My initial analysis is one of, well, bemusement, for lack of a better word. Watching Fury fight is like watching a giant with no rhythm attempting to dance; but somehow making it work for him.
Fury is very awkward, very unorthodox, almost goofy in his delivery of the sweet science; but it works. Klitschko is 40+, so I have no doubt his reflexes aren't what they once were; but I do not feel that his age really played a factor in this fight as much as the general complacency and safety-first style he's adopted over the last 10 years.
Klitschko has gotten in a bad habit of waiting on his opponent to make a mistake so he could counter, depending on his usual superior size, strength, and reach to keep his quarry at bay in the meantime. And, it has worked every single time to great affect until Saturday night.
Fury is bigger than Klitschko and has a longer reach. He also moves surprisingly fast for such a giant of a man and, awkward as he looks, is very nimble on his feet. Wladimir allowed Fury to dictate the pace of the fight and fell into his offbeat rhythm. He waited too long, perhaps mesmerized by the jangly, herky-jerky show which was unfolding before his eyes. By the time he realized he was behind in the fight, it was too late.
Anyway, congratulations to the new champion. It wasn't a slugfest, a blood bath, or a war. It was kind of like watching a giant Buster Keaton flee from Jack Dempsey, all the while, slapping him silly.
Joe Louis....besides his autobiography
Rocky Marciano....a better one
Ray Robinson
Jack Johnson....something more complete than the James Earl Jones play which was remade into a movie, though that was a classic performance.
Larry Holmes
Mike Tyson...a more fully encompassing one
And Muhammad Ali.....something more than a thinly disguised remake of "The Greatest". I was solo disappointed with "Ali". Someone needs to do a real story showing the man behind the public persona he created.
Oh, and Joe Frazier.....nobody ever focusses on the life of this great champion.
In truth, there are scores of fighters who deserve there stories to be told, more than I can count. Johnny Tapia, Ezzard Charles, Roberto Duran, Diego Corrals, Frank Bruno, The list goes on and on.
Every fighter has a story worth hearing.
How bout an Oscar De La Hoya movie? It'll start with him putting on his fishnets while he thinks back of when he won his Olympic gold medal. Then the movie will climax with the Pacquiao upset, movie will then fade into him doing a line of coke. The director will film it like Scarface.
Damn. Lol!! Just....Damn.
Sonny Liston movie would be cool I think.
Hard childhood, mob ties, controversial fights (not to mention his two with Ali and the build up to their first fight) mysterious death, run-ins with the law...I dunno I just think it could be cool if done right.
Jack Dempsey could be a good one too.
Liston would be great. Already a pretty good film about Jack, "Dempsey", I think......got it on old VHS somewhere.
Well, they kinda did. He was seen as a high risk/low reward opponent.
The only one of the Fan Four I would hold essentially blameless is probably Hagler. I don't think Hagler was particularly worried about anyone......and personally, I think Hagler would have beaten him.
Leonard retired after the retina thing in 82 and after a test fight against Howard, only fought Hagler, Yearns and Duran before Norris put him back to bed. He set the stage for Jones Jr and May weather in only taking the big fights. There was no big money facing McCallum, who the casual fan had never heard of..........yeah, I know....I forgot Lalonde....can't b,AME me for trying.
Duran and Hearns? McCallum was Duran's mandatory, if memory serves me correctly.....and Yearns was in the same gym when Tommy fought Duran instead.
Yeah, Body Snatcher has a bit o a beef; but he'll have to vet in line behind Sam Langford, Charlie Burley, and a whole host of others.....least he won a couple of belts....even if he never got "star money".
It all depends on the individual. Personally, I think either Tyson, Frazier, or maybe even Marciano could have beaten Wladimir Klitschko......and that's not a slap at the champ, styles make fights and those three were very special individuals.
If a man believes in himself enough, trains hard enough, and is dedicated to his goal enough, anything is possible.
