No idea dude, and to be honest I'd take whatever you hear here about that sort of thing with a grain of salt, there is likely a better source for finding out that sort of thing.
You got me thinking though, your project sounds rather interesting, do you think you could elaborate on what it's about at all?
Going to be a lot of talk about it and a lot of people defending Abraham (people here defend anything, i already feel sick thinking about it) im not sticking around to read it... regardless of the result this is a sad sad day for boxing and the super six tournament and Abraham is to blame
Surprised noone has commented but I guess they were all too busy with the AA vs AD fight and the fallout after so I'll take a stab. It was a fairly decent fight, not spectacular... interesting I guess, Funeka didn't look as good as in the first fight, Guzman looked better.. he found the mark and did good work now and again with some chopping overhand rights and dropped Funeka in the mid rounds. Guzman fought with a lot more confidence this time and seemed much more able to handle Funeka's punches. Personally I can't help but wonder how much of this improved resilience and confidence was from knowing he had that weight advantage, though on fight night there wasn't that much of a weight difference but then you have to consider what a tall guy like Funeka has to do beforehand to make that limit, as the commentators pointed out. As I'm sure you know by now it was a split decision win for Guzman, safe to say it wasn't a robbery (I don't think?) as it was fairly close and competitive and just depends what people go for in scoring that would choose which way they have it... Funeka came forward vast majority of the fight and threw more punches but Guzman landed the much more effective stuff and showed very good footwork and some slickness and controlled the fight... worth downloading if you're a fan of either guy, not really missing anything spectacular if you don't bother.. I enjoyed it though :) can't ask for much more than that
Interesting read, also interesting to note this young guy giving Rigondeaux problems in sparring isn't the first time it's happened apparently, I heard a lot of talk about exciting prospect Rico Ramos giving Rigondeaux all sorts of problems in sparring too, and Ramos himself said a while ago the guys problem was while being great on the outside he (Rigondeaux) just can't fight on the inside. It kind of makes sense if you think about it, despite the guys extensive amateur experience there's little call for inside fighting there, generally, and it can't be the easiest thing to pick up at his age. It surprised me how many people were ragging on the guy after he split with Roach; I felt at the time that a lot of people didn't appreciate how hard it can be to make that transition from amateur to pro fighter, and between the talk of struggling with guys on the inside, the practice at Roachs gym of putting prospects in with heavier guys, and his splitting his attention between a lot of fighters when Rigondeaux really needs someone dedicated to him to help with the transition. Add to it the guys already advancing age for a boxer with his number of pro fights, he just can't afford to waste any time or make any mistakes along the way. Obviously from the article it now sounds like there were other factors involved too though... I just hope this guy can get it together and live up to his potential for future fights.
It's a bit off topic but I can't help but feel Gamboa is getting a bit mishandled as well, his last few fights it seemed his trainer has gone a long way toward fixing some of his flaws, but watching his last fight I realized it only seemed that way because his opponents were right in front of him, or coming at him like he prefers; in his last fight he was forced to go on the offence and often left himself wide open while doing so, to the point he got fed a big right hand and was badly hurt. He did look more disciplined in some of those fights bug again in the last one he ate a lot of jabs too and given his fiery temperament I can't help but wonder how long that discipline would hold up vs a guy who has good movement and really snaps that jab at him over and over.
I can't help but feel for these guys, with everything they've gone through with living in Cuba then the defection and trying to adjust to such a different culture and lifestyle and trying to make themselves elite fighters in the process... I hope it all works out for them.
And one last thing, Murray vs Buckland was indeed a fantastic fight, do yourself a favor and track down a copy, personally I think it's definitely FOTY so far.
I'm sure there will be people who disagree and it's really a matter of opinion since both are very good fights, but I do think that Murray-Buckland was the better fight of the two. I don't remember Escalante-Roman too well, but while both fights were all action I think Escalante-Roman was more competitive, and probably had less finesse on display; Murray-Buckland was fairly one sided score-wise but Buckland never lay down for a moment, and took everything Murray could give. I couldn't believe the way he kept going round after round after all those body punches... don't listen to me though, if you enjoy action packed fights and displays of courage under fire (and who doesn't?) do what you gotta do to watch the fight, you won't be disappointed. I'm hoping we see Katsidis vs Murray some time in the future, this would be a fantastic scrap too.
