Bad Left Hook: FanPosts

Ten Year Anniversary of Grant-Golota

2009-11-20T15:56:58Z

A decade ago today, on November 20, 1999, Andrew Golota squared off against perhaps the biggest American heavyweight boxing prospect in recent memory, "Big" Michael Grant. These two men battled it out for the NABF Heavyweight Title and the WBC #1 Contender rating. The fight began promising for the "Foul Pole," but ended horifically. He out-boxed Grant all throughout, but couldn't finish what he started. This resembled Golota's magic from the Bowe figths-onslaught and out-jabbing. He was winning this fight pretty easily, leading on all three judges' scorecards, but his psyche was too weak and before you knew it it was deja vu all over again for Andrew Golota. Golota floored Grant twice in the first round, setting up an early advantage for himself and exciting the crowd. Then for the next eight rounds it was Golota all the way, dominating the pugilism. Unluckily, in round ten, that all suddenly changed. Grant started an attack on Golota and put him on the mat. After rising from that knockdown, referre Randy Neumann asked Golota if he wanted to continue fighting, and the Pole shook his head back and forth, saying no. This came as a stunner to a number of people watching the fight. After the bout, Golota told Polish press that the reason he quit was because he thought he was already losing the fight on the judges' scorecards anyway, so his judgment was that either way he wasn't going to win this contest. Golota's thinking couldn't be more opposite of reality, as he was in the lead with all the judges. When Golota destroyed Riddick Bowe three years prior to this bout, in fact the Brownsville fighter got hurt so bad that his career was in ruins; in short, Bowe was never the same again. With this fight against Grant, we saw similar things on behalf of Golota, acting as a career destroyer. He embarassed Grant by beating him all around the ring like no one had before, ruining his reputation. Heck, he lead Grant by a huge margin, just like against Bowe. Is it shocking that the man from Norristown, PA never went on to achieve what many were expecting of him-to become World Heavyweight Champion? After beating Golota, Grant was disposed of by "The Lion" Lennox Lewis and iced by Jameel "Big Time" McCline. My gut is telling me that it was Golota's dominance that took a toll on Grant both physically and mentally, and the Pennsylvania fighter was never able to climb the heights once sought for him. What's overlooked is the hurtin' that Grant took in this fight, not being able to work his skills in the way he did before. He was never the same fighting hungry lion we remembered him as from fights versus Lou Savarese, Obed Sullivan, David Izon, and Jorge Luis Gonzalez. Both of these "G" men were viewed as the next big thing in heavyweight boxing in the late 1990's, but both never won a World Heavyweight Title. This was also Golota's last fight in Atlantic City, a place he was identified with in the early stages of his career-the 90's. To this day, both fighters are still active. Neither has been able to recapture, however, the same firepower from his prime that led to a world title shot. Of the two, Golota has come the closest to winning one of the alphabet trinkets, but was on the wrong side of the judging in two title tries in 2004. Meanwhile, Grant has been facing unserious opposition which begs the question: "Is this guy fighting for achievement or for money?" The answer to this question is probably the second part. I would say that since their meeting Golota has no doubt achieved more-just being in world title fights speaks for itself and overall the Pole's pro career is filled with better reputable fights that only make him look as the better heavyeight of the two. This fight probably will never go down as an all-time great, but maybe we'll see it on ESPN Classic someday.

Manny Pacquiao Weight Timeline

2009-11-19T15:22:24Z

With all the speculation concerning Pacquiao's weight and body-type, I figured this short outline will bring clarity.
source-Wikipedia:

1995 - age 16 - 106lbs.
2001 - age 22 - 122lbs.
2003 - age 24 - 126lbs.
2006 - age 27 - 130lbs.
- 2007 - De La Hoya vs. Mayweather contested at 154lbs.
2008 - age 29 - 135lbs.
2008 - age 29 - 147lbs. (vs. Oscar De La Hoya - December 6th)
2009 - age 30 - 140lbs. (vs. Ricky Hatton - May 2)
2009 - age 30 - 145lbs. (vs. Miguel Angel Cotto - November 14)

Boxing double knock down

2009-11-19T02:42:55Z

I will be honest, I don't post a a lot on here, but I couldn't pass this one up!

