FLOYD ON THE MONEY, BUT WHY IS TANK MISFIRING?

By Frank Warren

QUITE HONESTLY, I don’t think there is much left to be said about the Mayweather-McGregor mismatch last weekend. We pretty much knew what we were going to get from the Money Man and it was always a case of when rather than if.

I do want to make clear though, that surely nobody can question the heart of McGregor or his desire to win. The only thing we were all questioning was his boxing ability and that question was answered on the night.

In conclusion, it was a summer event that made a bundle of money and it is done with now. Now it is time to focus our minds on real boxing and, with September now looming, the start of our own domestic season as well as a certain genuine blockbuster of a fight taking place back in Las Vegas on September 16.

One thing that was particularly noticeable at the weekend was how off-key Gervonta Davis appeared to be in what was supposed to be his second defence of the IBF super featherweight title against Francisco Fonseca.

He didn’t look on his game and it is not the only time he has not made weight at the first time of asking.

This time around it cost him his title before a punch was even thrown and there is obviously some sort of issue going on there.

He also looked a little vulnerable at times and was getting caught. I was quite surprised and, against a more ambitious opponent, it could have proved costly.

Davis got the job done in the end when Fonseca swallowed. I am not sure which punch caused him to go down and it was more a case of him sitting on the floor trying to force a disqualification.

I would say Davis needs to sort out his weight management because, in my opinion, I don’t see him as being ready to take on the best at lightweight.

Everyone was raving about him following his defeat of Jose Pedraza – including myself up to a point – but I wasn’t so convinced until I saw him in the flesh against our own Liam Walsh.

The trouble – and great shame – was that the Liam we all know didn’t show up on the night and simply didn’t show the best of himself.

I believe Davis is a top fighter, but he is a beatable fighter, and on his showing the other night he is not all he is cracked up to be.

If he does opt to take the plunge at lightweight I would have no hesitation in offering up a fight with Terry Flanagan. It is one we would take in a heartbeat.

HE MAY BE a sprightly 85, but Bob Arum still shows no signs of letting up, as demonstrated by the signing of a long-term broadcast deal with ESPN to showcase his Top Rank stable of fighters.

Bob has always been the great innovator of the sport right from the early days, when he was at the forefront of delivering fights to close circuit television and pay-per-view.

He also, very shrewdly, built up and nurtured the Hispanic market and in more recent years has promoted successfully in places such as Macau and Brisbane.

Bob, don’t forget, also holds the distinction of having promoted Muhammad Ali as well as putting together superfights such as Hagler-Duran and Hagler-Hearns.

He obviously views the partnership with ESPN as being the way forward for him and it shows that, despite his age, he retains his huge enthusiasm and passion for the game.

He is a proper promoter, a promoter who takes risks and that is what old school promoting has always been about. It is a risky business.

When you are out there banging the drum and putting your money up. That is what he is doing and always looking to develop something different.

Top Rank continuing to go from strength to strength is also good news for us at BoxNation because of the deal we have in place to broadcast Bob’s promotions to UK viewers and we look forward to many more to come over the next few years.

FANS WHO KEEP a close eye on the boxing schedule will have noticed that we have a good few big fights parked in the waiting room at the moment.

The likes of Tommy Langford, Mitchell Smith, Ryan Walsh and a number of others are currently training hard while patiently awaiting confirmed dates.

We are in the process of putting all the pieces together at the moment and it has been a bit frustrating. We have been hampered by the fact that it is holiday time and people we need to liaise with to pin down dates and television slots have been away.

Rest assured, we are working on it and the fight dates will all be sorted soon.