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by David P. Greisman - There is no column in the statistics set aside for moral victories. That doesn’t change the reality of such a result. Sometimes a fighter indeed will win in the way that he lost, much in the same way a boxer can lose in the way he won.
What matters most are the circumstances of the story and how well they sell a sequel.
It’s not just true in the realm of fictional fisticuffs, when Rocky Balboa made the most of losing to Apollo Creed and Sylvester Stallone made the most money possible afterward because of it.
It’s also true in this occasionally unreal world of the Sweet Science, in which Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. can lose all but the last of 12 rounds with Sergio Martinez — and in which Martinez can dominate Chavez for 11 rounds but barely escape the victory — and both can come out looking optimistically toward what’s next.
There will be imperfect comparisons to similar scenarios, such as how Librado Andrade had pursued Lucian Bute for 11, pummeled him in the 12th and then floored him in the final seconds, only for Bute to survive controversially with the decision victory. And there will be other comparisons that are reminiscent but in which the roles are reversed, such as how Billy Conn was beating heavyweight champion Joe Louis through 12 but got knocked out in the 13th, and how Chavez’s namesake father had famously and dramatically come from behind to stop Meldrick Taylor in the final seconds of the final round. [Click Here To Read More]
What matters most are the circumstances of the story and how well they sell a sequel.
It’s not just true in the realm of fictional fisticuffs, when Rocky Balboa made the most of losing to Apollo Creed and Sylvester Stallone made the most money possible afterward because of it.
It’s also true in this occasionally unreal world of the Sweet Science, in which Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. can lose all but the last of 12 rounds with Sergio Martinez — and in which Martinez can dominate Chavez for 11 rounds but barely escape the victory — and both can come out looking optimistically toward what’s next.
There will be imperfect comparisons to similar scenarios, such as how Librado Andrade had pursued Lucian Bute for 11, pummeled him in the 12th and then floored him in the final seconds, only for Bute to survive controversially with the decision victory. And there will be other comparisons that are reminiscent but in which the roles are reversed, such as how Billy Conn was beating heavyweight champion Joe Louis through 12 but got knocked out in the 13th, and how Chavez’s namesake father had famously and dramatically come from behind to stop Meldrick Taylor in the final seconds of the final round. [Click Here To Read More]
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