d-d-d-dAz Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 The occasion. Put money to one side, and winning. How many other chances is a 41 year old bloke going to get to be in spotlight? Walking out on doing what he does in front of 90,000 people. There's a reason why the instances of depression amongst retired ex-athletes is so high, the spotlight and occasion is intoxicating. I reckon that'll motivate him more than money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted April 30, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted April 30, 2017 You can't put winning aside. For elite level athletes that is the most important thing. The occasion is for non-league teams who get to play Manchester United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 That's not true. Spotlight matters. Particularly in a sport as showbiz as boxing. Athletes aren't robots. Being admired, loved, having thousands of people shout your name? That matters too. Just being part of that world, it's all they've ever known. If it was just wins/losses, the minute a record gets salty, boxers, in particular, would find it easy to call the whole thing off. They don't. They stick to the life like flys on shit. Losses don't deter them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted April 30, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted April 30, 2017 (edited) Nah Daz, dont think so here. Not just for elite level athletes, but Wlad specifically. He doesn't seem that type to milk the cash cow out of his name as much as he possibly can, he has a lot of integrity about him. He's a competitor, a winner. If he doesn't think he can do it, he won't. He went for the Tyson rematch because he knew he could beat him next time around (I think he would've). After this performance, he cannot be sure of the same with Joshua. Edited April 30, 2017 by PunkStep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted April 30, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted April 30, 2017 44 minutes ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said: I think that Klitschko knew that his best chance of beating Joshua was the first time he fought him. It's hard to claim an experience advantage when you have lost. Joshua has the experience that counts now, and that's beating Wlad. What's more he had no excuses. He looked more motivated for this fight than he has for a lot of recent fights. He looked like he had a good training camp, he always does though, and he doesn't need the money a rematch brings. Match that with less of a chance of winning. Why take the rematch. Because it's another chance of getting the belts back? Plus, if you're Wlad, maybe you feel you can do it - after all, he did knock Joshua on his arse and did very well for a chunk of the fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted April 30, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted April 30, 2017 I suppose it will come down to whether Wlad thinks he has learned something that will enable him to win a rematch. He couldn't have hit Joshua harder, he couldn't be fitter himself, he's not getting any quicker or any younger. As for spotlight daz, Wlad is never going to be out of it. I know it doesn't compare to 90 thousand at Wembley but he is Mr Haydn Panittiere, and a lock for the boxing HOF. Also any fight he turns up to he is going to be sought after. I know it's not the same but that's a lot of spotlight without getting punched Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 30, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 30, 2017 having had time to reflect on last night i thought id chime in a few more thoughts. It couldn't have gone any better really could it? I've been somewhat of a Joshua detractor for a couple of years, not because i didn't believe he could become the full package but i wasn't allowing myself to assume he had things that he'd never had to prove in the ring. If Joshua had won in round 4 (or was it 5), i likely would still have the same questions, but the fact that Joshua had to survive a major crisis, showed he has a chin, showed he has the bottle and can appear to come from behind to win (despite him strangely being ahead on the judges cards) just ticked a ton of boxes and proved that he does have certain qualities that were always questioned...add that to the fact that he did on the largest stage possible and it's just a perfect melting pot for super stardom. My facebook feed is always a news feed for my interests (don't actually follow any friends) and today the response is pretty overwhelming. Every boxing/sport or ladbible type page is given this fight and both boxers huge praise. Greatest fight ever type posts are everywhere... i wouldn't go that far, the fight was far from an action fight and had several dull rounds (but it was always engaging), but what the fight did have was twists and turns, it was a rollercoaster of a fight that's the stuff people remember, and it's what will file the fight under 'classic' status, and rightfully so. Just an unbelievable night, boxing is flying. Nobody gave a toss about the undercard, the muted response to the excellent Quigg/Simion co-main event summed that up. Bit of a shame that such a good, all action fight was met with nothing from the audience, but that's what's happens when it's all about