Meanwhile in some Muslim countries, it's still the norm to own black slaves.I hope you're joking but if you're not which countries have legalized slavery?
So listen up *****es...how about you all grow a pair, man up and lets enjoy boxing and call these fights as they truly are.Please state which fight you enjoyed more (and why):
1) Leonard - Duran I
2) Mayweather - Berto
If Canelo cant hang with the big boys, then he can just unbuckle that belt and hand it over to his papi GGG.For real. He's the WBC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION, and Golovkin, his mandatory. He's typically heavier than GGG on fight night. So if he wants to "acclimate" to bigger guys against whom he will no longer enjoy the advantage of size, fine, he can drop the green belt and announce to the entire boxing world that he doesn't want it with GGG... and raise his hand only when he does. But don't hold the belt like a privileged Sulaiman nephew and ask for a CW. Disgraceful.
@SugarRaRobinson, for sure HBO was happy when Ward KO'd Dawson.
But if he steps up to Kovalev, will he resurrect the clinch from his toolbox?
Team Kovalev will prepare for it. I predict Sergey will fight at long range (like he did against BHop); and Kathy Duva will do her best to secure a referee who's got enough balls to actually penalize a fighter for blatant holding.
I don't care what either man says, GGG doesn't want to move up to 168 to be held, clinched, and head butt all night long.
And Ward doesn't want to be KTFO by a middle weight.Bingo! GGG is avoiding a stinker; and Ward don't want his ass on the canvas.
To get a credible opponent 3 weeks before fight night is going to be a challenge. If Ward has to be left off the card, Roc Nation dropped the ball big time; embarrassing. But ultimately Ward accepted the choice of opponent. This falls on his shoulders too.
If you're supposedly a top P4P fighter co-headlining a PPV card, tune up or not, being blatantly selective like this reflects badly on Ward. I'm surprised HBO didn't nix the fight before NSAC interceded. There had to have been a more competitive LHW, if not an acceptable SMW contender to share the ring.
Bottom line: if you need a crap tune up then you shouldn't be ranked #1 P4P let alone receive $2 million for it.
I think Ward's sense of entitlement is off; it's hurting his career.
Unfortunately it's so typical for a fighter of Rigo's caliber to have his career hurt by Business.
The other belt holders at 122 should be labelled as belt holders, literally. Not true champs.
At 126, I'd like same-day weigh-in, late afternoon. If a fighter then wants to stupidly rehydrate until fight time, have at it.
I am not sure how you one can propose changes to scoring when it is so subjective.The most difficult proposal is to remove round-by-round judging and score only knockdowns acknowledged by the referee. The three judges can review a questionable call after the round ends through instant replay, viewable concurrently by those watching the fight at the venue and on TV.
Scoring becomes far less subjective; bribing judges, not worth the cost to promoters and managers.
The rule change will hurt runners with their pitty patty styles. It will compel them to engage more and commit to their punches. If they want wins on their resume and avoid a high number of draws (which signals a lack of entertainment value), they need to adapt to the professional sport by dropping their opponents at least once in a fight.
Despite winning the Super 6, inactivity and recent B-grade opponents have hurt Ward's stock.
Ward must re-assert himself with quality fights at SM. Without this prep work, he has little leverage when dealing with Team Golovkin.
GGG lacks a deep resume, but he's a fan favorite whose popularity stems from a ring style that ALL DAY outsells this.
I think Arum isn't outraged about the IV fiasco because he doesn't want it to involve Manny and Top Rank and that whole grotty defamation suit which could have exposed shyt about both sides.
We all knew this was a mismatch so the only intrigue was GGG's response to Lemiueux's power and speed.
GGG displayed his vastly superior fundamentals and ring IQ to, first, nullify Lemieux's strengths, then staying with that skill set, proceeded to close the show (like a true star).
Anyway, that jab was stiff and deadly accurate. It set up everything else. It reminded me of how people were sleeping on Kovalev's boxing skills until he dominated Bhop.
If Canelo thought GGG was just a come-forward puncher who can be got, this fight will re-jig his thinking.
And I don't see Cotto tackling GGG ever.
All that said, GGG could've been DQ'ed for hitting Lemieux whose knee was on the canvas. At least a point deduction.
Can't say that's a surprise, it's actually incredibly sad how long Thurman vs Porter is taking to make. It's not a goddamn superfight, it's a good solid match but such is the state of boxing that these type of fights are taking so long to make.I don't mind if it takes time to make compelling match ups but there has to be several in the pipeline at all times to retain more than the hardcore fan. Two or three solid fights per year is just crap.
This is a must read for any boxing fan:
Requiem For a Welterweight:
Brin-Jonathan Butler
http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/11/20/5119180/manny-pacquiao-vs-brandon-rios-fight-2013-profileGreat article, thanks!
The most succinct passage for me:
It's not an accident Donald Trump names everything after himself. It betrays a central fact about the fundamental emptiness of the legacy that Trump will leave behind. Who else would ever name anything after him? Imagine how you'd feel about a society that did. What exactly has Trump achieved or owned that stands a chance of inspiring future generations to attach his name to anything? This is because outside of Trump's net financial worth, his ultimate value inspires nothing.
