Boxing Thread

[wandshogun09]

Vince McMahon back in May 2002, predicting Lewis vs Tyson;

I'm gonna be there, I'm not gonna miss this because I think Mike's gonna come out and break bones on Lennox Lewis and I don't think it will go more than three rounds. You'll see the old Mike Tyson, he'll destroy Lennox Lewis in less than three rounds and then from there...a great big Las Vegas 'Welcome Back Mike'.

I was watching some of the Lewis vs Tyson build-up yesterday and I can't believe how quick that 11 years has gone. That was the last really massive fight to date wasn't it? I'm talking in terms of worldwide anticipation. We've had Mayweather vs Hatton and Pacquiao vs Hatton which were huge but Lewis vs Tyson was another beast. Everyone I spoke to seemed to know when it was happening, everyone was following it, it was on the news and in the papers, everyone was predicting the outcome. People were going on about it at work who never talked about boxing usually as well.LEWISTYSON

[Egg Shen]

oh yeh no one created buzz like Mike Tyson, im gutted that i missed the Tyson-era. I followed everything post-prison and he's probably the reason i even got interested in boxing.

 

David Haye is out of the Manuel Charr fight, hand injury

[Gooner]

The WBC have removed Khan from the rankings at 147lbs, but put him as number 1 contender for same belt at 140lbs. Glad they have seen sense, what a joke that was, trying to make it easier to make a fight against "Money" May down the line.

[HeavyT]

Vince McMahon back in May 2002, predicting Lewis vs Tyson;

 

I'm gonna be there, I'm not gonna miss this because I think Mike's gonna come out and break bones on Lennox Lewis and I don't think it will go more than three rounds. You'll see the old Mike Tyson, he'll destroy Lennox Lewis in less than three rounds and then from there...a great big Las Vegas 'Welcome Back Mike'.

 

I was watching some of the Lewis vs Tyson build-up yesterday and I can't believe how quick that 11 years has gone. That was the last really massive fight to date wasn't it? I'm talking in terms of worldwide anticipation. We've had Mayweather vs Hatton and Pacquiao vs Hatton which were huge but Lewis vs Tyson was another beast. Everyone I spoke to seemed to know when it was happening, everyone was following it, it was on the news and in the papers, everyone was predicting the outcome. People were going on about it at work who never talked about boxing usually as well.

 

LEWIS

TYSON

Was a big deal but happened ten years too late. might have to go back and take a look at what other people predicted, for me it was confirmation mike was finished

[Brock Goldberg]

The second episode of Sky's The Gloves Are Off series is on at 10:30 tonight for those interested.

[Stylin_and_Profilin]

Bloody brilliant it was too.

 

Won't spoil it for anyone but it essentially becomes the Chris Eubank show. 15+ years on and he still knows how to get in Steve Collins' head and under his skin. Marvelous.

[David]

David Haye is out of the Manuel Charr fight, hand injury

Postponed or out altogether do you know?

[jimufctna24]

David Haye is out of the Manuel Charr fight, hand injury

Postponed or out altogether do you know?

I got a full refund today, that I was told I would only get if Hearn chose to cancel the event rather than postpone it.

 

More than a bit miffed as it was my Dad's Birthday present and I only have a week to replace it, but hey that is the fight business I guess.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah that's shit about Haye.

 

Bloody brilliant it was too.

 

Won't spoil it for anyone but it essentially becomes the Chris Eubank show. 15+ years on and he still knows how to get in Steve Collins' head and under his skin. Marvelous.

 

I don't have Sky Sports at the moment so I missed this. If anyone finds a link to this can you sort us out with it please? Eubank's fucking awesome.

 

Funny you mention Eubank winding up Collins because Eubank often says Collins was the only man he ever fought who managed to beat him at the mind games. Before their first fight (I think) Collins remarked something like "I'm fighting for Ireland, what have you ever done for your people in Africa?" Which really wound him up. There was the whole hypnosis bollocks as well where Collins was supposedly getting treatment from Paul McKenna which would make him immune to Eubank's punches. Mental.

 

In relation to fuck all, Naz's entrance for the Barrera fight;

 

I still miss the little bastard.

Edited May 15, 2013 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

yeh The Gloves Are Off was excellent. Eubank mentioned that Collins out-thought him him their fights but the way in which Eubank described it was masterful, he definitely got one up on Collins, who came off as a bitter, hard nosed fucker throughout.

 

Eubank really pressed the issue of Collins supposedly dodged Joe Calzaghe back in the day too, i think it's pretty clear that Collins wasn't entirely truthful about that situation on the show, his response shocked Eubank and Calzaghe himself.

