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Dans-Den
I'm an Artist, Gamer, and memester who enjoys drawing, gaming and overall being a little wacky.

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Dans-Den's News

Posted by Dans-Den - 1 month ago


What’s up guys! Dan here and today I will be covering my Rankings for the Top 10 Pound for Pound Boxers of 2024. I had already done my Top 10 Heavyweight Boxers of 2024 so now it’s time for the P4P Rankings. I would have gotten to it sooner, but I wanted to wait for the winner of the Ioka vs Martinez 2 fight. Unfortunately, I just found out the fight got cancelled due to Martinez having influenza. Since we won’t get that fight to cap off the year, I can start my Rankings list for the end of 2024.


DISCLAIMER: This is solely my opinion based on the matches I've seen this year and I do my best to be impartial giving every boxer here a fair shake. I look at many things including Activity, Wins/Loses in the year, quality of the wins, quality of opponents they faced and overall record in their careers. P4P criteria requires them to have been a world champion at least once as well as compete and win in multiple weight classes. With all that said, let us begin.


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10. Emanuel Navarrete 39-2-1 (32 KO)


Now I’m sure there's plenty of argument to be had about number ten as there were a lot of changes in number ten this year with other guys like Jaime Munguia, Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez, and Junto Nakatani in that spot. But I ultimately went with Navarrete at the number ten spot. Interestingly enough, I had him ranked at number six in my P4P rankings in 2023. Navarrete had a better year in 2023 where he was active fighting three times and winning twice while getting a draw where arguably he should have won. 2024 however has been a somewhat lackluster year for Vaquero as he only fought twice this year and only won once in those two fights. He lost back in May when he fought Deny’s Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title by split decision. Earlier this month  he won his rematch against Oscar Valdez to retain his WBO super featherweight title by sixth round TKO. Now Navarrete is a great fighter and an entertaining one to watch, but his recent fights are a mixed bag where he lost to a guy he was projected to beat and fought his former foe where he had a more dominant performance as opposed to last year. I still enjoy watching him fight but I would like to see him fight other top fighters in or near his division just like he did when he was a champion at super bantamweight and featherweight. There are a lot of other boxers this year who are either more active or facing a higher level of opposition than Navarrete which is why he just makes number ten here. 


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9. David Benavidez 29-0-0 (24 KO) 


This will likely be another one I’ll catch flack for because of how low Benavidez is on the list where some would have him higher. I only recently added Benavidez to the list this year after his win against Oleksandr Gvozdyk who was a former champion at light heavyweight. Benavidez defeated Gvozdyk by unanimous decision to become the mandatory for the WBC at light heavyweight. Trust me when I say I wanted to put him higher in my rankings especially since we're both Arizona natives of Mexican heritage, but I have to stay true to my criteria and rank him at nine due to only having one fight this year and for it not being a real title fight but rather an interim title fight. I still thought it was a great performance at 175 since Benavidez is a former two time WBC champion at 168. I enjoy watching his fights as they’re exciting and he fights the best opposition he can. There is no better proof of that than his February fight against fellow contender David Morrell who is also undefeated and from 168 like Benavidez. That will be an exciting fight to watch and the winner of that fight will realistically be the mandatory for both the WBC and WBA at light heavyweight, the winner might even earn a title shot. For now, Benavidez is number nine but I know he’ll move higher in the rankings next year. 


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8. Vasiliy Lomachenko 18-3-0 (12 KO)


Coming in at number eight we have the three division, former unified and current IBF lightweight champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko. Loma is by far one of  the more unique pro boxing careers as he had a decorated amaetur career then went pro in 2013 where he competed for a title in his second pro fight and became a champion in his third pro fight. He was such a dominant P4P fighter during the 2010’s and was considered one of if not the best P4P fighters in the boxing world. But since the 2020’s started, Loma has been on a bit of a decline as he would go one to lose to the next generation in Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney by close decisions. Loma is thirty six, going to be thirty seven in a couple months so the decline in his physical skills is inevitable. Although, that’s not to say he’s done yet as he was able to beat guys that would give Teofimo Lopez a hard time such as Richard Commey and Jamaine Ortiz in clear decision wins. But his recent win over George Kambosas jr. (the only fighter to beat Teofimo Lopez to date) shows that he’s still a major player in boxing. He beat Kambosas with an eleventh round TKO to become IBF lightweight champion. I would have had Loma higher in the rankings, but he chose to take a break for the rest of 2024. There were supposed to be plans for him to fight guys like Tank Davis, Shakur Stevenson or William Zepeda but he chose to take time for himself. I don’t have an issue with fighters wanting to take time for themselves and spend it with their families, but this could also show Loma might be starting to wind down. We may see him fight a couple more times in 2025, maybe even 2026, but I feel he’s winding down to the end of his boxing career and will be on his way out in the next couple years. That’s not a certainty but we’ll just have to wait and see. 


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7. Gilberto Ramirez 47-1-0 (30 KO)


I’ll be honest, I was very skeptical putting Zurdo in my rankings let alone putting him at number seven above guys like Loma, Benavidez and even Navarrete. However, looking at his record along with his achievements and recent victories, I was impressed and felt he deserved to be included. I was skeptical at first since he was promoted by Top Rank and is currently promoted by Golden Boy and those two promoters have a history of padding their fighters records to ridiculous levels. Though taking a closer look, he proved to be legit. He was the WBO super middleweight champion and defended that title five times before moving up to light heavyweight where he was decent. His best fight at 175 was a unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol and that was due to weight draining himself. He recently moved up to cruiserweight where he has had far more success. He won three in a row where he won the WBA title back in March and won a unification fight against Chris Billiam Smith last month in November to become the unified WBA/WBO champion where two of the top three guys in the division faced each other. Zurdo may have a lot of mileage on him, but he’s still in his early thirties and can still make noise in the boxing world. I would love to see him in a unification fight against the IBF/Lineal champion Jai Opetaia for dominance in the cruiserweight class. He might even make the jump to heavyweight and the heavyweight division is hot right now with plenty of fights to be made. I’m excited for what Zurdo does next and I’m glad to have been wrong about him, he is the real deal. 


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6. Gervonta Davis (Abdul Wahid) 30-0-0 (28 KO)


Tank is a special type of boxer, much like Mayweather jr, Canelo, or Pacquio, he can sell a fight whether a belt is on the line or not. He lives up to the Tank moniker as this little guy will blast out nearly every boxer you put in front of him. He started out at super featherweight and was considered a bit small for the weight and just destroyed everyone in front of him. Honestly, Tank could be considered top five P4P, hell I had him at five earlier this year and only dropped down because of inactivity and the next guy outdoing him in my rankings. Like I mentioned, Tank can sell out a fight regardless if there's a championship and there was no better example of that than the fight against Ryan Garcia which was a catchweight bout at 136. Currently, Tank is the WBA lightweight champion but everyone avoids him like the plague. I mentioned Loma not wanting to fight Tank and the same could be said about Shakur who runs his mouth online but as soon as Tank is available, suddenly he goes quiet. Zepeda might want to but his promoter Oscar may not want him to. Even though Tank doesn’t have too many high profile wins, his resume is stacked with victories over champions like Jose Pedraza and Leo Santa Cruz as well as fighters who would go on to become champions after Tank beat them like Mario Barrios, Rolly Romero, Hector Garcia and Isaac Cruz. Tank has a fight coming up against another champion in Lamont Roach jr and I’m willing to bet Tank knocks him out too. Hopefully, we’ll see Tank go up against another high level fighter that will add to his legacy. 


