**ibn-**IMO hockey peaked in the early 80s (Gretzky’s peak)
Wasn’t there talk of Floyd fighting Khan in the UK? Hard to imagine him getting the old passport out, but the fight would shift a huge amount of tickets here (although I guess that must amount to a small part of the takings overall).
Khan would be an interesting match-up - he could ask Floyd a few questions. Khan has some sublime skills, unfortunately he also has some epic flaws, and it’s hard not to see Floyd exploiting them. Think he’d KO Khan if he wanted to.
Really? I’d be surprised if Khan took more than one round off of Floyd. I think he’d be completely outclassed. He’s fast but still slower than Floyd, he doesn’t have the kind of power to bother Floyd, and he’s really not that hard to hit. I think Floyd would take him apart.
Donaire didn’t look that great over the weekend, but he got the knockout, so I guess I can’t complain too much about his performance.
Oh my yes, and I have been for years. That’s how I saw the Carlos Zarate-Alfonso Zamora fight way back when.
Regards,
Shodan
Sweet!
I don’t think the fight will be quite as lopsided but I agree that Mayweather has very little to fear from Khan.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed despite the KO. Donaire wasn’t fighting scared, but he almost seemed apathetic until the 9th when he seemed to realize that if he doesn’t bring it, he’s going home with another L. His heart didn’t seem to be in it until the very end, and from what I can tell, Donaire’s biggest enemy is his shaky confidence or dedication or both.
I know some of you are bored by Andre Ward, but man did he look good last night. His jab was snapping Rodriguez’s head back like a pez dispenser.
Ward is fighting at a completely different level than every other super middleweight. Makes for boring fights, but I just sit back and marvel at his level of mastery.
Is anyone gonna buy the Pacquiao vs Rios PPV this weekend. I plan on skipping it and catching it on HBO the next week. (All of the speculation for the reasons behind the “death of boxing,” I think the move to cable TV and especially to PPV is what has really hurt the sport. I consider myself a big boxing fan, and I almost never buy PPV fights.)
Is anyone else watching the Froch v Groves PPV tonight? I read earlier that there’s going to be 10 fights on the undercard.
I predict a KO win for Carl Froch inside 6 rounds.
A buddy and I were talking about this recently. The sport really changed when they stop letting mainstream outlets like network tv cover it, like the heyday of Cosell/Ali. I’m not a big fan of boxing, but I’d watch more if it were accessible. I’ve got friends that are big fans and have PPV parties every once in a while, and that’s pretty much all I see of the sport on the pro level. (A friend boxes, I go see him occasionally.)
That decision isn’t going to help boxing’s reputation. The announcement that 2 of the judges had Groves winning by a single point after he dominated the early rounds makes things worse.
I think most of us underestimated George going into the fight, but he proved us wrong and was rightly cheered out of the arena. His jab, speed and punching power were really impressive. Carl was hurt more than once, but somehow managed to suck it up and carry on, coming back with big shots of his own. He’s got a great chin and it showed tonight. Some of the punches he received would have knocked the majority of boxers out. I think the fight would have ended in the same way if the referee hadn’t stopped it, but Groves deserved the benefit of the doubt. Having said that, if the fight had gone on for a few seconds longer, Groves may have been badly hurt. The referee is in a no-win situation.
Away from the controversy, what a brilliant advert for British boxing! A rematch has to be on the cards for next year.
And having major title fights on PPV is different from, say, in Ali’s prime in what way, exactly? Well, besides the fact that, back then, PPV meant having to find a movie theater showing the fight via closed-circuit TV? (The alternatives were getting round-by-round synopses over the radio, if there was a station in your area doing that, or, if you had a shortwave, occasionally a fight would be broadcast live on Armed Forces Radio and you could pick up the signal.)
One problem might be, how often do the big names fight nowadays? Isn’t it something like once a year? Didn’t at least one of WBA and WBC have a “you must defend your title at least once every six months” rule? And even if they still do, there are so many organizations (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, World Boxing Guys, International Boxing Types, 34th Street Ladies Tuesday Afternoon Book Club, Country Music Awards Association, and Boxing Federation) that, for some reason, all have the same credibility that rules can be ignored?
Didn’t know who Groves was coming into the fight, now I definitely do. What a great fight (other than the wtf stoppage) Looking at the those jabs, it seemed like Groves should be the one called the Cobra. Groves had Froch’s number and Froch was getting pretty frustrated by it. Near the end, I think Groves started to get a little too comfortable perhaps, started straying from game plan and tried to brawl with Froch and paid for it with a completely unnecessary stoppage.