I haven't actually seen Rojas fight myself, but from what I hear he'll make an ideal opponent to see where Gamboa is at, it's interesting to hear you say he has some stamina issues late in a fight, I don't think I've ever seen Gamboa show signs of gassing so even if Rojas is able to control him early with the jab Yuri will probably really put it on him late, should make for an interesting fight.
Sorry to get off topic =)
Not sure who I'd pick because I don't know how well Pavlik would perform at 168, but I'm sure it would be a hell of a lot of fun to watch... good fight, let's hope it gets made
Watching the documentary on it tonite, very good btw
But are there any fights that are gonna be documented like that in this era years from now? Like prefight excitement and hype? Then a fight that actually delivers equally?
Which come to mind?
I think it's unlikely it would be documented or remembered the same way, as it was a while ago now and seemed to have flown somewhat under the radar and involved two guys who though memorable never really set the world on fire; the fight I'm thinking of is Livingston Bramble vs Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini 2.
There was a lot of hype before the fight, given that is was a rematch with Bramble pulling off a big upset and stopping Mancini to win his lightweight title in the 14th round of the first fight. There was a lot of sentiment around Mancini, with the story of his father being a lightweight contender before the war, getting injured during his service and being unable to box afterwards, then his son winning the same title years later in his fathers honor. Bramble did his bit for the hype too with all his voodoo and snakes and pit bulls and stuff, and the two trainers nearly came to blows in the lead-up to the fight- which became one of my favorites of all time. Constant high work rate for all 15 rounds, including brutal infighting and exchanges in almost every round, and Mancini being cut and swollen horribly by the middle rounds, at which point he's sent to the doctor and was having trouble seeing. He was allowed to continue for a while, and managed to fight right til the bell at the end of the 15th with both eyes badly swelling shut and blood pissing everywhere.
Like I said, neither guy was ever nearly as high profile as Ali or Frazier, but there was a great build up which culminated in a fantastic fight, something that seems rarer and rarer these days.
Wow thanks for sharing Ice, that sounds like a really amazing trip; I'd love to be able to get there someday and soak it up but I'm literally on the other side of the world and my private jets in the shop (har har) looking forward to seeing some pics and I hope it goes even better for you next time
*repeatedly gets hit by Duane Fords straight lefts while flailing inefffectively and accomplishing nothing round after round*
I just gave Duane Ford a boxing lesson!
Hehe, that's cool... I always wondered about people always doing those poses... always thought it'd be cool to do a peace sign in one, you know like fists to peace signs instead of swords to plow shares :) I bet he can afford some nice prezzies for the family after the payday of fighting Pac
Oh yeah, it's a little hard to tell after you drew in those fuzzy glasses things, but the way you got them on it kind of makes you look like you could look really similar to Marcos Maidana.. anyone ever tell you that?
I'm from Melb and I don't know anyone who could tell you who Katsidis is... it's a shame because Mundine and Green (solely on the RJJ win) are better known, the worst part is if Kats stayed here in Aus and fought bums like those guys do he'd probably me much more well known and popular
Not sure if you guys are talking about the anime or manga but I've never watched or read either myself, and I would like to... can anyone post me a link?
I wasn't sure if there'd be a healthy torrent around since (I think?) it's sort of an old show.. after a bit of google fu though I found one with all the eps except for one or two specials or something and am dling atm, not actually too sure if its dubbed or subbed but its from the Anime-MX guys
http://www.bakabt.com/details.php?id=130214 is the link if anyone is interested, torrent is rather quick
Will get back to you on who my fave fighter is in it ;)
John Scully for me... a lot of times you tend to notice things happening in the ring but to me he always had a different interpretation or perspective on it which always made his comments seem very insightful and thought provoking
Some good points, but I think another part of it noone has mentioned is that top fighters fight a lot less each year than they used to... it's a business where you're only as good as your last fight, and if you have a loss, it can take up to 6 months or maybe more to land a fight and get back to winning ways; sometimes that consists of a softer fighter so you might be looking at a year or more between major fights, and that's no good for anyone.
