Boxing sucks. That's the bottom line.

The BBQ Pit
1

Mike Tyson punks out for the last time

OK, so the heavyweight division is washed up. We have a collection of aging palookas carrying the flag in boxing’s premiere division. Lennox Lewis wouldn’t even have been worthy to hold Tyson’s jock 20 years ago, Evander just won’t go away, acting like he can still hack it even though he’s over the hill and a glorified cruiserweight (and lousy dancer, being even more wooden than Howdy Doody), and Riddick Bowe is back boxing. This after the ear biting incident, the crying incident (Oliver McCall, anyone?) and the joining the Marines and punking out incident (Bowe). I get the feeling that Ali could wobble out of his wheelchair and beat these clowns right now.

OK, so you say that the heavyweight division isn’t all there is? Felix Trinidad gets humiliated and retires. Oscar De La Hoya=overrated pretty boy. Roy Jones, Jr., pound for pound the best boxer in the world, loses his last two decisions and appears to be washed up. All the “name” fighters are finished. It’s a shame that an ancient George Foreman has been the standard bearer for boxing in the past ten years.

OK, so you say that the lower weight classes are fun to watch. Sure they are, if you like watching sixth graders going at it. They’re so light that if there’s a knockout it’s because one of them tripped, fell and hit their head. I’m not going to say that they hit like girls, but man, if I have to watch a bantamweight fight for some good action the halcyon days are over. It’s all I can do not to laugh when I think that the savior of boxing might be a guy like Zab Judah.

Speaking of girls, the most exciting thing going is Laila Ali, and she’s trading on her name. I’m sorry, but I’m just not convinced about women’s boxing. I haven’t seen the kind of skill that is necessary to legitimize it just yet, but there is potential. When Ali trades blows like her dad did with a worthy opponent then we’ll talk. Until then it’s like Muhammad against Cooney or Tex Cobb, nothing more than a warmup, a sparring match.

Face it, folks. Boxing is dying. They don’t even have Tyson to overhype anymore. I guess it’s all for the best, though. We don’t have to listen to Don King flapping his big fat mouth anymore. If we’re lucky.

2

Thus spake a man who clearly didn’t watch the Tszyu/Hatton match. :slight_smile:

3

Fair play to Kevin McBride! Tyson tries to break his arm, and he responds by landing some lovely punches. I’ve been backing this guys chances, and few people would listen :slight_smile:

C’Mon the Clones Colossus!

4

You just don’t like Lennox because he fights with his brain instead of with his head :wink:

5

I’m not saying I disagree but fucking Tyson should never have been let near a ring EVER again after his prison spell. He is a nothing more then a thuggish bully and he never boxed like more then that.

The lower classes can be fun to watch. Olympic boxing boxing is always good, whatever the weight, because it is from the heart not for the cash.

6

I’m relatively new to boxing on TV, having devoted as much time as ESPN and HBO allow for the past couple of years. I was a big fan of local Golden Gloves back in the 60’s, but lost interest after a few evenings of nothing special. I didn’t even follow Ali all that much. And Sugar Ray Leonard came and went without my spending much time watching him.

But I think Arturo Gatti, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Maywether, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao, Jermaine Taylor, and maybe another dozen or so (apologies for misspellings) make for decent viewing whenever they’re involved, especially with each other – where applicable.

I agree that we’re not treated to the Marciano or Ali level of excitement, but I still enjoy a well-matched bout. Boxing’s not dead for me yet.

7

Silly me, I didn’t even know it was boxing season…

8

Of course, the fact that Boxing is a brutal repulsive disgusting excuse for a “sport” should also be taken into account.

It should be banned.

9

Tyson’s last two losses were to an Englishman and an Irishman.

John Ruiz holds a title.

I didn’t even consider buying this fight. I got better value for my money watching the Cotto fight, and it was free.

10

God how I miss FNF! Now, THAT was boxing! I can remember watching the program every week with my dad and seeing some great HW matches andsome awesome knockouts, too.

Without another forum like FNF, I agree-boxing is dead.

Sam

11

Why?

12

Because beating someone to a pulp until they fall to the ground unconscious is disgusting behaviour and not ‘sporting’ in any sense. It’s just repellent.

13

I assume you meant to title this ‘*American * boxing sucks’?

Did you watch Hatton/Tszyu? Or Corrales/Castillo? Will you watch Mayweather/Gatti? If you ignore fruads like Tyson and most of the other heavyweights, there are some fabulous boxers around right now.

14

Boxing’s implicit imperative is to cause a brain injury in your opponent. In other sports, while that risk may exist, it’s not the de facto goal of the event.

15

He lost to an englishman and an Irishman! OMG! WTF? the English and the Irish have learned how to box?this is the end, the end of boxing. :rolleyes:

16

Avenger, the problem is mostly that in America, the home of the free, land of the capitalist, we don’t normally get to see boxing without paying exorbinant fees. Like I said before-we used to be able to watch great boxing on Friday Night Fights(which was also Tuesday night and I think at one time Wednesay night fights before fucking USA killed it). Since FNF went away in…1998(?), nobody has really filled its shoes(IMO), not even HBOs boxing program on Friday night.

Sam

17

ESPN2 has a Tuesday and a Friday boxing show with Teddy Atlas and Joe Tessitore. Decent bouts about half the time, and great insights from Teddy. The Tuesday show is seasonal, mostly hot weather.

18

I can’t actually believe Tyson lost to McBride. I mean, I knew he was shot but McBride is terrible. He’s the only fighter I’ve ever seen throw a punch in one round that didn’t land until the next :stuck_out_tongue:

There has been some rumour that Ricky Hatton’s first defence could be a fight in the autumn here in Cardiff against Diego Corrales, on the same bill as Joe Calzaghe against Jeff Lacey. That would be very cool.

19

Ah well… there’s always watching the Ward/Gatti videos.

20

I think you clearly have to diferentiate between the suckyness of the heavyweights and the revitalzed middle and lower weights. Yeah Felix sucked, but he got his ass handed to him, Winky Wright had the best defensive fight I have ever seen in my life.

And Pacquiao/Morales a couple months ago was a hell of a fight.

For years it seemed like the lower divisions were dominated by hispanic exagerated ‘technical’ fighters trained basically the same way by the same group of trainers, and it was pretty boring. But lately those lower weight fights have been much better, and the fighters a lot hungrier. especially as more non-North-and-South-American boxers show up with totally different trained styles.