Is anyone else impressed when a fighter does exactly what they are supposed to do?

NSB always overreacts to fighters doing better or worse against an opponent than expected, but no one seems to care when a fight plays out exactly how it is supposed to. I think that's actually one of the highest compliments to pay to a fighter. I see threads all the time about "Well, fighter A was supposed to do that to fighter B." How often does that actually happen though? Take this weekend for example, Bradley was supposed to do beat Provodnikov much easier than that. Pac was supposed to beat Bradley easier. Donaire was expected to knock out Vazquez and Mathebula. Martinez was supposed to make mincemeat of Barker and Macklin. Mayweather was supposed to beat Cotto easier. Actually looking at it, world class fighters rarely do exactly what they should do to their opponent. Am I the only one that finds it impressive when a fighter does exactly what they were supposed to? Khan-Judah, Mayweather-Mosley, Sergio-Chavez Jr.(despite the KD), Ward-Dawson, I find all of those fights impressive for the winning fighter.

Comments (8)

kiaba360

It's impressive when a fighter is able to go about his business in the exact manner that he wanted it to go. I think it's impressive when a fighter gets much more than what they bargained for, but it doesn't stop them from trying to get the W. I try only to predict the many ways a fight will go instead of having any set-in-stone expectations because in boxing, it seems like everything can/will happen.

13y ago

junior_gong

Its impressive when a fighter executes his gameplan or tactics perfectly, especially in a sport where the other guy is there to hurt you and stop you doing just that. That said, there are factors and nuances where the value of such victories can be diminished or elevated, and its precisely this that makes boxing the greatest sport there is.

13y ago

kraftzman

If you go by stupid fanboy rule, low ranked Ruslan should not have been given the chance to fight an undefeated Bradley in the first place. Where is the bashing? Simply he didn't deserve a Bradley fight. And why is Bradley not bashed for cherrypicking the Russian? Bradley IS supposed to murder Provodnikov, according to fanboy rule. Look what happened. I for one had absolutely no idea who is going to win. Why? Because Bradley isn't really all that in my book.

13y ago

Light_Speed

Not impressed but I recognize that the man did his job properly. By definition you have to something exceptional in order to impress.

13y ago

Cuauhtmoc1520

A win is a win and always impressive. In boxing, nothing is guaranteed, so when you can get a win, it's a good thing. There's no such thing as "supposed" because boxing is one of the few sports where you are literally 1 punch away from losing.

13y ago

Bushbaby

Not when the fight is a cherrypick. I'm more impressed when no 1 tells a no hoper he's there to lose & he fights like the hounds of hell are snapping at his heels. Concerning the Bradley/Provednicov fight, the fortitude that Timmy showed was something seldom if ever seen. Timmy was almost quite literally ko'd while standing up throwing punches. Arm punching & meaningless as far as clean and effective, but for being relieved of consciousness with the fight on the line, I'm not certain there is another active fighter that could have done that.

13y ago

SCtrojansbaby

Its only impressive if you are a great fighter going against a dangerous opponent. For example Hopkins vs Pascal Nothing impressive about Ward dominating a severely drained Chad Dawson or Mayweather dominating washed up guys like Cotto and Mosley.

13y ago

RVABoxer

When things play out to expectations they tend to be boring IMO cause thats exactly what we expected. People or atleast I find myself more entertained by the unexpected

13y ago