HERE IS THE LINK OF THE VID

I don't know how often it happens, but at the link, the two boxers somehow time each other perfectly and knock each other down. It is pretty funny.

If this happened and both fighters were knocked out, who would be determined the winner? Would it be considered a no contest or draw? If you guys have similar videos post the link and I will send them to the site!

Live at the Kessler-Ward Press Conference

2009-11-18T08:26:10Z

FanPost promoted by Brickhaus. The press conference is now over, and Waldo did manage to live-blog the events, which are in the comments. Most interestingly, Kalle Sauerland is threatening to call off the fight, and has filed a formal protest with the WBA, since he does not believe the officials for the fight meet the proper standards of impartiality. Namely, two of the judges are from Ward's home state of California, and the referee is American and not from a neutral country.

While most of the boxing world is still enraptured with the incredible performance of Manny Pacquiao, and his next opponent, Showtime is in the corner jumping up and down trying to get your attention. When you decide to take a break from salivating over the possibility of Mayweather-Pacquiao, there is another huge fight this weekend for the WBA Super Middleweight belt. Of course, I'm talking about the final fight of the first round of the Super Six, and arguably one of the most difficult to predict.

Mikkel "the Viking Warrior" Kessler (42-1 32 KOs) comes in as the favorite not only in the fight but as the one to take the whole tournament. He is the one with the experience at 168 and has been a title holder since essentially 2004 (with a little bit of a Calzaghe break in there). His only loss was to Joe Calzaghe, and even in defeat he looked pretty good still. Also the loss to Calzaghe was really seen as a good thing, motivating him to work harder and improve further, where this loss could have been mentally devastating.

However, there are a couple issues with Kessler. He hasn't really been in the ring with great competition since the Calzaghe fight (Dimitri Sartison, Danilo Haussler, and Gusmyr Perdomo not exactly a murder's row right there). Also some people say, one of the writers over at TSS I forget who, said that Kessler looked stiff in the fight against Perdomo, and that Ward's speed will take advantage of that. I thought he looked pretty good dismantling the scrub in a tune up fight, but perhaps I was simply blinded by Kesssler's totally awesome tattoos.

Andre "S.O.G." Ward (20-0 13 KOs) comes into the tournament as one of the 2 prospect Andres. Coming into the tournament he had a better resume than Dirrell mainly coming from a solid win over Edison Miranda. Known for being a fast technical boxer, with a strikingly good ability to switch between orthodox and southpaw. In my opinion Ward's best rounds against Miranda were when he switched it up to southpaw, landing more solid shots. Although he is an underdog, he does have several advantages. First, he's at home and all of the Super Six fights have gone to the home team. Second, he was also an underdog going into the 2004 Olympics and he came out with the gold medal.

Obviously Ward has the downside of being at the top level for a short amount of time. This would be the first time he would face anyone the quality of a Mikkel Kessler and his low KO number versus mostly scrubs likely points to the fact that he does not have much power. Most of the issue with Ward is the unknown. Is he really fast? How effective will switching stances be against someone like Kessler? Can he really take the punch from someone who has power? And so on...

Besides trying to drum up interest, the main point of this post is that I will be at the Press Conference today in downtown Oakland (Starts 11:30 AM PST). Both of these fighters are fairly respectful of each other, so don't expect any fireworks between the two. However, Goosen and Sauerland will probably be there so there might be fireworks there. And its in downtown Oakland, meaning that someone might get shot, and I will definitely be asked by some hobo/druggie why all the people are in his park. I'll try to liveblog in the comments but its dependent on there being magical wifi near city hall. Any observations you want or any other information about the press conference I'll try to answer in the comments.

Nazim Richardson on Margarito loading his gloves

2009-11-18T13:10:47Z

A fascinating interview with Mr. Richardson in which he not only mentions how he discovered Marg's loaded wraps, but why he was looking out for them in the first place. He mentions that, in the Cotto fight, Margarito was throwing with abandon and that his hands weren't being hurt, even though he was hitting Cotto in place that boxers try to stay away from (elbows, crown of the head, etc...). Thanks to Elie Seckbach for the video.