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5. Jesse Rodriguez 21-0-0 (14 KO)


This is by far the youngest P4P boxer on this list, has the same amount of fights as Loma but is undefeated and has fought the best his weight classes has to offer. BAM is a special fighter and he is the future of boxing. People criticize BAM for fighting guys past their prime and I can’t argue that. However, those same past their prime fighters were all champions or former champions when BAM beat them and you can only fight the best opponent available to you during your time. BAM had his best win to date when he knocked out Juan Francisco Estrada back in June with a crippling body shot in round seven and defended that title in a mandatory fight last month where he knocked out Pedro Guevera in round three. Estrada was the best super flyweight champion and had beaten every opponent he’s ever faced and BAM destroyed him to take the WBC and Lineal championship. He started out as light flyweight, then jumped up two weight classes to win the WBC super flyweight title, went down a weight class to win the WBO and IBF unified flyweight championship, and went back up to win the WBC and Lineal super flyweight championship. Keep in mind he is only twenty four and hasn’t even gotten his man strength yet. He said he wants to become undisputed at super fly but we’ll see where he goes whether it's a fight with Roman Gonzalez, Junto Nakatani or even Naoya Inoue. Either way I’m excited for the future with BAM as a potential P4P king. 


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4. Saul Alvarez 62-2-2 (39 KO)


Now we're getting into elite of the elite territory with Canelo coming in at number four. I will probably get criticized for putting Canelo this high in the list over other boxers with better recent wins, but this is still Canelo, the face of boxing. When I mention boxing or who’s a boxing champion to the average person who doesn’t care about boxing, one of the first to come to mind is Canelo. Canelo has had such an impact on boxing especially when Mayweather retired. Canelo is a worldwide superstar and there’s not many who can claim they have the same star power as Canelo does. It’s for that reason why everyone wants to fight Canelo because he’s a mega money fight, the literal definition of prize fighting. We’ve all been critical of Canelo’s recent moves as a boxer and how he is cherry picking his opponent’s now. But he still has a big resume against high competition such as Triple G, Mayweather, Bivol, Plant, Jacobs, Khan, the Smiths and so many others. I don’t think Canelo can be dropped from a P4P list so long as he remains active which he does as he fights twice a year making him more consistent than most boxers. Even though I don’t consider him the best P4P boxer like he was a few years back or even top three, he’s still in the top five elite in my rankings. He is a four division champion winning titles at 154, 160, 175, and becoming undisputed at 168. There are Boxers we want him to fight like Benavidez, but as I said he’s a legend of the sport and he can do as he wishes at this point so let’s just kick back and enjoy the show. I don’t see him going any higher than four anytime soon, but he is still one of the elite and we will all miss him when he retires.


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3. Terence Crawford 41-0-0 (31 KO)


Top three here we come and this top three is a special bunch becoming undisputed not once, but twice and leading that charge is Terence Crawford at number three. Honestly you can arrange the top three however you want, but this is how I see the top three at this current point in time. Crawford is a special fighter and has the mindset of a warrior winning titles at 135, 154, becoming undisputed at 140 and doing it again becoming undisputed at 147. He was the first Boxer in the four belt era to become undisputed twice and has beaten great opponents along the way like Brooks, Khan, Horn, Porter and Spence jr. Crawford also has a problem in activity where he only fights once a year and his recent fight back in August when he beat Israil Madrimov shows that ring rust and age is a bad combination. Bud did win a unanimous decision though some thought it was a bit controversial but I felt he did enough to earn the win and WBA title at junior middleweight. My thing with Crawford is that he wants to achieve greatness yet only goes for the big money fights which is why he’s been hounding Canelo for a fight which I honestly don’t think is a good idea for Crawford. I just wish he was more upfront and honest about what he wanted to do but outside of that I think he’s a generational boxer and one of the best of his generation. If he was more active and fighting high levels of competition I would have him higher. But he is a top three guy and amongst the best.


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2. Naoya Inoue 28-0-0 (25 KO)


Here he is, the Monster! Inoue is such a force to be reckoned with, he can literally break you down until there is nothing left of you. He started out at light flyweight where he won the WBC in his sixth professional fight, jumped up two weight classes to win the WBO super flyweight belt, jumped up an became undisputed at bantamweight and jumped up again becoming undisputed at super bantamweight where he currently defends that undisputed claim. He has faced some stiff competition to get where he’s at including victories over Donaire (twice), Fulton, Tapales, and Nery. He stays consistent as he fought Luis Nery back in May getting knocked down in the first round then getting back up to beat him down in round six. He had another fight back in September where he beat T.J. Doheny in a bizarre fight where I guess Doheny threw out his back and the fight stopped in round seven. He had a fight scheduled for this month but it was postponed due to Sam Goodman having an injury so we’ll get that fight in 2025. Honestly Inoue is a true monster and I would have had him in my number one spot had it not been for the emergence of a new P4P king and this is a name I mentioned in my Heavyweight rankings. 


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1. Oleksandr Usyk 23-0-0 (14 KO)


Here he is again at number one, Oleksandr Usyk. This year has been a career best for Usyk and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. I mentioned his cruiserweight work briefly in my Heavyweight rankings so I’ll expand on them more here. He became a champion in his tenth professional fight at cruiserweight and would go on to defend that title and earn the other belts by beating Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev in the World Boxing Super Series. He would go one to defend his undisputed cruiserweight championship against former champion Tony Bellew and right after that made the jump to heavyweight. Usyk has only had seven heavyweight fights and was one of the smaller heavyweights competing and he went in there and defeated all the champions and contenders becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four belt era and becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis back in 1999. I hope we see Usyk fight other heavyweights like Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang, Agit Kabayel or even a rematch with Daniel Dubios would be welcomed. There’s also rumors that Usyk wants to go back down and fight at Cruiserweight again which would be interesting especially if he can fight guys like Jai Opetaia or Zurdo Ramirez but those fights could be made at heavyweight as well so who knows. Maybe if Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol goes up to cruiserweight Usyk has more reason to go down in weight to fight them. A fight between Usyk and Beterbiev at cruiserweight would especially be interesting since they fought in their amaetur days. Usyk might be up there in age but he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon and that’s exciting.


Hope you guys like my list, I know there are other boxers to consider for this list and maybe 2025 I can put guys like Beterbiev, Spence jr, Opetaia, Ortiz jr or even Ennis if they decide to compete in other weight classes and go for titles in those weight classes or face monsters in those classes. We’ll just have to wait and see, see you guys and as Tyson Fury said “Happy New Years!”.



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Posted by Dans-Den - December 26th, 2024


What's up everyone, Dan here and I know I've been out for a while life has been busy but I'm here and I'm doing something different this time around. I love sports and I love boxing so I'm giving you guys my Top 10 Heavyweight Boxer rankings of 2024. To me, Heavyweight is it's own separate class since the range in Heavyweight is literally unlimited so I'll post my Rankings for the Heavyweights now and sometime later I'll post my P4P (pound for pound) rankings later.


DISCLAIMER: This is solely my opinion based on the matches I've seen this year and I do my best to be impartial giving every boxer here a fair shake. I look at many things including Activity, Wins/Loses in the year, quality of the wins, quality of opponents they faced and overall record in their careers. With all that said, let us begin.


