Starting with Whyte vs Joshua, I thought it might be a good idea to put our predictions all on one thread. At least we have a easy way to view who got things right and who was very very wrong.

Nakifan- Whyte KO Round 6
gothenaki- For reasons I've previously mentioned I'm picking AJ in 4
Yanni- my pick would be another AJ win via KO within the first few rounds
Nigs- AJ round round 4
Boxingfan25- I am predicting Dillian Whyte to KNOCK OUT Anthony Joshua
Kiwi- I am with you, bro.I rate it a 50/50 fight (Whyte to win?, I guess that is what Kiwi is saying...)
Shamrock- Me too Nigs, all the way. (AJ to win)
Tm7- AJ to clean him up with TKO round 2
WestyWarrior- I'm picking AJ stops Whyte in the third
diehard- AJ KO's him in the second. Whyte is defense-less.

Please put down your predictions on the fight thread: http://www.nzboxchat.co.nz/showthread.php?tid=78, and I'll transfer your choices into here.


Cheers,

NakiFan

OK Sky Subscribers:  AJ vs Whyte from 6AM to Noon on this Sunday on Sky Sport 65.  My guess is that the fight will start mid-morning.  No charge.

OK, enough of all this craziness about guys like Parker and AJ being ranked in the top 5 without having faced anyone in the top 10.  And Martin and Glazkov ranked in the top 5, and even maybe fighting for a title in a face-off without ever facing decent opposition.  And Tyson Fury fighting for a title against Klit when he's only had 4 fights in 3 years. 

So here's my criteria for a top 15 in any of the alphabets:

1) To be in the top 15, you have to have beaten someone in the top 15.  To be in the top 10, you have to have beaten someone in the top 10.  To be in the top 5, you have to have beaten someone in the top 5.  That goes for each alphabet in which a fighter is rated.

2)  If you are ranked in the top 15, you have to fight someone in the top 15 every six months.  If you win, you keep your ranking.  If you lose, you switch places with whoever beats you.  If you don't fight someone in the top 15 every six months, you are no longer ranked in that particular alphabet.

3) If someone forfeits their right to a ranking by not fighting someone in the top 15 in six months, the alphabet committee selects the next best fighter.  He then has to fight someone in the top 15 in his next fight.

This will eliminate, as much as possible, the politics of the alphabets, and result in much better match-ups for the pundits.

OK, who's going, who's watching, who's betting, who's linking???

Agreed today that Lucas Browne will finally get his shot at WBA 'championship' belt against holder Ruslan Chagaev in late Feb/early March 2016.

Fight supposedly to take place in Grozny, Russia.

Interesting to see if Lucas will have another warmup fight after that Julius Long shambles?

So Mark de Mori is stepping up in big fashion, fighting David Haye at the O2 Arena in London on Jan 16th.

They've obviosuly chosen De Mori as a comeback fight because he's ranked but also seems very limited.

The two of them have had some good banter on Twitter over the last week and at the press conference today De Mori 'heatbutted' pushed Haye. No matter how good the fight is it will certainly get massive exposure.

I can't see muscle-man upsetting Haye but it's hard to say as he's been out of the ring for 3 years.

Interesting to see what happens to De Mori afterwards if he loses, he will drop out of the rankings then move to prospects?

Yep, this fight is free to Sky Sport subscribers.  On Sky Sport Pop Up Channel 57.  Should be a great fight.  It's listed as 3PM Sunday.

As extracted from: http://www.boxingqna.com/#!Cairo-George-...8e001d20f7

After gaining new perspective following a motorcycle accident, New Zealand's Cairo George turned his life around and ended up pursuing a professional career in the sport. Cairo is now the reigning NZNBF champion at both welterweight and super welterweight, as well as being IBO Asia-Pacific champion, although he has his eyes firmly set on getting into a position that could pave the way for big fights on the world stage. Cairo recently took the time to discuss his career so far with BoxingQnA.




For people outside of New Zealand who are not aware of you yet, how did you get into boxing and what is your boxing background?

I first started boxing through family members being involved with it. My dad had a boxing background, even if mainly kickboxing, while my older brother had a good amateur boxing career and we would travel around as a family to support him. I started boxing myself at 12 years old, I recently turned 25.

And for everyone who hasn't seen you fight yet, how would you describe your style?

I would have to ask some of my opponents! Nobody likes to get hit and I'm no different, so I would say it's geared towards "hit and not be hit", a philosophy perpetuated by Floyd Mayweather, who I admire greatly. With that in mind, being defensively sound is something that I work particularly hard on.

Having won domestic titles on the New Zealand domestic scene at two weight divisions, it's probably safe to presume that you are looking further afield and that it's all about making progress with the world sanctioning bodies from hereon?

Yes, that's definitely the goal from this point, to move on and get some big international fights. In my last fight I beat Nort Beauchamp, who was another undefeated fighter. The IBO Asia-Pacific title was up for grabs in that fight as well, so I'm hopeful that some opportunities could follow on from that in 2016.

You were scheduled to face Thailand's Singsian Kokietgy for another IBO title a few months ago before sustaining a hand injury. How frustrating was that setback?

Yes, I was going to be fighting for the IBO Youth Title, so basically a 'world' title for anyone under 25 years old. The guy from Thailand I was going up against had a 100% knock out winning record, so I knew he was going to be dangerous. I was training hard and everything was looking good up until the injury. It happened 5 weeks before the fight when I broke my left hand during a sparring session. It was very frustrating given that the fight would have taken place one month before my birthday, meaning that I was only just eligible to be able to contest the title before turning 25. I'm staying positive, will continue working hard and hopefully a similar opportunity presents itself again soon enough.

