Latest / Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast / The Paywall Podcast: Gervonta Davis Hints At Comeback, Boxing Media To Shift Again?

Transcript

The Paywall Podcast: Gervonta Davis Hints At Comeback, Boxing Media To Shift Again? · Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get to it.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I think the big news for me at least is the first big story to me.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Is the potential return of Gervonta Tank Davis.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Tank Davis,
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: last night,
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: I started seeing that he was on social media posting footage or something.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: And he has this way of...
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: With Tank,
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: he grew up with social media and he grew up being famous and he knows how
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: to use these platforms and be like, yeah, I'm a celebrity guy.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the coolest guy in the room.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Check it out.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: So there's like a level of sarcasm to every single Tank Davis post.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: But...
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: What more than likely is going to happen is Tank,
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think the hope and the hint was he could return as soon as January or February.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if that were the case,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: that would snap a 20-month inactive streak since he had a March,
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: I believe it was March 1st, 2025 draw with Lamont Roach Jr.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Since then, he's been out of sight, out of mind.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it's getting to the point where I feel like boxing fans may or may not miss him
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: because the sport is changing a lot and the dynamics are changing a lot.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: And when Tank last fought, the sport was in a completely different place.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas now when he enters...
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: He still has a lot of leverage because of the draw and the pull that he is and
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: the way he connects with fans.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that the stop-start nature of his career,
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: and it speaks to some fighters also from PBC's prior era,
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: Keith Thurman, Charlo Bros, probably someone else I'm forgetting, where it's like...
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't quite do enough to go in the Hall of Fame,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: stop, start, maybe do it when you want to get a nice chunk of change, etc., etc.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: But now, like, the idea, the opponent I saw hinted at was George Cambosis.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Cambosis is someone that I really respect,
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: and I thought that he had a magnificent fight against Teofimo Lopez in 2021.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: I was actually just mirroring.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Steps away from where I watched that fight, probably pretty close to five years ago.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a phenomenal fight and it was a big moment in the sport, I feel.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Kambosis still to this day is a fantastic fighter for certain style matchups.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: The problem is after he beat Teofimo,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: the one style he doesn't do the best with,
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: which is a boxer,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: because I think Kambosis is the best at initiating going backwards.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: So he can counterpunch and he can punch with you.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: But if he has to find you, it becomes a very tough fight for Kambosis.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: And he's basically been on a slew of fighting that style, which isn't his most ideal fight.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: If Tank were to fight Cambosis,
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: I get that it's a somewhat big name still,
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: especially if the fight were to take place in Australia.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: But it kind of speaks to the utter indifference I have towards Davis's career.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: The talent is there.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: The skills are there.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: But what isn't there is I see a longing, lust for desire to be the best of this generation.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, I'd say that that kind of goes...
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: To the generation as a whole.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's why a group of older middle-aged men who are deeply passionate
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: about boxing,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: basically do nonprofit work doing boxing programs and so forth and so on to whoever,
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: men, women, and this, that, and a third.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, off the top of my head, what's his best win?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Ryan Garcia and people talk about a rehydration clause with that fight.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think the outcome would have changed without a rehydration clause.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: But with Garcia having a good year and a lot of popularity,
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: people start to question the rehydration clause.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the Frank Martin win was credible at the time,
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: but Frank hasn't really reclaimed that status since.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: None of Tanks Davis's wins...
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Really aged significantly well.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Leo Santa Cruz was a fighter who moved up in weight,
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: took a chance with him about six years ago, roughly.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: He knocks him out.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Santa Cruz never fights again.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Mario Barrios has, you know, reclaimed a belt, but people have been highly critical.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Isak Pitbull Cruz, you know, formidable fight at 135.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: 145 pounds.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Ended up now at 140.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: We question whether he can fight at that level.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Hector Luis Garcia was doing very good with him.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Then he ends up losing with to Lamont Roach.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Basically doesn't fight again.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Raleigh Romero.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Tank was losing the whole fight, in my opinion, and then landed a shot.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: He kind of waits you out.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's not...
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: The frustration is...
