Manny Pacquiao wins BWAA Fighter of the Decade award
by SC on Jan 31, 2010 7:29 PM EST
in News Analysis
60 comments
Manny Pacquiao has been named Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America, coming on the heels of back-to-back Fighter of the Year awards.
I'm guessing it was pretty much a two-horse race between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., reflecting the current mythical pound-for-pound battle in boxing. You could consider Joe Calzaghe, who went undefeated and won the legit championships at 168 and 175, and probably Bernard Hopkins as well. Hopkins had several big wins and left a major impression on the sport, surpassing what he did in the 1990s, which probably should have been his prime years.
Dan Rafael says that other nominees were Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera, all of whom I'd put a step behind Calzaghe and Hopkins, and two steps behind Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Other BWAA awards, all for 2009:
- Pacquiao as Fighter of the Year, obviously
- Marquez-Diaz as Fight of the Year
- Joe Tessitore of ESPN for excellence in broadcast journalism (Sam Taub Award)
- Newark Star-Ledger columnist Jerry Izenberg for long and meritorious service to boxing (John F.X. Condon Award)
- The late Alexis Arguello takes the "good guy" award (Marvin Kohn Award)
- Nick Charles and George Chuvalo share the award for courage in overcoming adversity (Bill Crawford Award)
Congratulations to all the winners.
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joe tessitore? seriously?
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Jan 31, 2010 7:37 PM EST reply actions
I’ve never understood the love for Joe Tessitore, but there’s a lot of it. I think he’s good at the pure blow-by-blow, but a bit blusterous and, I dunno, “announcer-y” for me. I’d have gone with Al Bernstein for last year, personally.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by SC on Jan 31, 2010 7:38 PM EST up reply actions
However, I’ll say this. Before Teddy Atlas lost his marbles over the last couple years, he and Joe were pretty consistently the best commentary team on American TV for boxing.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by SC on Jan 31, 2010 7:39 PM EST up reply actions
Me too.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Jan 31, 2010 8:42 PM EST up reply actions
i never liked joe, and FNR3 & 4 make me dislike him even more as unfair as that sounds. he sounds fake, he tends to repeat a lot of same crap (“communist cuba” for example), tends to overreact and stretch the truth (calling a decent fight a great one because he works for ESPN)
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Jan 31, 2010 8:44 PM EST up reply actions
FNR3 & 4 make me dislike him even more as unfair as that sounds
I know exactly what you mean.
By the way did you think FNR4 was rubbish? I did!
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 12:16 PM EST up reply actions
I still play FNR3
I was really excited about round 4, but I was left disappointed. I still play DOA 4 more than any other fighting game though.
3 Is a far superior game in my opinion
Although it’s far from perfect!
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 4:33 PM EST up reply actions
I actually liked what they did in 4,
but was somewhat disappointed as well. 3 was just way, way, WAY too easy for me. I would never block, never counter and win with like 25 body punches in the first round on the hardest difficulty.
The new version at least has some adaptability, but really, they should have provided quite a bit more improvement than they did. 3 is definitely a more fun game.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
4 doesn't have the same replay value
it was more realistic in some ways, but the control wasn’t as intuitive. My biggest complaint with the whole FN series is they haven’t figured out how to make scoring knockdowns realistic.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
I thought 4 was crap
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by SC on Feb 1, 2010 7:17 PM EST up reply actions
i actually think FNR4 is pretty kickass while annoying at the same time. the counter system is just too powerful, but it makes shit interesting. in my career mode of R3 i blasted through everyone, while in R4’s legacy mode i’ve had major slumps and made adjustments, and whupped some ass again.
R3 though every fight is pretty much guaranteed to be a war (unless you fight as jake lamotta in which case you’d KO guys with 2 punches)
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Feb 2, 2010 12:12 AM EST up reply actions
My favorite was to make a HW named
Rick James, and punish the body with like 20 shots to KO them with the classic “No mas!” hand-wave in the first round.
I’d always follow with the obligatory Chapelle “I’m Rick James, bitch!” So satisfying.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
the counter system is just too powerful
Yeah. Brent from Bloody Elbow recently remarked to me, “Whenever I play Fight Night I’m always reminded of the awesome power of Cory Spinks.”
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by SC on Feb 2, 2010 5:45 AM EST up reply actions
On the whole I'm not a big fan of combat games
Prefering to go between stupidly large amounts of time on FPSs and sometimes RPGs. However 3 was a game I really enjoyed and it was actually what first got me into boxing! It was indeed easy once you realised that the opponent is nearly always incapable of blocking massive haymakers but I found 4 easy as well. Train body movement loads and spin your body round continually whilst capitalising on counter opportunites.
