Every Thursday here at Fight Hype, we make a space among the video content for a good, old-fashioned written word money shot from the depths of my bulbous, bulging sack. So, get ready for some of that infamous Magno-rific gooey, salty, sometimes NSFW truth. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Saturday’s Spence-Ugas card, Spence-Crawford, and Fury-Whyte.
Revisiting Saturday’s Spence-Ugas Card
Hi Paul
Just read your article about your assessment of the whole Spence-Crawford card.
Sadly, it was mostly mismatches as you pointed out, except for Butaev-Stationis, which I predicted would go for Butaev. Did you watch the fight? How did you score it?
I hope PBC just stops this trend of feeding guys on their way out to hungry lions. I feel bad for Bandido Vargas the most, it seems he lost 50% of his tank after the Miura fight. I expect Pitbull Cruz to fight Rayo Valenzuela if he does not get the Ryan Garcia fight.
As For Spence vs Crawford, Ugas was able to put a beating into Spence during Rd.6. Ugas fought the incorrect fight by standing in front of Spence and in-fighting. The more I look at Spence’s performances, the more convinced I am that it is going to be ugly for him once he faces Crawford. The only thing that can save him is that he is quite big for welterweight.
Best Regards.
— Miguel
Hey Miguel.
I scored Stanionis-Butaev 116-111 for Stanionis. I thought the Lithuanian built up an early lead that Butaev couldn’t overcome despite coming on late. It was a really solid matchup, though, and I enjoyed it. Butaev is good and sturdy, but he just isn’t active enough. Stanionis is more fragile, but he’s got a good work rate. Neither is an elite, though.
Bandido Vargas has been done for awhile and putting him up against a kid with rocket-quick hands was the equivalent of a suicide mission.
I don’t see PBC matching up Pitbull and Rayo right now. Both are young and can beat up on second and third tier guys until something bigger pops up. Why have them go after each other when both can be launched into the 135 lb. mix, trying to take down the big names?
Ugas fought the only way he knows how to fight. He’s not a mover and Spence’s jab had negated his own. There was nothing he could do but go into a shell and try to land his big right, which I predicted would be a factor against the southpaw Spence. In the sixth round, he cracked Spence good with it and there was a brief moment where a window of opportunity had opened for a flipping of the script. But Spencer recovered and regained his composure. Laurence Cole has long been an incompetent ref, but, this time, his incompetence didn’t factor into the outcome of the fight. The mouthpiece stuff was inconsequential. Spence had recovered by the time Cole stopped the action to replace the mouthpiece.
I’m nowhere near as doubtful of Spence’s high-end chops as you are. If anything, Saturday’s performance sold me even more on his elite-level status. Spence is a masterful offensive fighter who, when he’s clicking at 100%, is a machine. Everything he throws is sharp and tight. His balance is outstanding. He’s always in position to score and that jab is quick, jarring, and controlling. I still favor Crawford in a head-to-head because of his versatility and ability to change course on the fly, but a healthy, sharp Spence will make for a hellacious challenge.
No-show Whyte Inside Fury’s Head?
Hi Paul.
How much of a shot does Dillian Whyte have against Tyson Fury this Saturday and how effective will this no-show tactic of Whyte’s be in the mind games department? It’s certainly been an odd build-up to a big heavyweight title fight.
– Simon
Hey Simon.
At the very least, Whyte limiting the amount of face-to-face time with Fury will cut down on the possibility of Fury getting in his head.
The way I see it, Whyte no-showing much of the publicity and build-up for the fight is either a psych ploy to get the upper hand or a temper tantrum from not getting the contract deal he wanted. If it’s the former, okay, we’ll see how that works out. It’s a fair shot at playing some mind games. If it’s the latter, though, I think it’s sabotaging a winning mind set and courting failure. We’ll probably never know the real reason for the Whyte shy routine, but we’ll see what’s what on Saturday. I’m anticipating a good, spirited effort from both guys.
Whyte has a shot at pulling off the upset, but it would be insane to bet against Tyson Fury right now. Fury’s clearly the best heavyweight in the world at the moment and, IMO, only a personal implosion brings him down.
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