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: For the talent, I want to see the desire with Davis.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: And him coming back is inherently good because we need interesting people.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: But we need a fight with Tank Davis and Teofimo Lopez.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: We need a fight with Tank Davis versus Shakur Stevenson or Devin Haney.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: It can't just be, hey, Ryan's really famous too.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Let's just do the rematch.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that's too common with our superstar boxers are, who's the most profitable guy?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'll fight that guy.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Who also benefits?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's like Dakota said this best.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a collab.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I won't fight you unless I can collab.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: In boxing,
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: especially with this new generation,
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: it's not as much about legacy as what does the collab do for my credibility?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: How does this collab benefit me?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's not just a fight.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's not about legacy.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we see that with the belts, right?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: The belts are meaning less.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: Or the belts are being questioned because with the possibility of a UBO existing, right?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Promoters having their own rankings and titles.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't idolize people like Hagler,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Herms and whatever,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: if you don't want that historic moment and you don't want to pay a sanctioning body
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: to hold a belt per se.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: What is the appeal of the belt?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think that we're now in a world with the idea of the UBO
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: and promoters having their own rankings,
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: and we'll go into that with possible networks holding their own rankings.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: What's the point?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: What's the point of fighting for a title if there's titles upon titles?
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's almost like an obstruction in the road.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, could world titles become minor titles to promoters' major titles?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: What does that look like?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: There's a major change coming.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: And though the titles will never disappear, I think that's an interesting element.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then with this collab nature of these very famous fighters...
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't shock me that when fighters are looking at major fights,
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: legacy fights, and they're looking at the collab nature of it.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: How big, how profile, how much money can I get?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: They might be like, I'll drop a belt.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then on the other hand,
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: a guy like Denzel Bentley,
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: who knows what happens with his situation, but with Denzel Bentley...
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: he's a guy that boxing's kind of screwed over,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: arguably beat Janabek,
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: very good fighter, a guy who's had to earn it, you know, had to take tough fights.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: And then is immediately Janabek had years or whatever.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe a WBO is mandated,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: but it's like he fought some fights with guys that you had no idea
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: who they were.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And we basically explained.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Wins this title, you know,
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: good story.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then his first defense is kind of like the boogeyman-like figure,
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: though I'm not as high as everyone else on Yoleni Hernandez.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: He's still a formidable operator.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: He's someone that there's a lot of questions because he hits really hard and there's
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: a chance he's a generational fighter.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: So for a guy like that to make $160,000,
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: He was kind of a hard luck fighter who achieved his dream of being a world champion.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Who knows what Zufa offered him?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's philosophical moments now where the belt used
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: to represent getting bigger paydays.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: The belt used to represent getting on television and leveraging big things.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas now the belt might not mean that you might get a bigger opportunity without the belt.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I keep going back to we're in a philosophical moment.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Of what does the sanctioning body and what does the world title really mean to the fighter?
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: What is the philosophical stance as a sport of what these belts symbolize if
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: the promoters get more control to be determined on the answer to that?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: OK, next question.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Extension.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, David Payne jumping in.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: David, thank you also for those really nice words you wrote earlier in the week.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to just read your question right now.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: The worst thing would be silo thinking in which promoters
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: and networks don't work together and it's all about their own roster.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: If that's the case, you just end up with a fractured version of what they're trying to...
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: I personally think the Saudi money leaves boxing,
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: which I sense it may in the next few years,
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: the promoters might start working on building.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, to prevent.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I get it.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: I get kind of just rambled through that,
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: but I'll go into one of my other questions that wasn't going
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: to be my second question, which was actually, you know what?
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to combine two questions.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Boom, combine.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: So here we go.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to talk about the potential of DAZN taking over Ring Magazine.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: There's reports by Tris Dixon, who's a friend and taught me a ton.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: He was my boss for a while.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: And Tris is the man.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: He's a great guy, outstanding reporter.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: So if you put something out there, I firmly trust it's true.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of things to unpack, right?
