Was Manny Steward irresponsible?

[Scott9945]

Ok, we all know that the forgettable Klitschko-Ibragimov fight got done with no controversy and nothing really worth talking about. However I am referring to Stewards urging Wlad before the last round to go for the KO. What the hell was he thinking? His fighter at that point couldn't possibly lose a decision. It is no secret that Wladimir has been stopped three times already and has shown a shaky chin and unreliable stamina. Yet Steward (an HBO employee) seems more worried about his fighter's marketability than his safety. It is kind of like a lawyer whose job is not to prove that his client is innocent, but to create too much doubt to prove him guilty. Steward's job is to get his man the win with as little damage as possible. Eighteen years later people are still roasting Lou Duva for telling Meldrick Taylor that he needed a KO over Chavez when all he had to do was go the distance.

[Silencers]

Steward was telling Wlad to step it up and try to get Iggy out of there from the 7th, I don't think he was irresponsible because he was right that going 12 rounds in that kind of fight wouldn't look good.

Taylor took a lot of punishment over those 12 rounds whereas Wlad barely got hit on his head.

[Gareth Ivanovic]

Going into that last round I was wondering what Manny was going to say. He seemed a little upset in the rounds leading up to the last. I didn't think he would flat out tell Wlad to go for the KO, but he did. It suprised me, but when I think about it he was being honest. He knew Wlad was going to win easy and yes he does have a shaky chin, but up to that point Sultan hadn't proved he could land consistently. Plus Emmanuel knew the magnitude of the fight. It being the first HW unification fight in years, plus the fight had gotten more media than usual. It was a time for Wlad to really put on a show and create a buzz about him and maybe the division again. In the the way he was going about it Steward knew that wouldn't work and even though he was going to win easily he wasn't doing it in the fashion that was going to create buzz.

[ИATAS]

I cannot remember another time when in the final round the trainer of the boxer that is waaaaaaaaaay ahead on the scorecards is telling his fighter that he has to go for the knockout. Crazy.

With that being said, I understand why he did it - he knew the crowd and the fans at home were very disappointed with the fight and the only way to silence the critics is to win by KO, or at least knock Sultan down. Boxing isn't just about winning, it's about entertainment and Manny knows this.

It's a little risky but I think by the 12th round you can tell if the other fighter has anything left and clearly Sultan wasn't hurting Wlad at all. If the fight was more competitive I'm sure Manny wouldn't have done the same thing.

[Scott9945]

Steward was telling Wlad to step it up and try to get Iggy out of there from the 7th, I don't think he was irresponsible because he was right that going 12 rounds in that kind of fight wouldn't look good.

Taylor took a lot of punishment over those 12 rounds whereas Wlad barely got hit on his head.

Ok, but did Sultan at any time during that fight look like he was ready to go? He didn't look like he was wobbling or on shaky legs to me. To me, you finish off a fighter when he shows that he is ready to go. You never try to force a KO win, at least not when you are dominating and have no chance of losing the decision.

[Drunk Punch]

There's a lot of pressure on people like Steward to deliver an entertaining spectacle. I don't think he genuinely thought his man needed the KO.

[Scott9945]

There's a lot of pressure on people like Steward to deliver an entertaining spectacle. I don't think he genuinely thought his man needed the KO.

My question is, was Steward looking out for the best interests of his fighter, or his employer (HBO).

[Drunk Punch]

My question is, was Steward looking out for the best interests of his fighter, or his employer (HBO).

Thought I answered your question... His employer and his own credibility.

[Silencers]

Ok, but did Sultan at any time during that fight look like he was ready to go? He didn't look like he was wobbling or on shaky legs to me. To me, you finish off a fighter when he shows that he is ready to go. You never try to force a KO win, at least not when you are dominating and have no chance of losing the decision.

I thought he hurt Ibragimov once when Ibragimov got knocked back into the ropes and held right after in the 9th round.

I believe in this instance trying to force a KO win would have been OK for him because by the 12th, Ibragimov really couldn't do anything to hurt Klitschko, if Klitschko had opened up a little more he could have knocked him out by the 9th.

There's a point where dominance ends and becomes hesitant, Klitschko became hesitant and that's not good for his future marketability, which is very important, not just for himself but for the sport itself, 14,000+ people showed up for this fight, it proves people still care about the division, and half of them probably won't show up for another Klitschko fight.

[TheGreatA]

Ibragimov was not a threat at that point of the fight.

Steward's plan was to start with the jab, let Wladimir feel Ibragimov out and then put more pressure on to get the KO. Wladimir couldn't do that.

To Wladimir's credit, he did put more pressure on during the later rounds but throwing more combinations could've done it. He only threw jabs and the occasional right hand.

The whole fight was meant to be a show for the Americans to see just how good Wladimir is. This did not leave a good impression because Wladimir didn't show his full potential. Disappointing.