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10. Fabio Wardley 18-0-1 (17 KO)


Wardley is a rising British boxing star and his recent victory over another British boxing star in Frazier Clarke. Those two went at it twice this year with their first match ending in a split decision draw back in March and their October rematch was even crazier as Wardley came in and obliterated Clarke in the first round literally breaking his jaw with a beautiful right hand and literally gashing Clarke's head. This was a great year for Wardley and that rematch gave me no choice but to put him in my top ten. Now the reason I have him at 10 is because so far his most notable win was against Clarke who himself has just as much to prove as Wardley. His other wins against David Adeleye and Nathan Gorman were good but not like top five good. Wardley still has a long ways to go but I feel he'll be climbing into the top 5 in no time, maybe even a mandatory or elimination fight to compete for a title. Wardley is ranked in all the sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF) top 10 including RING Magazine. But for now, he sits firmly at 10.


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9. Derek Chisora 35-13-0 (23 KO)


Now real boxing fans and hardcore enthusiasts might look at me and think I'm mental for putting Chisora of all people in the top ten or even putting him over boxers like Wardley. To that I say that Chisora has had a major impact on boxing and has always fought the best of the best in the Heavyweight division and has always gave the fans an entertaining fight no matter the outcome. He has fought four out of the nine guys on this list, three of them are in the top five, and two of them are in the top three. Chisora may have had one fight this year but his one fight came over Joe Joyce. A guy who at one point was considered the boogeyman of the heavyweight division, A fighter who had beaten two of the current top three guys at one point and Chisora dropped him in a fight he was expected to lose. Chisora also has victories over contenders such as Kubrat Pulev where he won in their rematch and defeated Carlos Takam who was another gatekeeper in the division and smashed him. Chisora has always been a wild card and we love him for it. He deserves to be in the top ten since he's had a more notable victory over other guys this year and I'm sure with the new talent coming up we'll see Chisora slowly wind down in the rankings. The WBO has him at 14 but the IBF has him at 8 so we will see him in some great fights still. He has an upcoming fight against another contender in Otto Wallin so we'll see if Chisora can get another note worthy win or if we'll see his career come to an end. Either way, I'll be sad to see him hang up the gloves one day but for now, I have him at 9 and rightfully so.


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8. Martin Bakole 21-1-0 (16 KO)


Now were really gonna start seeing some heavy hitters starting off with Bakole. I only really started knowing about him this past year and so far, I am not disappointed in what I'm seeing. He has shown he's a real problem in the division and has power in both hands. He's only had one fight this year as well but it came over the rising contender Jared Anderson who was undefeated and was suppose to beat Bakole, instead we were given such a one sided beatdown from Bakole and it derailed Andersons rise to the top. It was considered an upset and made Bakole a true contender again. He's had great victories over rising prospect Tony Yoka and the aforementioned gatekeeper Carlos Takam. Whenever you think he can't win, he proves us all wrong. I would like to see him in the ring against guys like Wardley or Clarke because I feel that would be a super entertaining brawl. He's ranked not only top ten in all the sanctioning bodies, but he is ranked top five in four out of the five and top three in three out of the five including being ranked number one in the WBA so he will find himself in a mandatory fight or in an eliminator sooner than later.


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7. Agit Kabayel 25-0-0 (17 KO)


Coming in at lucky 7 right here is Agit Kabayel, a new force to be reckoned with and an unexpected surprise to come out in the last year. This guy is another relentless power puncher where he's not quite as explosive as Bakole or Wardley, but makes up for it as a high volume puncher than breaks their opponents down making them crumble to the ground. In his last two fights where he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov down to the ground in round four and destroyed Frank Sanchez who was considered another top ten guy until Kabayel broke him down in round seven. He has beaten back to back power punchers and is arguably one of the biggest power punchers in the division and he will have another chance to prove that again in February against Zhilei Zhang, a top five heavyweight. Kabayel is also one of the four boxers on this list to be the aforementioned Derek Chisora in a close contest where he won a majority decision. Kabayel is on the rise and it shows in his rankings in the sanctioning bodies where he ranks top five in four out of the five (IBF doesn't have in ranked at all which is strange) including being ranked number two in the WBC. I feel if he can beat Zhang, he will find himself ranked number one in the WBC and will finally get him an opportunity to fight for the WBC title. That's if he does beat Zhang so we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, I'm looking forward to watching him fight again.


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6. Anthony Joshua 28-4-0 (25 KO)


Now were getting into elite territory so brace yourselves, Anthony Joshua the former two time unified heavyweight champion is number six in my rankings. Oh how the mighty have fallen, five years ago this guy right here was considered a top three and arguably the best heavyweight in the world at one point. Now he's no longer considered even top five in most people's rankings. There is so much debate around AJ and what his legacy is, I have my opinions on him over the years and to me, he was a good champion but was so overrated. I thought this back then and I still stand by that take although with some nuance in between. He was part of the last heavyweight era from 2015-now along with Deontay Wilder (who was my favorite out of the trio) and Tyson Fury. Those three were the top three for years despite AJ not facing either Fury or Wilder and remained the top guys at the division up until this last year. Each of those guys suffered a lose this year and now were seeing that era of heavyweight boxing coming to an end. AJ was definitely the most popular out of the three and he had some solid fights over the years. His best wins came over Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Dillian Whyte, Otto Wallin and even his rematch win over Andy Ruiz in their rivalry. The Ruiz rivalry is where we started to see AJ's decline and that was back in 2019 and it was made even worse when he lost his two matches against Oleksandr Usyk. He was making a comeback in 2023 where he had three straight wins and this year was suppose to be his time to rise again. Sadly for AJ that didn't happen as he won against Francis Ngannou (an MMA fighter not even a real boxer) and would get knocked out by Daniel Dubois in a fight for the IBF title. People wanted to believe AJ could reclaim the crown a third time but we all saw the writing on the wall. He faced inferior opposition (outside of Wallin), he underestimated Dubois and it cost him. I don't think AJ will get another title opportunity anytime soon and even though he is still ranked top ten in most of the sanctioning bodies (WBA doesn't have him ranked which is strange since he was their champion twice), I doubt he wants to face the upcoming contenders such as Wardley, Kabayel or even Bakole. I feel he only has two options at this points, create a big time showdown against either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. Both would generate a huge payday for all parties involved and would finally treat fans to fights that should have happened when these three were at the top of the division. I don't know what will happen next year, but hopefully we'll get a proper last dance type of fight for AJ in the form of Fury or Wilder. If neither one happens then maybe it is time for AJ to hang them up as he's had a decorated career. I'll be crossing my fingers for one of those two fights to happen and to see AJ go out like a real champ.


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5. Tyson Fury 34-2-1 (24 KO)


Now were getting into top five territory, I may get a lot of flack for putting Tyson Fury in number five where I'm sure people will argue he's still top three. Don't get me wrong, Fury is still a great fighter and his story overcoming addiction and his mental health struggles is truly inspiring, but his recent moves as a boxer has been disappointing and I feel after this year, he is no longer top three but is still top five and a major player in the division. At one point, I considered him the best heavyweight in the world, He was the unofficial undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since he had won all the titles at different points (WBA, IBF, WBO and lineal in 2015 then vacated them the next year and WBC in 2020) and never lost them in the ring as well as having a claim to the lineal championship. I considered Fury the best of the trio from the last era since he had an exciting trilogy against Deontay Wilder to become champion again as WBC champion and beat other notable names such as Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora (three times), Otto Wallin, and ended the long reign of the previous king Wladimir Klitschko ushering in the new era in 2015. Fury dominated the division and could/should have continued to reign as champ. However, his ego was his downfall as he started cherry picking and lost a lot of fans these last couple of years for not living up to his Gypsy King name. He outpriced himself out of major fights, he didn't stay disciplined and he nearly lost to Francis Ngannou in Ngannou's profession boxing debut. It wasn't until Fury finally agreed to face Oleksandr Usyk back in May for the undisputed heavyweight showdown we've all been waiting for in nearly twenty five years where we got excited for his fights again. The first Usyk vs Fury fight was unforgettable and was a tactical chess match where it could have gone either way until Usyk dropped Fury in round 9 securing a split decision win and handing Fury his first professional loss. The two would meet again this past weekend where it was another tactical chess match but would ultimately be in Usyk's favor outworking Fury winning a unanimous decision handing Fury his second loss this year. Fury may have lost twice this year, but that doesn't mean he's out of the picture just yet. Like I said about AJ, I want to see Fury vs Joshua. That fight makes sense for both fighters and would be a major pay day for them as well as capping off their careers in an all British showdown. As I also mentioned, Fury losing a second time this year along with AJ and Wilder means that their era from 2015 to now has finally come to an end. Fury might still be willing to fight guys like Kabayel, Bakole or even Wardley especially since Fury ranks top three in most sanctioning bodies (IBF doesn't have him ranked) including being number two in the WBA and number one in the WBC, WBO and RING, but they would have to give Fury a fat piece of the pie for that to happen so I think AJ makes the most sense for Fury. It was a wild ride for this era and I'll once again pray to the boxing gods that we finally get Fury vs Joshua.


