No Country for Old Heavyweights

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

by TK Stewart - Joel and Ethan Coen's movie, "No Country for Old Men" won four Academy Awards the other night and the brothers shared the award for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. [details]

[edgarg]

I rarely find anything untoward in any of TK Stewart's articles, but I must say I find a few "dillys" here. I just don't believe that he could look at a TV screen, or even in person, and be able to see a "tinge of disappointment" in ANYONE'S eyes. No one can, it's all purely subjective and speculative, and whilst thrilling to contemplate.........He's need to be a "mind-reader". And, to know exactly what's causing it??

He correctly writes that to be concurrent World Champs is the Klitschko Brothers' DREAM. They've said so over and over, hundreds of times-although I can't say I exactly counted, and if I'm exaggerating it's only minimally.

I'd be willing to bet that if either of them had the choice to be Undisputed World Champ, or both Champs at the same time, that they'd go for the latter without a hesitation. Even allowing for writers licence, I think that TK was very tough on VK in accusing him of selfishness and showing a massive ego, by standing in his brother's path. But yes, if he DOES fight and win the WBC title again, he's sterp down at the most tactically favourable time for Wladimir's advantage. No doubt about THAT.

As for him being an old (rickety? decrepit?) man of "37 next July, it sounds better if he's described as being 36, without the overkill. And lastly, which might be a good thing for VK, he actually HAS been in a ring since late 2004.
He was training from Jan.2005 until his mistaken thigh injury- must have been late March or early April 2005. Then from late August 2005 until just before the Rahman fight in November 2005, when he really DID injure his knee. And I think that VK actually said, in March 2007, that he'd been back training since Jan. 2007. Some of that time, maybe much of it, would have been in a ring, sparring. So all in all, he hasn't been as inactive as one might think at a quick glance. Mr. Stewart probably has all the dates in his records so, if I'm out by a little ( or even more than a little) that's OK.

When I find anything to "grouse" about it's usually something in another letter. So Mr. Stewart might have made a little slip here and there,to stoke up controversy.

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

I rarely find anything untoward in any of TK Stewart's articles, but I must say I find a few "dillys" here. I just don't believe that he could look at a TV screen, or even in person, and be able to see a "tinge of disappointment" in ANYONE'S eyes. No one can, it's all purely subjective and speculative, and whilst thrilling to contemplate.........He's need to be a "mind-reader". And, to know exactly what's causing it??

He correctly writes that to be concurrent World Champs is the Klitschko Brothers' DREAM. They've said so over and over, hundreds of times-although I can't say I exactly counted, and if I'm exaggerating it's only minimally.

I'd be willing to bet that if either of them had the choice to be Undisputed World Champ, or both Champs at the same time, that they'd go for the latter without a hesitation. Even allowing for writers licence, I think that TK was very tough on VK in accusing him of selfishness and showing a massive ego, by standing in his brother's path. But yes, if he DOES fight and win the WBC title again, he's sterp down at the most tactically favourable time for Wladimir's advantage. No doubt about THAT.

As for him being an old (rickety? decrepit?) man of "37 next July, it sounds better if he's described as being 36, without the overkill. And lastly, which might be a good thing for VK, he actually HAS been in a ring since late 2004.
He was training from Jan.2005 until his mistaken thigh injury- must have been late March or early April 2005. Then from late August 2005 until just before the Rahman fight in November 2005, when he really DID injure his knee. And I think that VK actually said, in March 2007, that he'd been back training since Jan. 2007. Some of that time, maybe much of it, would have been in a ring, sparring. So all in all, he hasn't been as inactive as one might think at a quick glance. Mr. Stewart probably has all the dates in his records so, if I'm out by a little ( or even more than a little) that's OK.

When I find anything to "grouse" about it's usually something in another letter. So Mr. Stewart might have made a little slip here and there,to stoke up controversy.

