Fighters that I used to hate and made me eat my words.

[A.K]

You been sonned by Drizzy, admit it and stop hating.

It’s getting kinda sus with your ward admiration..

[b00g13man]

Carl Froch.

[Zaroku]

Bellew

I've picked against him in like his last 5 fights

It happens.... Felt the same way..

[Idunnoshet]

How about the other way around ?
I used to like Andre Ward and thought he'd outbox everyone and didn't see that many at 168 or 175 beating him . Then after the first Kovalev fight I realized he Is a good boxer But relies Alot on illegal tactics ( headbutts , lowblows, elbows , etc. ) . I respected his skills . But most his fights would still put me to sleep .

[Vadrigar.]

You been sonned by Drizzy, admit it and stop hating.

ROFL the that's the guy that triggers nearly everyone on the site.

[Dip_Slide]

Nothing to do with hate, more like fighters that surprised me and defied the odds.

Tim Bradley. When I first watched him I didn't like his bullrushing style and all the headbutts, plus he used to smother himself and didn't have the technique that I expect a world class fighter to have, but then he went in there and fought a very good fight against Pacquiao and put on a tremendous preformance against Marquez, who was P4P top 3 and coming off the Pacquiao KO win.

Badou Jack, when I first saw him get KOed I was pretty sure he was pretty much done, but then he came back and beat all the top guys at 168 and whooped on Cleverly at 175, I think he can dominate 175.

Vasyl Lomachenko, after he lost to Salido I was pretty sure that his career wasn't gonna go the way they imagined it to go, I expected him to get run over and roughed up by any experienced aggressive pro, but then he came back and put on great performances and I was critical of him for ducking Walters at 126 but he came back and whooped on Walters and made him quit, so nothing but respect.

Tyson Fury for obvious reasons.

Terence Crawford, after the Gamboa fight I was pretty sure Crawford was gonna get stopped at 140 lbs, I favored Postol over him at first but he came in there and put on a master class. Great fighter for real.

Danny Garcia, after he struggled with Morales who was 80 years old I was pretty sure that Danny Garcia's career wasn't going anywhere, yet he came back to beat all the top guys at 140 lbs, Amir Khan, Lamont Peterson, Lucas Matthysse, Herrera and the list goes on and on. Never thought he'd have that kind of career.

Abner Mares, thought he was done after his KO loss, yet he came back and gave a tremendous performance against Cuellar.

The list is way too long.

[Sparked_26]

Never disliked a fighter. Hopkins being about the closest. But I just avoided his fights towards the end. It was more his style and I always suspected that he'd try and get the other thrown out of the fight if he could. Got on my nerves towards the end.

But occasionally you do find yourself rooting for a guy you hadn't before. It is Del Boy for me. When he and Whyte were going at it I wanted really wanted him to win.

Now I am a bit gutted he got outboxed by that Turkish guy. I could've envisaged a scenario where Chis could a shot at Wilder. I would have loved it.

[chrisJS]

How about the other way around ?
I used to like Andre Ward and thought he'd outbox everyone and didn't see that many at 168 or 175 beating him . Then after the first Kovalev fight I realized he Is a good boxer But relies Alot on illegal tactics ( headbutts , lowblows, elbows , etc. ) . I respected his skills . But most his fights would still put me to sleep .

I realized he's a dirty, boring fighter who relies on (and abuses) illegal tactics in the Kessler fight and whenever I watched him after that he was doing just that every time. I used to either chose to not watch him or change the channel during his fights once the pattern emerged again which was every fight. I enjoy Boxing and technical fighters too much to sit through that crap. He has skills, but not aesthetically pleasing and he abused his privileges. Biased hand picked ref's every time, judges and HBO riding his jock. He had the chance to beat Kovalev in fight II and blew it by going straight for the nuts when Kovalev was drained. Awful move and a reason I don't acknowledge it as a win. That's how Golota blew it against Bowe both times and Ward's was no different but perhaps more sinister (since he wasn't crazy like the Foul Pole).

I used to be a big fan of Abner Mares but his fights started getting ugly and dirty and after a few ugly one's (especially Agbeko) I turned against him. I was happy to see him KO'd by Jhonny Gonzalez. A clean fighter with a nice style.

[iamboxing]

I don't think I have ever hated a fighter. Boxing isn't that serious

This. Boxing isn't that serious. It's entertainment, but people get tribal.

[chrisJS]

This. Boxing isn't that serious. It's entertainment, but people get tribal.

Agreed. It's fine to admire a Boxer. I actually admire all that are willing to do it for a living. It's a little strange to hero worship and cradle the nuts of another man the way someone like Larry does.

It's also flat out bizarre to have pure hatred and want to discredit fighters even when they prove you wrong because of these tribal reasons. If a guy works you up so much don't watch him. The few Boxer's I've not enjoyed watching (Mayweather, Ward, Ruiz etc I've generally just decided to sit it out unless I like the matchup.

Either way is bizarre to have such blind love and affection or such hatred for men that you've either never met or don't know that well on a personal level.