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4. Zhilei Zhang 27-2-1 (22 KO)


Would any of you believe me that a forty one year old boxer is not only in the top five, but ranked at number four in some rankings?! I don't blame anyone because this man is an anomaly to science. Then again they say the heavyweight division is an old man division. Zhang has really busted onto the scene these last few years starting out as a sideshow for DAZN and really made a name for himself as a top contender. Because of his age and stamina issues, he's so wildly mixed. He had a draw against Jerry Forest, lost a close fight to Filip Hrgovic where he should have won and beat Joe Joyce handing him his first and second professional loss. This year reflects that opinion as well as he lost to Joseph Parker via Majority decision despite knocking Parker down twice and knocked out Deontay Wilder in round five. As mentioned earlier, he has an upcoming fight against Agit Kabayel and the winner of that fight could be in line for a title shot. Zhang is so unpredictable but that's also what makes him exciting. He a knock out machine with a poor gas tank so its a race against time to see if he can get a knock out or if he goes the distance. He's ranked in most sanctioning bodies top ten (IBF does not have him ranked....why is the IBF so picky?) including being top five in three sanctioning bodies and being top three in two sanctioning bodies so he's definitely close to a title shot but we'll have to wait until the Zhang vs Kabayel fight to see.


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3. Joseph Parker 35-3-0 (23 KO)


If there is anyone on this list that I need to apologize to, it is Joseph Parker. This man has proven me wrong time and time again. I thought he was nothing more than a title holder who just got lucky but not seeing him rise through the rankings again and the way he has done it, I'm glad to have been wrong. I thought this man was done after the Joe Joyce loss in 2022, but I couldn't have been more wrong. He went on a three fight win streak in 2023 and won the fight against Deontay Wilder at the end of last year in a major upset. and earlier this year won against Zhilei Zhang in a fight where he was floored twice and still won. Strangely enough he's not ranked in any sanctioning bodies (except RING at number four) despite being a mandatory for the WBO. Doesn't matter for him because he's going to fight for the IBF title against Daniel Dubois in February. This man defied all the odds and is in a position to become champion again. I tip my hat off to you Joseph Parker you're a true warrior of the sport and I look forward to seeing you fight again.


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2. Daniel Dubois 22-2-0 (21 KO)


Here he is, The Daddy. Daniel Dubois the new IBF champion of the heavyweight division. This man has been through hell and back. Being labelled a quitter after losing to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk. Then coming back and going on a three win run where he beat undefeated Jarrell Miller, defeated undefeated Filip Hrgovic to become IBF interim titlist before becoming the new IBF champion and knocking out Anthony Joshua in dominant fashion! He's gonna fight Joseph Parker in February and put his IBF belt on the line again and I can't wait! Dubois is part of the new era and I'm all for it! I don't know what the future holds for the division but I can't wait to see Dubois in this part of his career. I know he's gonna be a part of some great matchups! He might even get a crack at undisputed later on. Thank you for the excitement you've brought Daniel Dubois, you really are the Daddy


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  1. Oleksandr Usyk 23-0-0 (14 KO)


The Undisputed Heavyweight champion of the world. What more is there to say? I know he's no longer undisputed but he is still the king of the division. This man became Undisputed at cruiserweight, then went up to heavyweight and defeated all the champions and took their belts in an era where none of them wanted to fight each other (outside of the Fury vs Wilder trilogy). He beat Derek Chisora, Daniel Dubois, Tony Bellew, Mairis Briedis, Anthony Joshua twice and Tyson Fury twice. Only Evander Holyfield achieved what he did and right now Usyk is among not only the best heavyweight but also the best Pound for Pound boxer of his generation. He is a hero amongst his home of Ukraine in a dark time of his country's life and remains an inspirational influence in the world of boxing. At this point, Usyk could retire and no one would complain, he ahs earned it and shown time and time again what a class act he is. Usyk is among the best heavyweights of all time and I thank him for bringing life into a division where no one wanted to fight each other and risk it all. I don't know what he is planning on next, but I'll be ready to tune in and be excited for our new king.


There is my top 10 list of the heavyweight division for 2024, I'll do my P4P rankings soon before the years over and I hope you guys have a great day!


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Posted by Dans-Den - June 25th, 2023


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Hey everyone how's it going? Dan here and today I'll be reviewing Demon Slayer season 3!


Spoiler Warning (if you wanna watch it, just do the free trial for two weeks on Crunchyroll)


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Now I've been looking forward to this season after season 2 which I thought was a near masterpiece thanks to the animation and the story as well as the characters. Season 3 has been hyped up for the last year and people have been frothing at the mouth (myself included honestly) waiting for this to drop. Though I will say I'm sure some people weren't happy it was exclusive to Crunchyroll only whereas Season 2 was on Hulu and Crunchyroll. Either way, people were ready to watch season 3 and I will say it's great but I think season 2 was slightly better.


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I love Tanjiros journey and how he's slowly becoming a stronger swordsman and demon slayer and how we got more background into his ancestors and how they knew Yoriichi as well as more background into the dance that was passed down to them. I also liked that we finally got Muzans backstory animated and how he became a demon. If you've read the manga you already know how it goes but even so I always enjoy when we get these scenes in the pages animated since I love the medium. Speaking of animation, I also want to point out how they used 3D animation as well and I'll admit it, it looks well done. Doesn't clash badly with the 2D style and it blends well enough to be a pleasant visual experience.


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Now the demon slayer cast this season was interesting. Instead of the main cast which consist of Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke, we get two Hashira's and someone from Tanjiros class Genya. Tanjiro and Nezuko are still the main protagonists and I did enjoy the Hashira's in this season. Mitsuri and Muichiro had great backstories but the one I think I liked most was Genyas backstory (though Muichiro was a close second) and explains why he is the way he is and why his brother Sanemi is the way he is as well. The upper moon demons this season were pretty insane. I thought the last seasons Upper moon was insane and to be honest, upper moon 6 was definitely better than the upper moon 5 demon. Upper moon 4 however, that was a complete unit themselves. Its a shame Muichiro spent almost all his fighting on Upper moon 5 who I thought was a bit underwhelming compared to upper moon 4 and definitely compared to upper moon 6. Though I will say the backstories for the Upper demons were near nonexistent. Upper moon 5 didn't get one and Upper moon 4 got a little bit of backstory but compared to last seasons Upper moon, it's not as significant but still decent.