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think that the sentiment about media in general,
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: but especially boxing media is everything's hard right now.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't want to hear any sympathy when you can't work for an entity covering
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: the sport of boxing.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's like the dream job, quote unquote dream job.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And people are like, well, I have a job I hate.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: So what is it?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think that there's a view of media as it's this charm,
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: privilege kind of existence where it's really a poverty struggle.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: You don't get paid very much and basically everyone hates you
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: and you're constantly criticized,
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's grammar,
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's factual reporting or whether your opinions line up.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: It feels like you're always on the chopping block to be criticized,
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: but it never feels like there's any form of sympathy
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: for basically there's not there's only like maybe 10 to 15 jobs that pay really well
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: and the rest are just like you're hoping to break even or you're hoping
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: to make money from this,
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: and that's kind of why I appreciate you guys helping me
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: with my independent endeavors and that's why I keep this.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: I keep all my Substack free because I'll just share my business model with you guys.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to drive up the subs so I can show that to sponsors
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: and maybe present some sponsored content, etc.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: to show the great audience we are building.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to charge you to subsidize my life.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'd rather build an audience that wants to go, etc.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: I say that to say,
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: when DAZN takes over the ring,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think the ring has lost credibility in the last couple of years
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: since Turk Yelashik took over.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think that...
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: It is now being questioned whether the reports that come out of that site at times are valid.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think they have very good writers over there, especially Manuk.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Manuk is a really, really top-notch guy, and he's a really, really good writer.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that there is...
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: A sentiment that it's more state-run media,
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: that it's not objective media,
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: it's not impartial,
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: it's very much an extension of a boxing entity or a vision of boxing that aligns
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: with a promoter's vision,
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: which essentially isn't independent media and at one point it was
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: the most trusted boxing source.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: So...
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think that that's something to unpack.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if DAZN were to take it,
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: DAZN is a media company that distributes most,
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: if not the biggest fights in boxing, right?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that that inherently could be good.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: But then the question is, if they take over Ring, is there any...
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Coverage of, say, Zufa Boxing, which takes place on Paramount+.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Would that be covered?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that's something to monitor, right?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Because like David just brought up,
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: and I hope I'm not going in and out
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: because it's saying my connection is unstable this morning.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's just a sign of the times, and I think I might be a little unstable too, is...
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: We don't need... Well,
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: the last thing we need from this is two networks with two titles,
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: with two agendas,
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: who are not going to work with each other,
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: who have firm business plans, who are both trying to do the same vision of...
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Building boxing in their own ecosystem and then trying to sell boxing to private companies.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: That is not a healthy sport.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious to see what it is.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious to see if I also have a philosophy that I think written word is going
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: to be gone sooner than we think.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think this social media era is coming and everything's going to have to be video
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: and podcast pretty soon.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: People are not going to consume written word as much.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's just going to be a flex.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to be like, look at how smart I am.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm flexing.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that also is something to look into it is what's the role of reporters?
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: How if this were to happen, where do they go?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: But I think the bigger thing to look at is if Ring were to be sold to DAZN,
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: does Ring's magazine title,
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: which is I think we all assumed,
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: whether rightfully or wrong,
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: given how close the Saudis had been with Ring Magazine and with Zufa Boxing,
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: wouldn't the Zufa belt inherently be the Ring Magazine belt?
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that I was listening to Trish Dixon.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: He has a podcast with Matt Christie, and they were talking about this subject matter.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: And Trish said that he talked to Lou DiBella,
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: and it was like Lou's thoughts were Zufa already has their own title,
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: but I think what is weird to me is Zufa,
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think the criticism has been that it's not necessarily respecting,
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say history of the past, but the modern history of boxing.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: They're looking at the modern achievements outside of people who are
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: in their ecosystem as this is what's messed boxing up.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: And now they're going into these titles where we're starting fresh.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas if the ring magazine was morphed into or was symbolically a belt
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: that was associated with that organization, if this UBO legislation passed.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: That would have some historical backing.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the thing with boxing is
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: boxing isn't new enough to like new things,
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: if that makes sense.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's more of a historical product.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think people want...
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: The history preserved along with it.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious to see if we get two titles across two network platforms and then ask
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: the question, where do the sanctioning bodies fit into that?
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Because if it just creates a rift and then I think the deeper question is,
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: if it does do this, why sell Ring Magazine?