I just didn’t like the feel of 4 or the controls. Also I felt that when playing against friends there really wasn’t too much skill involved and it was mostly down to luck. I was very surprised by the good reviews it got from so many people! Then again most game critics are rubbish…
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 2, 2010 11:50 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, Cory Spinks is unstoppable in that game.
Pisses me off pretty bad, too.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
i’ve had some epic wars with the spinx jinx. the asshole i can almost never beat is augustus. i’ve KO’d mosley after fighting him three times, outscored leonard in a rematch (got badly outpointed cuz i tried to brawl in the first fight), but i just can’t beat augustus
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Feb 4, 2010 12:07 AM EST up reply actions
I agree about Bernstein.
He is the most grown up voice in boxing commentary.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Who win the Pat Putnam award?
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Jan 31, 2010 8:42 PM EST reply actions
BTW, I really don’t care what Dan Rafael says…..
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Jan 31, 2010 8:44 PM EST reply actions
It’s his story in the link. I credit the writer. I don’t care if people don’t like him, he’s a reliable reporter.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by SC on Jan 31, 2010 8:46 PM EST up reply actions
I still don’t like him. He has become more of an information peddlar (aka gossipr) than someone who really knows boxing. His dispicable coverage of Tyson during the death of his daughter turned me against him. His sense of history also leaves me cold as does the fact that he has never been in a ring. He is reasonably relable, but just because he says it doesn’t mean it’s right. And while i am in a venting mood, I might add that the BWAA does not do much for me either. I don’t like exclusionary organizatios. Never have and never will.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Jan 31, 2010 10:43 PM EST up reply actions
Something like that. Tom Hauser has set up certain “standards” before someone can be accepted. Jeff Ryan blasted him out in a classic pice a few years back. I have a copy and if you would like one, send me an email. He says it better than I ever could. My view is that the BWAA is more like a union than anything else. Some of the questions they ask prospective members are down right insulting. I resigned my membership a few years ago, because I felt it was getting too political for my blood.Now I may not be the best writer, but I am damn well one of the most independent ones out there and I will be never be in a position where I might have to be beholden to some organization— nor will I ever compromise my own feelings about boxing.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Jan 31, 2010 11:14 PM EST up reply actions
piece
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Jan 31, 2010 11:14 PM EST up reply actions
wow jeff ryan. haven’t thought of that guy in a while.
i miss the old jeff ryan rants in ring magazine. man people hated his ass. id like to go back and read them again, i was pretty young when they were published.
i vaguely remember him blindly bashing mike tyson which got him on my bad side.
"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston
@mikefareri on twitter.
No
They explicitly allow online writers. Haven’t looked into it much further than that though.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
leaves me cold as does the fact that he has never been in a ring
Do you see this as a prerequisite for good boxing journalism? I understand that Larry Merchant was never a boxer and I like his stuff.
Also I find Rafael can be very poor at times but at others is rather insightful. However I do also get the feeling that he is a touch populist in his writing.
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 12:20 PM EST up reply actions
Of course not!. I simply like writers who have been in the ring or who at least hang out in gyms like Frank Loteirzo or Robert Mladinich. I had more than enough 100 amature fights and I truly believe that experience gives me a bit of an edge on undertsanding what goes on in the ring.
As for Merchant, I don’t like his stuff (though he does interview well, but he was a hellava football player in HS in New York. Bet you didn’t know that). He turned me off when he was writing in Philly and showed terrible cruelty towards Sonny Liston. Deep down, I always believed that he had some kind of a subconcious dislike for boxers. Just my opinon though I did write about it in my first book.
As for Rafael, like I said, he simply passes on info. I don’t see him as a partucularly compelling writer—say like Lee Groves, George Kimball or Ron Borges (who has had his own writing issues-as you may know). Mike Casey is a good one as well. Look, my thing is that I cannot tolerate pomposity by those on the perhiphery of the sport and who make their living from what happens in the ring. No, if a writer sufers from pomposity , I want nothing to do with him. Rafel thankfully does not suffer from this ailment. I just don’t think he is as good as all the hype he seems to get. But too many other do IMO
The other thing I like is when a writer emgages his posters much as I am doing right here. It’s not for everyone, but the juice is ion th action as far as I am concerned—and I have often said that many posters are more knowlegable than anyone. I always learn from posters.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 1:49 PM EST up reply actions
Ah I see
Well I certainly agree with you about having fought being a help to understading the game to a greater extent. Also that Rafael and other writers such as a few at The Ring do display a rather unwarrented supercilious air.
