DSP Boxing thread. Ding! Ding!

[grtwhtsk]

Love what Freddie Roach has to say here.... http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/74 ... ther-fight

[pk500]

Love what Freddie Roach has to say here.... http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/74 ... ther-fight

The fight won't happen this year, and probably never. Arum won't let it happen for inexplicable reasons, constantly inventing excuses.

I'm one of those people whose zeal for this fight has evaporated into apathy over the past two years. There are plenty of other fights -- many more entertaining on paper, too -- that I'd rather watch and will happen than Pacquiao-Mayweather.

So many people think this fight will be Ali-Frazier III, Corrales-Castillo I or Ward-Gatti I. They couldn't be more wrong. It's a borderline sh*t fight between two styles that mix about as well as the NRA and the Sierra Club.

[Rodster]

Paul out of curiosity where does Muhammad Ali rank with you? I was watching some early footage from the Ali vs Liston fight in 1964 and not only did he have power but incredible hand speed, fast footwork and defense skills where he was just plain hard to hit moving or standing still like Mayweather.

[pk500]

Paul out of curiosity where does Muhammad Ali rank with you? I was watching some early footage from the Ali vs Liston fight in 1964 and not only did he have power but incredible hand speed, fast footwork and defense skills where he was just plain hard to hit moving or standing still like Mayweather.

Neck-and-neck with Joe Louis as the greatest heavyweight ever. I probably give Ali the slight edge because his toughest competition, Frazier, Foreman, Liston, was better than Louis' toughest foes, Schmeling, Sharkey, Walcott.

You've pinpointed all but one of Ali's great attributes. Perhaps his most underrated trait was his chin. The guy could take a punch like few heavyweights. Frazier hit him with some atomic left hooks in the Thrilla in Manila that would have maimed men with lesser beards.

Another overlooked attribute of Ali was the adaptation of his style after his hiatus due to resisting the draft. During his early years as a pro, he used his incredible speed and footwork to simply avoid getting hit. That ability was most evident in the first Liston fight, as Liston was a sluggish, hulking brute that Ali simply danced and teased, stinging him endlessly with his jab and combinations.

When Ali returned from exile, he was heavier and a touch slower. He sat down more on his punches to generate more power while still relying on his footwork and hand speed, which remained quicker than any heavyweight.

Ali also developed in the gym the defensive strategy of taking punches to tire stronger, slower elite challengers like Foreman and Frazier, much to the dismay of his trainer, Angelo Dundee. That style would become the famous "rope-a-dope" that he used to beat Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle. Sadly, that style also led to the Parkinson's Disease which has made Ali a hollow physical shell.

Ali was a welterweight in a heavyweight's body. There never was a heavyweight like him before or since.

[Rodster]

One of my favorite Heavyweights was Larry Holmes. The guy caught so much flack for fighting a boring style but all he did was jab himself to a win in most of his fights. IIRC Larry Holmes also had one helluva chin.

[pk500]

One of my favorite Heavyweights was Larry Holmes. The guy caught so much flack for fighting a boring style but all he did was jab himself to a win in most of his fights. IIRC Larry Holmes also had one helluva chin.

Perhaps the most underrated heavyweight champion of all time. Holmes had the misfortune of following Ali as a dominant heavyweight champion. No one could measure up to that.

[Diablo25]

One of my favorite Heavyweights was Larry Holmes. The guy caught so much flack for fighting a boring style but all he did was jab himself to a win in most of his fights. IIRC Larry Holmes also had one helluva chin.

Perhaps the most underrated heavyweight champion of all time. Holmes had the misfortune of following Ali as a dominant heavyweight champion. No one could measure up to that.

Holmes' jab may have been the best of all time. Plus he is from Pa . The Easton Assassin baby. He was a sparring partner for Ali right up the road from where I live in Deer Lake. One of the first fights I remember watching when I was a kid was Holmes vs Ernie Shavers. Listening to Cosell call the fight brings back memories. Holmes was crushed by a Shavers right in the 7th that would have put most fighters to sleep. Holmes got up and still won the fight. I was hooked from there. Listen to Cosell at about the 2:50 mark..."Shavers at the age of 35...or whatever.".

[pk500]

Happy 70th birthday to The Greatest:



This video proves once again that today's trash-talkers in sports are mere princes to the king.

[10spro]

Indeed the greatest of them all. Happy 70th Cassius Clay.

Some of his famous quotes.

[Diablo25]

A definite happy birthday to the greatest. I had the great honor of meeting him at my little league banquet when I was 7 Years old back in 1977 . He was actually the heavyweight champ at the time. It was a bit before he lost to Leon Spinks. As some of you know he trained about a mile from where I live in Deer Lake PA. My mom actually went up to his camp to see if he would come to the banquet and he jumped at the opportunity. It was an awesome night. I Remember at the end of the night dozens of kids crowding around Ali looking to get a handshake/pat on the back and Ali reached over everyone to shake my mom's hand to, very graciously, thank her for the invite. I loved the man ever since.

Check out the video below. Some home movies (not mine) from back in the day. I experienced some of the stuff in the video on one occasion. It was not out of the ordinary to see Ali doing road work on the main drag where I live. Incredibly cool to have, arguably, the greatest athlete EVER training in my back yard.

[Diablo25]

Some more Ali nostalgia...a little known fact (to some) in the famous picture below look between Ali's legs and you can see, none other than, a young Larry Merchant! (one without the glasses) I love the look on his face

[pk500]

Great find on Merchant, Diablo!