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Now my main complaint here is the absence of Zenitsu and Inosuke. Inosuke is my favorite character of the demon slayer cast while Zenitsu is my least favorite. Even with that as the case, I still feel they should have been in the swordsmith village arc. To me, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke are a package deal. I enjoy seeing them train, go on adventures and battling demons together. They only appeared in the first episode and that's it, they made a little post credit cameo but that doesn't count in the main story. I'm sure they'll have a huge part in the next season but I felt it was the same without these two fighting along side Tanjiro and Nezuko continuing to get stronger as they battle upper ranked demons.


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Overall I enjoyed season 3 and the ending to it. Despite my nitpicks here and there, this is still a great anime and a great season. Now I'm excited to see how things go in Season 4 with Muzan plotting to take Nezuko to complete his goal of being the ultimate lifeform. I hear the Infinity Castle Arc will be the best Arc in the entire series and with what's suppose to go down, I am once again ready for it!


Rating this I will give it:


8.5/10


I like it just like I like the other seasons, each one has its strengths and weaknesses but overall its still a great anime series and I highly recommend watching season 3 as well as the other seasons and movies of Demon Slayer.


That's all I got for today.


See ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - June 11th, 2023


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Hey what's going on everyone? Dan here and today I'll be giving my review for the live action Little Mermaid.


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Now before we get into the review, let me reiterate what I've said before, I personally don't have an issue if a fictional characters skin or race is changed. My thing is that if it served a purpose like adding layers to the character or using it to bring up an issue in society in the story then I feel it is justified. In the little mermaid's case, her changing race doesn't serve a purpose, she is a mermaid therefore her species itself would create a big enough divide in the story between mermaids and humans. This once again feels like corporations trying to pander and seem "inclusive" by changing already established characters. If they wanted to make an African-American mermaid, they should just make a new character in the Little Mermaid universe and make the story around her. Honestly they didn't even need to do this to the little mermaid because they already had an African-American princess who I feel is underrated and is a strong princess herself.


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That's right, I'm talking about Tiana from Princess and the Frog. They tried to make Ariel pander to African-American community and give her this "empower women" checklist when in reality Disney had that type of princess already. One I feel gets overlooked because she came out in a time when Disney was transitioning away from 2D style to 3D so she basically got swept under the rug. This honestly should have been a live action Princess and the Frog movie, it would have been honestly more welcomed than this movie because Tiana is set in a more grounded setting where she has a real world job and deals with voodoo which wouldn't be hard to get VFX for. On top of that, she has defeated her main antagonist with her wits causing his plan to bite him back rather than how in this movie Ariel kills Ursula with a ship which by the way, Eric killed her in the original but I guess they wanted Ariel to be the one to kill her this time which feels like it goes against her character and is meant to check off the empower women checklist. All these things they did in this live action movie, they could have done all of that with Princess and the Frog, it would have made more sense and could have revitalized the Princess and the Frog to a new generation of children but they did not go that route, why? Because Ariel is a far more marketable character and her franchise is more marketable than Tiana and Princess and the Frog. This should show that Disney doesn't care about being inclusive or about social issues, they just care about pandering to social media and making money however they can.


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Now for the movie itself, its okay. It wasn't the worst thing I've seen but honestly that is not saying much in a positive way. It does try to redo the original live action movie, but then it has moments where it tries to be its own thing or funny but just completely misses the mark in both ways. It's not as funny as the original and it does its own thing to where you wouldn't even know this was meant to be the little mermaid. The only times I laughed were when I saw the CGI sea creatures because they looked uncanny like Sebastian or Flounder (who is honestly adorable even with the uncanny CGI). The writers must have been out to lunch because the writing has no comedic timing and pacing can be all over the place at times. Like when Eric was trying to talk serious with Ariel about his upbringing and how he feels trapped, Grimsby comes in out of nowhere and ruins the moment which I think they wanted it to be funny but it felt unnecessary. Or the singing, Under the Sea is sung mainly by Sebastian and for some reason Ariel gets in on it when it doesn't make sense and it honestly made the song less enjoyable to me.


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The cast themselves did a good job for what they had to work with. Hailey Balle I don't think made a good Ariel, honestly I'm not a big fan of this girl especially after her disrespectful comments at last years Oscars about animation and it shows in this movie she does not respect animation in the slightest, she's a product of the industry in my eyes. Melissa McCarthy as Ursula was probably my favorite portrayal because she's actually a little funny and she actually stayed true to the characters source material. John Hauer-King as Prince Eric was good I liked his portrayal and his dramatic scenes and singing made me laugh because the shots done looked like a Calvin Klein commercial, a cologne commercial or a VEVO music video from YouTube. Besides those, I like Eric's story about him being adopted into Royalty and I wish they would have placed more emphasis on that part of the movie. I gotta give a shoutout to Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, he did a great job as Flounder. No matter what movie he is in, Tremblay gives a great performance like in Wonder, Luca, and Good Boys.


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Fun fact: Lin-Manuel Miranda helped produced this film which explains why I'm getting very Hamilton vibes from this film. Like it feels like a Broadway play being filmed if that makes any sense at all.


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Overall, this movie was another example of Disney making live action remakes of beloved animated films meant to be a cashgrab that panders to certain demographics and nothing else. It had some good elements in it but wasn't enough to save this movie. I still think a live action Princess and the Frog movie would have been a better concept and movie than this version of the little mermaid.


Rating this film I give it:


5/10


I do not recommend this film unless you need it for a family movie night or to go out on a date like I did but other than that, just watch the original animated movie its a better experience and the great quality of that film is what kicked off the Disney renaissance in the first place, a magic this movie wasn't able to recapture. That's all I have for today


see ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - May 29th, 2023


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Hey what's going on everyone?! Dan here and today I'll be reviewing The Machine Movie, The movie based on the incredible story...notice how it doesn't say true story.


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Now I've been a fan of Bert Kreischer these last few years. I remember first seeing him on the travel channel on his trip show, then I saw his machine story on YouTube, watched most of his Netflix specials and his Cabin show, and even saw him in person during the Super Bowl here in AZ with Guy Fieri. I honestly had no idea he was making an actual film this summer until over a month ago when I was watching an analysis video about Bert and how he's starting to become out of touch and egotistical, I'll leave a link to that video from Ghost Gum you guys should check it out.

(Ghost Gum video on Bert)

Now I've been watching several videos on YouTube about Bert and a lot of the issues are coming from his let's just say "exaggerated" stories and the authenticity of them as well as him being in denial about having an alcohol problem and overall health issues. His status has made him delusional about being better or above everyone else which is another factor of him losing respect from his fans. I feel this movie perfectly reflects all of these traits as well as justifying his behaviors and trying to poke fun at the criticism he sees. I was going into this movie thinking it would be so bad it's funny and I was partially right. Half the movie is so bad its funny while the other half is...just bad, it's boring and made to make Bert look cool or like he's the center of the world. I'll break down why I feel this way and what this movie could potentially do to Bert's reputation/fanbase.


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Now let's start with a positive first, Mark Hamill. I love Mark Hamill not just as Luke Skywalker or the Joker, I love his work and I feel he was truly carrying this movie. I was weirded out that they chose Mark to portray Bert's dad in this film. I've seen what Bert's dad looks like and Mark looks nothing like him (at least not currently) so I wonder if it's for a cool factor or Bert is a huge fan of Mark Hamill or both. Either way Mark as Bert's dad carried the movie to where it was enjoyable at times and genuinely funny. He was the best character in this movie, yes, better than Bert, better than the Russian Mafia characters, he was just the best one because he actually made me laugh the most. When he laughs you can hear that Joker laugh slip through and I loved it.