Don't discredit Golota

2009-11-16T15:42:18Z

Golota was in his prime between 1995-1999. He showed that he was a dirty fighter vs. Riddick Bowe after being disqualified for low blows in both their meetings; the second time in stupefying fashion after a combination of punches way below the belt, appearing as if it was on purpose. He then added more of the wrong flare to his resume when he quit in tough fights against Michael Grant and Mike Tyson, showing no heart at all. Golota has taken us on a thirteen-year long boxing journey (1996-2009), with his latest outing being a defeat to also-Polish Tomasz Adamek via a 5th round stoppage in the "Polish Fight of the Century." This said, it is his durability that has kept him in the game long and it's been to his benefit. Many of you might be saying, "what are you talking about?" Well, I'm saying that there is, believe it or not, good news that has come out of the Golota story. The Pole redeemed himself for the first unfortunate Bowe bout by fighting then-IBF Heavyweight titleholder Chris Byrd respectably to a draw at New York's Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena, and the site of the "infamous" first fight with Bowe which ensued a riot. Three years later he got redemption for the second also-unfortunate Bowe battle by stopping former Irish Heavyweight Champion Kevin McBride by a 6th round TKO. For the two aforementioned fights in which he quit, Golota made a redeemer out of himself again by decision-ing heavy-handed Mike Mollo after 12 rounds in a very entertaining slugfest. In this bout Golota had a cut over his left eye for most of the contest but still fought on craftily. He also took some no joke shots from his opponent but still stayed in there and showed heart. Some say that Golota-Mollo was the best heavyweight fight of 2008. The people who still call Golota a bum to this day are mistaking, because he came back after quits and embarrassments and tried to do good. Even in his last bout with Adamek, he fought back even in that last 5th round before referee Bill Clancy finally halted it. So if he were to retire today, his career wouldn't look as bad as it would if he retired for good after the Tyson fight.

The Sad Truth

2009-11-16T03:52:44Z

With Million buy ppv fights like Mayweather Marquez and probably Pacquiao Cotto, Boxing, a sport that many have labeled as dead, was enjoying a period of increased popularity and exposure. Unfortunately, I realize now this brief period may be over soon and the sport may possibly even enter the darkest hour in it's history.

You see, the big names are what is keeping the sport afloat at the moment, and the biggest draws, Money May and Manny are hopefully set for what could be the most lucrative bout of all time. But what happens after Mayweather Pacquiao? Pacquiao will likely retire and the same may go for Mayweather. Without it's two biggest stars, who can carry the sport and fuel ppv buys like Oscar De La Hoya did. There are a great deal of talented youngsters but no one that is a real hot commodity

so while Mayweather Pacquiao might be the biggest fight ever, will it be the last big fight for years?

Poll

Who will be the sports next cash cow?

Scoring a Fight

2009-11-15T22:19:06Z

Scoring a fight seems far from a pefect system. It appears that everyone has a different opinion of how it should be done, how to view certain events and what deserves the most praise. I thought it would be interesting to post a question which I have been mulling over and see what the BLHers think.

Very simply it is this. If a boxer stands still and blocks ten punches without throwing anything back and then lands one clean punch right after his opponent's flurry does he deserve to get more credit?

It's very unlikely that he would be looked on favourably by the judges but I beleive the judging criteria rewards clean and effective punching which the boxer landing only one punch has more of. This is just a casual question but I'm interested to read people's opinions on it.

History in the making: The grand science experiment...

2009-11-15T16:28:47Z

We have a chance at something special here. Last night, we all know the history that took place. It was a night to compare with any other night in boxing history. It was the night where....

...Yuri Foreman won a belt. Now think about this. I've seen too many Yuri Foreman "fights," and I'd have to say that was by far the most entertaining of all of them. It was horrible, but comparatively it may have been the first four rounds of that insignificant fight that took place two fights later when compared to the rest of his career. Yuri Foreman cannot be in a good fight. It is a scientific fact.

Or is it?