Edgar, we know you love the Klitschkos with all your heart, but you OFTEN STRETCH the truth for them. Unless Klitschko has actually stepped inside a ring, he's not fought since 2004. Ray Leonard trains and spars every month too. I guess that means he too has been in the ring.

Vitali coming back after years of retirement and stepping ahead of the young heavyweights to land a title shot is a joke. Injury after injury after injury. It's obvious the guy's body can't take it. He's old. I've never seen a fighter receive so many injuries and postpone so many dates.

You should quote Vitali's promise of fighting McCline in 2008 after wasting his time last year and once again receiving an injury during training and pulling out. After McCline almost stopped Peter, Vitali wasn't willing to take that chance now is he?

Vitali will win the the title, if he wins, and then retires. That does NOTHING for his legacy and does nothing for the heavyweight division but creates a vacant title that two other guys have to fight for and prohibits the unification process that was started by Wladimir last weekend.

[PeterinMI]

Amen to that Big Poppa. Hate to say it but Vitali has less of a place in the heavyweight arena currently then Evander Real Deal does. Vitali reminds me of Rid**** Bowe. Didn't Rid**** pull out of another contest recently?

[edgarg]

Edgar, we know you love the Klitschkos with all your heart, but you OFTEN STRETCH the truth for them. Unless Klitschko has actually stepped inside a ring, he's not fought since 2004. Ray Leonard trains and spars every month too. I guess that means he too has been in the ring.

Vitali coming back after years of retirement and stepping ahead of the young heavyweights to land a title shot is a joke. Injury after injury after injury. It's obvious the guy's body can't take it. He's old. I've never seen a fighter receive so many injuries and postpone so many dates.

You should quote Vitali's promise of fighting McCline in 2008 after wasting his time last year and once again receiving an injury during training and pulling out. After McCline almost stopped Peter, Vitali wasn't willing to take that chance now is he?

Vitali will win the the title, if he wins, and then retires. That does NOTHING for his legacy and does nothing for the heavyweight division but creates a vacant title that two other guys have to fight for and prohibits the unification process that was started by Wladimir last weekend.

Hello POPS, well you may be right about a few things...but lets talk about "love". I LOVED my parents and siblings, I LOVE my own family, I LOVE to settle down in a comfortable chair and read an interesting book. That's my real love. As for the Klitschko's, I LIKE to see them fight, I LIKE the way they conduct themselves in public, I LIKE their openly expressed affection and bond towards each other. I LIKE their Charitable and Humanitarian achievments, and I like boxing. I also LIKE eating a nicely prepared meal, and even, when in the mood, a hunk of bread and cheese. And I almost forgot, meeting an interesting woman(THAT'S rare these days).

It's humourous to me, to see several letters deciding that either I'm a HUGE Klirschko fan, (I have more sense than that) or that, like you, I LOVE the Klitschkos, and seeing the sort of stuff sometimes in letters, if I didn't see at once that your letter was mild and friendly, I might have thought that you were implying indecent thoughts to me. Nah, I'm only kidding, that just came to mind this moment, as I'm writing and chuckling at the same time. Hard to do for me- like patting my head with my l.h. and rubbing my tummy anti-clockwise with my r.h. maybe?? From curiosity I just tried that, it's not all that easy for me, being a leftie. I wonder what that signifies, but don't tell me.

Nah, I write about the Klitschkos because I'm a precise language user, and don't like to see slipshod myths overshadow the less exciting truth. Also they just aren't the sort to say anything in their own defence. Too polite I guess. And we over here are too inclined to dive right in and tear people to pieces, based on misconceptions, without ever retracting when the light dawns.

I used to do the same with Emanuel Augustus, and the late Diego Corrales (THERE, was a badly handled career and a thrown away decent life) and a few others, just as I also tried to put Marciano's 49-0 in proper context and perspective. Nobody listens, but I write it anyway.

[edgarg]

Edgar, we know you love the Klitschkos with all your heart, but you OFTEN STRETCH the truth for them. Unless Klitschko has actually stepped inside a ring, he's not fought since 2004. Ray Leonard trains and spars every month too. I guess that means he too has been in the ring.