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Now with that positive out of the way, let's get to the negatives. The plot barely makes any sense, Bert's past with the Mafia comes back to haunt him and he has to go to Russia and find an Heirloom he stole from a crime family or else his eldest daughter (I think it's suppose to be Georgia) will be killed. Without getting into major spoilers, this plotline is so inconsistent in terms of characters, flow, and accuracy. So the Machine story setting was from Berts time at Florida State when he was 22. So Bert was born in 1972 and i'm guessing this was before his 23rd birthday, so that means the setting of the story should take place in 1995. Now the movie did not establish what year it currently was, but I have to assume it was 2023 or sometime in the 2020's. He said it was 23 years ago meaning the story happened in either the late 90's or the year 2000 since young Bert (played by Jimmy Tatro) is making Austin Powers and Beavis and Butthead references. That basically goes against the actually setting of the story which I understand movies aren't 100% accurate but normally the time period correlates with one another so this is either Bert forgetting or trying to appeal to the younger crowd like people my age or younger. The plot is this wild goose chase meant to make Bert look cool or go through this hero's journey which honestly just falls flat.


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The characters were alright I guess. Like I said Mark Hamill as Berts dad is my favorite character, The Russian Mafia characters while a bit stereotypical were also funny at times, Bert had some moments I'll admit but those were few and far in between. I just didn't like the portrayal of him and his family or family friends they all seemed like they hated each others guts. Felt bad for the therapist character in all honesty, sad part is there are people like that in this world that try to act like nothings wrong and try to force their loved ones to see thigs their way even though that is certainly not the case. The family really didn't go through any major developments to warrant that ending, especially the daughter she just suddenly had a change of heart without really being in the story which is ironic considering the plot was also about Bert needing to know it's not always about him. That should tell you the mindset of Bert in real life. Once again, this was all meant to make Bert look cool, like he's life of the party, like everything he's doing is fine and how he is bigger than life.


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Now let's get to the important part, the comedy. Wow...it is near nonexistent. The type of comedy in here is literally lowbrow, meant to look "Progressive", having Russian stereotypes, some physical humor, and overall just meh. Don't get me wrong I still laugh at these types of comedy but it depends how it's done. Some people do it tastefully and genuinely funny like a actual Comedian then there are others who do it without any set up or punchline like a middle schooler...can you guess which way The Machine movie does it? That's right, the humor is stuff I would have said or done when I was like 14 and I'm not gonna say I dislike immature humor, there are times where I still get a good laugh out of it and I laughed a couple times in this movie but again those moments are far and few in between. The issue I have with it is Bert's style of comedy doesn't work well, great storyteller, but horrible at setting up jokes or delivering punchlines. I'm just glad he didn't do that fake Hyena laugh too much in this movie.


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Overall, this movie was meant to just inflate Bert's ego, I was genuinely hoping this movie would be hilarious but honestly I'm starting to see why people are slowly losing interest in Bert I mean he is a 50 year old man with a wife and two kids who actively gets drunk as a "career" because he can't do actual standup. It is a real fall from grace because the reason everyone liked him was because he was just being himself. But now he's become a complete try hard for laughs and clout and I don't find him as funny as he use to be. Bert if you by some chance see this, you need to get some actual help. Stop drinking and spend more time with your family because you're on a slippery slope to alcoholism and a short life span.


Rating this movie I'm giving it:


4/10


I do not recommend this movie, maybe I'll watch it again when it comes out on redbox and get drunk or high, maybe then I'll find it funnier but as it stands it's a bit underwhelming for a comedy film.


That's all I have to say.


See ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - May 15th, 2023


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Hey what's what going on everyone?! Dan here and today I'll be reviewing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!


Now this is the last MCU movie directed by James Gunn and people were curious wondering how this movie would do since lately the MCU movies and shows have been...lackluster to say the least. I'm also told this was the first MCU movie to drop the F bomb which upset numerous parents but then again they should have known that a PG-13 movie is not suitable for kids. Then again, these are the same parents who buy M rated games for their 10 year old kids. Now with those tangents out of the way, lets dive into the movie review.


Spoilers Warning: it has been a week since it's been out but I'll still give warnings


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The plot is one last ride for the OG Guardians, however you once again won't fully understand unless you watch the other two Guardian movies, along with Infinity War and Endgame. Besides that oversight, the plot itself was great, there was personal stakes to save Rockets life after he was severely injured and the Guardians will have to face a being with a god superiority complex and a warlock named Adam. At first the movie was kinda fast with the plot but as the movie progressed it flowed better. Now people have been critical about the MCU formula where the characters are all quirky or "funny" and honestly it is annoying. However, the Guardians were the true quirky characters of the MCU, they popularized that formula and they have been the ones to make it work. Characters like Thor or Captain America can't be quirky the same way since they were established to be honorable and morally grounded characters whereas the Guardians have always been the Misfits of the MCU. This formula works best for them and that's why I didn't mind the quirkiness here because it works for the Guardians, it's hilarious especially for characters like Drax.


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My favorite and I think everyone's favorite in this film was the backstory of Rocket Racoon. If you've been paying attention to the Guardians and other MCU films he's been in, you'll notice he has been the main focus for the Guardians team. His story was hinted in the first Guardians movie and from then on his story has been subtly been revealing itself each installment and his character growth has been subtly developing just as much. This movie has amped it up by revealing his backstory and including his former love interest Lylla Otter and his tragic loss of her along with his other friends. I'm glad we finally got to see his backstory and it explains plenty about him that we already had a feeling about but this film confirmed it all and it was emotional and hard to watch with the animal cruelty moments. They did Rocket justice here and I'm happy.


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I will say the weakness part of this film is definitely Adam Warlock. I remember when they revealed him at the post credit scene in Vol. 2 and was hyped AF! If you've read the comics, you'll see Adam did play a role against Thanos and had the Infinity Gauntlet ready at his side. I was speculating he was being saved for Infinity War but unfortunately he never came to be and that was a let down. So I figured he would show up in Vol. 3 and he did but he had no real purpose in this film. He was just there to further the plot and wasn't necessary. We thought he would be the main bad guy here but no he was just a henchmen to some other bad guy (who I enjoyed since he was just unapologetically evil and that's refreshing to see). He had only one real moment and that was towards the end saving one of the Guardians from dying (even though he almost killed one to begin with). Adam warlock was disappointing in this film but hopefully we'll get a better story with him in the future or perhaps a mini series involving him on Disney plus.


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Now I did watch the post credit scenes and to be honest they're nothing special and I am just gonna leave it at that. The first one is basically an epilogue to the film and callback to Vol. 1 music while the other scene is just a little callback to the recent Christmas special, nothing you need to stay after the movie for where you can just look them up on YouTube. This is why post credit scenes aren't really worth staying for anymore at least to me, they're not like before where they connect and amount to anything major in the future.


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Overall, Vol. 3 was a great sendoff for James Gunn in the MCU and it is clear he wanted this to be his swansong before his departure. He pulled out all the stops here and were grateful for it. I feel this is definitely one of the better MCU movies in recent years next to Spiderman: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I doubt we'll get great quality like this in the MCU for a while but I'm glad we have this.


Rating this film I am giving it:


9/10


This was a fun time and emotional roller coaster thinking this could have been the last we see of any of these guys and James Gunn gave us a truly lovely sendoff from the MCU. I highly recommend watching this film and that is about it.


See ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - May 4th, 2023


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Hey what's going on everyone? Dan here and today I'll be reviewing The Mandalorian season 3 on this May the 4th be with you day!


Even though the season has ended weeks ago, I'll give spoiler warnings for those who do not have Disney Plus because these streaming services add up.


