Weekends Boxing 14/8 (Eric Donovan v Zelfa Barrett + Frampton/Conlan BT Card)

kneejerk

Honestly thought it was a really good fight and a very impressive knockout.
Hope matchroom give Eric another fight, deserves it after that showing.
Impressived by Barrett afterwards, humble guy.

walshb

Not closely following this, but seems to be a size mismatch fight..one lad too small to be really competitive.

walshb

Morrison J wrote: »

Bit harsh. Eric going up in weight and fighting the bigger guy. Still rocked Barrett early on. Not always all about power.

Btw, Eric boxed 132 lbs at a time when amateur years ago..

Most his pro fights have been above 126, and some above 130.

Hardly stepping up in weight...big enough lad at 130..

Morrison J

walshb wrote: »

Btw, Eric boxed 132 lbs at a time when amateur years ago..

Most his pro fights have been above 126, and some above 130.

Hardly stepping up in weight...big enough lad at 130..

Amateur boxing is very different weighing in on the same day.

Most of his pro fights have been relative knockover jobs so there was no need to make 126. Frampton is fighting a knockover job at 135 tomorrow sure. Wouldn't read too much into it. Donovan's best weight is definitely 126. Barrett easily the bigger, stronger fighter tonight.

Higgins5473

walshb wrote: »

Not closely following this, but seems to be a size mismatch fight..one lad too small to be really competitive.

no doubt about it. age difference, weight. no real chance but offered a shot and he took it and who would blame him. he didn't embarrass himself.

walshb

Morrison J wrote: »

Amateur boxing is very different weighing in on the same day.

Most of his pro fights have been relative knockover jobs so there was no need to make 126. Frampton is fighting a knockover job at 135 tomorrow sure. Wouldn't read too much into it. Donovan's best weight is definitely 126. Barrett easily the bigger, stronger fighter tonight.

Yes, but amateurs still sweat hard to make weight, plus, he is ten years older now. More mature..Much more naturally 130 than lower...

Barret probably a bit bigger, but he has weighed in below 130 himself..

Donovan has been above 126 70 + percent his fights...so, not sure how you can be sure 126 his best weight...

Frampton is not 135. I get this. He’s short, and as well, boxed at 122 a few years ago...

Morrison J

walshb wrote: »

Yes, but amateurs still sweat hard to make weight, plus, he is ten years older now. More mature..Much more naturally 130 than lower...

Barret probably a bit bigger, but he has weighed in below 130 himself..

Donovan has been above 126 70 + percent his fights...so, not sure how you can be sure 126 his best weight...

Well he says 126 is his best weight himself so that's a good indicator. Also why would he have gone the featherweight route when on the way up winning national titles if he was better at super feather?

walshb

Morrison J wrote: »

Well he says 126 is his best weight himself so that's a good indicator. Also why would he have gone the featherweight route when on the way up winning national titles if he was better at super feather?

I am not saying what he is “better” at. It’s not that simple...

Fact is..most fights to date have been above 126....that’s where he has been judged mostly..

He’d be a good sized FW and SFW...He’s easily natural at 130..

iebamm2580

donovan lovely boxer but like alot of irish lads has no power and at the end of the day you wont get too far these days without it. It really is imo the most important aspect after basic fundamentals.

iebamm2580

walshb wrote: »

I never said it was about power..

I was talking about Nelson saying Barret showed a granite chin...

The point in pointless, as Eric is not at all a puncher!!

i thought nelson was saying donovan had a granite chin and had taken alot of blows before knockdowns, didnt think he had taken much meself.

generalgerry

Fair play to Donovan for taking the fight. He did well at the start but you always felt that Barrett would come good later on. Just looking back on the punch that ended it, it was vicious. I'm not a big fan of allowing boxers from different weight divisions fight each other, just because it makes sense for the promoter. Especially after seeing GGG break up Kell Brook's eye sockets a few years back, never been the same since.

Really looking forward to tonight, long been a fan of Dillian Whyte, hope he gets his win tonight and then his title shot.

normanoffside

generalgerry wrote: »

Fair play to Donovan for taking the fight. He did well at the start but you always felt that Barrett would come good later on. Just looking back on the punch that ended it, it was vicious. I'm not a big fan of allowing boxers from different weight divisions fight each other, just because it makes sense for the promoter. Especially after seeing GGG break up Kell Brook's eye sockets a few years back, never been the same since.

Really looking forward to tonight, long been a fan of Dillian Whyte, hope he gets his win tonight and then his title shot.

Dillian is not fighting tonight.

P.S. He's cr*p

walshb

iebamm2580 wrote: »

i thought nelson was saying donovan had a granite chin and had taken alot of blows before knockdowns, didnt think he had taken much meself.

No, almost certain it was in praise to Barret..

I’d be very surprised if I was wrong...

And even if about Donovan, the description granite is way off.