This is 154. We have contenders Alfredo Angulo and James Kirkland (well... sort of on the second one). These guys are wrecking balls of action. They come forward and wing power shots at all costs for every second of the round. They cannot possibly be in a boring fight. Any fight with either of them will be entertaining. This is a scientific fact.

Oh sh--

Yuri Foreman versus either Alfredo Angulo or James Kirkland. Does this happen in 2012? Is this what the Mayans saw? Are the laws of science about to crumble before us? One rule must be broken. If one scientific law fails, do they all follow? The fight cannot simultaneously be lacking action and action packed.

I don't think we can avoid it just because of the repercussions we may fear though. We must put them in the ring together for the sake of all inquisitive minds. For science. For the advancement of human knowledge.

And hopefully to finally get rid of the boring fucker. Make it happen.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather

2009-11-15T07:29:01Z

After tonight's fight and the amazing accomplishment of wining a major title in seven weight classes, the question needs to change. No longer should we ask where Manny Pacquiao belongs on the top pound for pound list, but now we need to ask where he belongs on the top list of all-time fighters?

Isn't revisionist history, living in the moment? Or is now the time to put the name "Pacquiao" alongside the names of Louis, Marciano, Ali, Frazier, Leonard, Duran, Hagler, Hearns, Jones, and Hopkins?

To do what he's done, and how he's done it, I don't think its hyperbole. What is amazing not only is what Pacquiao has done, but how he's done it. Only once in a major fight has Pacman fallen (to Erik Morales), and he beat him twice after that. Pacquiao has also shown an amazing ability to not take punishment. Only Juan Manuel Marquez has figured out how to weave through the buzzsaw. Not only are Pacquiao's hands blindingly fast and with power, he has tremendous bounce in his feet and is able to move in and out and laterally better than anyone in boxing. He takes shots, but nobody has yet figured out how to consistantly wear him down using combinations. The speed in his feet is just, if not more, important than the speed of his hands. He's like a Street Fighter character, he's jumps in and does tremendous damage in mere seconds, then jumps out before a counter can effectively land. Marquez did well because he was able to time Pacquiao jumping in and out but he had to take an incredible beating to put one on him.

One wonders what Floyd Mayweather is thinking. He has had an equally impressive rise through boxing, capturing titles in multiple weight classes and defeating every single opponent put before him. Pacquiao can't say that. But in Floyd's megafights, with de la Hoya and Hatton - Pacquiao one-upped him on each one. Where Money squeeked out a split decision on Oscar, Pacquiao made the Golden Boy quit on his stool. Where Mayweather danced circles around Hatton until the kayo in the 9th, Pacquiao dispensed with the pleasantries and simpled turned his lights off in the 2nd. And while Mayweather handled a clearly overmatched and too-heavy Marquez in September, Pacquiao just tore through a true powerful welterweight champion in his prime.

To be honest folks, I don't see how Floyd Mayweather can beat Manny Pacquiao. He can't out-run him, out-speed him, out-think him, nor can he out-power him. Floyd's game of defensive counter-boxing is a clinic, but in a fighter like Pacquiao he would face a man who's basest boxing instinct is pressure, and he does it with speed and so money punches its like a cartoon cloud swirling in the ring. Mayweather likes to dance, move, out-smart, and out-box his opponents. He's never been terribly powerful and he's never been tested by a pressure fighter like Manny since the Castillo fights. And who spars with Pacquiao?

Like everyone else, I want to see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. It would be the biggest non-heavyweight fight, in my opinion, since Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvelous Marvin Hagler. But if Floyd demurrs, I can understand why. He can't beat Manny Pacquiao.

Nobody can.

There's something about Manny

2009-11-15T07:11:38Z

FanPost promoted by Scott

I don't like Boxrec.com.

I respect the effort: A database of fights, reaching back through the decades of a sport that has more or less defined the whole meaning of "sport" for me. But I still don't like it, and the reason I don't can be summed up in two words:

Henry Armstrong.

Homicide Hank held three championships simultaneously, which represented more than a third of professional Boxing in his era. He's the stuff of legend. But if you browse boxrec.com's list of the top 100 All Time Pound for Pound fighters in history, he doesn't exist. He's not #98 or #99 or even #100. For the record, #100 is a Thai named Pone Kingpetch. I don't know who he is, either.