 

Excellent discussion though, im surprised they didn't talk about Calzaghe & Jones fighting other than a brief mention. It's also a bit of a shame that they spent the second half of the show hyping up the Froch/Kessler fight through the guys on the panel, interesting to hear their take but i was enjoying the old stories.

 

I could watch that kind of stuff all day.

[jimufctna24]

About half way through The Gloves Are Off. Despite Benn turning them down, the cast is more than impressive.

 

The way Nelson built up Calzaghe to be the best in the introduction is something I disagree with. Jones is the mid-late 90's I think would have spanked any version of Calzaghe. That version of Jones beat prime versions of Bernard Hopkins and James Toney who also would have given Calzaghe a run for his money (B-Hop even did when he was past 40!)

 

Calzaghe was a world class operator and could only beat what was in front of him, the flawless performance against Lacy for me was his greatest win despite beating Kessler who is now seen as the more impressive scalp. Every other big scalp came with in a way where it was slightly tainted. Jones, B Hop and Eubank to quote a Steve Collins quote were all "shopworn" when Joe beat them.

 

It is a shame Pavlik and Taylor did not turn out like many thought they would or Calzaghe fought them when they were not damaged goods or I may be a bit kinder to Calzaghe. The Pavlik fight was one on the table according to Allegedly Warren when Pavlik was red hot after beating Taylor twice. Froch was not yet established enough, it always seemed like the circumstances were against (or for if you like) giving Joe top flight guys in their prime who had not been damaged.

 

Lacy and Kessler were the only two Joe faced who were at their peak. The battering he gave Lacy some believe ruined Lacy's career, the theory goes that if Lacy would have not received such a tooling from Joe that he would have become a "Middleweight Prime Mike Tyson" which he was hyped to be. I disagree that Lacy could have been that good, but I think Joe could have ruined him that night by outclassing him.

 

Gone off on one a bit, but my main point is that I think Jones is the best out the lot of them and Calzaghe is a bit overrated due to his unbeaten record not being as impressive if you zoom in on the circumstances. If Roy would have hung them up after the Ruiz fight when he was slowing down (plus the weight changes have meant to have drained him after coming down from HW). People would have not witnessed the fall of arguably the best fighter of the 90's and early 00's. That has hurt Jones's legacy seeing him lose to guys he would have destroyed in his prime.

 

For me Roy Jones is the standout Middleweight of my lifetime.

 

Edit: To prove I am not a complete Calzaghe hater, I will say that I think Collins did duck him. Note from a doctor or not, I think Collins knew that Joe would have beaten him, and the payoff would not be what Collins was looking for. Eubank had bottle to pull him up on that, as the details have always been sketchy.

Edited May 15, 2013 by jimufctna24

[HeavyT]

I'm fighting for Ireland, what have you ever done for your people in Africa?"

 

 

Disgusting, I hope he comes back and Jones leathers him for it. First ive heard but that's 100% not on. When did eubank live in Africa?

[wandshogun09]

I just looked up the quote again in Eubank's book.

 

You dress like a Brit, speak like a Brit, I've helped the Irish, what have you ever done for your race, the Africans?

 

His parents were Jamaican but he mentions his African ancestry in the book. He never lived there though. He said that comment rattled him, made him angry and, coupled with the hypnosis stuff, less focused going into the first Collins fight. He gives Collins full credit for the rematch though. Saying Collins had "a resolve the likes of which I had never seen. Collins beat me fairly and squarely."

 

Collins doesn't come off well in the book. He held a grudge after their fights according to Eubank. He tells a story of them being at the same charity event for cancer where they had celebrities poncing about on a catwalk in designer clothes, Collins apparently threw a strop at the organisers and demanded he walk out after Eubank. When Eubank got a bigger crowd reaction, Collins was fuming and got in Eubank's face right there.

[jimufctna24]

Steve Collins is very defensive, and I am not talking about his boxing style.

 

Now I have watched the whole show, I can say it was the best roundtable SKY have done. Richie came across well, Eubank was Eubank and I now think Collins is a bit of a knob.

 

If Benn would have been there it could have been even better.

[Egg Shen]

yeh Woodhall comes across as a real good guy.

 

Was quite surprised to hear Roy Jones admit that he probably should have hung the gloves up after the Ruiz fight, he said it just as they changed subject and it kind of got lost in the debate, but he said it. I loved how Jones lost it a little when somone (Woodhall i think) commented that James Toney was more gifted than anyone else sitting at the table.