I have no idea what that stoppage was about. He was getting hit with good shots but he was firing back, wasn’t out on his feet or anything like that. I could see that round ending with Groves being unable to get back on his feet in ten, but I could also very easily see him surviving the round, having some sense talked into him by his trainer and winning the fight. I guess we’ll never know.
Didn’t know or particularly care who Groves was coming into the fight, now I definitely do. What a great fight (other than the wtf stoppage). Looking at the those jabs, it seemed like Groves should be the one called the Cobra. Groves had Froch’s number and Froch was getting pretty frustrated by it. Near the end, I think Groves started to get a little too comfortable perhaps, started straying from game plan and tried to brawl with Froch and paid for it with a completely unnecessary stoppage.
I have no idea what that stoppage was about. He was getting hit with good shots but he was firing back, hadn’t been on ground during the match, wasn’t out on his feet or anything like that. I could see that round ending with Groves being unable to get back on his feet in ten, but I could have also just as easily seen him surviving the round, having some sense talked into him by his corner and winning the fight. I guess we’ll never know.
Groves showed his inexperience on at least one occasion by dropping his hands in a crazy display of bravado. After all the talk before the fight he obviously wanted to prove a point, but Froch is a great finisher and hits hard. It was a foolish move and one he was lucky to get away with.
Despite what Carl says, from the way the fight panned out he definitely underestimated George in almost every department. I’ve never seen Froch dropped with a single punch like he was in the first round. It’s a good job that he possesses those legendary powers of recovery, otherwise the fight might have been over inside a couple of rounds. You only have to go back to May to see how good Froch can be. His jab against Kessler was sickening. He hasn’t lost all that or aged overnight as some people were saying. For the first few rounds he almost seemed scared to come forward and his punches had nothing behind them. However, despite his age he somehow manages to come on stronger in the later rounds and finish people off.
I’ve just finished watching the Manny Pacquiao vs Brandon Rios fight. Pacquiao was back to his best with an incredible display of boxing skills. His speed and combinations were out of this world. I scored it as a 120-108 shutout.
Groves - Froch was excellent. Thought the Groves stoppage was premature, obviously, but Froch was coming on extremely strong - Groves sort of had his back turned and got tangled up with the ref. His defence was all over the shop and then the ref stepped in. Better to stop it too early than too late, as they say, but a sore way to lose for Groves.
Don’t know what this means for Froch. On the one hand he showed why he’s a champion - tremendous heart to weather the storm last night and then turn the tide. OTOH, fight like that against a real WC fighter and he’ll get shelled out in 5 rounds.
I know exactly what moment in the fight you’re referring to. That was just pure stupid machismo and I think that shift in attitude is what cost Groves fight. Froch had in it his mind to simply annihilate Groves after losing those early rounds and Groves thought two can play in that game and Froch showed him exactly how unwise it was to do so. Froch was fighting angry and if Groves had kept his cool and stuck with the game plan, I feel like he would have won. He still could have won I thought but like others have said, it’s a no-win situation for the ref and he erred on the side of caution, but too much so.
They both probably learned a lot this fight* and they simply have to make the rematch.
*Froch: Do not underestimate Groves.
Groves: Don’t think with your balls, stay cool.
[MODERATING]
There’s no need for this. Derailing threads in this manner is specifically forbidden.
No warning issued, but do not do this again.
RickJay
Moderator
Bumming around YouTube, I ran into Bradley vs. Provodnikov, the full fight posted by HBO in HD. They fought in March and the fight had completely slipped under my radar, but damn, one helluva fight. Definitely 2013 fight of the year candidate.
It’s obvious everyone expected Bradley to steamroll Ruslan, but boy, that did not happen. Bradley was definitely out on his feet several times during the fight and anyone with a lesser chin or heart would have been stopped. Pacquiao’s former sparring partner, Ruslan is a monster and definitely someone to keep your eyes on.
The fight ended in a close UD, and I’m tempted to say that if Ruslan had been a more prominent fighter when they fought, there might have been a stoppage or the decision could have gone to Ruslan. Bradley, ever the sportsman, gave Ruslan the props he deserved, saying that he could take on any 140 or 147.
Great fight, every fight fan should check it out if they haven’t already.