Considering the fact that there are probably plenty of good fights out there for you on the Asia-Pacific scene, how much further along the line do you hope to be a couple of years from now if everything fall into place?

I'm pretty sure there are still good fights out there for me on the Asia-Pacific scene. Of course, the matchmaking side of things isn't up to me. Whoever my manager puts in front of me, I'll aim to deal with. I'm just taking it one fight at a time and hoping for the best in terms of career progression.

Of course, despite already being a champion, you've still got just 11 fights to your name to date as a professional. Do you still consider yourself as very much learning your craft? And despite the lack of options for opponents in NZ, are you still at least getting plenty of good sparring?

I do see myself as still being a novice, especially since when I was an amateur, my activity was very intermittent. When I turned professional, I still had a lot to learn and I'm definitely still learning now. There are not many guys here in New Zealand at welterweight and super welterweight that I can fight anymore, but I am getting some good sparring. We've got a good camp at City Boxing in Auckland. There's a few guys there who are undefeated. They are not in my weight class, but the sessions are still good. We are trained there by Lolo Heimuli, who is a renowned striking coach.

You were a victim of a bad motorcycle accident and  were told you would never walk again, yet not only have you defied that, but you have also gone on to get back into boxing and pursue your professional career?

After my amateur career, I was at a point in my life where unfortunately going to a lot of parties and getting up to mischief. In a way, it took the motorcycle accident to get me back on track in the sense of being a wake up call. I was in hospital for two-and-a-half weeks, which was a lot of time where I found myself reflecting and thinking about my life direction. I prayed a lot and vowed that if I was to get another chance of life that I would give it a good go. I had fractured my lower spine and broken my leg, but I was able to recover and I started getting into boxing again. I also went to university to study sport science. I am now a personal trainer and my career as a professional boxer is going well, so I really can't complain.

Any boxing idols from past or present?

As already touched on, I admire Floyd Mayweather Jr's style a lot. I admire how he makes A level guys look like C or D level  fighters . He's a defensive wizard and he very rarely gets tagged by any clean shots. He's my number one for sure. I could go on all day talking about the Sugar Ray Robinsons, the Sugar Ray Leonards, the Marvin Haglers, the Muhammad Alis. They all had something special about them and I looked up to a lot of great fighters growing up.

From where do you draw your motivation to achieve your goals and be the best you can be in the sport?

Achieving something that my kids could be proud of. I've got two little boys and I want to be someone that they can look up to and say "that's my dad, look what he's done". Hopefully it will help them make some good decisions in life and follow in my footsteps. Also, my dad has played such a big part in everything, so I want to make him proud as well. I don't want all the hard work he has put into my boxing to go to waste. He has trained me since I was a kid and it was only recently that I started being under the tutelage of Lolo Heimuli. So, it's about making the family proud and also, from my perspective, I just want to see how far I can take this.

Who is Cairo George outside of boxing?

I'm pretty much just a family guy. I don't go out and do much things, really. Just spending as much time as I can with my family, my kids and my partner when I'm not in a training camp. It's hard being away from them for 8 to 9 weeks at a time before fights.

I also run my personal training business here in Hamilton where I am motivated by ensuring that clients are able to achieve their goals.

Message to your supporters?

Thank you for supporting me. I feel privileged to have your support and I hope that you enjoy my fights.

Final words?

Shout-outs to my sponsors, if I may, to Illicit Clothing. NZ Boxer, who have been helping me out a lot with equipment. Natural Body Link Osteopath have played a big role as well, taking care of any injuries that happen. Also, the company that I work for, Les Mills, has also been a very good sponsor that supports everything that I've been doing. To anyone following my Facebook page, a definite shout-out to you guys as well. Of course, a shout-out also to everyone at City Boxing, the crew back at Hamilton, and last but not least, my dad, Torchy George.

I'm just a humble guy trying to the best that I can be. To everyone who follows boxing, keep doing so. The sweet science is still going strong.

Jeff Horn seems to be handed much tougher opponents than JP. Maybe because welterweights don't have that one-punch power like heavyweights do so Duco could be more confident in him being able to out box someone?

Horn set to fight this guy - http://boxrec.com/boxer/482823 - in Sydney in December. http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/boxing-...2fa9537e94

Pulling him off the Fight for Life card. Also heard BBB and Izu being considered for F4L and Willis Meehan chasing a fight with Hemi Ahio on the same card. Doesn't leave much room for rugby players..

Ok chaps, there are two events that some might find interesting this weekend, both on the 12th, so we will see them sometime tomorrow.


O2 Arena (Millenium Dome) (Full card - http://boxrec.com/show/717550)

Main Event - Anthony Joshua(http://boxrec.com/boxer/659461) vs Gary Cornish(http://boxrec.com/boxer/568256)
Brian Minto Event - Dillian Whyte(http://boxrec.com/boxer/569964) vs Brian Minto(http://boxrec.com/boxer/154474)



MGM Grand (Full card - http://boxrec.com/show/716316)

Main Event - Floyd Mayweather Jr(http://boxrec.com/boxer/352) vs Andre Berto(http://boxrec.com/boxer/283680)
Former Carl Froch Opponent Event - George Groves(http://boxrec.com/boxer/472580) vs Badou Jack(http://boxrec.com/boxer/497268)


Edit - Looks like spam will all those links! Hopefully saves you 10 seconds looking them up yourselves.