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Now I love The Mandalorian, I've watched all three seasons and Star Wars content is the only reason I wanted Disney Plus in the first place. The Mandalorian is indeed Disney Plus's number 1 show and there is a reason for it. I enjoy the series greatly and in my opinion, season 2 is the best of the three. Season 3 I'd say is on par with season 1, it's rough in some areas, but overall still enjoyable story and entertaining to watch. I'll be going through what I liked and what I dislike about season 3.


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One major complaint that I and several others have is that they intertwined the Mandalorian with the Book of Boba Fett show. They're doing what Marvel is known for and connecting everything in a universe but the issue here is that Book of Boba Fett happens between season 2 and 3, meaning that if you're new and trying to watch The Mandalorian then you're gonna be confused about what happened between seasons 2 and 3. A newcomer wouldn't know to go to Book of Boba Fett for context so it loses points off the bat just for doing that. Book of Boba Fett was decent imo, but everyone else doesn't find it entertaining and find it redeemable because of Mando so a newcomer would likely stay away from that show. It's not good when you have to intertwine two shows to get the full context of one or the other, it's inconvenient and just unnecessary to me unless it's meant to lead to a universe which if they plan to cool, if not, unnecessary.


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Now with the Book of Boba Fett stuff aside, I do enjoy the continued story of Din Djarin and Grogu on their adventures, this time around we actually get to see them amongst the Mandalorian tribes and culture. I love the lore of Mandalorians and this is a great addition to the series and the lore. I especially like Bo Katan, I think of all her varients, this version of her is by far my favorite only matched by her Clone Wars version. Din Djarin played by Pedro Pascal is great and his character continues to get fleshed out with each season. Grogu, I can't say much because it's puppetry and effects and it's done well enough, it's adorable as well. I also like how we get the return of Moff Gideon as the Antagonist, is he finally gone? we'll see.


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Now the episodes this season were a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, most of Season 3 episodes are fun and action packed, but I'd say there were two episodes in the entire season that were just filler for the most part. Episode 3 was kinda boring to follow because it was literal filler about reformed villains because it barely served any connection to the plot. Episode 6 filler was Mando and Bo on a wild goose chase of a mystery finding defective droids for Lizzo and Jack Black (I love Jack Black but this is definitely one of his weaker roles) and the villain turned out to be Christopher Lloyd and makes it like we care but it felt so rushed and phoned in. These two episodes are definitely lackluster compared to the rest but at least the other episodes make up for these two so I won't hold it too hard against season 3.


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I loved the last two episodes where the Mandalorians all band together to take back Mandalore from Moff Gideon and his Beskar Stormtroopers. It did Kill off one of the Mandalorian characters we came to know and respect but at least he went out in true Mandalorian fashion fighting till the end. Gideon got wrecked the third time around and Mandalore was taken back and Mando himself has settled on his land with Grogu as his new adopted son/apprentice where they're gonna go on many more adventures together. This makes me excited for a Season 4 and hopefully we will get a season 4. Though if we do get one, maybe if should be the last one but also the best one yet. Though this is Disney, so it is possible they will try to milk the Mandalorian until its dry but maybe I'm wrong there, who knows?


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Overall, season 3 was pretty good and while I still think season 2 was better, season 3 still added to the lore and world of the Mandalorian culture. I would like a season 4 but we will see what happens in the not so distant future. Jon Favreau, you busted out another banger of a season here!


rating this season I'm giving it:


8/10


While I don't think it's the best season, I still think it's great and adds plenty to the story of Din Djarin. I would recommend this season just as much as 1 and 2 and you'll definitely need to watch the last few episodes of Book of Boba Fett to figure out what happens between seasons 2 and 3. Here's to hoping for a season 4 and make it the best and last one.


May the Fourth be with you all


See ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - April 12th, 2023


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Hey everyone Dan here and today I'll be reviewing the very much hyped and anticipated Super Mario Bros. Movie!


Warning!: may contain spoilers!


This movie has been hyped to hell and back as everyone thinks this is the second coming of Jesus, that may sound like an exaggeration but people were extremely excited to see this film thinking this would be like movie of the year, to which I say "cool your jets" because this movie might be great but it's definitely got its flaws. I'll be going over the Mario movies strengths and weaknesses and how they can improve if they go through with a sequel.


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I want to start off by giving props to Nintendo, specifically Shigeru Miyamoto who made sure the movie was of good quality rather than a shameless cash grab. Let's be real, if Illumination was left to their own devices, they would have made this movie like the Lorax or the Minions which would have sucked for the brand. I'm glad the Nintendo team worked directly with Illumination to make sure we get the best Mario movie experience we can get. Nintendo seems to have learned from the old Mario movie from the 90's making sure this one is fully animated which I think looks great and has kept faithful to the source material the best they can in this medium. Miyamoto has been busy these last couple years in collaboration with Universal bringing Nintendo to the theme parks and to the big screen. I understand because of this he hasn't been involved with the Nintendo games as much but honestly that's not too bad considering the new products we've gotten now. I'm glad he was directly involved with this movie making it as great as it is and I do hope this leads to future Nintendo movie endeavors for stuff like Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Captain Falcon, etc. Who knows? maybe this is the start of the Super Smash Bros. Cinematic Universe.


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Now this is the biggest criticism I've seen about this movie and that is, the plot. Now the plot isn't anything complex or story driven to the max, it's a simple story about two bros discovering a new world and fighting an evil threat. This movie is taking the Sonic Movie approach where they're not trying to make it exactly like the games in terms of story, they're just treading the waters and seeing how it goes. Sonic did this and did this well enough to get a sequel where they were able to expand on the lore and bring out more characters from the Sonic universe. Mario has its atmosphere, but hasn't gone deep into its stories and lore just yet. I think the story is good for what it is, though it does seem messy at times like its about rescuing Luigi then its about rescuing the Mushroom Kingdom/Peach, it's like they couldn't decide on a plot so they merge two plots together. It's not even done like a plot A and plot B, it is done like merging two plots as one which can get messy at times. Now my major complaint with the story/plot is its pacing. Everything happens so fast that I can't really take it all in or process what's happening. I felt the movie was (much like the games) rushed to meet a deadline and the pacing is barely done well enough to make it comprehendible. Now I see why the movie came out so soon, the pacing is just too fast like this was made for kids with ADHD (though I also have that too but even I could barely follow). I felt they should have made the movie at least a solid 2 hours so that the pacing would be better and we can take it all in better.


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The cast was another concern for this film was the cast, specifically Chris Pratt as Mario. I was also concerned about it and after seeing his performance, he actually didn't do too bad of a job. His Mario reminds me of the Super Mario show accent where they sound like they're Italians from Brooklyn rather than just straight up Italians like in the games. I was afraid it would be Chris Pratt being himself as a character but he did manage to give his Mario personality which is good. the weakest performance came from Seth Rogens Donkey Kong. That one was just Seth phoning it in and did not give enough personality to Donkey Kong which is a shame since I love Donkey Kong. Everyone else did a good job at playing the characters especially Jack Black as Bowser. Jack Black killed it as Bowser and I'm here for it! Peaches is a hilarious song and I expected no less for the Tenacious one himself.


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I will say, the Mario movie did one thing well above all and that's the references/cameos. The movie did an excellent job paying homage to the Mario games as well as other beloved Nintendo games such as Donkey Kong and even the Jump Man game that Mario originated from. My personal favorite is the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64, I played that game all the time when I was little on my cousins N 64 back in the day and I couldn't help but sing along a bit. I know Nintendo tries to tap in on your nostalgia, but there is a reason it works. Nintendo is a powerful brand and even though I'm not a fan of the current stuff they're doing in the gaming industry, but I still enjoy the Nintendo history especially as someone who has owned the SNES, N64, GameCube, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS/DSi, Nintendo Wii and even the Switch (that I rarely use). I've had a lot of good memories with their games and systems and I felt all those memories when I saw the references and cameos in this film.


