Isn’t strange how when a fighter gets an unpopular decision he is the villain

I think it always has to do with circumstances and depending how the fighter who won behaves there after. For me, one of the most intriguing robberies was Tim Bradley vs Pac 1. I initially was crazy upset as most of the boxing world. I think there was plenty of articles and commentary talking about what a bad decision it was. Pac didn't say much other than he thought he won. Though Pac was the fan favorite. Bradley who gets the decision from the judges, accepted that he won, but then basically went into exile and could not show his face anywhere. He said the win made things worse for himself and even his family because everyone was ridiculing him that he did not win. I didn't realize how much it took from him mentally until they had that documentary on him regarding that moment. So where I initially thought he was the villain, I changed my entire thoughts and felt bad for him since he went through crap for getting a win that most of the world didn't think he deserved, but the judges did. Granted, this is just 1 type of scenario and there are many. The most obvious part of vilifying a fighter for winning typically deals with a fighter you didn't like much to begin with, he got the win and perhaps brags about it here and there.

Also for those who follow different sports also, Aljamain Sterling is another great example. Got the "belt" by DQ in a fight he was clearly losing, getting basically TKOed by an illegal knee. If he had said something like "I'm not going to feel like the real champ until I win this fair and square by beating you in the ring" and then the next fight happened in the same way, he'd have avoided all the flak. But he chose to act like he was the real champ, and got dragged for it.

Haney was getting vilified before the Loma fight tho....Fans and media disrespected him time after time while he was just wbc champion because he was elevated. As if he asked to be ducked. Ryan turned down a mandatory shot Teo turned down a unification to fight kambosos Tank duck anybody that's not hispanic Haney has no reason to be vilified. He's a 2 division champ at age 25 and he ain't running from competition. Loma got 3 losses and an excuse after every 1. Nobody owes him anything. He's the most privileged boxer ever Haney was vilified for several reasons before the Loma fight. ​​​​​​ The biggest reason IMO is that he's got no power and is content to just cruise to decisions by jabbing and clinching. Even if he'd beaten Loma clearly and cleanly, he needs more performances like he had against Prograis to shake that image. Second was that he got his belt via email while the real champ was fighting a unification. And let's not forget there's a ton of people who blamed Loma for fighting a unification with an actual titlist over Haney, who was just an unknown mandatory at the time. Not his fault, but then he acted like he was the real champ by getting a belt via email. Fans and media call many fighters an email champ if they receive their belt by email while the real champ is still active in the division and fighting better opponents. If the opponent ducked them to fight inferior opponents, that's one thing. But fighting a champ instead of a mandatory ain't it. Third was that he's a racist. This was not far removed from the "I'll never lose to a white boy" comment. That likely didn't earn him many fans.

- - Not really. Big George Olympic Gold 1968 Olympics mostly KOed his opposition with one decision was booed in his American debut and all through his first career of mainly KOs with a few decisions. Boxing fans as Dum in 68 as they are in 2024...only in boxing folks... That’s because when Big George first hit the boxing big stage he was considered and cultivated a mean guy persona Which wasn’t well received by the public at that time When Big George returned he learned from his mistakes and completely changed his public persona into the jolly giant And yes I agree most boxing fans as well as the general population are less then brilliant

Even though we know it’s not the fault of the fighter That said fighter becomes vilified by fans, and sometimes the media for something out of their control I know I am guilty of this also - - Not really. Big George Olympic Gold 1968 Olympics mostly KOed his opposition with one decision was booed in his American debut and all through his first career of mainly KOs with a few decisions. Boxing fans as Dum in 68 as they are in 2024...only in boxing folks...

OP literally exposed himself to having no critical thinking lmfao not even that it's just common sense No critical thinking? I just posted a topic to get other people’s thoughts, I have my own also, and common sense is the least common of senses Some people live to be negative anonymously, what a sad individual