Manny Pacquiao fights like Armstrong fought. It's not just the weight jumps, either. Like Armstrong, his offense is naturally, almost merrily, murderous. They were both happy warriors who I don't think truly understood that they weren't supposed to be able to do the things they were doing. And, true to form, Pacquiao's most recent assault on Miguel Cotto looked as natural as a rainstorm in April. Manny's the five star ring general who started as a non-com, and by the mid rounds, he was playing the southpaw 1-2-1 on Cotto like a maestro hammering a Yamaha. It was weirdly premature for HBO's crew to call for a stoppage in the 7th round, but it also wasn't. It wasn't that Cotto was getting beaten to the verge of injury, like Oscar was. It was more like watching one chess grandmaster blow a crucial move, and deciding whether to watch the inevitable endgame play out. For Lampley, Steward and Lederman and the entire Cotto clan, the game was already over. Merchant wanted it to play on. So did I.

It was a great boxing moment, watching Cotto play out that losing hand. I saw the same sparks of defiance that marked all the great championship fights I've ever seen. I saw the Arguello who battled Pryor -- and the aftermath, and the questions that last to this day. But the triumph of Pacquio was more Armstrong-esque than that. There hasn't been any controversy about Manny Pacquiao, and there won't be. He's the genuine article. He can sing or star in goofy movies or run for president. But the slashing, insistent combinations he throws are the most important thing he'll ever do in his life, if only because he is so damn good at them and he makes them look so damn easy.

I'm a Manny Pacquiao fan, and have been a Pacquiao fan for years. But this latest fight has made me think about boxing in a different way -- which is hard when you are a crusty curmudgeon! I would bet Armstrong had a similar effect on the curmudgeons of his time. For us, boxing is all about size and weight, and transcending 40 pounds over a career is equivalent to running a 4.4 on the moon. But whether Cotto was "damaged goods" or not, Pacquiao pulled off a trick that only Boxing's most elite desperadoes would dare try. Space age websites like boxrec.com will probably be kinder to Pacquiao then they are to Armstrong -- at least in the short term. After all, he fought a larger man who specialized in beating the living hell out of southpaws, and he instead beat the living hell out of him.

And he made it look easy.

Floyd Mayweather: Stay far, far away.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Horrible ESPN Commentary

2009-11-14T20:39:01Z

So, if you're a boxing fan and I assume you all are, don't watch this unless you actually enjoy getting mad.

The really egregious part begins around the 2:10 mark.

A few thoughts on this.

First, Colin Cowherd may be the perfect manifestation of everything that's wrong with American sports fandom today. He perfectly embodies the Brett Favre/Derek Jeter/Kobe-vs-Lebron/ESPN celebrity starf***er mentality, and he does it unashamed.

Second, we all know that boxing has a lot of problems in this day and age. The leaders of the sport need to do a better job at marketing, they need to get corruption out of the sport, etc. We all agree on that. But you know what? Even if boxing put its own house perfectly in order, it would have to contend with the fact that most American sports fans are just plain stupid. There are at least three intertwined strains of thinking in the mass culture that would present huge problems for boxing no matter what it did.

1. American sports fans only care about American athletes, and not only that, they are conditioned to assume that American athletes are always the best no matter what. If athletes in a sport appear to disprove that preconceived notion in proportions greater than those you see in, say, baseball, then American sports fans will either lose interest in the sport or assume there's something wrong with the sport. You can see this play out to a lesser degree in men's tennis. Even though this might be the greatest era in the entire history of that sport, the popularity of the sport in America is tepid at best. But at least men's tennis players tend to be European and speak English. What hope does a sport like boxing have with so many non-English speakers in its elite?

