Which fighter(s) sparked you?

[ßringer]

Bernard Hopkins: Was looking for more fighters to like when I first got into boxing. Tried Jermain Taylor and ended up hating him. Watched Bhop vs Glen Johnson and was amazed.

Cristian Mijares: His fight against Navarro was a very surprising treat on the undercard of Pavlik Taylor II. I was amazed by his skill and was determined to watch more of him. I really hope he regains his career in the right direction though and actually starts boxing again instead of trading.

Hozumi Hasegawa: This is an interesting one. There is this boxing game called Boxer's Road 2 for the PSP and I loved using him. So I to see if he was like that in real life, I watched his rematch vs Saphrom and he was. Great entertaining fighter.

Juan Manuel Marquez: Liked him after I saw the Pacquiao fight and became a huge fan after the second Pacquiao fight.

Israel Vazquez: Came a fan of his over the summer. I loved his fights against Raf, but then watching more of him vs Gonzalez, Hernendez, Larios, etc. it made me even a bigger fan.

Nice list, Vazquez was left off my list, but I definitely connected with him and Rafa as well. Both guys are extremely humble and generous to their fans, and they gave us one hell of a trilogy.

And thanks for sharing a little bit about why you like them. Nobody else really did.

[ßringer]

Tyson got me into the sport when I was a kid. My pops would always have his crew over drinkin and watchin his fights when they were on just like I do now. Mike was the ****in man when I was a kid. Holyfield too, just cuz he fought everybody without hesitation.

Cool story, thanks for sharing.

You've come full circle, son.

[-Hyperion-]

the first 2 guys i ever saw started it all...oscar and shane....their first fight was the first fight i ever saw, and the skill level was crazy....i liked them both immediatly(sadly i will never forgive my former hero oscar for throwing fights...but ill jump to defend his legacy pre 2004......)

then i watched mab vs morales 3......great ****in fight........i actually liked barrera's style of fighting better, but after learning about them and seeing all their fights, i just loved the passion of erik morales, to me he is the definition of a prizefighter...

and of course, the former p4p king, roy jones jr.....he was just the superman of boxing in my mind after watching some of his fights.......weird considering the first fight i saw of him was the ko loss to tarver

this was all in early 2006......and the first big fight i ever saw on live tv carried another fighter that hooked me.....joe calzaghe spanking jeff lacy...nuff said....

my research on mosley brought me the joy of watching my favorite fighter, and in my eyes the best, winky wright......his style is just very immpressive to me....the jab is my favorite punch and his defense is superb.......

those were basically the guys that got me hooked....


other fighters i loved when i evetually got to watch them:

jm marquez, rafael marquez, jermain taylor, diego corrales, jose luis castillo, ray leonard...

[AztecWanker]

When I was real young:

Julio Cesar Chavez: Back then, he was to Mexico what Manny Pacquiao is to the Phillipines today. People would stop and watch him fight anyone. One of my earliest boxing memories was watching his fights with Pernell Whitaker and Hector Camacho in my uncle's house and my entire family being there.

Jorge "Maromero" Paez: Growing up, I thought this guy was the coolest human being in the planet. He can fight, be flamboyant and have crazy antics all at once. I was a big fan then and I am a big fan now.

Hector "Macho" Camacho: This is kind of corny. But I only liked him because of his nickname and his ring entrances and speed.

[Grand Champ]

Bernard Hopkins - He's a complete fighter.. In his prime he could slug with you, outbox you, take it to you dirty .. Simply a throwback and at 44 and STILL a top fighter.. An inspiration to me

Evander Holyfield - All heart.. I mean.. Wow! This man fought EVERYBODY, never backed down, fighting guys bigger than him and was simply amazing.. If everybody followed Holyfields example and not ducking each other boxing would be THE thing to watch..!

Mike Tyson - To me beautiful and perfect boxing is a one punch KO.. And I mean.. THIS guy brought boxing on everybodys lips! this guy was so entertaining and people would be amazed if much bigger men would last more than 3 rounds with this fighter! He came out and gave it all he had with skill and raw power.. He didn't pace himself he just went in there, did his buisness and went back home. Just my kind of fighter.. This guy made me want to see boxing and is one of the reasons I watch boxing today

I could name more fighters like Mayweather SRL and SSM but.. later.

[talip bin osman]

arturo gatti...

micky ward...

erik morales

manny pacquiao


and other fighters who makes sure u get ur money's worth.....

