Larry Donald and the myth of the Giant

[jabsRstiff]

BS KO win or not, if ruiz lost, it would be so good for boxing. sure, valuev may be bad, but hes not a gate killer like ruiz is. germany loves valuev... i guess. NOBODY (except tonytucker and the pretender... ****ing morons) loves ruiz.

there arent too many facts that prove that valuev will be a better champion than ruiz... but i hate ruiz so much, i just want his ass gone!

I would root for Valuev to defeat Ruiz. I'd even want to see Valuev do so, due to fraud. Ruiz has benefitted from his connections too much. It's time some "politics" come & give him a taste of his own medicine.

[KidBlackie]

[[[The Willard comparison does nothing for me.....as Jess Willard is one of the worst heavyweight champs of all time.]]]
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The worst that I can think of beat the hell out of the best, NeonLeon/Ali l. The 2nd worst, Ruiz fights today, propped up by King. Willard would beat Ruiz easier than he did Jack Johnson and poor Neon Leon wouldn't stand a chance. Valuev is coming along at a good time for him. Timing is everything. Just ask Ken Norton or Jerry Quarry.

[Riptor]

Ruiz might loose but he will still retain the title. He has a four leaf clover, a horseshoe, a rabbits foot and he has thrown salt over his back everyday since he won the belts against holyfield.

[jabsRstiff]

[[[The Willard comparison does nothing for me.....as Jess Willard is one of the worst heavyweight champs of all time.]]]
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The worst that I can think of beat the hell out of the best, NeonLeon/Ali l. The 2nd worst, Ruiz fights today, propped up by King. Willard would beat Ruiz easier than he did Jack Johnson and poor Neon Leon wouldn't stand a chance. Valuev is coming along at a good time for him. Timing is everything. Just ask Ken Norton or Jerry Quarry.

How can you say Leon's the worst ?
He lasted ALMOST 1 round with Gerrie Coetzee & his bionic right hand.....three rounds with Holmes.....& defeated the awesome Kip Kane.

Leon's an all-time great, my friend.

[Kid Achilles]

Funny because while some people claim that Donald was blatantly robbed, I've heard others say Valuev deserved the close decision and was the more aggressive fighter for the duration of the bout.

I'll have to see it for myself.

Edit:

Also I agree that Willard would be a top contender in this day and would beat most of these clowns. 6'6", iron chin, powerful right hand, and was effective at using his size and establishing a stiff jab.

[jabsRstiff]

"6'6", iron chin, powerful right hand, and was effective at using his size and establishing a stiff jab."


He showed those attributes in a time where the average heavy was so much smaller than today's.
He wouldn't have those same advantages today, unless you made everything relative.

[Kid Achilles]

6'6" is still huge by today's standard. The jab that I've seen on film is better than Vitali's who is of a similar height and successful. He would probably beat Brewster, Ruiz, and Byrd by a wide margin. Might even beat Toney, though only due to the tremendous size and strength difference.

Willard was not as limited as you think. Far from the worst heavyweight champion of all time, though everyone tends to downgrade the skills of fighters from that era. Remember, the name of the game was the same then as it is now: hit the other guy without getting hit yourself. The biggest difference was, back then it was ex-fighters with decorated records who became the trainers while today that usually isn't the case. The fighters fought more often, with better trainers, and so were generally more experienced. Boxing was fought at a higher level of skill than it was today.

So Willard triumped over what was admittedly a weak era in boxing history, that of the great white hopes, but they were still skilled fighters. They just didn't have much talent, and Willard was enormous with some natural talent as well and so he beat most of them.

Todays era is no stronger, and what our heavyweights have in talent they lack in skill. Combination punching and stamina are rare commodities and inside fighting is seen as some kind of mystical skill that only James Toney possesses.

Again, I think Willard would do nicely in this era, beating most of the title holders because they are so limited and one dimensional. Toney is the only one of them that can fight well both on the inside or outside, whereas back then it was expected that fighters be schooled at both ranges.

[jabsRstiff]

Actually...the clips I see from that era show a total lack of infighting skills.
They clinched incessantly.....& nobody slipped under punches, did they ? I don't see anybody actually working inside....mixing their attacks up & down, with both hands, while slipping shots.
When Willard fought an innovative inside fighter like Dempsey, he suffered the most legendary beating of all time.

[j]

valuev was more aggressive, but not dominating. he just got thoroughly outboxed by a wide margin. donald was quicker and landed more combinations. i'd also wager that donald landed more punches in total, and definitely landed more jabs.

[ejk22]

I would root for Valuev to defeat Ruiz. I'd even want to see Valuev do so, due to fraud. Ruiz has benefitted from his connections too much. It's time some "politics" come & give him a taste of his own medicine.

I agree, if Valuev were to seriously lose in our eyes but still get the nod from the judges I would jump up and down with joy because Ruiz is a ****wad and so is his manager. He deserve's to get ****ed in a decision because he has been on the receiving end a few times of gift decisions.