t get me wrong, I think Jacobs is a marvelous talent and he’s coming off the most impressive performance of his career – his one round blitz of Peter Quillin – but he hasn’t fought since going half a round in December. Have you lost any respect for Jacobs given his “anticipated” rematch with Sergio Mora and recent comments about wanting to fight Golovkin but only after he wins another title, and allowing for the matchup to, ahem, “marinate,” and then pointing out that waiting more than a year to make the Quillin fight allowed him to go from $250,000 to $1 million-plus? Or is it OK for an American fighter put off a big fight in order to build up the event and, as you so eloquently put it, engage in “cash milking exercises?”

When you point the “bias” finger at Yours Truly, just remember that three are pointing right back at you.

NOT THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR

Hey Doug,

Just caught up with the Thurman-Porter fight. I’d read that it was a FOTY candidate on Twitter etc but when I watched it I don’t think it lived up to that. I scored it 117-111 for Thurman but would’ve been ok with 116-112. As you pointed out, Thurman had the much cleaner work and landed more eye catching punches…I’m just glad the decision went the right way because Porter’s style must be a nightmare for judges to score. I also believe Porter is just a class below the very top guys in the division – thoughts on that?

Also what do you make of Tyson Fury? Postponing the rematch due to an ankle injury yet he’s been in several videos (drunk) over in France for EURO 2016. The British tabloids are also reporting that he injured his foot because he was drunk at a festival and tried to jump over a fence…

After watching the face-off between him and Wladimir, I’m convinced Fury is bipolar. Anyway if / when they fight, how do you see it going? Going forward do you think David Haye will be a player in the heavyweight division again?

Finally, after seeing you answer a mythical matchup in Monday’s mailbag between Mayweather-Margarito, I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you pick against Floyd against a fighter in his generation (am I wrong?). Who else in this era do you think would’ve beat Floyd (in his prime)? All the best Doug. – David, Glasgow, Scotland

Thanks David.

Margarito isn’t the only fighter of Mayweather’s generation that I’ve favored to beat him in Mythical Matchups. I’ve also chosen Kostya Tszyu – my reigning mythical matchup king (along with co-crownholder Joe Calzaghe) – to beat Mayweather at 140 pounds.

Who else in this era do you think would’ve beat Floyd (in his prime)? People call me a Mayweather hater but I used to enjoy watching him fight (late ’90s until around 2003 or 2004) and I had a lot of respect for his game (especially at 130 pounds). Apart from Margarito (who was just too big, durable and active) and Tszyu (whose style was kryptonite for classic boxers who like to operate from a distance) there aren’t many fighters I’d have favored to beat him. At 130 pounds, I think rugged and crafty Cuban lefty Joel Casamayor had a good shot. At 135, Mosley’s speed, power and aggression might have garnered a stoppage. Acelino Freitas’ awkward athleticism and heavy hands would have been a handful at lightweight, as would have Stevie Johnston’s busy in-and-out southpaw style. Cory Spinks would have been difficult at 147 pounds. But I have no problem giving Mayweather the benefit of the doubt in these mythical matchups.

I’d read that (Thurman-Porter) was a FOTY candidate on Twitter etc but when I watched it I don’t think it lived up to that. It wasn’t the Fight of the Year so far. It’s not even close, although I won’t be shocked at all if the BWAA chooses it as its FOY for 2016. I think fans went a little overboard in their praise for Thurman-Porter because they had low expectations (about how their styles would play out in the ring – some folks, myself included, thought it could’ve been an ugly fight), while others are merely PBCheerleaders that were overjoyed that a ballyhooed Haymon presentation finally delivered.

I scored it 117-111 for Thurman but would’ve been ok with 116-112. I think you’re giving Thurman the benefit of the doubt in a few toss-up rounds, but if you favor hard, clean scoring over consistent aggression, I get it.

As you pointed out, Thurman had the much cleaner work and landed more eye catching punches…I’m just glad the decision went the right way because Porter’s style must be a nightmare for judges to score. Indeed, and sometimes it’s very hard to watch, though that was not the case last Saturday. However, those who thought he won will swear that he was the better ring general that night, I can understand where they are coming from.

I also believe Porter is just a class below the very top guys in the division – thoughts on that? I disagree. I still think he’s a top five welterweight, and I believe that he and Thurman would be much better – perhaps on par with Kell Brook – if they were just more active. If Porter was fighting three or four times a year, I wouldn’t count him out against Brook, Thurman, Tim Bradley or even the two future hall of famers that I wish would remain retired.

Also what do you make of Tyson Fury? He’s a big goofy nutcake. I thought we were all on the same page with that.

Postponing the rematch due to an ankle injury yet he’s been in several videos (drunk) over in France for EURO 2016. The British tabloids are also reporting that he injured his foot because he was drunk at a festival and tried to jump over a fence… So I’ve heard. I’ve had no desire to check those videos out. And I don’t think I’m alone in my lack of interest. I believe Fury has lost most of the buzz and momentum he had following his huge upset over Klitschko last November. I think more fans are hyped about Anthony Joshua than Fury at this point.

After watching the face-off between him and Wladimir, I’m convinced Fury is bipolar. I don’t think he has any problem admitting that.

Anyway if / when they fight, how do you see it going? I was feeling Wladdy in the rematch but I think postponements and inactivity have more of a negative effect on the veterans than on young bucks – see Ali-Liston II for a classic example of this – so if the rematch is ever rescheduled, I think I’m gonn ride with the Gypsy King.

Going forward do you think David Haye will be a player in the heavyweight division again? Yes. For how long, I have no idea, but he will be in at least one major heavyweight showdown – probably next year.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @dougiefischer