Look I know you have heard this from me before and despite what you think about Byrd's style,I hear what some of you guys say, he's boring, he slaps, he has no power, etc.
Now lets look at some of Byrd's underappreciated aspects which most Byrd haters tend to ignore.
1)The man has one of the best defenses ever seen at HW, in any era.
2)His quick hands and superior boxing ability are head and shoulders above anybody else in the division.
3)He isn't afraid of anybody and will fight anyone,anywhere,anytime, despite his size.
4) The man is a blown up middleweight who competes with natural far bigger men and usually wins.
5) He has a tremendous chin
6) He has trmendous heart
7) He conducts himself in a classy manner, and represents the sport well.
Now before you say "Shut up CITA, this is the same old story we hear from you..." Lets be realistic, I pride myself on being a proud Byrd fan but I'm also realistic. I call a spade a spade. And the Byrd naysayers should do the same.
Chris Bryd is about as appritiated as he should be. Face the facts he does not inspire, the audience, he has never captured my imagination the way a great heavywieght champion should. His last couple fights do not help this perception. He certainly should not be a major PPV fighter, this further marginalizes his popularity as a belt holder. In my view he should be appritiated a little more than John Ruiz, which to be honest isnt saying much.
i don't think McCline is garbage, if he ever gets confidence in his own abilities he'll be a dangerous man, also if he's smart enough to make it an outside fight, and be more effective with the jab he can force Byrd to try and be Joe Frazier, like he had to when he was beat by B level competitor Fast Fres or The big O ( whichever you like better ). McCline could do it, but he won't i really don't think he believes in himself enough to take it to Byrd like he needs to
That fight against McCline is going to be a tough one. I know alot of people think McCline is garbage, but he's tall, and he fights with a boxer-puncher style, uses the jab alot, very similar to the klits. The height alone will be a big hurdle to overcome, it seems the only fighters Byrd has trouble with are the ones with a reach advantage over him. But if he wins, he'll have all of my respect, I respect him anyway for fighting such bigger guys than he is, but it will really be something if he can pull it off.
I'd like to add further to my previous posting that going back to the eighties and nineties Byrd would probably not even been a top 15 the likes of (off the top of my head):
James Douglas
Ray Mercer
Frank Bruno
Trevor Berbick
Razor Ruddock
Oliver McCall
Tommy Morrison
Tim Weatherspoon
Brian Nielson
Tony Tucker
probably even Greg Page and Tony Tubbs on their day would have beaten Byrd - he is distinctly average and it just shows how bad the state of heaveywight boxing is right now that he has a belt of any kind!
Look I know you have heard this from me before and despite what you think about Byrd's style,I hear what some of you guys say, he's boring, he slaps, he has no power, etc.
Now lets look at some of Byrd's underappreciated aspects which most Byrd haters tend to ignore.
1)The man has one of the best defenses ever seen at HW, in any era.
2)His quick hands and superior boxing ability are head and shoulders above anybody else in the division.
3)He isn't afraid of anybody and will fight anyone,anywhere,anytime, despite his size.
4) The man is a blown up middleweight who competes with natural far bigger men and usually wins.
5) He has a tremendous chin
6) He has trmendous heart
7) He conducts himself in a classy manner, and represents the sport well.
Now before you say "Shut up CITA, this is the same old story we hear from you..." Lets be realistic, I pride myself on being a proud Byrd fan but I'm also realistic. I call a spade a spade. And the Byrd naysayers should do the same.
I have never heard so much rubbish in my life.
one of the best defences in the heavyweight era mmmm.... mabe if by saying one of the best you mean he falls into the top 100 maybe.
Great chin er.... yeah if you think getting dropped twice by Ibeabuchi means you have a good chin....please!
Who has he ever beaten other than Vitali who tor his rotary cuff otherwise he would have spanked Bird, Holyfield who was old enough to be his father and David Tua - over 12 awful rounds of boxing - come on pal.
Byrd is a moderate heavy in possibly the worst era of heavyweight boxing history! The only thing you got right was that he has a good heart and is a real gentleman with an apreciation for the traditions of the sport - he excels in this catagory.
this thread reminds me of some of the klitschkos hacks on this site who only post about the brothers
i would be interested to see CITA post about other fighters some time just for a little change
I do post about other fighters, this thread was dead until you brought back up again.
this thread reminds me of some of the klitschkos hacks on this site who only post about the brothers
i would be interested to see CITA post about other fighters some time just for a little change
Ive never said he aint got talent, his fast, defensive and has a style that few see the beauty in.
But both wlad and vit would whop him again.
Yes its brave of him too bee with the big boys while not being one.
Hell earn my respect if he fights vit again cause everyone knows their not done with each others.
IMO Chris Byrd is a good boxer, with world class defenses. However, IMO he will never be a good champion until he defends his title by KO.
His slap like a girl style doesn't do it for me.
Good post Torino. These are the kind of posts we need on Boxingscene, opionated yet realistic.
IMO Chris Byrd is a good boxer, with world class defenses. However, IMO he will never be a good champion until he defends his title by KO.
His slap like a girl style doesn't do it for me.
Christisnot the answer said: I have never made any beef about Byrd's losses but the Wlad fans always find a way.
.....I seem to recall you jumping on the theory of Wlad having a foreign substance on his gloves way back when uh when uh when he kicked Byrd's ars.
You recall me saying that? Show some proof before you make accusations. In a recent thread I made the comment of how I didn't think there was anything suspicious regarding the Wlad-Byrd fight. Don't shoot off at the mouth before you realize what your saying.
If Ibeabuchi never went to jail would we even be talking about Chris Byrd or the Klitschkos? Vitali is cool though. I'd like to see Byrd and Vitali fight again to set up a fight between Vitali and Wladimir. I know their mom doesn't want them to fight or whatever but I sure do.
Anyways back on subject. I think Byrd is lucky he gets as much respect as he does. He gets more respect than Ruiz even though he doesn't beat his opponents as convincingly
Christisnot the answer said: I have never made any beef about Byrd's losses but the Wlad fans always find a way.
.....I seem to recall you jumping on the theory of Wlad having a foreign substance on his gloves way back when uh when uh when he kicked Byrd's ars.
I believe come Nov.14th...there will be a push to have the heavyweight division dismantled...& ultimately eliminated.
The four-fight piece of trash from the night before will hopefully convince people that bigger has become worse, in the sport of boxing.
Chris Byrd is like Scrappy Doo. Scrappy always wanted to fight the bad guys, but Scooby Doo (Don King) always holds him back so he doesn't get eaten by the monster. Vitali Klitschko is the monster.
Chris Byrd is a solid heavyweight whos a prime example of what is wrong with todays boxing. First of he shouldnt be a champion or hold a belt. You can argue wether or not he lost his last two outings but he certainly wouldn't be the favourite against Vitali Klitschko or almost any HW champ before him. He is a solid contender, a guy that does well what he does and is always in shape and relieable. He doesnt fight everyone anytime due to his management though. He didnt beat one HW that could be considered as an all time great in his prime. He lost 2 out of 4 (or 2 out of 3 if you dont want to count the fight against Vitali) when fighting a current top HW. He should be in his prime right now or even past it so there's not too much potential left. He makes his living fighting Top20 HWs and beating them in arguable fashion.
If I were Chris Byrd I'd vacate my HW title go down to Cruiserweight and rule the division until the end of my career. He wont be remebered as HW, he's simply not good enough. And that isnt me being harsh, that's my fair and most objective opinion.
21y ago
Chris Byrd is unappreciated, bigtime! | BoxingScene Community