DSP Boxing thread. Ding! Ding!

[fsquid]

first interesting boxing story in months though!

[pk500]

Photos from an absolutely magical, unforgettable weekend for my son and me at the Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies in Canastota, N.Y. Boxers and boxing people are just the best among all sports in the world.

For Facebook friends and friends of friends:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 1588818685

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 1588818685

[pk500]

W. Klitschko, David Haye square off in FANTASTIC HBO "Faceoff" video with Max Kellerman. This fight, July 2, is the first significant bout in the heavyweight division in nearly a decade:



Klitschko does a damn good job as Ivan Drago in this video! Should be a dandy fight, as there is no love lost between these cats.

[Diablo25]

W. Klitschko, David Haye square off in FANTASTIC HBO "Faceoff" video with Max Kellerman. This fight, July 2, is the first significant bout in the heavyweight division in nearly a decade:



Klitschko does a damn good job as Ivan Drago in this video! Should be a dandy fight, as there is no love lost between these cats.

I hope Klitschko knocks the piss out of Haye.

[Lancer]

haven't followed boxing in a while so I take it the Heavyweight division is pretty much dead when it comes to American boxers?

[pk500]

haven't followed boxing in a while so I take it the Heavyweight division is pretty much dead when it comes to American boxers?

Yes. The heavyweight division is pretty much dead, period, other than this fight.

Look to the lower weights for excitement. Plenty of talent, plenty of Americans.

[pk500]

I hope Klitschko knocks the piss out of Haye.

I'm torn.

The heavyweight division needs an exciting entertainer like Haye. It needs someone with pizazz, who talks and fights a good game. Plus I'm sick of seeing monstrous, slow fighters like the Klitschko brothers, Povetkin, Valuev and Arreola get all the attention in the heavyweight division. I much prefer smaller, skilled heavies like Haye and Adamek.

Haye also takes risks in the ring, something W. Klitschko never does. Wlad is one of the most boring champions in the world despite his tremendous right hand. He always thinks defense first, protecting his china chin and setting up his neutron bomb of a right hand with pawing left jabs.

Plus the Klitschkos' reign of boredom has lasted long enough. It really has hurt the heavyweight division.

And W. Klitschko is a classy champion. He is a smart, proud man who handles himself like a professional. He also boned Hayden Panettiere for more than a year before they recently broke up.

The moral side of me wants to see Wlad kick Haye's ass. But it would be MUCH better for boxing if Haye won.

My biggest wish is for a competitive, exciting fight in which both men are hurt and forced to muster serious will to continue. The heavyweight division needs a new iconic rivalry. Maybe this could be it.

A Klitschko-Haye rivalry would be fascinating, because everything is so different between these two men. Different size, different style in and out of the ring, different backgrounds, different skin color. Plus they really do hate each other. There's nothing artificial about the enmity in the HBO interview above.

It's a perfect setup. Roll on July 2!

[grtwhtsk]

Anyone catch the Alexander - Matthyssee fight on Saturday night? I was really bummed to see Matthyssee robbed. I felt like there was some home cooking going on with the decision.

[pk500]

Anyone catch the Alexander - Matthyssee fight on Saturday night? I was really bummed to see Matthyssee robbed. I felt like there was some home cooking going on with the decision.

I did, and there definitely was home cooking. The fight took place in Alexander's new home town in St. Charles, Mo., and Don King and HBO knew that Alexander would be done as a box-office draw with two straight losses.

Sadly Alexander and guys like Andre Berto are great athletes, but not great fighters, who are ordained as chosen ones by HBO for fights. Ross Greenburg and his staff at HBO pretty much pick the guys they want to get lucrative premium-TV fights after their heads are filled with bullsh*t by the likes of Al Haymon and other unscrupulous operators.

That's why it's so refreshing to see Ken Hershman at Showtime devise and fulfill great ideas like the Super 6 and Showtime Bantamweight tournaments, in which fighters determine the chosen ones of the network, not suits.

[XXXIV]

Spoiler alert for those planning to watch Klitschko Haye later.



















First time I remember ever agreeing with Merchant....8 rds down...When is the fight going to start?

Sad to say but rd 9 was an improvement.

Maybe we will get a finish?

[XXXIV]

Spoiler alert for those planning to watch Klitschko Haye later.
























The poster was wrong as we basically only got one round of boxing. Haye finally got around to fighting in the 12th. Really nice of him.

At least the title is unified but really not a great way to showcase the sport for sure.

[fsquid]

this fight was basically why I don't watch boxing anymore.

[pk500]

this fight was basically why I don't watch boxing anymore.

This was a bad night for boxing because the heavyweights attract tire kickers. And no one is going to buy this division after taking it for a test drive with this fight.

But those who give up on boxing because of a moribund heavyweight division are missing out. There is so much talent and so many good fights from 118 to 175 pounds. Entertaining bouts every weekend.

[Inuyasha]

[pk500]

The Rios-Antillon lightweight title bout this Saturday night on Showtime should wash away all of the grime created by the Klitschko-Haye non-fight. It should be a banger of the highest level.

Rios said it best this week at the final press conference: "It's going to be two warriors going at it. We don't know how to take a step back. We're going to beat the sh*t out of each other until one of us falls down."

[grtwhtsk]

PK, you catch the Paul Williams fight tonight? That decision is the reason I want every fight taken out of the judges hands. As soon as I heard the 114-114 from the first judge, I knew trouble was coming.

[Inuyasha]

at least Vince McMahon tells me it's fixed.

[XXXIV]

Sad.

When I was a kid and through my HS and college years, I used to watch any and every fight...Not for many years now. I now pick and choose.

It wasnt bad heavy weights that drove me away from boxing. It was this garbage. It probably was always going on but I when it seemed to start happening on a very regular basis I had had it.

