Professional Boxing

[Loyal]

Do any of you follow it anymore? I am going to get into individual sports in the future and I used to love Pro boxing in the 70's,80's, and early 90's. I watched the highlights of Tyson Fury vs Wilder for a heavyweight champ belt and it was pretty good. Tell me who are best boxers in your favorite division....

 

[RamFan503]

Don (grenade explosion hair) King did his best to ruin the sport. I would love to love boxing again.

 

[thirteen28]

My interest has waxed and waned in recent years, more waning recently. Back in the 70's and 80's I used to follow boxing almost as religiously as I follow the Rams. I miss the days when the sport was bigger, at one point is was big enough to command prime-time slots on network TV. I remember some great fights from those days ... Holmes-Shavers, Leonard-Benitez, and numerous others.

I did watch the Fury-Wilder fight you are talking about, was pretty surprised but in retrospect I shouldn't have been. Fury really sized up Wilder's weaknesses as a boxer and did a great job of using his jab and just simply walking him down and punishing him. Fury is an awkward looking dude, but man, he totally got it done.

 

[dieterbrock]

Boxing was the sport when I was a kid. Last fight I watched was Pacquiao/Mayweather, which reminded me why i had no interest
Much more interested in UFC although the ESPN deal is killing the sport.
Fortunate to have seen so many greats, from Tyson to Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler (I still think he won the fight) Hearns, Benitez were all great.
Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello had some amazing fights, Pryor is one of the most under rated fighters of all time.
loved watching Barry McGuigan fight, seemingly broke his nose in every fight lol.
Sadly I can remember where I was when i watched the Ray Boom Boom Mancini vs Duk Koo Kim fight.
too many divisions, mass corruption and the fall of Tyson pretty much ended my affection For the sport.
I was definitely drawn back in to boxing with the Trilogy between Irish Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, but really had no interest after that

 

[Loyal]

Boxing was the sport when I was a kid. Last fight I watched was Pacquiao/Mayweather, which reminded me why i had no interest
Much more interested in UFC although the ESPN deal is killing the sport.
Fortunate to have seen so many greats, from Tyson to Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler (I still think he won the fight) Hearns, Benitez were all great.
Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello had some amazing fights, Pryor is one of the most under rated fighters of all time.
loved watching Barry McGuigan fight, seemingly broke his nose in every fight lol.
Sadly I can remember where I was when i watched the Ray Boom Boom Mancini vs Duk Koo Kim fight.
too many divisions, mass corruption and the fall of Tyson pretty much ended my affection For the sport.
I was definitely drawn back in to boxing with the Trilogy between Irish Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, but really had no interest after that

I am trying to get into UFC, but the shelf life for these fighters seems to be very short. Also, it doesn't seem sportsman like to to pound on people who just received a punch or a kick that might have ended the fight because they are on the ground and barely coherent. I am horrified when I see the winner pounding on a defenseless fighter's head when he is clearly unconscious, several times before it's stopped.
I too saw that Ray Mancini vs Duk Koo Kim fight and it was one hell of a fight, with each fighter laying the wood. They were almost identical fighters, and Kim got caught. Kim died and Mancini wasn't the same fighter after that.

 

[dieterbrock]

I am trying to get into UFC

I got in to it years ago when FX/Fox sports1 carried the Ultimate Fighter series. Got to see many of the fighters before they made it, and many of the big named fighters who were on the show as coaches. Was brilliant format. Unfortunately, the sport has gone to such a pay for app production I couldnt imagine getting in to it today. If you have the chance to see the ESPN 30 for 30 on Chuck and Tito, I highly suggest it, really digs in to how the sport made prominence. The UFC has its share of wild knockouts, but if you want to see some real MMA mastery, check out some youtube of Royce Gracie

As for Mancini, man I was literally scared for his life when he was going to fight Livingstone Bramble, dude used to enter the ring with a snake on his shoulders.

15 rounds. Man, those were some crazy days.
I've only seen Muhammad Ali fights on youtube etc, and the classics were absolutely classic.
But for me, when I think of the best fight I ever saw (live), it was hands down Pryor-Arguello I

 

[Loyal]

I got in to it years ago when FX/Fox sports1 carried the Ultimate Fighter series. Got to see many of the fighters before they made it, and many of the big named fighters who were on the show as coaches. Was brilliant format. Unfortunately, the sport has gone to such a pay for app production I couldnt imagine getting in to it today. If you have the chance to see the ESPN 30 for 30 on Chuck and Tito, I highly suggest it, really digs in to how the sport made prominence. The UFC has its share of wild knockouts, but if you want to see some real MMA mastery, check out some youtube of Royce Gracie

As for Mancini, man I was literally scared for his life when he was going to fight Livingstone Bramble, dude used to enter the ring with a snake on his shoulders.

15 rounds. Man, those were some crazy days.
I've only seen Muhammad Ali fights on youtube etc, and the classics were absolutely classic.
But for me, when I think of the best fight I ever saw (live), it was hands down Pryor-Arguello I

Ali was a loudmouth and I didn't like him in the early 70's. As I grew older and remember those fights against Frazier, Foreman, Jimmy Young, Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle...He was one the greatest I ever saw and it saddened me when he lost to Leon Spinks, who was clearly an inferior fighter. What also angered my young self was that I believed he lost a couple of times, but the judges gave him close decisions. I believe that he lost on points (for real) to Young and Shavers, but like they said back in those days, you had to knock the Champion out to be the Champ. As good as he was after his Viet Nam suspension, I think he was even better after the Liston fight (first one). He was the Greatest Heavyweight in my opinion, which even Mike Tyson would admit.