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Overall it was a fun movie and definitely a great video game adaptation of our favorite plumbing duo. I will say that I do think this is one of the better video game movies in recent memory. I hope we get more animated video game movies like this from Nintendo and this can be another gold standard when adapting a video game into a movie or even a television show.


Rating this I'd give it:


8/10


I do think this is better than the first sonic movie or detective pikachu, but not quite up there with something like Sonic 2 and that's only because Sonic 2 had a chance to explore the lore of the Sonic universe. Hopefully the Mario movie gets a sequel to do the same thing which may be even better than Sonic 2 along with ironing out the kinks in terms of pacing and story telling. That's all I got for you guys.


See ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - April 8th, 2023


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Hey what's going on everyone? Dan here and today I'll be reviewing the Air movie.


Warning!: May contain spoilers


Now this is the success story of how Nike not only sign arguably the best player in Basketball history, but became the most dominant sports brand in history. This is also Ben Affleck's first movie he's directed in a long time, the movie is alright but I do have some critiques on how it could have been done better.


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The cast itself is quite literally an A-list cast in Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis. Funny enough, Jordan himself wanted Viola Davis to portray his mother specifically because his mother loves Davis which I think is nice. The cast did a good job portraying the people of Nike and the Jordan family. I think the acting turns into over acting at times where it gets overly dramatic with some lines. I understand it's a dramatization of what happened, but I still think it should have stuck more to the true events for that realism. I forgot to mention that Marlon Wayans is in this film too but his role only lasts like five minutes somewhere in the beginning and never appears in the movie again except a brief mention about the person Wayans portrays.


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The writing itself reminds me of Winning Time from HBO MAX, the Lakers series. This movie is rated R only because of the profanity used, it's almost the same as Winning Time where they use the words "Fuck" a lot. It reminds me of the 2022 Saint Rows game dialogue where they cuss a lot and it feels written by a 14 year old. I don't have a problem with profanity because this is likely how they actually talked or reacted, but when it's overused like in these shows or movies, it gets dull real quick and loses the comedic factor. Alex Convey is the writer of this film and Apparently this is his first piece of major work according to IMDb. Alex if you see this, this is decent writing, but I feel if you focus more on clever writing rather than heavy profanity use, you'll do great. Don't know where Affleck found this guy but not bad.


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The story of Nike and Jordan is as old as time itself, I like to think that Jordan himself had some involvement besides wanting Davis as his mother since this movie is based around his big deal with Nike that changed the industry of sponsorships and sports players. I do wish they had mention other things like how Nike pursued Magic Johnson for Nike and he turned it down (they referenced this in Winning Time and Magic has gone on record saying he regrets not taking the Nike deal) or how Adidas said they couldn't make a shoe for Jordan (this was referenced in The Last Dance and The Company Man Video on Nike. Link: Company Man: Nike ).


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The movie is good, but I feel like this would have done better as like mini-series. I say this because I feel we didn't really get enough time to soak in all the movie pieces and effort it took to get Jordan signed. If this was broken off into like a 5 or 6 part mini-series, we'd get e better idea on how it crucial it was and what was at stake to get Jordan signed and how this revolutionized the industry in terms of sponsorships and deals. The movie got the cliff notes down and managed to stuff just enough into the movie but at times admitting felt rushed.


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Overall, the movie was fun to watch but I felt they could have added more details to it on all the moving pieces. acting was good, the writing was decent enough for an R rated film and it was a fun watch. I may have my critiques about it but it is serviceable and gives people a better idea on how the Jordan/Nike deal came to be.


Rating this film, I give it:


7/10


I recommend this film to watch with friends or if you're a basketball or shoe guy, this is definitely your movie. That's all I've got for today.


See ya!


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Posted by Dans-Den - April 3rd, 2023


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Hey what’s going on everyone?! It’s Dan here and today I’ll be reviewing Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves! 


Warning!: May contain some spoilers!


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I’m not gonna lie to you guys, March has been Medieval March Madness for me. March is my birthday month and I’ve been going to the Medieval Renaissance Festival, then I saw a Jousting show and now I'm watching D&D movies. I even bought a mug at the Jousting show. I enjoyed all of it, now I just need to play actual D&D and it’ll all come full circle. Honestly this movie looked dope when I saw the trailers and seeing the actual movie, the trailers are different from the actual movie, but in a good way. 


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When I saw the trailer for this movie, I was under the impression that it would be about taking something from the Red witch lady or stealing something from her. I was under the impression she would be the main focus of this film but it turned out that was only half the battle. Turns out the main focus of this film is Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) breaking out of prison and reuniting with his daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman). However, she’s been manipulated by Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant)  into thinking her father abandoned her and now Edgin has to gather a group of misfits like an amateur wizard, a warrior lady banished from her tribe, and a shapeshifter to go and save his daughter all while taking Fitzwilliam and the witch down. You’d think that would be an average movie premise but the way they executed it, is awesome. This movie is better than I would have expected and it does go above and beyond in terms of VFX, witty writing for the characters, the action, even the acting flowed well bringing these characters to life. 


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Let’s start with the VFX, I think these effects are better than what Marvel is pumping out nowadays on Disney+ or even the Modok memery. I loved the effects in this movie and they did an excellent job bringing the fantasy world creatures to the big screen. The magic was done well too, it didn’t look cheaply done and it was all smooth transitions. The VFX doesn’t really have any bad moments or times where it looks janky. I know the budget is like 150 million but that’s money well spent on the visual effects.


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The cast of this film did a phenomenal job with their roles. Each character had their chance to shine in one way shape or form. I will say the least amount of character development I saw was from Doric, but even she came to her own conclusion about humans and how she originally felt about them. Though I will say that one of my nitpicks about this film is the relationship between Simon and Doric, they do have a history together and at the end where they consider revisiting that, felt a bit underwhelming despite this being from the amazing growth from Simon. One of my favorite characters in this film is Xenk Yendar who is a Harper but also a Paladin. He’s someone who takes everything literal and it's funny shit, he’s like the Knuckles of the group (he’s with them for a single mission which is a shame).


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I will say that for the writing, it’s hilarious, witty, charming, and above all fun. The writing pokes fun at certain movie cliches as well as narration to sum up the plot or situation. The writing works especially with Forge since he’s more of a comical villain. He does have his ruthless moments but I feel he was written to be more of a comedic relief villain, kind of like Modok but actually funny and written to be a real threat. There are times where I feel the movie’s writing is a bit meh but honestly those are blink and you miss it moments that I can forgive. I did feel the final battle was rushed a little but like I said it doesn’t bother me that much though I did wish there was more build up to that final battle. 


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Overall the movie itself was definitely one of the better movies I’ve seen by far this year. While Paramount shows can suck major cheeks at times, I will say their films are bangers. D&D is a fun game and the fact that they brought it to the big screen in the best way is great. I know there are other D&D movies dating back to the 2000’s and I heard those weren’t as great but I am glad that this one was done so with fun writing and great effects in mind.


Rating this film I’d give it:


8.5/10


I highly recommend seeing this film, it’s a fun time for everyone even if you’re not into D&D or fantasy. I hope more fantasy or D&D related stuff takes notes from this movie while improving on the weaker areas. That’s all I got for today


See ya!



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