Donovan was badly hurt and almost out from several shots. That is not granite. And Barret is not some dynamite hitter..

walshb

generalgerry wrote: »

Fair play to Donovan for taking the fight. He did well at the start but you always felt that Barrett would come good later on. Just looking back on the punch that ended it, it was vicious. I'm not a big fan of allowing boxers from different weight divisions fight each other, just because it makes sense for the promoter. Especially after seeing GGG break up Kell Brook's eye sockets a few years back, never been the same since.

Really looking forward to tonight, long been a fan of Dillian Whyte, hope he gets his win tonight and then his title shot.

They are a few lbs difference at most.

Donovan has 13 fights now. About 9 these above 126...some above 130 lbs..

Last night was two men in the same weight division..

Plus, there would be plenty men at 126 hitting harder than Barret..

iebamm2580

walshb wrote: »

No, almost certain it was in praise to Barret..

I’d be very surprised if I was wrong...

And even if about Donovan, the description granite is way off.

Donovan was badly hurt and almost out from several shots. That is not granite. And Barret is not some dynamite hitter..

yeah i will try to listen back but thought he was giving Donovan praise after fight by saying it, either way it was wrong.

Big Ears

walshb wrote: »

They are a few lbs difference at most.

Donovan has 13 fights now. About 9 these above 126...some above 130 lbs..

Last night was two men in the same weight division..

Plus, there would be plenty men at 126 hitting harder than Barret..

Walshb you know yourself most guys will fight a few lbs above their division for non title fights. This is what Eric has done. Ignoring his first couple of fights, he's only fought above 130 lbs once (a quarter of a lb over) and this is in cases where he had leeway if he wished to be a few pounds heavier.
He might be tall enough for Super-Featherweight, but he is not a natural Super-Featherweight, and has had no major problems making weight for his title fights at Featherweight.

Barrett is probably a bigger Super-Featherweight than Donovan is a Featherweight.


Size imo did end up being a factor in this fight. Barrett, with the exception of that left hand which stunned him, took Donocan's shots very well, where as the shots he landed in return had a much bigger impact. It also meant Donovan couldn't stop the pressure Barrett was applying when he did start pressing him, so he had no option to slow the pace down as he started to tire.
I don't think most Featherweights at that level would have worn the shots as well as Barrett, and Donovan probably would have been able to push back a lot of Featherweights as the rounds went on, and slow down the pace more should he have needed.

I know you feel weight classes that are close together have little impact.
It is only 4 lbs, but I disagree. Imo even 4 lbs can have a meaningful impact.

walshb

Big Ears wrote: »

Walshb you know yourself most guys will fight a few lbs above their division for non title fights. This is what Eric has done. Ignoring his first couple of fights, he's only fought above 130 lbs once (a quarter of a lb over) and this is in cases where he had leeway if he wished to be a few pounds heavier.
He might be tall enough for Super-Featherweight, but he is not a natural Super-Featherweight, and has had no major problems making weight for his title fights at Featherweight.

Barrett is probably a bigger Super-Featherweight than Donovan is a Featherweight.


Size imo did end up being a factor in this fight. Barrett, with the exception of that left hand which stunned him, took Donocan's shots very well, where as the shots he landed in return had a much bigger impact. It also meant Donovan couldn't stop the pressure Barrett was applying when he did start pressing him, so he had no option to slow the pace down as he started to tire.
I don't think most Featherweights at that level would have worn the shots as well as Barrett, and Donovan probably would have been able to push back a lot of Featherweights as the rounds went on, and slow down the pace more should he have needed.

I know you feel weight classes that are close together have little impact.
It is only 4 lbs, but I disagree. Imo even 4 lbs can have a meaningful impact.

He got caught and was hurt, tired, unable to defend..that is why he lost.

Not because of a possible couple lbs here and there..

Very similar sized men.

The size wasn’t the issue. He wasn’t being bulled around, roughed up, manhandled...

He simply could not take the shots from Barret, who is not at all that much a hitter...

Like I said, Donovan is a decent sized FW and SFW...he is not at all small at 130 lbs. 35 for chrissake. Not 22/23...126-130 ten years ago..

And he has been 3 lbs above 130 in a fight...

I do think 4 lbs can have a difference, but not in all cases, any when one man is 35, 5 feet 7 and who has fought above the weight class that he fought last night..

There are instances where 4 lbs can look like ten lbs...A small sized man at one weight moves up to fight a big sized man at the higher weight....

walshb

BT Sports 2 at 8 the action starts..

Nice lil warm up just before it at 7 p.m.

42-1: 30 for 30. Great docs these. This one at 7 tells the Tyson-Douglas tale from 1990.

walshb

Really looking forward to seeing how Frampton looks..The extra weight may not tell us where he is at..

I think we all agree he is past his best, but what has he left?

Conlan? I haven’t checked up on the opponent..is it yet another nobody?

Ok, yes..he’s the nobody that Warrington cleaned out a while back..

BagheeraBlue

walshb wrote: »

Really looking forward to seeing how Frampton looks..The extra weight may not tell us where he is at..

I think we all agree he is past his best, but what has he left?