I know it was compounded by injuries and other problems but Pavlik is a good example of this right now I think
Sadly admitting you did or said something silly automatically makes you a better poster than the vast majority of people around here imo... have a happy bday :)
I think so too, when Dirrell finally settled down and turned it up he was making a mockery of Froch (11th round in particular) if they fight again he'll realise he can easily get off first with his way faster hands and box circles around Froch with his superior footwork giving him hell for 12 rounds and a clear UD or late stoppage
Regardless of what happens in the rest of the tournament, I think Dirrell will draw a lot of confidence from this fight, and be a real power in the divisions future
The best part is the quote doesn't even make sense... I've never payed to see floyd fight, and i never will... it's stupid to assume everyone does; and if he doesn't know who the guy is, how did he end up calling into his radio show? Does he spend his spare time just dialing random numbers hoping to find a radio show that's talking about him? Give me a break
I don't like the way Arum uses these guys as cash cows (but I guess noone does... except Arum) it's obvious he's only putting Gamboa in against Mtagwa to build up the fight between Gamboa and Juanma and I think since Juanma is Arums's Cotto 2.0 (in the way that hes grooming Juanma to be the next PR superstar he can milk for money over time, albeit a better protected one) and he probably intends for Juanma to beat Gamboa, staying with Top Rank just isn't in Gamboa's best interests... for the reasons stated I think there's a fair chance from Arums reactions at end of Mtagwa vs Juanma (the way he didn't mention a future fight with Gamboa or Caballero since Juanma had performed poorly) that if Gamboa stops Mtagwa like I think he will, the fight with Juanma might get delayed for a while; I would love to see Gamboa tell Arum to sit on it and fight Concepcion then Chris John instead like other people have said... going rounds with a highly skilled but not huge punching guy like Chris John would be great for Gamboa's skillset i think
Money, get back.
Im all right jack keep your hands off of my stack.
Money, its a hit.
Dont give me that do goody good bullshit.
Im in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a lear jet.
I don't think its fair to make judgements on Gamboa's chin already, yeah hes been down against some pretty average guys but if you watch those fights each time it's only because he loses control of himself and rushes wildly getting tagged in the process as he comes in increasing the power of the shot by a lot with his own weight... even so in each fight you can clearly see he wasn't actually hurt, they were all more or less flash knockdowns with him getting up to whip that ass after
If you watch one of his most recent fights with Jose Rojas, Rojas tags him right on the chin with a good straight left hand in one of the middle rounds, and it seemed like Gamboa didn't even notice he'd been hit it had so little effect... keep in mind Rojas I believe knocked Caballero clean out in one shot with that same hand (correct me if I'm wrong)
It may seem like he has a weak chin because of the way he sometimes rushes into punches but you can tell he's working on hard on being more controlled, and it seems to have shown a bit in his last few fights... the reason i think he fights that way with hands down and wild abandon against some of his opponents so far is that with his amateur pedigree (olympic gold and all that) and his power and speed his ego gets the better of him and he knows he can just blast them away with a furious offense, and also wants to look good for the cameras so he can make a name for himself... I highly doubt he'd fight against anyone who posed a real threat to him in the same reckless manner so that might not be an issue
Anyway to reiterate I don't think it wise to consider his chin particularly weak or strong based on his fights so far.... only time will tell... and I look forward to it because I think Gamboa has something really special, even among all the talented prospects around atm.... it's very rare to see a fighter with his explosive nature, and I think he has the potential to be a huge star because of it
My 2 cents...
Good stoppage; disappointed to see Viloria fall short after he won me as a fan against Solis, but you can't fault either guy in a grueling fight like that, and gotta give mad respect to Tamara for reaching down and pouring it on like that late after being hurt to the body early... fights like this make me glad to be a boxing fan, and it's a crying shame they tend to go more or less under the radar with all the talk surrounding the big names... again, big ups to both guys for doing it tough