I can't believe that Johnson is +320 in this fight...it should be a near pickem...Klitschko's reputation went up bigtime after he showed a lot of courage vs an out of shape and amateurish Lennox Lewis...but there's no way his performance in that fight justifies the price tonight vs Johnson....Johnson has his faults but he's got the boxing skills and power to take out the plodding Klitschko....the only concern with Johnson is that he can still function at the 260 lbs that he weighed in at this week....but even if he was 360 he'd be able to move quicker than Klitschko...Klitschko's over-inflated reputation reminds me of Razor Ruddick from several years ago..Ruddick developed a big reputation for hanging in against Mike Tyson and was a big favorite vs Lennox Lewis...Ruddick got his clock cleaned and didn't make it out of the second round vs Lewis..I'm not saying Johnson is as good as Lewis was in his prime but he's worth a big look at +320...check it out at 9:45 pm on "free" HBO tonight.
I'm rooting for Johnson in this fight 'cause he's a good Canadian boy, but I don't see him beating Klitschko. He is out of shape and I've never been overly impressed with Johnson. His most impressive victory was over Oleg Maskaev, and in that fight he looked to be running scared from Maskaev until he landed a semi-lucky shot that stunned him and finished the fight. Also where is this talk about Johnson's power coming from? I mean he has more power than I do for instance, but I'm an out of shape 175lb white boy. Klitschko stood in there and took bombs from Lewis and there's no way that Johnson is even close to Lewis' in terms of power.
Good points everyone! But I feel that this excess weight can only hurt Johnson in this bout. And let's not forget about Vitaly's awkward fighting style, which presents challenges for so many fighters. Vitaly is a very effective jabber and I am sure that he will tatoo Johnson's face throughout the bout and with greater efficiency as the fight wears on and as Johnson tires. This is as heavy as Johnson has ever come in for a fight.
Yes, Johnson has skills. But Klitschko has unorthodox skills. He made Lewis look bad and seriously consider retirement.
My Prediction: Klitschko by Decision or Late Stoppage.
Yes, Johnson has skills. But Klitschko has unorthodox skills. He made Lewis look bad and seriously consider retirement.
My Prediction: Klitschko by Decision or Late Stoppage.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chuck Sims:
Two negatives I see working against Johnson. 1. He's Canadian. 2. He weighed in at 260. This fat flab did not prepare as hard as he could have.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Canadian gets them every time!!!
Two negatives I see working against Johnson. 1. He's Canadian. 2. He weighed in at 260. This fat flab did not prepare as hard as he could have.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Canadian gets them every time!!!
How bout HBO's "rising new star" Joe Mesi? He almost got KO'd by some club fighter. Jim Lampley is the one who made that ridiculous rising star comment in Mesi's last fight in Buffalo when he KO'd a stiff in the 1st round. Lampley also said Michael Grant was ready to fight Lennox Lewis. You would think Lampley would be able to see the pretenders from the contenders but he does not have a clue.
Lampley is paid to shill the HBO fighters, I would like to think in reality he knows the difference. Mesi did look exposed, but at least he admitted it was tough and he "needed it". With the right matchup he can look very good. Of course, Chris Byrd would make him look amateurish as would Roy.