[Chunk..]

I would go into detail about how my Roy Jones love affair started, but i have a hard time trying to remember my first Roy Jones fight and who it was against? I think it was the James Toney fight, but i might be wrong. (I'll ask my old man later whn he goes to work)

I do remember being a little boy and being toally amazed by his skills and how different he was to other boxers i remember from around that time(early-mid 90's). My dad was with with me when we both saw Roy for the first time on TV and he wasn't a fan of his to be honest, he liked his old school boxers who walked in straight lines and was Roy was anything but that.

[ßringer]

the first 2 guys i ever saw started it all...oscar and shane....their first fight was the first fight i ever saw, and the skill level was crazy....i liked them both immediatly(sadly i will never forgive my former hero oscar for throwing fights...but ill jump to defend his legacy pre 2004......)

then i watched mab vs morales 3......great ****in fight........i actually liked barrera's style of fighting better, but after learning about them and seeing all their fights, i just loved the passion of erik morales, to me he is the definition of a prizefighter...

and of course, the former p4p king, roy jones jr.....he was just the superman of boxing in my mind after watching some of his fights.......weird considering the first fight i saw of him was the ko loss to tarver

this was all in early 2006......and the first big fight i ever saw on live tv carried another fighter that hooked me.....joe calzaghe spanking jeff lacy...nuff said....

my research on mosley brought me the joy of watching my favorite fighter, and in my eyes the best, winky wright......his style is just very immpressive to me....the jab is my favorite punch and his defense is superb.......

those were basically the guys that got me hooked....


other fighters i loved when i evetually got to watch them:

jm marquez, rafael marquez, jermain taylor, diego corrales, jose luis castillo, ray leonard and of course the great Bernard Hopkins...

Thanks for sharing, I love seeing other people's insights into why they like who they like. Because in boxing, there are as many reasons to like a guy, and as many reasons to hate a guy, as there are guys, lol.

Oh, and I fixed your post. Can you find what I fixed?

[Mugwump]

Eubank (Obviously) - he was always the odd man out when Benn and Watson were the media darlings. I watched him from early on and I always thought he'd make it. Rock solid chin and KO power in either hand. When he fought Benn practically no one gave him a chance. Benn tore into him early but Eubank stood firm and by the fourth he was putting a hurting on Nigel. By the end Benn was smashed to pieces.

But the big reason is Eubank's second victory over Watson.



When Eubank went down in the eleventh there wasn't a fan at ringside who gave him a hope. But he dragged himself off the floor to deliver one of the greatest uppercuts in the history of the sport. Tragically it resulted in Watson's brain damage.

The other fighter is Nigel Benn. His bout (another tragedy) against Gerald McClellan is the most brutal fight I've seen. McClellan knocked Nigel through the ropes in round one with a brick. How he got back up is a mystery to me. But he survived and in round two he took the fight to McClellan with some ferocious hitting. Benn's gameplan was simple: McClellan had no uppercut and so he ducked low keeping his chin out of reach. Also he because he was unproven past round eight he needed to drag the fight out. The bout drew on with both fighters having their moments - but Benn was clawing back the points difference. Then Gerald managed to catch Benn and he was down again. At that point it was over. There was no way he would survive the onslaught. But he did - with some of the best head movement I've seen in a long time. McClellan became frustrated and then Benn caught him with a bomb of a right hook. His gumshield flew out again and a blank expression fell over his face (almost certainly the blow that damaged his brain). Another round - more Benn pressure and suddenly Gerald went down. Something was wrong. He was blinking continuously. He beat the count but Benn dropped him within seconds and it was all over. A terrible tragedy for McClellan. But a night of vindication for Benn. He had beaten the most dangerous puncher on the planet. I firmly believe that - on that night and in that ring - NO ONE would have beaten Benn. Somehow he'd tapped into almost limitless reserves of rage. It kept him on his feet in the face of punching that would have laid flat any other SW on the planet.

Two tragedies that finished both boxers (Eubank never again threw with full power and Benn went mad) - but two GREAT fighters.

[-Hyperion-]

Thanks for sharing, I love seeing other people's insights into why they like who they like. Because in boxing, there are as many reasons to like a guy, and as many reasons to hate a guy, as there are guys, lol.

Oh, and I fixed your post. Can you find what I fixed?

nard is a ****ing cheater....