Sure. That's another one. For that matter, we could flip the script and point out that he claimed he wanted to rematch Bivol but refused to change the offer at all. Wouldn't fight him at 168, wouldn't fight him at a catchweight, wouldn't up the pay. Saying you want the rematch and then doing nothing to make the fight doesn't make for a good look. Point is that it comes down to how you respond. This is what rematches are for... To settle who's better when it's close or controversial. And when the person who got the gift really thinks they'll win, they generally make the rematch happen. Like we got a guy here claiming Haney isn't a villain because he was having trouble making 135. But his response was to say he wouldn't run it back with Loma, and then make an offer to Shakur. You think Loma wouldn't have taken that 25% to run that fight back? If he's having trouble making 135, why is he making an offer to another guy at 135? That move to 140 didn't happen until Shakur turned him down and Tank was locked up. Why's he still sitting on 135 belts at all? If the issue was the weight, he could have vacated the belts and moved up, just as Inoue did. All those choices are why he's getting flak. Haney was getting vilified before the Loma fight tho....Fans and media disrespected him time after time while he was just wbc champion because he was elevated. As if he asked to be ducked. Ryan turned down a mandatory shot Teo turned down a unification to fight kambosos Tank duck anybody that's not hispanic Haney has no reason to be vilified. He's a 2 division champ at age 25 and he ain't running from competition. Loma got 3 losses and an excuse after every 1. Nobody owes him anything. He's the most privileged boxer ever

at the end of the day it depends on whether u like the fighter or not canelo is not liked by ggg fans, ward is not liked by kov fans, haney is not liked by loma fans etc etc but canelo ward and haney are very well liked by their own fans who generally couldnt care less about the complaints from the other side and often rub the decision in randomly or when the fight is brought up and complained about & around it goes again i would say ah yes the post modern boxing fan, everything is up for debate. what is truly a clean punch after all? is it one guy getting his head rocked around or is it one guy grazing the others nose with a jab? depends who you like

at the end of the day it depends on whether u like the fighter or not canelo is not liked by ggg fans, ward is not liked by kov fans, haney is not liked by loma fans etc etc but canelo ward and haney are very well liked by their own fans who generally couldnt care less about the complaints from the other side and often rub the decision in randomly or when the fight is brought up and complained about & around it goes again i would say Canelo had the bad judging against Trout, the questionable decision against Lara at 155, the ridiculously close scores against Mayweather in a fight he maybe won three rounds in, the overly wide scores against Cotto, the robberies against Golovkin, the near robbery against Bivol...it's crazy. Basically impossible to get a decision against him without winning 9 or 10 rounds. Ward clearly lost the first Kovalev fight something like 7-5 or 8-4. Then he low blowed Kovalev in the rematch when he was on his way to winning legitimately. Haney, well, he had a 20 lb weight advantage against Loma and two of the judges who nearly robbed Bivol. Then he got a decision almost nobody agreed with in a fight he should have lost 8-4. Then he laughed and not only refused a rematch, but also fights with Stevenson and Davis. Then he fought a guy who looked awful in his last fight. I also forgot George Kambosos. I thought Hughes beat him 9-3 and Kambosos boasted about the decision and refused a rematch.

Like Canelo never giving Lara a rematch? Sure. That's another one. For that matter, we could flip the script and point out that he claimed he wanted to rematch Bivol but refused to change the offer at all. Wouldn't fight him at 168, wouldn't fight him at a catchweight, wouldn't up the pay. Saying you want the rematch and then doing nothing to make the fight doesn't make for a good look. Point is that it comes down to how you respond. This is what rematches are for... To settle who's better when it's close or controversial. And when the person who got the gift really thinks they'll win, they generally make the rematch happen. Like we got a guy here claiming Haney isn't a villain because he was having trouble making 135. But his response was to say he wouldn't run it back with Loma, and then make an offer to Shakur. You think Loma wouldn't have taken that 25% to run that fight back? If he's having trouble making 135, why is he making an offer to another guy at 135? That move to 140 didn't happen until Shakur turned him down and Tank was locked up. Why's he still sitting on 135 belts at all? If the issue was the weight, he could have vacated the belts and moved up, just as Inoue did. All those choices are why he's getting flak.

at the end of the day it depends on whether u like the fighter or not canelo is not liked by ggg fans, ward is not liked by kov fans, haney is not liked by loma fans etc etc but canelo ward and haney are very well liked by their own fans who generally couldnt care less about the complaints from the other side and often rub the decision in randomly or when the fight is brought up and complained about & around it goes again i would say

