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I see Herbie Hide came back last week at Cruiserweight, his first bout since losing by TKO (cut caused by clash of heads) to a journeyman in March 2004.
His comeback opponent was Mitch Hicks, who went in with a 3-5 record (though 100% KOs, if that's some small plus) and was bounced off the canvas four times before being stopped in 84 seconds.
I like Herbie Hide a lot. I think he's actually a very good technical boxer, and although a lot of his bouts haven't been at the elite level, his 97% KO ratio is a testament to how much he can ****. Add to this the fact that he's got an amusing speech impediment and isn't - to put it mildly - "wired up right" (his crowning glory will probably be his involvement in a ringside riot after an Audley Harrison bout) and this unpredictable boxer has a lot to offer.
Sadly, there's the ch1nk in his armour. Joseph Chingangu and the referenced journeyman notwithstanding, Hide has only been beaten by highly-ranked heavies - Vitali Klitschko and Rid**** Bowe. Sadly, this doesn't disguise the fact that Herbie is packing so much glass even Roy Jones takes the piss.
I hope the fact that Hide has dropped to Cruiser will take away some of this extreme vulnerabilty, for Herbie has arguably the worst chin ever on a heavyweight.
Also of note is the rumour I heard that he decided to up and leave England to fight in America not because he craved Stateside attention, but because he got on the wrong side of some very dodgy people who won't be pleased to see him if he steps back into the country...
His comeback opponent was Mitch Hicks, who went in with a 3-5 record (though 100% KOs, if that's some small plus) and was bounced off the canvas four times before being stopped in 84 seconds.
I like Herbie Hide a lot. I think he's actually a very good technical boxer, and although a lot of his bouts haven't been at the elite level, his 97% KO ratio is a testament to how much he can ****. Add to this the fact that he's got an amusing speech impediment and isn't - to put it mildly - "wired up right" (his crowning glory will probably be his involvement in a ringside riot after an Audley Harrison bout) and this unpredictable boxer has a lot to offer.
Sadly, there's the ch1nk in his armour. Joseph Chingangu and the referenced journeyman notwithstanding, Hide has only been beaten by highly-ranked heavies - Vitali Klitschko and Rid**** Bowe. Sadly, this doesn't disguise the fact that Herbie is packing so much glass even Roy Jones takes the piss.
I hope the fact that Hide has dropped to Cruiser will take away some of this extreme vulnerabilty, for Herbie has arguably the worst chin ever on a heavyweight.
Also of note is the rumour I heard that he decided to up and leave England to fight in America not because he craved Stateside attention, but because he got on the wrong side of some very dodgy people who won't be pleased to see him if he steps back into the country...
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