2. The Cotto-Pacquiao fight is a great ambassador for the sport. So are fights like Vazquez-Marquez (which SC wrote about recently), Marquez-Pacquiao, Cotto-Mosley, etc. But you know what? I am fully convinced that if you'd forced Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle to sit in front of a TV set for Marquez-Vazquez III, they would not have enjoyed it! When they complain about "small man" boxing being too "technical" in the above clip, they're not just saying they need offense and KOs in order to like the sport. What they want are haymakers like the ones you used to see in the Rocky movies. The casual American sports fan's attention span is too short to enjoy even the most technically proficient offense-oriented boxing.

3. Regarding the MMA-oriented comments in the clip: there is a class of serious MMA fan out there whose members are really knowledgeable about their sport and who are fans because they really appreciate the finer points of MMA and who don't see a need to take a dump on boxing. I take it that the people who post over at the sister SBN blog fit into that category. But they are outnumbered by hordes of brainless casual fans of MMA who have no appreciation for the intricacies of MMA and who only prefer MMA to boxing because MMA is "in" and boxing is "out" or because MMA is "cool" and boxing is "uncool." It's no different than the mentality of middle school kids who sneer at their classmates who wear the wrong brands of clothes. These are the same people who probably still think that Kimbo Slice is the Tiger Woods of MMA because of stuff they vaguely recall hearing around the water cooler at work. It's incredibly aggravating, but I don't think there's much that the leaders of boxing can do to combat that mentality because it isn't based on anything rational or factual. All you can do is wait for boxing to come back into style.

Miguel Cotto Can Not Make Weight!

2009-11-13T16:45:57Z

Words circulating within the "Entertainment Capital of the World" had it that Cotto is having a hard time losing the extra weight and meeting the 145-pound limit set for the match. A source bared Thursday that Cotto trained at the Top Rank gym here under a temperature of "100 degrees." Cotto has not fought below 147 since 2006 when he decided to move up to welterweight also owing to weight issue.
Source

Ok, he probably will make weight but will Cotto come into the fight dehyrdated? If so, will it affect his performance like it did Oscar De La Hoya's sluggish performance against Manny Pacquiao? I'm not making any excuses for Cotto but hmmmm . . .

Let's Not be too Mean About David Haye

2009-11-09T20:25:29Z

I did not enjoy David Haye's fight with Nikolai Valuev. Many things about it annoyed me; the incredibly biased commentary from sky sports, the fact that the fight lacked action and excitement, the perception amongst casual British fans that Haye was some sort of masterfully talented heavyweight messiah. He made the headlines all throughout Britain. BBC radio 4 described his performance as excellent, the tabloids are still running articles about how superb he is, even the front page of Yahoo displayed Haye holding his new belt along with the byline: Haye puts on tactical masterclass. It's quite understandable that this would really get on the nerves of a hardcore boxing fan like myself and so many of the users of this site.

After the fight I was pretty keen to decry Haye's ability and performance and may have been overly critical. After watching the fight again I noticed a few things to compliment him on. His movement was great, sure he was against a guy who is very slow but that movement was still undeniably quick. It would make him hard to hit against many other heavyweight. His power is phenomenal. There is simply no getting around this, he rocked an opponent with an incredible chin and did it without even hitting him that much. His footwork looked much better and against a guy with bad footwork that can make a big difference, especially for setting those power shots he so loves. Many heavyweights have bad footwork.

Basically I see a real future for Haye. I don't think he'll ever beat a Klitschko but I reckon his attempt will be entertaining. And if that attempt never comes, Haye against Adamek, Arreola, Chambers or even Dawson is still easily amongst the most exciting fights in the division. I think that I was so annoyed by the coverage of the fight in the popular media that I have been unreasonably harsh about Haye and I dare to say many other hard core fans are the same, at least to some extent.

Most irritating decision....

2009-11-04T19:45:05Z

My fellow Badlefthookers, I feel it necessary to bring to your attention a conversation I had yesterday. Not for any momentous reason, in fact not for any good reason other than the fact you all like to talk boxing, and so do I.

The conversation I was having, with a good friend of mine, was about the boxing decision that rankles with us the most, even given a certain amount of time. We covered refereeing decisions, judging decisions, trainer's decisions, even fighters' decisions in certain circumstances, both in and out of the ring. An example of an "in the ring decision" would be Victor Ortiz's decision quit when the going got tough, an "out of the ring decision" would be Joe Calzaghe shamelessly and flagrantly ducking Glen Johnson, Ike Ibeabuchi's decision to go and kidnap someone, or even James Kirkland's decision to stick a gun in his glovebox.