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that from the outside looking in and also from a media guy perspective,
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Media typically doesn't make money and no one has really ever figured out how
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: to make money off the Internet as a media person.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's why media jobs are kind of fly by night.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: They start out really good and then they disappear because no one really has created
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: the sustainability model just yet.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: And who knows if they ever will.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: So you start out, it's all good and then just disappears.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious to see.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: The answers, which will come in some time.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: But my fear is it just literally creates two sides of the street
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: that make interesting unification bouts more feasible.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: So now let's go into just to make it a 2B is the other cousin to it.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't it another suggestion of a Saudi retreat on its investment in boxing?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's very real.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it's not just that.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's could we be fearing that like a global war that is going on and from
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: an American perspective,
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: war typically doesn't affect us because we've been so lucky
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: that there haven't been attacks on the homeland that most people hear of war
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: but don't think of war and that an ongoing war that is going.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: That was started this year could have major implications for both a sport
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: and things like gas prices currently.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's something that most people probably didn't have a deep connection
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: with could impact them so much,
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: whether the entertainment they consume and daily gas prices.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think also, it's curious because there was, I think it's Saudi Vision 2030.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're getting close to 2030.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: So...
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to be interesting.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to be interesting because 2027 feels like the year of the reset.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: It felt like in 2025 something was changing.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: This year has felt like an absolute dreadful year of boxing.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: We just haven't been...
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: This year,
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: to sum it up,
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: is we get a good fight and then we look down the calendar and say,
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: well, at least in May we have a fight.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then after May we go, well, June, Xander and Boots fight.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then we go...
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, at least in September,
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: we get Ryan Garcia versus Conor Benn, which, yeah, that was a big fight.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: And now it's like,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: OK, we got Canelo coming up and we got Schofield and, you know, we got Joshua.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: It just seems like the level we're waiting on big fights,
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: but the big fights aren't really coming.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it also feels as though boxing has left America.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: It feels like Las Vegas is no longer the hub.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: And as I was telling my buddy the other day,
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: it's not just Las Vegas is no longer the hub of boxing.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Las Vegas is now getting sports teams.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: So now people that live in Vegas, boxing isn't just the one-stop shop.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now you could be a baseball fan, a hockey fan, and that's going to impact fight sports.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that Las Vegas has lost its leverage over the sport of boxing it had
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: as little as eight years ago.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: 14 years ago, I remember being in Vegas and feeling like I made it to go to a Vegas fight.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't even know when the next time I'll be in Vegas for a fight.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I feel like I'll go to Vegas more for a food outing than for a fight.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's just the way my life is maturing.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go to Joshua and Fury.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: I've talked extensively about this fight and my feelings.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's a sign of the times.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're kind of an uninteresting fight, at least to me on paper.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think Fury knocks out Joshua, who's just kind of faded.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there was always a talent gap.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: You could argue with me.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: Some people disagree.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's fine.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: Leave it in the comments.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: But what I don't love about this is it's two really rich guys at the center.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: And you might go, well, Fury and Joshua, they're really no.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: The talking points are Dana White and Eddie Hearn.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of going back and forth over what I'm perceiving is who's
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: the most powerful person in boxing, who controls the sport.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really about like, my name is on the poster.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Look at what I'm doing.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: And the battle for control of who runs this event, which I think one could almost...
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Use as a metaphor for this event is being looked at as who runs the sport,
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: which is probably why it's like people are holding their ground so much
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: as this is this is a big event and the lead promoter.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: This has a lot of equity in boxing.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a big ego thing.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: And that is overshadowing a fight that should be a big fight that I may or may not watch.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that's so cynical of me, but I don't care.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's such an obvious outcome to me that more than likely I won't tune into this.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: And beyond that, the fighters themselves could make me interested, right?
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: But instead, most of the conversations are about executives, executive drama, executive mishaps.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: And That's not interesting.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the one frustration I have about Zufa Boxing's entry is we always had
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: that in boxing, like the market share equity heads.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: With Zufa Boxing, we've really gotten more conversation.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: And
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: this
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: is a genius stockbroker move.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: And you just don't understand because there's seven steps ahead of you in this.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, can we just go back to frigging boxing?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Can we just go back to boxing?
