No doubt he was tired but that’s not what caused him to go down or fall out the ring. He was hurt by Briggs' punches.
I agree, and it doesn't matter anyways. If a fighter cannot intelligently defend himself due to any circumstance, the fight should be stopped regardless of his champion status or the time left in the round. It's not the ref's job to decide how close the fight is or how much time is left. His job is to protect the fighters in between the bells.
I wanted it called after the first knockdown. The ref did a piss-poor job of checking to see that Sergei was coherent. After the next right hand that nearly decapitated him, it should have been stopped again.
But apparently we're so hard up for some drama in the heavyweight division that we're willing to risk a fighter's health for a bit of excitement.
Agreed, it was more Rahman-Maskaev II than Rahman-Maskaev I.
yeah it really pained me to see how soft sergei looked physically, obviously that is not how conditioning is determined but i cant understand how i can have a better physique tham a guy who works out constantly and probably eats healthy. i work out once or twice a week but i dont run cept to play basketball and physically i "look" in better shape..
i had a couple friends over for the fight who didnt know anything about either fighter.....
they referred to him as "bitch tits" for the entirety of the fight...
my brother said it best as the fight ended
"bitch tits just fell out of the bra"
That's a good point you just made. Usually the "jack of all trade" types can be relied upon to come up with a sound gameplan and follow it through. The reason for this is they have to do so just to survive with larger and more talented men. I am rooting for wlad obviously, but Brock seems like a nice guy who would be a good champion to represent American.
I just don't see Brock unifying the titles and then defending the big title as a dominant champion, and would rather see Wlad bring the belts together. More than anything in boxing, I want to see a unified heavyweight champion. It would help boxing more than most realize.
What I also think like about Brock is that he knows his limitations and probably knows how to make a right fight plan.
He is one of the hard working men of pugilism.
Not the most talented, but he works very hard. He's going to fight a smart fight and do what he needs to do. The question remains whether it will be enough though.
YEah, we are on the same wave here.
ITs a HW division, and absolutely anything can happen.
Brock will not rise to the occassion against Terry Smith and Zuri Lawrence, he'll bring his A game to the Garden.
You slide out of the ring like that from exhaustion more often than being out of it, he was dead tired. Lyakhovich had nothing left in his body at that point. He was just looking for a place to lay down and catch his breath.
yea,,,that knockout reminded me a lot of rahman vs maskeav 2. fatigue played a big role in both
YEah, as a huge Wlad fan, I am actually giving Brock a better chance then everybody else.
Mainly that he might just somehow pull out something out of a sleeve that we did not know before and surprise us all.
Kinda like Wlad did against Peter.
wlad is too good, i like brock to beat everyone besides wladamir so its a shame that they end up having to fight each other at this point when brock should be garnering a title of his own.
i mean quite honestly these guys are going into a fight with wlad "hoping" to land that one big shot and "hoping" that he doesent get up... i absolutely do not think he can be outboxed, i dont think there is a heavyweight that can take more than 4 of 12 rounds from wlad should the fight go the distance. i also think his power is the best at heavyweight, its going to take a couple more impressive performances but sooner or later skeptics will have to realize that not only is wladamir precise but quite possibly the most explosive combination puncher in the history of the division.
YEah, as a huge Wlad fan, I am actually giving Brock a better chance then everybody else.
Mainly that he might just somehow pull out something out of a sleeve that we did not know before and surprise us all.
Kinda like Wlad did against Peter.
I'm reserving claims of a blowout because I know Brock has something we haven't yet seen, I'm just not sure what it is really yet.
are you going to the fight?
i was planning on going if he fought briggs but i changed my mind when they announced brock as the opponent, kinda kickin myself in the ass now cause there probably wont be another heavyweight title fight at MSG for awhile.
I wish but I can't, I work from 11AM to 12 AM that day, 13 hours. Saturdays and Fridays aren't good for me anymore, thats where I make my money. I was supposed to, but I withdrew.
I still don't know what to make of Wladimir in there, except for one observation. Wladimir has not since fought a big heavyweight (save for Peter, who is crude and lacking any sharpness), fighting Byrd, Castillo since, and will be facing his first rounded fighter since the Brewster fight. It'll be interesting next week.
are you going to the fight?
i was planning on going if he fought briggs but i changed my mind when they announced brock as the opponent, kinda kickin myself in the ass now cause there probably wont be another heavyweight title fight at MSG for awhile.
Yeah, man, I would never expect it from an ex-soviet HW to be in such a bad aerobic shape.
Although Wlad against Brewster was also disgruntling.
I still don't know what to make of Wladimir in there, except for one observation. Wladimir has not since fought a big heavyweight (save for Peter, who is crude and lacking any sharpness), fighting Byrd, Castillo since, and will be facing his first rounded fighter since the Brewster fight. It'll be interesting next week.
The one thing that Brewster was unable to do in their fight. Turns out to be a major factor against Briggs.
lyakoivch just never made the adjustment, obviously his propensity for the right hand lead to the body is a bad habit developed by fighting guys who let him get away with it.... cause that was the only way briggs could hit him and sergei ket putting himself right back in harms way.
briggs had a plan and it worked, credit to him for that, but had sergei been smart he would be champion still today
Asian I agree completely. Sergei was thinking rationally, maybe not 100% clear headed but he wasn't on the moon or anywhere else but Chase Field, Phoenix Arizona. What did him in was exhaustion and the knockdown, which in his mind destroyed his chance of a decision win. His corner had him convinced that the fight could go either way and he needed that last round just to win. Once he hit the canvas the first, he thought he had lost.
You slide out of the ring like that from exhaustion more often than being out of it, he was dead tired. Lyakhovich had nothing left in his body at that point. He was just looking for a place to lay down and catch his breath.
I think fatigue played a significant role as well, he was dead exhausted moreso I feel than hurt.
yeah it was a lethal combination.... like when people die from drugs AND alcohol
im still scratching my head over this one, and im not sure sergei will be able to get his career back on track after this... this is gonna eat at him real bad to know he gave the heavyweight title away... when he looks at the film and sees all the opprutunities he passed on and sees himself in the corner telling his trainer "dont worry" .. man what a disheartening loss.
Asian I agree completely. Sergei was thinking rationally, maybe not 100% clear headed but he wasn't on the moon or anywhere else but Chase Field, Phoenix Arizona. What did him in was exhaustion and the knockdown, which in his mind destroyed his chance of a decision win. His corner had him convinced that the fight could go either way and he needed that last round just to win. Once he hit the canvas the first, he thought he had lost.
it also didnt make sense the way he kept going to the body with his right hand and never the head, had he gone upstairs it would have been much more difficult for briggs to counter.... with the body shot it seemed briggs was landing a clean left hook counter at about half the time...
The one thing that Brewster was unable to do in their fight. Turns out to be a major factor against Briggs.
lyakoivch could have been drilling briggs with his straight right all night had he been there to actually fight... he threw it once, with conviction, the entire fight and it landed clean on briggs' jaw....
it also didnt make sense the way he kept going to the body with his right hand and never the head, had he gone upstairs it would have been much more difficult for briggs to counter.... with the body shot it seemed briggs was landing a clean left hook counter at about half the time...