In order to distinguish between them, I suppose it might be best to put them into those categories, and pick one (or more, since this is a discussion, not a dictatorship!!) from each list, with maybe THE most annoying one highlighted too.

I'll start (after the jump!!);

*Refereeing decision;* I have to mention Cortez in Hatton/Mayweather; made the decision that this was going to be a non-contact sport. This was annoying in the extreme. My #1, however, and I know Jrok will have my ass for this, but this is my genuine opinion; Richard Steele deciding to stop Meldrick Taylor with 4 seconds left in the fight (vs Julio Cesar Chavez) when he was on his feet, had beaten the count and there was no way he was taking any more punishment was a really annoying decision. The face and shape of boxing could have been irrevocably changed, and a man who could and should have been able to call himself World Champion fought on longer than he otherwise would have done in order to try to attone for his self-perceived 'failure'.

*Judging decision;* I know it was close, I know there have been bigger travesties, I know that the fight could have gone the other way. I KNOW. But Marvellous Marvin Hagler beat Sugar Ray Leonard, in my eyes. I've watched that fight about 40 times, and never have I once scored it for Leonard. When discussing the most annoying decisions ever made, I think the ones that had most effect on the boxing landscape for the foreseeable future after the fight are right up there for me, and things would have been completely different had we seen the decision go to Hagler. We wouldn't have seen the retirement of Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard would not be regarded as highly as he is, in all likelihood, and who knows how the middleweights would have panned out had it been the destructive, nasty, ferocious bastard Hagler, rather than Leonard, who sat at the top of the tree.

*Trainer's decision;* Eddie Futch deciding to pull Smokin Joe out against Ali. When considered alongside the fact that Ali had told Dundee to "cut em off", and Joe didn't speak to Futch for years after he made that call, I find it a travesty for Ali to still be given the rave reviews he gets. Ali quit. Frazier didn't. Futch was calling the ref over just as Ali's gloves were being cut. Had Futch waited 30 seconds more, it may well have been Frazier's name we were all brought up on, rather than Ali's. And if they had come out for the 15th (impossible, as Ali would have quit by then), the picture of a snarling, vicious Joe Frazier coming at him would have been too much for Ali, I believe. The face of boxing is changed by one man's decision to pull his fighter out, against his wishes. That rankles with me. In fact, it just plain pisses me off.

*Fighter's decision (in the ring);* Martin Rogan's recent decision to stop and wait for the ref to stop Sam Sexton must get a mention here. In all seriousness, what the hell was he thinking? It's not my number #1 though, as Clinton Woods really pissed me off by deciding not to even bother trying to punch Antonio Tarver in their fight. I mean, who wouldn't want to punch Antonio Tarver? The Clinton Woods gameplan;
Step 1. Follow opponent round ring with hands down, as he backs up and jabs.
Step 2. When within range of opponent, raise hands to guard face. Do not, under any circumstance, throw a punch at opponent.
Step 3. Wait until opponent has unloaded a few shots, mainly onto your gloves, and has moved away, out of range.
Step 4. Repeat. Again and again, until people who are watching are screaming at the TV, and wanting to smash you in the face themselves.

*Fighter's decision (out of the ring);* Roy Jones Jr's mission to be this generation's C.B. Fry, and also to move up to heavy and down again so fast to fight Tarver is right up there. However, This is eclipsed by Lennox Lewis' decision not to train for the Rahman fight, and also by Joe Calzaghe's decision to wait until Jones and Hopkins, who would have both smashed him into oblivion 5/10 years earlier, were close to picking up their pensions before fighting either of them. Coward. All of thesepale into significance, however, when considered alongside Mr Kirkland's decision to carry a gun in his glove compartment, knowing full well that being caught would result in bad times for him, and immeasurabvle consequences for us, as boxing fans, and possibly on the sport itself. Kirkland could have been the REAL next Big Thing, and he potentially ruined it, for what?