Vitali coming back after years of retirement and stepping ahead of the young heavyweights to land a title shot is a joke. Injury after injury after injury. It's obvious the guy's body can't take it. He's old. I've never seen a fighter receive so many injuries and postpone so many dates.

You should quote Vitali's promise of fighting McCline in 2008 after wasting his time last year and once again receiving an injury during training and pulling out. After McCline almost stopped Peter, Vitali wasn't willing to take that chance now is he?

Vitali will win the the title, if he wins, and then retires. That does NOTHING for his legacy and does nothing for the heavyweight division but creates a vacant title that two other guys have to fight for and prohibits the unification process that was started by Wladimir last weekend.

POPPA- I just sent in a perfectly written answer to your letter, a REAL work-of-Art, and bedamned to it. It hasn't shown up on the page. I don't think that I've another major manuscript in me right now. All great writers go through this, now and then, you'll agree?? I'll just say that I believe that you're wrong on ALL points, and I KNOW you're wrong on at least 2-3. I mean I have TV interview proof. Anything you might perceive as "exaggeration" is just my old-fashioned way of getting the message across. You see, there are so many contrary assertions. It's like rowing upstream against a strong current. Still, thank you for the nicely put, gently phrased comments.

[edgarg]

Double bedamned with it entirely. I just pressed this last letter and the first one that I was mourning, suddenly appeared too. Sorry about it all. I was complaining on this site a few days ago that my computer was misbehaving, but I thought it was fixed....

And whilst on this, are they any real computer experts out there?? With apologies to the site manager.

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Hello POPS, well you may be right about a few things...but lets talk about "love". I LOVED my parents and siblings, I LOVE my own family, I LOVE to settle down in a comfortable chair and read an interesting book. That's my real love. As for the Klitschko's, I LIKE to see them fight, I LIKE the way they conduct themselves in public, I LIKE their openly expressed affection and bond towards each other. I LIKE their Charitable and Humanitarian achievments, and I like boxing. I also LIKE eating a nicely prepared meal, and even, when in the mood, a hunk of bread and cheese. And I almost forgot, meeting an interesting woman(THAT'S rare these days).

It's humourous to me, to see several letters deciding that either I'm a HUGE Klirschko fan, (I have more sense than that) or that, like you, I LOVE the Klitschkos, and seeing the sort of stuff sometimes in letters, if I didn't see at once that your letter was mild and friendly, I might have thought that you were implying indecent thoughts to me. Nah, I'm only kidding, that just came to mind this moment, as I'm writing and chuckling at the same time. Hard to do for me- like patting my head with my l.h. and rubbing my tummy anti-clockwise with my r.h. maybe?? From curiosity I just tried that, it's not all that easy for me, being a leftie. I wonder what that signifies, but don't tell me.

Nah, I write about the Klitschkos because I'm a precise language user, and don't like to see slipshod myths overshadow the less exciting truth. Also they just aren't the sort to say anything in their own defence. Too polite I guess. And we over here are too inclined to dive right in and tear people to pieces, based on misconceptions, without ever retracting when the light dawns.

I used to do the same with Emanuel Augustus, and the late Diego Corrales (THERE, was a badly handled career and a thrown away decent life) and a few others, just as I also tried to put Marciano's 49-0 in proper context and perspective. Nobody listens, but I write it anyway.

Edgar, you are infamous on the internet for defending both Klitschko brothers like nobody has ever seen. Vitali is no different from any other fighter. There no reason for his comeback other than to stoke his own ego. Win a title from who...Sam Peter? A guy his brother already beat. Win the belt and retire..why? It's a waste of the public's time and his brother's time. He and his brother will never fight, so we'll never have a unified champion. Instead we'll have countless debates over which of the two is better, but no closer to a unified champ.