the main event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Regardless of his reasoning, looks like Wlad has called for an immediate rematch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Southworth Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 I’ve been watching knockout compilations and it’s been funny and frustrating in equal measure when I see referee’s who insist on making the ten count even when it’s clear that the fighter in question is out cold or otherwise hasn’t got a hope of getting to his feet. Is there a specific rule regarding this kind of situation, where it’s obvious the fighter is out? Or is up to the referee? It seems strange and almost sick to have a referee make his count when he clearly should be calling for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted May 1, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 1, 2017 Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail listed the fight as the 4th greatest Heavyweight Title fight of all time today. If you wanna take into consideration the spectacle of it all i can see where he's coming from, but was it really that good? I re-watched the fight in full yesterday with my dad and other than rounds 5, 6 & 11 it was a bit of a dud. The highlights were incredible but it was far from the slugfest that pretty much everyone is saying it was. Strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Murtz Posted May 1, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted May 1, 2017 I was lucky enough to be there in person. It was just perfect wasn't it? Proper Rocky like script. I didn't think anything would top the atmosphere during Haye Bellew but I think this topped it due to the status of it all. Joshua answered a lot of questions, maybe not all, but most. The hush around the stadium when he was knocked down was absolutely surreal! Hope there is a rematch, because if there isn't I can only see Joshua fighting a bum next. Can't see Fury/Wilder/Parker being the next opponent in 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 1 hour ago, Egg Shen said: Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail listed the fight as the 4th greatest Heavyweight Title fight of all time today. If you wanna take into consideration the spectacle of it all i can see where he's coming from, but was it really that good? I re-watched the fight in full yesterday with my dad and other than rounds 5, 6 & 11 it was a bit of a dud. The highlights were incredible but it was far from the slugfest that pretty much everyone is saying it was. Strange. I think you're doing the fight a bit of a disservice. Rounds 5,6 and 11 are the ones that lend themselves to rewatching as they had the most 'action' in. But on the night, with the adrenaline flowing, the context/drama of the other rounds was spectacular. Now you know the ending it's hard to recreate just how it felt to see Joshua unable to get his hands up, wobbling about, gassing and the slowly crawl his way back into the fight. I think as a story, it's the best fight I've ever watched live. It was fantastic. It had everything going for it. The young buck storming in; inexperience nearly costing him; gets floored for the first time; fights back to answer any questions about his heart; finally, takes the crown, putting the old master to the sword. Perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted May 1, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 1, 2017 I dont disagree with what you're saying Daz, i stated that it will be deserving of its 'classic' status, im just talking primarily from the content of the actual fight, outside of three dramatic rounds not a lot happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 (edited) Kugan Cassius of IFL fame was barred from the press area on the night. I wondered why the updates on IFL were quite sparse. It seems that Kugan has rubbed Bernd Bonte the wrong way. Kugan went off on him in response. Reading this is somewhat surprising. Although I understand why Cassius is miffed, he usually comes across as a bit more measured on IFL. Even when Chris Eubank Sr was messing around with him - before they made up - he kept his cool quite well. Quote "I hate the world right now. Just to let you know, Bernd Bonte, the silver-haired midget p***k who is Wladimir Klitschko's manager has barred me from going to Joshua v Klitschko tomorrow night," revealed Cassius. "18 months ago, he banned me from interviewing Klitschko as apparently, i am too involved with Tyson Fury and Team Fury. So after an argument a year ago, I decided to stay away from Team Klitschko for the whole of the build up to this Joshua fight. But "But still, the little dwarf c**t has done this. Been going to Matchroom shows for seven years, Ihasn'tsnt missed one in SEVEN years and its not them, its Klitschko's lot. "But this is actually heart-breaking that I won't be there for the biggest fight in British boxing. My life is f***ing boxing. Right now I hate the sport. F**k you Bernd Boente you complete and utter C**T!" Edited May 1, 2017 by jimufctna24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted May 1, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 1, 2017 He didnt do himself any favours with that post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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