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because you know what might be a genius move?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Make like six really good fights.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: The fans believe in a product and believe it's a really good one.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than looking at frigging inflated numbers of people's social media and guys
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: that probably aren't as good as they are,
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: but have built manufactured records up to get in these places to be stars.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Just make some good fights, get the trust of the fans, and guess what?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: You'd have a healthy sport.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: But right now, we're just ego, ego, ego, and more ego.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that is turning me off on the Fury podcast.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: Joshua Fite.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Now, let's go into this next talking point, which I'll kind of combine it.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'll kind of combine it,
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: which is just the mess going on with Shakur Stevenson and Gary Antoine Russell.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: Who even knows if this fight happens at this point?
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're October 2nd.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Sunday's my birthday.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: It feels like we've got to get a deal in place by as soon as October 2nd.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: October 14th, October 15th.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: If we don't have a deal by then, what are we doing, guys?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are we doing?
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because at that point, there's two questions to ask yourself about that.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's how do fans get to the fight?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or does that even matter at this point, right?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: How do fans prepare financially when it's a December, right?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's holiday season.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's the end of the year.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: How do fans prep for that?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: And secondly...
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: What like you also have to have a training camp
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: where like this level guys champions,
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: they're going to want X amount of number of weeks to train.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just be like, hey, man, six weeks notice.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm sure guys are going to want 10 weeks.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: They might have started now.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: It just feels like a troubled fight.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I said this the other day.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember where, probably on this platform.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's not an interesting enough a fight for all this drama to be happening.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: This just feels like a standard unification fight that by the standard of boxing we should get.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: But sadly,
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: this fight is dragging on and it's like now 50-50 if we get just
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: a solid title unification.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it's frustrating to me because...
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Shakur Stevenson feels like the best fighter in the world.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: He feels like the guy who should achieve the most.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: He was on track to be fighter of the year this year by beating Teofimo Lopez,
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: which was a
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: really impressive win,
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: yet somehow...
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, rebuilt himself, got
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: in a belt, now three-division champion, etc.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's frustrating because I remember as an amateur, I believe so much in Shakur.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: And as a pro, I still believe so much in Shakur.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: But it's starting to eerily get to a point since that Edwin De Los Santos fight,
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: 2023,
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: where there's a trend of a lot of inactivity and the best fights outside
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: of Teofimo Lopez being made just simply haven't happened.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it's an alarming trend.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: And with Gary Antoine Russell, I mean,
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: this is a fighter who I'll look it up,
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: but notoriously,
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: I believe his family in general is notorious for just one fight a year.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: But I believe he is a one fight a year guy dating back for a while now.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: 2026, one fight.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: 2025, one fight.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: 2024, one fight.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: 2023, one fight.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: 2022, very active, two fights.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: 2021, one fight.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: 2020, one fight.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then before COVID, he was pretty active.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: He had a lot of fights, but they were running more shows back then.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: So basically, outside of one year, he fought once a year.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: So...
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: Who knows?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: You can read between the tea leaves with that.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: But essentially, that's never promising, at least to me as a cynical person.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because it always feels like when guys fight once a year, there might be a reason for that.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: I also don't love the idea of being a gossip head because if I were involved
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: in any form of negotiations,
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: I would simply just try to throw as much misinformation out there just
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: to benefit me.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's something that a lot of people are missing.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's something that people are trying to be first.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: People are trying to contextualize situations that maybe don't need that much context.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: The big issue is Shakur Stevenson signed with Zufa Boxing.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: At this point,
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: I would have rather him fight Rayo,
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: get back in the ring next week or whenever he would have fought,
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: and then move forward with the fight next year.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, there was a rumored Pacquiao bout.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: Now it looks like Pacquiao might fight Joe Cordina is the rumor,
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: so that isn't an option for Shakur.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Looks like Gary Antoine Russell is a difficult person to make a fight with.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's frustrating.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: What are the options for Shakur Stevenson?
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I guess the big thing with him is because he has so much talent,
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: how do you get across the finish line on an exciting fight to show
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: the world your talent?
