Every other sport great defense is fine but in boxing it's a bad thing.

[ADP02]

Who says great defence is bad? I've never heard a genuine fan or renowned boxing analyst sya such thing. What's bad is if that defence is not backed up by appropriate attack.

I dunno about nfl or near but in almost every major international sport, simply defending is as bad as simply attacking. The best teams and the ones who provide the most entertainment have a balance of the two. The same is said of boxing.

I agree with this.

People just do not like it that some fighters become so one dimensional and defend only to the point that they slow the fight down to a crawl .... which can make it a boring fight. I prefer an athlete or team that can showcase both offense and defense.

[Spoon23]

That's it, man. All those skills require training and discipline and are very impressive to watch. Numerous times I've heard a crowd cheer when a guy avoids a string of punches and counters. It's very impressive to watch. let a casual watch Willie Pep and they would be impressed. You keep watching to see if the other guy can actually hit him. It's when guys have no skill and use the desperation tactics and are allowed to use them over and over that you end up with an amateurish, low action fight and I'm no casual, but I hate low action fights. Like with Fury-Klitschko. I respect that Fury was able to throw Wlad off and it was a smart performance, but he could have done a lot more and made the fight much more fun to watch. it wouldn't have involved a hell of a lot of risk either. He had Wlad stumped. He could have fired on him more and brought more excitement.

Yup, it separates the men from the boys. Real ability is how to evade punches.

Fury and Vlad are heavy weights. They burn more energy faster than light weight boxers. And that is why every punch they throw saps energy. That said, I can cut them some slack for clinching at a certain extent, but you have a point it was too much even for a heavy weight to clinch that much. Would have been great if Fury went guns blazing. I think if he was more assertive he could have KO'd Wlad.

[Tom Cruise]

Ultra defensive styles are pretty much universally hated in most sports.

People want to see players/teams daring to be great and taking the game/match by the scruff of the neck.

[soul_survivor]

I agree with this.

People just do not like it that some fighters become so one dimensional and defend only to the point that they slow the fight down to a crawl .... which can make it a boring fight. I prefer an athlete or team that can showcase both offense and defense.

Exactly.

Sport is supposed to be entertainment, first and foremost and people should be compensated for the ticket prices they pay for a fight that actually entertains them. Or any sporting event for that matter.

[Eubankjr]

What ?

Being defensively minded is not popular in any sport I can think of.

People want to see aggressive attacking play.

In what sport are defenders paid more than offensive players ?

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Yup, it separates the men from the boys. Real ability is how to evade punches.

Fury and Vlad are heavy weights. They burn more energy faster than light weight boxers. And that is why every punch they throw saps energy. That said, I can cut them some slack for clinching at a certain extent, but you have a point it was too much even for a heavy weight to clinch that much. Would have been great if Fury went guns blazing. I think if he was more assertive he could have KO'd Wlad.

Yes, indeed. They need to open up in the rematch or there is no point.