Quality match-ups on free network television would be a good start. That to me is the foundation. The rest is up to the fighters.
If you show it......they (the fans) will come.
HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS SPORT??!!!:boxing:
There is only one world.....there can on.y be one "World Heavyweight Champion".
Wilder has proven himself to be a legitimate contender, as Stiverne was and is; but, the only this g he is "champion" of is the "World Boxing Council"...or, rather I should say he is their employee, for will he not have to pay them a sanctioning fee whenever he defends that belt? And does he not have to defend against whom they say?
Either way, Wladimir Klitschko is the World Heavyweight Champion for he unified all of the belts ( save the one which belonged go his brother) and no one has defeated him for that claim.
To be The Man.....you gotta beat The Man.............Wilder ain't done that yet.
I have to chime i n on this Mugabi/McCallum thin. I was 15 when Hagler defeated Mugabi and I had never heard of Mike McCallum at that time. I had, however, heard of John "The Beast" Mugabi.
What does that mean? It means Mugabi had more exposure. It does not mean that he was any better or mode deserving than "The Body Snatcher". More exposure, especially in the case of a fighter who has beaten all of his opponents by knockout, comes from an "exotic" country like Uganda, and who wears some jaguar-skin Tarzan outfit into the ring create a buzz. Everybody knew who Hagler was and how tough he was for he had destroyed Thomas "The Hitman" Yearns. Can you imagine........?
Its not fair; but it's business. Everybody wanted to see Hagler face the Beast from Uganda and would pay to see it. Meanwhile, only hard core boxing fans even knew who Mike McCallum was at that time. Mugabi was better hyped than most pro wrestlers. That's why it happened the way it did.
That was my opinion as well......that Lewis was mounting an offensive and was probably going to win; but one never knows.
Both took a beating in that fight.
I do not think Lennox was "shot", per say; but he was definitely on the "was" side of his career.
He looked slower, his timing was off, and he was off balance quite a bit. However, one must keep in mind that he hadn't fought in a year at that point, he had " trained" to fight Kirk Johnson and didn,t look as though he had trained that hard, took the Klitschko fight on a week or two's notice....so he definitely wasn't prepared for Vital I, and he'd never fought an opponent that tall before. Also, Vital I was just plain old awkward.
I do think it bespeaks Lewis's greatness that he was able to overcome all of these obstacles and end his career on a high note; but I don't think it should detract from Vitali's performance.
A very talented boxer who had the misfortune of coming along during one of the weakest eras of the division, compounded by the fact that he was seen, more or less, as an inferior fighter to his brother, who fought during his reign.
Where does he rank?
I cannot begin to consider ranking him alongside those who triumphed under much harsher circumstances, given his lack of competition and successful gut checks.
Maybe someday I'll find him a spot; but at the moment, I'll have to mull it over seriously.
\
How about this I am a white Italian from Brooklyn New York I am in my 30's and I used to box. I love boxing and I give credit where it is due. Your a troll who lacks knowledge of the sport and speaks from what he THINKS he knows and I use the term THINKS very loosely. You can't even spell favorite correctly. I give Wlad credit if they had a hugging contest he would win a PLATINUM medal. He has a good jab, right hand combo, he moves well for his size and cuts off the ring. I think his brother was better then he ever was or will be. That being said Vitali lost to Lennox who in my eyes is TOP 10 behind guys like Ali, Holmes, Foreman, Frazier, Marciano. As someone else said those men fought more often and for one belt.
In 1972 Ali fought 6 times........When was the last time any Heavy Weight fought 6 times in one year? Do you know what kind of a toll that takes on your hands your body etc? They also fought 15 rounds back in that era of boxing. It is like playing today's football with leather helmets....
Pretty accurate assessment of Wladimir. As I said earlier, it's not his fault that he came along in the era that he did; but when judging a career, the competition has to be taken into consideration.