 

[ozarkram]

Frazier was my guy growing up. I loved his style of fighting. No matter what happens here tonight win or lose I am gonna be right here in front of you and I am not gonna stop and I am gonna hurt you. Many will point to the Foreman fight but to me that was a classic mismatch and never should have happened. Many years later I watched an interview with George where he was asked why did you just keep knocking Joe down? He answered something to the effect, Man that was Joe Frazier I knew if he ever got up and stayed up he was gonna be mad. I think that says it all.

 

[dieterbrock]

He was the Greatest Heavyweight in my opinion, which even Mike Tyson would admit.

I cant disagree with that, but like @flv said in one of the "best of all time" threads, I can only offer my opinion on guys I've actually seen play/fight. The only Ali fight I remember was the unfortunate Larry Holmes fight, where Holmes clearly didnt want to hurt him, but had to put him down. And in a reversal of fate, it felt the same way when he fought Tyson.
I dont know who was "greater", Holmes or Tyson. Tyson had the image, but Holmes beat more quality fighters, even if in unspectacular fashion.
I'll say this though, when the term "Dream Team" gets thrown around, there will never be a Dream Team like the one we saw in 1984. Not the NBA guys, nope. The Greatest Dream Team of all was the 1984 USA Olympic Boxing team. Just an unreal collection of future champions. Mark Breland, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Tyrell Biggs and Evander Holyfield (I'm forgetting others)
Just an unreal group

 

[ozarkram]

Without a doubt IMHO the greatest fight ever was the thrilla in manila. Frazier couldn't answer for the 15th and Ali passed out when the towel was thrown in. Neither man was ever the same. Ali would later say it was the closest to death he had ever been.

 

[Loyal]

The 1976 Olympic team was pretty darn good with Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael and Leon Spinks....

 

[dieterbrock]

Not comparing vs other fights, just check out this first round, amazing this went 14 rounds

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O39psaFgk_U

 

[dieterbrock]

Without a doubt IMHO the greatest fight ever was the thrilla in manila. Frazier couldn't answer for the 15th and Ali passed out when the towel was thrown in. Neither man was ever the same. Ali would later say it was the closest to death he had ever been.

I'm gonna watch this again today

 

[Loyal]

Looks like Tyson Fury will fight Deonte Wilder a second time in December, with a mandatory defense of the WBC title by the winner versus Dillion Whyte. I will make these fights a priority this year!

 

[Loyal]

Not comparing vs other fights, just check out this first round, amazing this went 14 rounds

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O39psaFgk_U

I had a good friend who was a boxer that styled himself after Alexis Arguello. He called him a technician, and Arguello was great.

 

[ozarkram]

I'm gonna watch this again today

Pay close attention to the in ring banter. Ali " They told me you was washed up Joe" Frazier " They lied to you champ"

 

[thirteen28]

He was the Greatest Heavyweight in my opinion, which even Mike Tyson would admit.

Ali was the dominant fighter in the division over two decades when the heavyweight division had an embarrassment of riches of talent. Not just Ali, but Frazier, Foreman, Norton were all upper echelon fighters (although I couldn't stand Norton), and even the second tier guys like Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Jerry Quarry, etc., were decent fighters.

The 80's was great for welterweights and middleweights ... Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, Duran ... wow. Most incredible knockout I ever saw was when Hearns took out Duran with a right hand that would have killed a mere mortal. Duran fought until age 51, and only lost inside the distance three time - the "no mas" fight, stopped on his feet by William Joppy at age 47 ... and this:


View: https://youtu.be/q2ukZxq8j0Q?t=448

 

[Loyal]

Ali was the dominant fighter in the division over two decades when the heavyweight division had an embarrassment of riches of talent. Not just Ali, but Frazier, Foreman, Norton were all upper echelon fighters (although I couldn't stand Norton), and even the second tier guys like Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Jerry Quarry, etc., were decent fighters.

The 80's was great for welterweights and middleweights ... Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, Duran ... wow. Most incredible knockout I ever saw was when Hearns took out Duran with a right hand that would have killed a mere mortal. Duran fought until age 51, and only lost inside the distance three time - the "no mas" fight, stopped on his feet by William Joppy at age 47 ... and this:


View: https://youtu.be/q2ukZxq8j0Q?t=448

What blew my mind was when Hagler destroyed Hearns in what, 3 rounds?

 

[ozarkram]

What blew my mind was when Hagler destroyed Hearns in what, 3 rounds?

I think Hearns broke his hand in that fight.

 

[thirteen28]

What blew my mind was when Hagler destroyed Hearns in what, 3 rounds?

It was short, but damn, that was one helluva fight. The ring announcer wasn't lying when he said their would be 15 rounds of boxing action, he just forgot to mention it would all be compressed into three rounds.

Hearns certainly dished some out in that fight, opening a huge cut over Hagler's eye, but Hearns didn't have as good of a chin as Hagler (whose chin made granite look like glass), not to mention ...

I think Hearns broke his hand in that fight.

... that. What was cool about Hearns is that he kept it quiet for a long time and never used that as an excuse for the loss.