[beez721]

Edgar, we know you love the Klitschkos with all your heart, but you OFTEN STRETCH the truth for them. Unless Klitschko has actually stepped inside a ring, he's not fought since 2004. Ray Leonard trains and spars every month too. I guess that means he too has been in the ring.

Vitali coming back after years of retirement and stepping ahead of the young heavyweights to land a title shot is a joke. Injury after injury after injury. It's obvious the guy's body can't take it. He's old. I've never seen a fighter receive so many injuries and postpone so many dates.

You should quote Vitali's promise of fighting McCline in 2008 after wasting his time last year and once again receiving an injury during training and pulling out. After McCline almost stopped Peter, Vitali wasn't willing to take that chance now is he?

Vitali will win the the title, if he wins, and then retires. That does NOTHING for his legacy and does nothing for the heavyweight division but creates a vacant title that two other guys have to fight for and prohibits the unification process that was started by Wladimir last weekend.

as much as I was a vitali fan I have to agree with this. vitali needs to retire,,,its obvious his body wont hold up. he needs to let his brother unify the belts instead of disappointing us boxing fans with another cancellation or in fight injury

[edgarg]

as much as I was a vitali fan I have to agree with this. vitali needs to retire,,,its obvious his body wont hold up. he needs to let his brother unify the belts instead of disappointing us boxing fans with another cancellation or in fight injury

POP- Much of the fun is to have "countless debates over which is better". THAT'S the whole story of boxing discussion in a nutshell for nearly 200 years. And we're STILL doing it. What EVERYONE on these sites writes in about, when they're not bad-mouthing each other. What would YOU have to write about if this were to be taken away??

You surprise me when you call me "infamous". Are you sure you know exactly what this word means? I assume you do, and intend to grievously insult me. I don't think I deserve this, and I'll ignore it.

I also don't think that you, nor I, nor indeed anyone except the person involved, knows what's going on in his mind. Even then, he can change it, a "mind" being that sort of organ. Perhaps you and others think that I "defend the K's like nobody has ever seen" etc, but I speak up for anyone who's not getting fair play, if I can, and if without too much inconvenience. And what inconvenience is writing a few words anyway?? I wouldn't call it "defending" anyone.

The K's never read this page, so there's nothing in it for me .....so far anyway, although I run to meet the postman every day to see if there's a cheque for me. Except the concept of FAIR PLAY, in which I've been raised since childhood, and have adhered to, all through a very competitive multi-sports career, contact and otherwise.

Maybe the reason I take the contrary viewpoint on certain people is because I become repulsed at the enormous, regurgitated abuse for everything under the sun, which is heaped on these individuals, whom I don't know, never will, don't really care about. And on many others too. I try to be LOGICAL.

I doubt if a reason for VK fighting is to stoke his ego. It could be, but he's never shown any example of ego before. He was very unlucky to have been Champ for only a short time, when except for his brother, there was no one who could touch him. Maybe he feels it wasn't long enough? I don't know. It's more rational and likely, that the reason he wants to fight is because he wants to. Only HE can know if he wants to quit. Maybe for some, the way they find out is when or if, they get injured too often, or to badly, and THAT usually comes AFTER perhaps several opponents SHOW him.

As for VK getting no plaudits from fighting Peter, whom his brother's already beaten...well my answer is that he and is brother are two different fighters, styles make fights, and Peter has to be much better now than he was when WK beat him. Also....he'd be Champion, and beating him would give the two brothers their most wanted DREAM. It seems simple enough to ME. I could probably find other reasons. But why should I??

Regardless of my being "infamous" about "you know what", every word I wrote is perfectly true, and I'm only telling the facts reported by those who are generally accepted as being reputable. If they got twisted by opponents or rival managers or promoters, or just lazy journalists, I don't know. I also don't know why everyone is so down on this guy, and so slavishly supporting his young brother?? He's only 36 years old. Maybe it's what I mentioned in my first line above. It can provide an potentially endless disputative discussion. But I'm stopping right here. It WAS fun, but isn't now. Finis !!