And no I didn’t know that! Interesting little fact indeed.
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 1:59 PM EST up reply actions
I think Rafael serves a different function that Kimball or Borges, i.e. Rafael is primarily a reporter, while the other guys are primarily commentators. It’s a blurry line, especially in the world of boxing journalism, but there still is a basic distinction so comparing them to one another isn’t exactly apples-to-apples. Also, in my view, people who just “pass on info” are invaluable provided that the info is pertinent and accurate. I can formulate my own opinions, but I can’t find out who’s going to fight whom when without the help of a reporter.
Point taken
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 3:12 PM EST up reply actions
One can share your opinion about Rafael and still value him as a source of information. Every writer has their strengths and weaknesses. For me, it’s best to accept that, take what you can, and move on.
On the other hand, I know how it feels to have intense feelings about other writers in your field. I publish scholarship on American literature, and I have some opinions about various writers in my field that may seem intense and idiosyncratic to people without as much at stake.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Don’t you think Rafael engages quite well with his audience when he does his question and answers session? (Can’t remember what its called, but he goes into a lot of depth to answer a lot of people.) Whatever you say about Rafael, he’s clearly well respected (I still remember him breaking the news first about Hopkins-Jones II before the December 5th disaster) and he does report what goes on behind the scenes very well.
"The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic"
by OliGold on Feb 1, 2010 3:28 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Points taken
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions
I can't stand his 'holier than thou' attitude in his chats
But then again, if our readership was as dumb as his, I might have the same attitude here.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Feb 1, 2010 6:17 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
i agree.
rafeal comes off as more of a rag reporter than anything. not compelling in the least bit. he is what he is though. nothing really wrong with that though.
and merchant.i can write a book how awful he is. he is very cruel and rude and comes off as smug about 100% of the time.
"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston
@mikefareri on twitter.
We are on the samew page with Merchant. He is intrusive. It should NOT be about HIM; it should be about the fightesr! Larry is not the story.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 5:02 PM EST up reply actions
yup
exactly.
"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston
@mikefareri on twitter.
……..It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat……..Teddy Roosevelt
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 6:29 PM EST up reply actions
SC
speaking of “__ of the decade”, are you gonna do your own list sometime soon? Fight OTD, Fighter OTD, etc
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Jan 31, 2010 8:49 PM EST reply actions
We’re working on something.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by SC on Jan 31, 2010 9:55 PM EST up reply actions
One of these weeks, I'll have 5 or 6 free hours...
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Pacman
Mayweather
Calzaghe
Hopkins
Roy Jones …. I mean Mosley :D
IMHO of course.
"Chris Eubank lost his recent comeback fight on points ... the main one being that he's a total git."
Not bad
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 8:26 AM EST up reply actions
Good list (except the Jones reference, though I know you were joking)
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
all of whom I’d put a step behind Calzaghe
I expected people to criticise you for this. Some people really hate Calzaghe for reasons I never quite get.
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
Not me.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 1, 2010 1:27 PM EST up reply actions
I do NOT like Calzaghe.
I can respect him for some of what he did, but I still don’t like some other stuff he did, and have to also consider that which he did not do.
I’ll expand if necessary, but I think you get my drift.
Some people are acting like Pacquiao should be expected to have just gone, "Yeah sure, let’s do something I’ve never done before because your dad made some dumbass baseless comment."
(SC, 28/12/09; http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/12/27/1221143/mayweather-pacquiao-update-bob#comments)
Go on then expand
I’m kind of on the fence about Calzaghe and would love to hear a very negative view of him to help me make up my mind.
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 3:07 PM EST up reply actions
Send me your email addy, and I'll send you my thoughts; this subject might be a touch old to make it worthwhile on here now....
Some people are acting like Pacquiao should be expected to have just gone, "Yeah sure, let’s do something I’ve never done before because your dad made some dumbass baseless comment."
(SC, 28/12/09; http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/12/27/1221143/mayweather-pacquiao-update-bob#comments)
if he came around just a few years earlier when g-man, julian jackson, mike mccallum, steve collins, roy, toney, etc, were at the top of their games, he would have been dispatched rather easily and/or schooled depending on the oppenent. id pick a young nigel benn and chris eubank over him as well. eubank was pretty faded when he defeated him in 94 or whenever it was.
"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston
@mikefareri on twitter.
I think you might be right.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Feb 3, 2010 9:34 AM EST up reply actions
What is?
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 1:59 PM EST up reply actions
Could be!
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Feb 1, 2010 3:07 PM EST up reply actions
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