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Because it feels like he beats pretty much everybody,
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: but the obstruction is not everybody wants to fight him.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: And he has to either figure out ways creatively to entice people into the ring,
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: or he has to make some concessions where everyone wants to leverage to get to
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: the position he's at.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: And he just doesn't quite seem like he's just there yet.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: And it's frustrating to watch as someone that wants to see him reach his full potential.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: To that matter, also, there's rumors of Vasily Lomachenko returning.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Let me look up his age.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: He'd be an older fighter.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: So he's 38 years old.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'll just say it for what it is.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: When guys come back from retirement, I don't think it ever goes well.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think Lomachenko is probably looking at the 130 pound division and saying
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: that might be a weaker division in his mind.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Shock, Foster, Navarrete are fighting.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: I've had a strong opinion that I feel like Shock,
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Foster is just a level above Emmanuel Navarrete.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's going to be as close as people think.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you got Anthony Kakache.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: He holds the belt.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: if there's abilities to unify the titles,
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: let's say Loma were to fight the European champion Anthony and Shaq were
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: to beat Navarrete,
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: then you might be able to get...
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let me see if I got the belts right in that division.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I believe that's three of the four belt holders there.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: Super weird stuff going on in the background.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: So the belt holders here are Navarrete.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: You have Ryan Garner as an interim, but we'll just not look at that.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: You got Shock Foster, Emmanuel Navarrete.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe, let's look at Anthony.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he holds the WBA.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: So basically, Anthony Kakache.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: I always say the name wrong because I feel like I'm dyslexic.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: You got him.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: If Loma were to fight him and Shock were to win, you could have an undisputed fight.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the only thing bringing Loma back would be the chance to be
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: an undisputed champion because I think he's the opposite of the modern guys
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: where he's very legacy-driven.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it irks him that he feels that he was more talented than guys
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: of his era, but he never got the undisputed distinction.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that makes him mad.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he'd come back for that.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I think the problem is when guys retire – And typically,
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: it's hard to get back to that place.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Loma's a very special fighter,
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: but I feel like coming back at 38,
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: even if he stayed in shape, there's a mental exhaustion.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: There's a way that you can't push that same way that you used to.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like Shock Foster would beat him.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: I can already see the buildup.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my God, Shock Foster, 50-50 fight.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to be so close.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: Who's going to win?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then Shock wins a wide fight and everyone's confused.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my God, Shock beat Loma.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Shock beat Navarrete.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: How crazy is this?
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because no one ever gives Shock credit for being an exceptional fighter.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: Every fight is viewed as a 50-50 fight because people just simply don't respect
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: the skill set he brings.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: There I said it.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Finally, in a couple of minutes, Ben Whitaker will make weight for the Connor Wallace fight.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe if I stay on here, we'll get the news.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, I should probably check Twitter to make sure nothing crazy happened.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to check the Twitter streets.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know,
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: Whitaker is fighting Connor Wallace and I think
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: that Craig Scott was very good coming on the podcast last Sunday and talking
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: about this fight.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the breakdown was Whitaker is, is obviously talented.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: He's from the 2021 Olympic games.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously that was really the 2020 Olympics,
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: but they took place in 2021 based on the pandemic and all that stuff in Tokyo.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: But the issue everyone has with Whitaker is what Craig brought up.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I think he said it in the best ways possible.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: And if I was more astute and technological savvy, I would play the clip right now.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: But to summarize what Craig's got.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the issue, right?
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Is that we saw when he fought Liam Cameron, there was some mental fatigue.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: And if this persona he puts on is ever taken away from him,
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: how does he compete at the highest level of sport?
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: And does that eat at him?