I get the feeling I've missed a few really obvious ones, and even forgotten some that we discussed last night. I'm hoping some people on here will help put this right!! :)

Off-Topic: Music

2009-11-04T12:42:35Z

With our community and the boxing fanbase being so diverse, I was kind of interested to see what music everyone listens to. Every now and again before a fight card goes live we get into small music discussions in one of the threads, but I wanted to really open it up and see if the tastes skew one way or another, or if we're pretty eclectic as I sort of assume will be the case.

What are you listening to lately?

What are some of your favorite artists?

Hey, I'll start!

Lately: Fly Gypsy, D.Black, CunninLynguists, discovering a profound and too-long undiscovered love of The Black Keys and Dan Auerbach (I had listened to the Keys before, but they really hit me right about a month ago), Sarah Blasko, Aceyalone's latest

All-Time Favorites: (OK, deep breath, and... GO!)

Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Lynyrd Skynyrd (original lineup only), My Morning Jacket, George Jones, Dean Martin, Sam Cooke, Van Morrison, Otis Redding, Nas, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Wu-Tang Clan, Metallica, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Tom Petty, Beastie Boys, Hank Williams, Whiskeytown, pre-Hollywood Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Rancid, Social Distortion, Smokey Robinson, M. Ward, Kanye West, Tom Waits, The Bronx, Bob Wills, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lemonheads, The White Stripes, Nico, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Old 97's (before Rhett Miller became a doe-eyed doofus), Nat "King" Cole, Mastodon, Kings of Leon, Oasis, Jimi Hendrix, Eric B & Rakim, The Libertines (and I liked Dirty Pretty Things too, but Doherty's crap can fuck off), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club...

...I think I can leave it there.

Which Boxer Would You...: A 10-Question Survey For Kicks

2009-11-03T19:23:33Z

Somebody sent quite a fun little game to the mailbag at the Ring Magazine this week and I thought I would post it here to see what people's responses were. The format is very simple. From the field of current boxers who would you most like to:

1. Have a discussion with about the current economic crisis?
2. Punch in the face?
3. Give a hug to?
4. Have a boxing lesson from?
5. Match them up with any other boxer of your choice?
6. Advise to stop boxing?
7. Invite to a dinner party?
8. Work out with?
9. Get drunk with?
10. Work their corner?

(Editor's Note: I used that photo, because when else could I ever use that photo?)

Freddie Roach puts Edwin Valero at number 4, could be number 1 in 2010

2009-10-31T00:25:35Z

Freddie Roach was quoted as saying that he ranks Manny Pacquiao at the number one pound for pound fighter in the world. That came as no surprise after the assault that Manny Pacquiao put on the boxing world the last two years. The surprise was that Roach put Valero at number four.http://www.examiner.com/x-8557-Norfolk-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m10d30-Freddie-Roach-puts-Edwin-Valero-at-number-4-could-be-number-1-in-2010

R.A. The Rugged Man gets to tell Floyd what a lot of boxing fans wish they could

2009-10-30T23:45:59Z

RA's blog post explaining what happened: http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=61084

Audio: http://www.zshare.net/audio/676796581a1c2a9e/

Basically RA who's a huge boxing fan was on Shade 45 and the interview turned to boxing. He expressed his disappointment in the direction of Floyd's career since the Corrales fight. Floyd heard the interview and called in. The audio is about 21 minutes but it's well worth listening to the whole conversation. Every excuse that Floyd throws out there R.A. shuts down. He might be an ok rapper but his combination of boxing knowledge and quick wit make this a classic! Especially when they start talking about what will happen to Floyd's legacy if he doesn't start fighting the best.

Is the Super Six one bad decision away from becoming a mega mess?

2009-10-29T23:44:19Z

Carl Froch survived his super six bout, but not without controversy. Was he the beneficiary of homecooking or was it more of a case of the amateur running and grabbing of Andre Dirrell? Either way you had it, and I had Froch slightly ahead, the bout does not bode well for the rest of the super six tournament. Showtime has invested a lot of time and effort

Is the super six one bad decision away from becoming a mega mess?