Combat Talk Radio

We know Munguia is fighting but...we don't really rate him.

This weekend is all about Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook - nearly a decade outside of the sell date.

Our opinion: we think Khan gets caught late after looking brilliant, BUT this might go the distance. It depends on how pissed off Brook is with Khan's A-Side demands and finally giving in just to make the fight happen.

We said it before the fight: Jacobs should walk through this guy, but if he struggles, it might be time to hang up the gloves.

Jacobs didn't show up.

There was no robbery here.

The judges expected what we expected: Jacobs to obliterate this guy, shades of Peter Quillin. He didn't come close to that, and they punished him for it.

We saw a tentative, hesitant, lackluster Jacobs that frankly, should consider retirement rather than trying to call out Eubank Jr., because "Next Gen" would seriously - SERIOUSLY - hurt the guy we just saw in there. And Jacobs is a nice guy. We don't want to see that.

He also should stay far away from title shots. Even vacant ones.

Enjoy the money. Spend time with your family. Retire.

This isn't to say that fights aren't worth watching. Rather, many of the fights left for February aren't going to excite many fans.

Danny Jacobs has had a rough time of it. After an unexpectedly poor performance against Gabe Rosado (still the Big Knockouts Boxing champion BTW), Jacobs is looking to show he's still a force.

On paper, Jacobs should walk right through John Ryder, and that's not to dismiss Ryder, but we have to remember: Jacobs blitzed Peter Quillin like nobody's business and damn near beat Golovkin. He should not heavily struggle with Ryder, even if Ryder is initially somewhat effective.

How Jacobs looks will basically tell us if he's still a big player in the division.

Keef looked stylistically better than he did against Manny. Had he fought like this against Manny, Manny would have been absolutely bamboozled. So there's that.

However...Mario Barrios is a guy that's coming up from lightweight (he HAS fought at welter before, and he looked good for the weight, but still). Keef couldn't drop OR stop Azteca, despite landing absolute brutal bombs right flush on Barrios's chin. It was like his power just wasn't there.

So Tank is able to stop Barrios, but Keef couldn't even drop him.

We're not sure he gets past Spence or Crawford. He beats Ugas if he fights like this, though. Problem is, if Spence beats Ugas, Keef is right back to square one unless one of them vacates.

Kudos to Barrios though, he brought everything he had and looked good in his losing effort at least.

I expected Cuadras to be the veteran that he is and pull out the experience. Didn't happen.

I suspected that late replace could be the difference maker, but didn't expect that kind of performance.

Cuadras didn't seem able or willing to be elusive, which is strange. He was able to bamboozle Rungvisai plenty. But Rodriguez was just too fast and accurate.

Clearly, Roy Jones Jr. has improved Chris Eubank's striking/boxing ability. However, we're not sure his newer style will get him wins at the top level.

Liam Williams was game and had a decent showing, but he's not the upper echelon.

Whew. Talk about a stacked weekend.

Two of these events feature guy who are hungry to make a name against a Top 10 opponent. The third features a grudge match where anything can happen as well as the return of Claressa Shields to boxing after her shocking MMA loss.

But in all three events, one thing is clear: the main event winner will position themselves for championship gold, which we believe all fighters should strive for.

People have criticized FOX for putting Thurman/Barrios on PPV, but (A) Thurman is a PPV fighter and (B) look at the undercard. Everyone claims Luis Nery is a P4P fighter - surely he deserves a P4P payday, right?

Say what you will about "Irish" Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, Cheeseman is arguably one of the most spirited fighters of the modern generation.

Not a top flight player, not a headliner and not a big draw, but always puts on a show for the fans.

Some call us crazy. But here's the thing.

We're not saying Boots isn't skilled. He's clearly skilled.

But we don't see this top tier fighter - yet.

He reminds us very closely of when Broner was fighting at the lighter weight classes.

People only think of 147 Broner, and they forget how explosive Broner used to be in his absolute prime, before he turned 30.

Some called him a weight bully. Maybe - but Ennis is fighting guys long past the sell date, so it balances.

Regardless, from a styles match, we see basically a newer version of what Broner used to be. And we don't see what others seem to see about him.

We need to see him really tested against a prime fighter that won't fall for his okie-doke in the ring and just settle him. Someone like Ugas - someone fundamental and sound.

Spence said he beats Crawford. We disagree. We think Crawford completely embarrasses this guy.

Our dream fight: 'Boots' Ennis vs. Blair 'The Flair' Cobbs. Two guys who want to entertain the fans. Let's see who gets it, who can outflash who.

We're seeing a LOT of fighters get COVID, and since most all of them would have needed to get jabbed in order to even travel overseas, it means that the spread isn't being mitigated. That means that fights that get scheduled are up in the air as omicron remains a thing.

This one really bothered me, because I'm a big Rungvisai fan, and seeing this fight would have closed some open doors with the history between these two.

Rodriguez was going to fight for a regional title against Fernando Diaz on the undercard. Nothing yet about that fight, and while I suspect Rodriguez will come hard against Cuadras, I don't find him anywhere near Cuadras' class as a boxer. That said, late replacements do always seem to give the A-Side problems since there was no way to prepare - so who knows really.

Between this and the possibility of Choco getting upset by his late replacement, we might be shaking up super flyweight.