The black-and-white version of that photo is the wallpaper on my phone. My ringtone is a boxing bell, too. Shocker, I know.

My brother and his buddy used to go to Deer Lake during the summer to see Ali train. They're ringside at camp in a scene from the fantastic Ali-Foreman documentary, "When We Were Kings." You MUST see that movie, if you haven't.



Small piece of Deer Lake trivia: Do you know who painted the names of the famous boxers on the big boulders at the camp? Ali's father, Cash, who was a sign painter by trade in Louisville.

[Diablo25]

Great find on Merchant, Diablo!

The black-and-white version of that photo is the wallpaper on my phone. My ringtone is a boxing bell, too. Shocker, I know.

My brother and his buddy used to go to Deer Lake during the summer to see Ali train. They're ringside at camp in a scene from the fantastic Ali-Foreman documentary, "When We Were Kings." You MUST see that movie, if you haven't.



Small piece of Deer Lake trivia: Do you know who painted the names of the famous boxers on the big boulders at the camp? Ali's father, Cash, who was a sign painter by trade in Louisville.

Absolutely saw When We Were Kings. Superb film. As far as the Merchant "find" I wish I were that cool. I saw an interview with Merchant where he unveiled the juicy tidbit.

[Jackdog]

Happy 70th birthday to The Greatest:



This video proves once again that today's trash-talkers in sports are mere princes to the king.

Dom and I are in Philly with Duane Bobick this weekend. Had dinner with Marvis Frazier last night. Afterwards we went by Joe's gym which is now a furniture store. Pretty sad really. We hung out for a few hours. We talked about boxing and family. We talked about Ali. I told Marvis how my father took a ton of abuse over rooting for Joe in the first fight. The tension in the black community over that fight was unreal. In our neighborhood,my father suffered the same verbal abuse that Ali leveled on Joe. I was a Frazier man just like my father. Considering my light skin I'll let you figure out what kind of fights I had during the weeks before and after that fight. I was only 9 years old but trust me ,it's stuck with me my entire life. Trash talk is one thing,the s*** Ali did to Joe was unbelievably racist and demeaning.The fight didn't need that kind of promotion, especially doing that period of American history. It was hate pure and simple. Joe Frazier deserved better. I don't really think white folks will ever understand how Phucked up it is to be called an "Uncle Tom". It cuts extremely deep. All that being said,the short and sweet of it,I will never call Ali "The Greatest". God forgives. Not me.

If you haven't already seen this HBO special,check it out. This is a small segment.

[pk500]

Dinner with Marvis and a tour of Joe's gym with Dom? Damn, that's special, Jackdiggity. A memory for life.

[Jackdog]

Dinner with Marvis and a tour of Joe's gym with Dom? Damn, that's special, Jackdiggity. A memory for life.

It was cool but sad.

[pk500]

RIP Bert Randolph Sugar. Boxing's pre-eminent historian and raconteur. One of a kind.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/s ... 53776100/1

[Rodster]

Wow sad news indeed. He was an icon and a giant in the business. Even if you rarely watched a boxing match and you saw the hat and cigar you knew who Bert Sugar was.

[Diablo25]

RIP to Bert. Definitely ONE OF A KIND.

[Rodster]

And I thought the Cotto vs Mayweather fight was going to be another easy win for PBF, so I didn't bother watching it, damn.

[10spro]

The jab was the key at keeping Mayweather honest, it sets up for a hook in order to penetrate his tough D. Good fight fom beginning to end, if Cotto was a tad quicker as he definitely had the determination and kept moving forward the whole fight. Moving up in weight didn't seem to affect Floyd's speed too much and his signature counter punching always effective, but he definitely took a few more punches than what he's used to take. Better fight than most people anticipated.

[Rodster]

Does the Cotto fight create more questions/problems now if he were to fight Pac-Man?

[jLp vAkEr0]

Proud of our champ (Cotto).

Gave a hell of a show, but Money is just plain better.

[pk500]

The jab was the key at keeping Mayweather honest, it sets up for a hook in order to penetrate his tough D. Good fight fom beginning to end, if Cotto was a tad quicker as he definitely had the determination and kept moving forward the whole fight. Moving up in weight didn't seem to affect Floyd's speed too much and his signature counter punching always effective, but he definitely took a few more punches than what he's used to take. Better fight than most people anticipated.

Cotto never let Floyd establish distance. He took the fight into a phone booth, which doesn't suit Floyd. Plus Cotto did an excellent job of cornering Floyd and cutting off the ring.

It was odd to see a fight in which Floyd Mayweather was moving forward as the aggressor, with Miguel Cotto backing up and rolling with some shots.

Very entertaining fight.

For those who saw the undercards: Please, Shane Mosley, stop. You're headed to Canastota. I would like to hear your induction speech without an interpreter to decipher your words due to slurring caused by excessive punishment. Stop, Shane. Now.

[pk500]

Does the Cotto fight create more questions/problems now if he were to fight Pac-Man?

Let's wait to see how Pacquiao performs against Timothy Bradley on June 9 before making that assessment. I'm one of the few who believes that Mayweather's first fight after his jail sentence will be against Bradley, not Pacquiao.

Bradley is a dangerous, dangerous foe for Pacquiao, whose skills appear to have diminished a bit more than Mayweather's at this point.