Shame.

[pk500]

PK, you catch the Paul Williams fight tonight? That decision is the reason I want every fight taken out of the judges hands. As soon as I heard the 114-114 from the first judge, I knew trouble was coming.

Abominable. I sat in front of the TV, mouth agape, for about 30 seconds after the decision after it was announced. One of the worst I've seen in 35 years of watching boxing. Williams won three rounds, tops. I had it 9-3, Lara.

But as Max Kellerman said, there's simply no excuse for the New Jersey commission allowing such inexperienced judges to score a big fight. Part of me says a fix could have been in since Williams is an HBO pet and Lara has zero public appeal in the U.S. But the optimist in me says three judges simply choked on the big stage.

Inexperienced judges often err by giving the busier fighter more credit than the fighter landing fewer, but much more effective, punches. But this isn't amateur boxing, in which rapid-fire, pitty-pat combinations score points. This is professional prize fighting, in which the fighter landing the most punishing punches should win the round.

The judges last night in Atlantic City gave Williams credit for being busy and penalized Lara for being effective. A travesty. The decision was even more appalling considering Lara was uncharacteristically aggressive and executed a smart strategic plan brilliantly.

Body language at the final bell spoke the truth. Lara celebrated with vigor, and Williams -- whose face was battered and swollen -- raised his arm meekly. Williams MUST know deep-down that he lost this fight.

There's no way Williams will give Lara a rematch, either. I'm sure he wants nothing to do with him after the beating he received last night.

But at least Rico Ramos and Brandon Rios took matters out of the judges' hands on the Williams-Lara undercard and Showtime main event, respectively. What a one-punch KO by Ramos, and Rios is the future of American boxing. Only Juan Manuel Marquez could challenge Rios at 135, and I still think Rios' power, relentless style and titanium chin might be enough to beat the great Marquez.

[pk500]

Sad.

When I was a kid and through my HS and college years, I used to watch any and every fight...Not for many years now. I now pick and choose.

It wasnt bad heavy weights that drove me away from boxing. It was this garbage. It probably was always going on but I when it seemed to start happening on a very regular basis I had had it.

Shame.

Please. Give me a break.

Horrible decisions like this have been a common thread running through the fabric of boxing since the Queensberry Rules were endorsed as the standards of boxing in the 1860s. There's nothing new about bad judging like this. We just read and hear more of it because of the Internet, social media, on-demand video, etc.

This isn't the first horrible decision in the sport. Certainly won't be the last.

But on the bright side, last night was a microcosm of the great sport of boxing, all in four fights.

On HBO, Rico Ramos was losing six rounds to one when he knocked out his opponent with one punch. Proof that boxing is the most exciting sport on Earth because everything can change with one punch. Then we got the HORRIFIC Williams-Lara decision, which sadly is part of the sport.

On Showtime, Molina emerged from his widely known role as "an opponent" or a "stepping stone" as a player at 154 after dominating the overrated Kermit Cintron in an upset. Then we saw a classic "brawl in a phone booth" between Brandon Rios and Urbano Antillon, with Rios pummelling Antillon into a third-round TKO.

One-punch KO. Horrid decision. An upset allowing a journeyman to emerge as a contender. A punishing brawl between two guys who don't know how to back down.

Hell, I was entertained last night.

[XXXIV]

Please. Give me a break.

Sure! Arm or a leg?

Horrible decisions like this have been a common thread running through the fabric of boxing since the Queensberry Rules were endorsed as the standards of boxing in the 1860s. There's nothing new about bad judging like this. We just read and hear more of it because of the Internet, social media, on-demand video, etc.

This isn't the first horrible decision in the sport. Certainly won't be the last.

Agree, as I mentioned it isnt a new thing to have a clear victor get screwed.... It just seemed to me that it was starting to happen too often and I started to think that they really were not "mistakes" . Plus, I am talking about 15-20 years ago when I started to lose interest and that was long before social media and anonymous internet idiots.

Hell, I was entertained last night.

I was til the end. Then I wondered why I waste my time with this bullshit.

[pk500]

XXXIV:

Curious: Have you stopped watching soccer because of the horrible, subjective officiating in that sport? The U.S.-Brazil match in the Women's World Cup today is a fine example of officials' ineptitude.

Just checking ...

[XXXIV]

XXXIV:

Curious: Have you stopped watching soccer because of the horrible, subjective officiating in that sport? The U.S.-Brazil match in the Women's World Cup today is a fine example of officials' ineptitude.

Just checking ...

I obviously havent stopped watching boxing either

Like I said I went from any and every fight to picking and choosing.

Again. I just dont think desicions like the one last night are " mistakes".

EDIT: I think its great that guys like you , a couple of friends of mine and my brother here still watch it regularly and are keeping the sport alive. I have one friend who comes over and all he wants to do is watch the HBO On demand fights he missed.

[pk500]

I'm skeptical about HBO's influence on the sport. And I would have screamed "fix" if experienced, big-time judges levied that decision last night.

But I'm less apt to look for scandal when looking at the credentials of the judges. I just those novice hacks blew it.

It's time for state commissions to pick judges for fights, not promoters. The current framework is too ripe for corruption and conflict of interest.

[XXXIV]

I'm skeptical about HBO's influence on the sport. And I would have screamed "fix" if experienced, big-time judges levied that decision last night.

But I'm less apt to look for scandal when looking at the credentials of the judges. I just think they blew it.

It's time for state commissions to pick judges for fights, not promoters. The current framework is too ripe for corruption and conflict of interest.

Great points.

When its so one sided I cant help but go there.

I love boxers. Your Nick Charles quote says it all. That is mostly what drives me nuts about decisions like those.