It's no different for fighters. The value of a boxer's legacy simply isn't determined by what he has; the greats are remembered for what they give of themselves.
This is the central difference between Pacquiao and Mayweather. No matter how much Mayweather out-earns Pacquiao financially, he can never buy his way out of the fact (that) no great champion in history has been more willing to stink out a fight. Mayweather's legacy will be that he was one of the most exciting fighters in the history of boxing until he stepped into the ring. And none of Pacquiao's well-documented personal failings can erase how much of his life he risked and ultimately left behind inside the ropes.Floyd may not be universally regarded as TBE but he has positioned himself with one HUGE advantage over Manny: Floyd chooses when to retire because he doesn't have leeches like Don King and Bob Arum calling the shots.
Boxing is a combat sport and like in any other form of combat you have to fight to win. Potshotting and running 'a la Lara is not fighting.Remove judging as a basis of decision wins and only score knockdowns. This favors fighters who commit to their punches over pot-shotting runners. And eliminates assinine scores by crooked/incompletent judges.
Actually, test results for championship fights should never be withheld from public scrutiny due to non-disclosure terms stipulated in fight contracts. There's no accountability otherwise, just a dog and pony show.
I wouldn't be surprised if Cotto KOs Canelo with a body-shot.I'm thinking this too. One thing for sure, Canelo better not fight in spurts. He's the younger guy who has to make Cotto work hard for the money.
If Frank Warren or Roc Nation gave details of their offer, we would know whether either Hyde or Caribe Promotions or both are blowing smoke.
Beyond that, it's just hugely messed up to for an athlete like Rigo to not earn solid money for his world class skills.
If anything, social media prevents boxing journalists from callous bias because they'll get called out for it pronto.
While I agree not all fans of the sport are rational with their demands, the bottom line is that we ultimately line the pockets of those involved in the money side of boxing. So when we wanted Kovalev-Stevenson at the beginning of year, it stunk when Business took that away from us; and it stinks even more when a writer opines that the press know better than those who dared to want a compelling match up ASAP.
I mean, WTF is wrong with wanting a unified title holder as a result of a fight in which somebody would most likely GTFKO???
The whole world says GGG is better than Barkley. Barkley lost to Duran, Benn in 2 rounds and only beat a past it Hearns. So we already know GGG is better than Barkley.I'm leaning towards Golovkin being the real deal but I don't know for sure yet because he hasn't fought the level of opposition that defined Barkley as a true beast. Iran might have lost those big fights but unlike Golovkin he actually got in the ring with those guys. For that alone I'd still rate him higher than GGG.
If GGG defeated Ward, he would become a superstar who could command big pay days. Challengers would then form a long queue to fight Gennady despite knowing they would receive a beat down. At least now they can make more money for a night of pain. :p
If Sanchez is sure about his fighter destroying Ward, what's the downside, bro? ;)
U must clearly be one of the ones who attempt to marginalize every dominant black fighter as having a boring styleI never found Ali, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Jones, etc boring. I'm only focused on individual styles, how a man carries himself in the ring.
Rigo schooling Donaire was the paragon demonstration of boxing skill. Pure joy to watch.
The ClinchFest that was Ward-Kessler, atrocious.
Roach and Pacquiao showing sour grapes. This behavior only damages their credibility.
The fight was a trademark Mayweather UD. It lacked excitement, but Pacquiao needs to acknowledge that the much better fighter won.
Weird how Floyd is held to such a high standard, that he remains the only welter who "fans" want to see fight the hardest hitting 160lber. Nobody is saying that Khan, Porter, Maidana, Rios, Bradley, Pacquiao or Thurman is ducking Golovkin. Why? Because they're welterweights.Nah, Floyd invites these extraordinary match ups because he sez he's TBE. These other WWs, not even Manny, have ever made such a self-aggrandizing claim. If you have a clip of Ray Robinson saying anything remotely similar, I'd love to see it.
Some great fighters who Floyd ranks inferior to him have taken on similar challenges. So why wouldn't fans expect the same from him?
Roberto Duran's first pro fight was at 118 lbs. He worked his way up. Eventually when he was a welterweight he actually had the balls and went up to 160 to challenge Marvin Hagler who was destroying everthing in his path.Duran is nothing less than greatness personified. His loss doesn't diminish the fact that he shared the ring with a beast.
Floyd is more skilled than Duran so if Duran can do it so can Floyd.He can but he won't. That's not how he do.
I dig Corrales-Castillo type slugfests as much as any fight fan but I also love watching Rigo who I feel is the most skilled boxer on the planet right now.
If I was filthy rich I'd create a boxing super channel that catered to the best possible match ups. None of this Haymon-sanctioned Garcia-Salka slime.
Back to reality.
I know prize fighting is about maximizing earnings but a belt holder should have minimum standards as a representative of the sport. The Cherry Business displayed by other top featherweights is blatant and wholly weak sauce. They should be called on it by every interviewer. Pathetic.