Maybe Wlad wold have overcome if he had to dig down deep in a fight; but we'll never know cause after he got his scrap, he was never really challenged. He never had to get off the deck life,e Holmes and Louis, and Frazier did. He never had to come back in the face of an imminent stoppage due to a severe laceration like Marciano and Robinson and countless other greats. He never had to get off the stool in the tenth round, when he felt the closest thing to death in 120 degree heat and face down his nemesis in front of him in the rubber match of his life.
Wlad was very talented and very gifted; but placing him atop the mountain of all the other great fighters who came before him and paid their dues where he had an essentially free reign is ludicrous. Boxing greatness is earned through blood, sweat, tears, and great moments against great opposition.
The fact is when he was tested, he gassed out against Purity, imploded against Sanders, and had a panic attack after punch in himself out against Brewster.
He did improve greatly after those losses; but when did he fake his final exam to prove what he had learned? Peter? Haye? Povetkin?
For now, I'll place him in the Top 20. After further consideration, I might move him to 15 or maybe a tad higher; but I cannot fathom any universe where he has actually proven himself to be seated in anyone's Top Ten....no legitimate list anyway.
Just water. Panama wanted to look like he got a 'secret ingredient'. That's it. He wanted to look 'cool and smart' but that was just water.
I have no doubt Lewis was trying to get some attention; but you're saying there is NO TRUTH...to that bottle having Peach Schnaaps in it....or, more believably, being a code to pass the ammonia caps, which you can appear to see Pryor sniff from his hands during the same interval as the "bottle" incident??
It really all depends on one variable: who they defeated/ the quality of their opposition.
If a fighter dominates great opponents, all the greater for him. If a fighter overcomes adversity against great opposition, it shows a championship quality heart and intelligence and diversity.
All too often a fighter who dominates does so because of less than great opposition, thus padding his record into a false beacon/of "greatness" for the masses are fooled by numbers.
Who you fight is just as important as how you beat them......if not more so.
I like Manny. I think he's courageous and very brave as well as very skilled and very fast.........
But I can't see this fight ending any other way than him being 147lbs of pancake batter on the canvas, waiting for someone to turn him over.
KTFO.
Well, if he could find a Tardis or a scientifically souped up Delorian and travel back in time and taken the fights he should have taken when he should have taken them and emerge victorious,/that would get him very, very close.......although he would still be the same age as now; but if he still won with that handicap, that would get him closer.
Alas, he'll/probably just have to keep/saying it over and over until those of us who know better are outnumbered and drown out by those who are less well versed...then he will be by popular opinion.
I have no doubt that Ali will leave precisely when he wants to.
As a life-long fan, I will grieve his passing as I have grieved his infirmity. However, this is selfish on my behalf, for wanting him to always be who I remember from my childhood. From all accounts, he is at peace.
Alas, none of us can remain forever young, nor forever on this plain of existence; but can any man say he made the most of his life to the extent that Ali can?
Very few.
I wish him well; and, if it is his time, whenever it is his time, I wish him safe passage onto a plain where physical ills are no more than a mere memory.
Ali! Ali! Ali!!!!!
So, I got to watch the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight last night, thanks to some friends of mine who helped pay the PPV. And, it turned out pretty much the way I've been figuring it would for the last few years.
Not complaining; but this fight most assuredly should have happened at lest 5 years ago when Manny still had the foot speed which made the awkwardness of his style the most effective. Still, props to "Money" for having the skill to deal with even this version of Pac-man as effectively as he did. He looked sharp, accurate, and as impenetrable as ever.
A few thoughts I took away form the PPV:
1. HBO and Showtime's crews worked very well together, though I was hoping for a fist fight at the announce table.
2. Michael Buffer either needs to invest in some lemon juice and Jack Daniels or Halls Cough Drops or Chloroseptic to kill that cold of his......or he needs to retire the "golden pipes", 'cause he sounded as over the hill as Pacquiao looked. Jimmy Lennon Jr. won their "fight" by KO.