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because it feels like the character Whitaker plays.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: He's not just another guy, but the character he also plays almost comes off
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like a bully where if he faces adversity, he might hit a wall and struggle.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because against Liam Cameron,
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: it's like that adversity started to hit and it didn't look really great.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: Now he came back and beat him in the next fight.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: But it's still it was like, oh,
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to see that from a guy where I think most people,
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: at least tough people,
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: when they see you showing off, they kind of see it as immaturity.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_01: They see it as mentally weak because kind of the toughest thing you can do is be respectful.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Be tough and be calm and composed.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like Whitaker has a level of him that I think a lot
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: of tough fighters are going to be like, you don't hold that in.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: You don't allow those emotions to kind of eat it.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: You fight weak.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's the hard part.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: You just release them.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think guys look at that as soft.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe I'm wrong for saying that,
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: but I do think That a lot of people look at him and they see him almost as like back
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: in America, an and one player.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, a guy who can do all these great dribble moves, all these great fantastic things.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: But can he do it in the fight at the highest level?
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: Can he do it consistently?
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: Or is it just flash over substance?
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the big question because the contrary view is, well...
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: He's an Olympian and he almost won a gold medal,
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: but he's almost discredited his amateur achievements by the slow burn that it took
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: to get to this point and based around his attitude in the ring.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think it'll be a very,
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: very curious time for Ben Whitaker to see how he performs in this fight.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think Connor Wallace is kind of alluding to some of these questions I'm asking.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think Connor Wallace has the skill set to keep up with Whitaker.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: But every fight for Whitaker,
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: he's going to be questioned around this until he fights a top guy.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: The big thing about this fight is he wins IBF Eliminator and then he fights Dimitri Bivel.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: Our guy Toker's outlined another scenario where he fights the winner
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: of Hutchins versus Joshua Boatze.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: Love that fight.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's more realistic.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Toker is a very smart guy.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Before I get out of here, I want to say one last thing.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited about Floyd Schofield versus Lucas Boddy next week.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's flying under the radar.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: I wish there was shoulder pressure.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: I wish we had vignettes and stuff to build this up.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: This feels like a quality and deserving main event fight between two guys who had
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: to win fights and build intrigue to get to this point.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: But it speaks to the nature of where boxing's at, at least in America.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: Where we don't get that many shows and the shows we get feel like they're
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: on limited budgets where we don't get access.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: We don't get those things to invest in storylines.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: And we honestly don't get full fight weeks anymore.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: Gone are the days of the Wednesday workout.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's probably going to be a Thursday press conference,
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: a rushed weigh-in, and then all of a sudden we're at fight week.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it's no fault of anyone's.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's just the current climate.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know the media people would love to give people access to these fighters.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: The sheer problem is...
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's just not possible in the current climate.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's not possible to appease everyone.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: But sadly,
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: a fight that I'm going to talk about tomorrow after Whitaker's fight,
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: probably after Whitaker knocks out Wallace, if we're being honest.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to go into detail on that fight because I'm looking at that fight
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: as even though Davis announced that he might be coming back,
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: Tank Davis,
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: it feels to me as though that fight is a spiritual successor for
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: the lightweight division looking to move on past Gervonta Davis
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_01: because Gervonta Davis was the lightweight guy,
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: but he's been
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: my favorite kind of narrative guy.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: He's been unsteady.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: He's been unable to
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: stay active.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: And those type of fighters aren't the best to be figureheads of a division.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think Abdullah Mason has already passed Trevante Davis in terms of being
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_01: the figurehead of lightweight.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_01: But I think this fight...
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: He's hopefully setting up the stage for a spiritual successor who would look to make
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: the unification fights because the problem,
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: as I alluded to in the beginning to go full circle
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: with Davis's career is it looks like he takes fights that benefit him.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: That are justified in the moment where he's fighting guys
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: where either has physical advantages or skill advantages and he can be paid a lot,
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: but it doesn't feel like he's ever truly taken at the highest level a fight
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: where there's serious questions and challenges.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: It feels like he likes preferential fights or for whatever reason
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_01: the fights presented to him are preferential fights and he hasn't gone in there
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: with say a Haney or Shakur where it's a truly find out what you got and I think
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: the crazy thing.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's fully capable of winning those type of fights.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: The problem is now we're getting to a point where he's gone
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: so long not taking those type of fights that he doesn't have the experience
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: in those type of fights.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we will see.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: This is the Paywall Podcast.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: Keep it to 40 minutes.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you guys enjoyed it.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I will be back tomorrow after the fights.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: Enjoy the weigh-ins and let me know how you
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: enjoyed the show.