Conlan? I haven’t checked up on the opponent..is it yet another nobody?

conlan is worse than feather fisted he will never be elite

walshb

BagheeraBlue wrote: »

conlan is worse than feather fisted he will never be elite

Be careful with that talk here....😜

generalgerry

walshb wrote: »

They are a few lbs difference at most. Donovan has 13 fights now. About 9 these above 126...some above 130 lbs..

I hear what you're saying, no two weight differences are the same, it obviously wasn't as bad as GGG vs Kelly Brook, but I just dont agree with it. It's dangerous. I'd say Eric has a sore head today.

Just saw Dillian Whyte is interviewed by Brian Rose on London Real this week. A bit surprised as he normally does business podcasts and hasn't had many sports stars on before. Will I post a link for you Norman?

walshb

generalgerry wrote: »

I hear what you're saying, no two weight differences are the same, it obviously wasn't as bad as GGG vs Kelly Brook, but I just dont agree with it. It's dangerous. I'd say Eric has a sore head today.

Just saw Dillian Whyte is interviewed by Brian Rose on London Real this week. A bit surprised as he normally does business podcasts and hasn't had many sports stars on before. Will I post a link for you Norman?

He could have had a sorer head had he fought many “smaller” men.

Barret is not a big puncher..Eric simply not able to take a decent shot. Was hurt several times by several decent shots. Add this to his lack of pro survival skills, lack of real stamina, and lack of any power to retaliate and discourage Barret, and this is why he lost..

We’re debating lbs here and there...both men pretty much same size overall...

Morrison J

Good win for Paddy Donovan earlier. Our best prospect you'd have to think.

https://twitter.com/BoxingTicketsNI/status/1294718033475317760?s=19

Big Ears

walshb wrote: »

He got caught and was hurt, tired, unable to defend..that is why he lost.

Not because of a possible couple lbs here and there..

Very similar sized men.

The size wasn’t the issue. He wasn’t being bulled around, roughed up, manhandled...

He simply could not take the shots from Barret, who is not at all that much a hitter...

Like I said, Donovan is a decent sized FW and SFW...he is not at all small at 130 lbs. 35 for chrissake. Not 22/23...126-130 ten years ago..

And he has been 3 lbs above 130 in a fight...

I do think 4 lbs can have a difference, but not in all cases, any when one man is 35, 5 feet 7 and who has fought above the weight class that he fought last night..

There are instances where 4 lbs can look like ten lbs...A small sized man at one weight moves up to fight a big sized man at the higher weight....

Your first sentence is correct, he was tired, he got caught and was hurt. He then didn't have anything to keep Barrett off and prevent him from landing the shots to finish it.

However it was a draining fight. It mightn't have seemed it because they weren't fighting in a phonebooth all night, but there was a huge amount of feinting, quickly darting in and out with the feet and constantly moving while trying to react and counter at speed.
If Donovan's shots had more of an effect on Barrett he could have stopped Barrett's surge (he seemed to make a conscious decision from the 6th onwards to press forwards), and slowed the tempo once he had Barrett backing up.......but he couldn't back him up.

Barrett's no Julian Jackson, but he's not a non puncher, he can crack a bit......and that will have more of an effect on a natural Featherweight like Donovan is not short at 130 lbs, but he's definitely small at the weight, you could see the difference in the thickness of their builds, and Barrett usually looks like a rake compared to his opponent.

Donovan weighed 133 in his 2nd pro fight, he had just turned over. He doesn't struggle that badly to make 126 lbs, and if it was 10 years ago he turned over, I reckon he'd be down at Super-Bantameight.
If Zelfa Barrett is still fighting at Donovan's age, I'd be shocked if he wasn't up at Lightweight (or above).

Anyway, we can argue those points till the cows come home. Donovan has already said he'll be back, but at Featherweight.

Michael Conlan up soon, so plenty of time for you to talk about his lack of power among his other flaws 😅.
I do agree about his power btw....

The White Feather

Does anyone know why Ofori here came out to Irish music? Of course maybe he just likes it

walshb

Big, we’ll see with Eric and what he comes back at...

Not sure why he’d be back..

For what? To take unnecessary punishment? Too old now for this game, as well as clearly lacking the ingredients for it..

walshb

Think MC up now!!

Big Ears

The White Feather wrote: »

Does anyone know why Ofori here came out to Irish music? Of course maybe he just likes it

I was wondering that myself, he has the Shamrock on his gloves and all !

walshb wrote: »

Big, we’ll see with Eric and what he comes back at...

Not sure why he’d be back..

For what? To take unnecessary punishment? Too old now for this game, as well as clearly lacking the ingredients for it..

We will of course, but I'd be very surprised if his next fight isn't at least against a Featherweight (if not actually at Featherweight).
Matchroom and Sky seem to have been very impressed by how he's handled himself in and out of the ring this week.
If they take him as a 'home' fighter going forward I can see why there's value in staying on.

His goal when he turned pro was to win the European title.
Down at Featherweight, and with Matchroom backing, I don't see that as being that crazy a goal in the next couple of years before he hangs them up.

walshb

Well, matchroom are full a hyped up sh1te, Big...

The way Hearn was waffle last night you’d swear Barrett was the next Roberto fooking Duran!!