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whats the european title done to you?

by sonaar (U10694851) 28 June 2008
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why does it seem that all british fighters now look to avoid the european belt and go straight for a mickey mouse world title...personally i belive the european title is worth more in reputation than most world titles,why isn't khan talking bout the euro title? money?

how good would you feel about winning the european title in a tough backyard like germany,italy or spain rather than the wbo belt in bolton aganist hyped up junk. i know what i'd have more respect for.

this is not a go at amir khan but he is one of a number of fighters this relates too...

area title,national title,british title,commonwealth,european,world....when you finally get to the world title you deserve it and know how to defend it successfully.

any thoughts?

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posted Jun 28, 2008

Romanov has vacated. Jon Thaxton is fighting for the vacant title in the next couple of month's

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posted Jun 28, 2008

GREAT! And where would this fight be taking place for Thaxton?? Hopefully for his chances it'll be on British soil...

I hope he does win and then maybe we'll see a Khan v Thaxton European title fight held in Britain. Wishful thinking! If Dennis Hobson is promoting then maybe it'll happen!!!

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comment by spenser (U1647494)

posted Jun 28, 2008

If terrestrial TV made the effort to pick up british and euro title fights then more guys would fight for them. Boxers want to earn as much cash as possible as quickly as they can, to do this they need TV exposure. If a british title shot got you on BBC on a saturday night then I think fighters would be queuing up for a shot, same with the euro title. But if a euro shot means losing your unbeaten record on a dodgy decision in germany with 4 people watching on an internet stream, and being paid a pittance, then why take the risk? At least if you get shafted on prime time then everyone will know you were robbed, and you could still benefit in the long run.

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posted Jun 28, 2008

I asked Khan THE MAIN QUESTION of British boxing - what route is the best to take to world prominance in boxing, the Hatton way (chase the big name fighters regardless of weight difference or belts) or the Calzaghe way (get a belt and defend it forever).

Khan said there is only one way, and that is to clear up domestically, then go win the European belt and then look to big fights in America. My next question was so who do you want to fight next, he said he wants to fight for the European belt. Infact fudge it I am going to put up my interview

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posted Jun 28, 2008

In an ideal world I agree with Spencer but in reality Football can't command a prime time shot on Saturday night so a british title fight has no chance.

It would be nice if the BBC would commit some primetime air to british sport but it's soaps not sport that bring in the viewing figures so it's not going to happen sadly.

there is a similiar debat going on in teh Cricket forums where they are asking for all home test matches to be shown in full, that won't happen either.

Maybe if they allow BBC3 or 4 to become a weekend sports channel once digital gets going...


As for original question, i think it has alot to do with the standard of judging at euro level, i site the recent Danny Williams farce as an example of what happens all to often.

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posted Jun 28, 2008

It has to be said, what this country really needs is another make over or cookery program. "NOT"!.monster. Pleeeeeze BBC/ITV. let's have some more male oriented tv show's. & that means Boxing. Not Big Brother, Get me out the jungle or any of those other hyperphetical, mind insulting cheep trash shows!!steam...........

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posted Jun 28, 2008

But that`s what passes as entertainment for the masses...... that they`re mostly lazy, gullible, IQ-challenged, utter nuggets with no firm grip on reality is irrelevant....... ratings, people, ratings! Boxing hasn`t got a hope, even though it`s a true art form requiring discipline, dedication and effort.

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comment by U7926788

posted Jun 28, 2008

In the past the Euro title was seen as a way of getting up the rankings and getting a world title fight, now you can sit at home and fight those ranked by the world boxing organisations to get a shot. Euro title is a high risk low return title. To take the title you have to go to the back yard of the champ and that is high risk with European judges. You basically need a KO. It has tough mandatories if you want to retain it. Easier to fight picked WBO ranked fighters at home and get a shot at it. Get more money for world title and more likely to be televised.

Rendall Munroe is Britains only Euro champion. Froch, Skelton, Moore, Cook, Thaxton are down as mandatory challengers for European titles. Lynes recently lost a Euro challenge. Skelton was meant to fight for one but it got cancelled. Fighters like Thaxton will go for it cos they will never get a world title shot. A lot of these titles remain vacant as the top ranked are after bigger fish. The better fighters will aim above it to world title shot. I think in USA, the better fighters will skip the Americas title, its seen as low prestige.

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posted Jun 30, 2008

This is the problem of having to many world titles.

I dont think the amount of money you can earn is much of a problem.

If you can genuinely sell ticketsm, you would get around £25k for a british title, £30k for Commonwealth, and £50k for European title fight. Obviously you would get more if your famous and are generating tv revenue or big venues, like Khan.

The problem is that you no longer need the european title to get a world title shot, and of course the dodgy european decisions.

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