Page 26 - Boxing News Magazine (January 2020)

➤ it’s not nice. It hurts like hell,” he said. “But you have to keep
going and go through the pain barrier. You can’t just stop. THE HUNTED:
Sant Cruz [left]
“With boxing, it’s just arms. That’s the biggest difference. tries to keep
In kickboxing it hurts when you get a kick right on your thigh; the tireless
there’s no pain like it, especially when you’re not used to it. Frampton of
That ability to fight through the pain is definitely something him
the Fury team liked about me. I’m used to being hit and hurt. Photos:
RYAN MARSDEN
It mentally makes me very strong. A strong punch to the face
means nothing to me. It just makes me go, ‘Oh, is that it?’”
Although they had engaged in a sparring session on his
terms, Fury’s mastering of these terms meant that whenever
Verhoeven wasn’t in pain he was simply in awe. Respect,
therefore, was very much a two-way thing.
“A lot of people from the outside say Tyson is too big, too
slow and can’t do this or that,” he said. “Stand in front of him,
that’s all I’ll say. Then come and tell me he’s lacking in this
department or that department. If you stand in front of this
guy, he’ll knock your head off. He’s so gifted it’s crazy.
“For a man of his size – so big, so heavy – he can move so
well. He’d be backing up against the ropes and I’d think, ‘Right,
now I’m going to take his f**king head off’, and he’d just step
to the side and I’d almost fall out of the ring. I would think,
‘How the hell does he do that? He’s leaning on the back leg and
is still able to move sideways.’ It really is crazy. He’s so skilled.
He’s a natural.”
Based on experience, Verhoeven wouldn’t be foolish
enough to think he had a chance of beating Fury in a boxing
match. However, the Dutchman, this powerful, well-schooled
striker, is presumably better equipped to try his luck than your
regular mixed martial artist distracted and preoccupied by all
that ground action. Which is to say, if Verhoeven is, by his own
admission, out of his depth when throwing hands with a pro
boxer, and Conor McGregor has already proven this to be the
case on the world’s biggest stage, what makes Jorge Masvidal
think he will be any different?
“This is entertainment. Nothing more,” said Ford. “It’s about
money. Jorge Masvidal knows if he ever got that fight with
Canelo Alvarez, he would make more money than he has ever
made in his life, just like McGregor did when he fought Floyd.
“He could not do anything to Canelo Alvarez. I don’t even
give Masvidal a puncher’s chance. It’s different. I’m living proof
of it. I did 11 years of training and fighting mixed martial arts
and now I’m four years into this boxing career. I know there’s
a difference. It’s too much of a difference for people to be
talking like this.
“There will never be an MMA fighter who can just win a BMF
(Bad Motherf**ker) belt and then go and beat Canelo Alvarez
in a boxing match. He’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in
boxing right now. It’s not going to happen.
“Masvidal wouldn’t even be able to beat the Mexican MULTI-TALENTED:
middleweight champion, let alone Canelo, a world champion Ford describes
himself as ‘the
in different divisions. It was the same with McGregor. He best mixed martial
had no chance of beating the champion of Ireland when he artist who has
fought Mayweather. If you’re a ranked boxer, these guys aren’t crossed over into
beating you in boxing.” boxing in the
entire world’
Winning, it seems, is in danger of becoming an archaic term
Photo: ACTION IMAGES/
and concept in combat sports. Not half as vital or relevant as ANDREW COULDRIDGE
it used to be, it has instead been replaced by an even greater,
more powerful term, one that supersedes risk and common
sense, one that will forever be the driving force behind
hypothetical matchups between boxers and mixed martial
artists. That term is this: earning.
So long as you earn, you stand to win even if you lose.” bn

MASVIDAL WOULDN’T
EVEN BE ABLE TO BEAT
THE MEXICAN CHAMPION,
LET ALONE CANELO”

24 l BOXING NEWS l JANUARY 9, 2020 w w w . b o x i n g n e w s o n l i n e . n e t