A lot of it depends on how the fighter responds. Do they admit it was a close fight and immediately run it back and win it clear? Examples in recent history would be Juan Francisco Estrada having gotten a controversial decision vs Chocolatito in their second fight, ran it back and got a clear win in the rubber match. Kazuto Ioka got a controversial draw vs Joshua Franco, rematched him and beat him clear and retired him. Both had to drop belts to right the wrong too. Or do they make all kinds of excuses and avoid the rematch at all costs? Recent examples would be Josh Taylor v Catterall, where Josh made noises about rematching, dropped almost every belt, then fought Teo instead. Or Haney v Loma, where Haney made all kinds of excuses and unequivocally refused a rematch. Both of them knew they lost the fight and likely wouldn't win a rematch, so avoided it at all costs. Heck, even Teo refused to give Loma a rematch, and his win was way less controversial. Or Rolly v Barroso. You see Rolly saying, "sure, let's run it back and I'll beat you clearly again?" They don't just arbitrarily become villains through matters outside their control. Only the ones who duck like cowards do. I could name several other fighters who aren't vilified because they took the rematch and fought to prove they are better. Even if they lose the rematch, they don't lose credit. Take Gabe Rosado pulling the upset vs Bek the Bully. Lost the rematch, but neither really gets vilified. Zhang beat Joyce, then took him on again to prove it wasn't a fluke. Meanwhile you've got Hrgovic running from a rematch with Zhang after his controversial win. Leigh Wood is taking on Josh Warrington to prove his win wasn't a fluke, since Josh was beating him until the comeback KO. People gave Inoue flak for the first Donaire fight, and then Inoue destroyed him in the rematch, so he actually gets more credit for making the adjustments, unless it's one of the hardcore Inoue haters on here. Etc. Villains take their fake win and then run from the rematch at all costs. That's their choice. Like Canelo never giving Lara a rematch?

When you defiantly defend a decision or refuse a rematch for a fight you clearly lost (see Josh Taylor and Devin Haney), it makes you come across as dishonest, cowardly, arrogant, and dishonorable.

Been that way since time immemorial. Bradley got vilified in the Manny fight. Manny himself got vilified in 3 of the Marquez fights. There was Taylor in the Caterrall fight. Canelo in the GGG 1 fight. It's nothing new in this sport.

All depends on the response from said fighter. In the end that's all that matters. You either rematch or stfu about your gift and move on.

Well not always. Does happen when a popular NSB boxer loses. Take Haney v Loma. Everyone knew before the fight Haney was having issues making 135. He beats Loma in a close fight, not a robbery, and then became a villain because the judges scored the fight for him and then he went to 140, to take on the best available opponent, instead of starving himself back down to 135 for a rematch. I think it’s this kind of misplaced anger that causes posters to make boxers villains.

A lot of it depends on how the fighter responds. Do they admit it was a close fight and immediately run it back and win it clear? Examples in recent history would be Juan Francisco Estrada having gotten a controversial decision vs Chocolatito in their second fight, ran it back and got a clear win in the rubber match. Kazuto Ioka got a controversial draw vs Joshua Franco, rematched him and beat him clear and retired him. Both had to drop belts to right the wrong too. Or do they make all kinds of excuses and avoid the rematch at all costs? Recent examples would be Josh Taylor v Catterall, where Josh made noises about rematching, dropped almost every belt, then fought Teo instead. Or Haney v Loma, where Haney made all kinds of excuses and unequivocally refused a rematch. Both of them knew they lost the fight and likely wouldn't win a rematch, so avoided it at all costs. Heck, even Teo refused to give Loma a rematch, and his win was way less controversial. Or Rolly v Barroso. You see Rolly saying, "sure, let's run it back and I'll beat you clearly again?" They don't just arbitrarily become villains through matters outside their control. Only the ones who duck like cowards do. I could name several other fighters who aren't vilified because they took the rematch and fought to prove they are better. Even if they lose the rematch, they don't lose credit. Take Gabe Rosado pulling the upset vs Bek the Bully. Lost the rematch, but neither really gets vilified. Zhang beat Joyce, then took him on again to prove it wasn't a fluke. Meanwhile you've got Hrgovic running from a rematch with Zhang after his controversial win. Leigh Wood is taking on Josh Warrington to prove his win wasn't a fluke, since Josh was beating him until the comeback KO. People gave Inoue flak for the first Donaire fight, and then Inoue destroyed him in the rematch, so he actually gets more credit for making the adjustments, unless it's one of the hardcore Inoue haters on here. Etc. Villains take their fake win and then run from the rematch at all costs. That's their choice.

maybe its the smug smirkey faces boasting about their 0 or their great results and slagging off the rival who got shafted