3. Jamie Foxx is talented; but everybody has their limitations. He's a funny man. His rendering of the national anthem was anything-but. I think only Roseanne Bar has him beat in the all-time sounds like "fingernails-on-a-chalkboard" competition. Holy Shnikees, that was bad!!
4. Why hasn't someone knocked Jim Gray out of my misery yet? For years I've been watching this 90 Lb weakling ask offensive and insulting questions to men who could make him a greasy spot under the grand stands; and yet.....he lives. Just goes to show you: fighters aren't as violent as their vocation would lead you to believe.
5. Max Kellerman should be thanking whatever God he believes in that Manny Pacquiao found Jesus. Almost as if he was trying to trump Jim Gray, Kellerman decided to roast Manny in his post fight interview on why he lost the biggest fight in his or anybody's life. It gave the feeling of: "SO, YOU JUST MADE SHOWTIME LOOK GOOD AFTER ALL THE MONEY WE'VE INVESTED IN YOU! HOW COULD YOU LET US DOWN AND RUIN OUR INVESTMENT BY FIGHTING SO STUPIDLY??!!"
( 5b.) Maybe if we asked for it on PPV we could get Jim Gray and Max Kellerman to throw hands in a sissy-man slap fight. Eh, anything's possible. Nothing like watching a couple of talking heads talk tough to men who could scrape them off the bottom of their shoes if they chose to. Oh well.
6. I think the blonde ring card girl was a man.....at least before the operation. That has to be the ugliest woman I've ever seen smile and wink at me through the TV screen. For the PPV price of this fight, you think they could have gotten a Vegas showgirl or something. Sheesh. She should sue her plastic surgeon for malpractice. Sorry, I know that's mean; but she just gave me the willies.
7. And, finally, my last thought I took away from the event of the century: I hope the result of the fight doesn't effect the Philipino economy. Maybe it's just my impression; but why do I think everybody half a world away just slipped into clinical depression? You could almost feel half the world deflate last night.
Anyway, if you missed the fight, you saved a 100 bucks. It wasn't worth the wait nor the money. It was a good fight.......but "good fights" aren't worth the kinds of dough this event generated. Great fights-yes. Good fights-no; but I guess that's what happens when you hang a carrot on a stick for long enough in front of a starving donkey.
The dumb ass ends up eating a moldy carrot, no matter what the cost.
Peace.
It was pretty disgraceful how the crowd booed mayweather after he won...
I wouldn't sweat it. He'll be getting more cheers than you can imagine within 5 years of his retirement.
Some fighters just take time to be appreciated. When it's all said and done, he will be.
If you credit Floyd's success to the Mexican-American fight fans why is it that Canelos PPV numbers suck? The fact is Floyd is a great fighter and people enjoy watching greatness.
The statement was a compliment to Floyd's business saviness. Simply....he was trying to maximize his earning potential. No need to get defensive.
Answer to first part is obligatory: he obviously doesn't want to be known as TBE enough or he would have faced Manny Pacquiao years ago when it was relevant.
Second part.....he is all about the money and Cinco we Mayo is a great time to capitalize on Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans....especially against an opponent of like heritage.
Because he has a huge fan base and he could potentially beat either of them.....Floyd probably more likely than Pacquiao, even at this stage of his career.
Styles do make fights.....and both of them are old and ripe for the picking.
I'm not getting defensive but numbers don't lie. When Floyd was consistently dropping 1.5 to 1.3 million you could argue it was because people wanted to see him loose. But that's not the case anymore. The haters weren't supporting the Guerrero and Maidana fights. That's Floyd's own base. He needs the haters back.
No argument there. Even a young Ali knew people would pay to see you lose.
Seems like Maxie forgot Johnson vs Jeffries.......but yeah, it would have been big. The stupidity of it all astounds me and bespeaks how far the sport has gone to destroy itself with inherent greed and ego.