World Championship Boxing

Chazro · « **Reply #140 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 06:02 pm »

Superior night of Boxing (finally!) on HBO! The fight on the undercard was a great one also, a very, very close action fight. The commentators seemed to pick Omotoso (I disagreed) but Vargas got the decision. Unfortunately for Bradley, in spite of being in a possible fight-of-the-year, showing incredible heart, and demonstrating an amazing chin, I still doubt that he'll EVER be a marquee fighter. I doubt at this point that he can learn how to knock guys out, he's a very good boxer, but not a great one. Where as on the other hand, Ruslan CAN (and probably WILL, thanks to having Freddie Roach in his corner!) learn how to finish an opponent. I'lltellyawhat, I can't wait to see Provodnikov again!;)

gkinberg · « **Reply #141 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 06:13 pm »

The Bradley fight was one of the Best Fights I remember seeing. I was hugely impressed by both fighters but by Bradley in particular. To be nearly (or probably) knocked out in the 1,2,6 and 12 rounds and to yet keep coming and competing and winning was truly amazing. I felt bad for both fighters because they took a lot of punishment; Bradley sounded drunk after the fight, but it made for great watching!

Garth

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #142 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 06:45 pm »

Bradley would do well to listen to his corner, but I think he wanted to impress the audience and it liked to got him ko'ed. The boy has some legs, doesn't he, and the ability to recover. I think Bradley narrowly won. I hope the other guy can get some good payday fights and does well. The mutha has some heart.

vortrex · « **Reply #143 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 06:54 pm »

hard to say bradley won that when he was beat pillar to post the entire fight. the rounds he was winning were mostly because ruslan was taking a break. I don't think I saw ruslan truly hurt once and it really did seem that bradley was out the entire fight. every big shot from ruslan was giving bradley wobbly legs. that one punch knocked bradley from one end of the ring to the other! crazy to think ruslan was the one who moved up a division for this fight.

I also think if you turned off RJJ's mic the fight would look different. a friend of bradley's and quite biased. it was funny how RJJ was saying ruslan was "hurt bad" and bradley was the one out of it. even lampley was wondering what RJJ was talking about.

jackman · « **Reply #144 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 07:26 pm »

RJJ is punch drunk and doesn't know what he is talking about. I heard the same things but itnis hard to take this guy seriously. Bradley landed some putter pat soft punches and was hit with some bombs. Some of those rounds could behave been two points for Ruslan, even if Bradley didn't officially hit the canvass. He was out on his feet several times. Too bad Rus couldn't land a finishing shot.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #145 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 07:28 pm »

Quote from: jackman on 17 Mar 2013, 03:19 pm

Finally, Bradley has an entertaining fight. Too bad he lost, IMO, and walked away with a decision. Bradley also showed why he doesn't try to trade punches because he doesn't have a good punch, but he's got a good chin. Dual an hit him with some big shots and he stayed upright for the most part. I still can't believe the ref didn't call that a knockdown in the first round. Bradley was out on his feet but it was technically a push that caused him to hit the canvass.

Ruslan is a good fighter, a tough guy, but he needs to learn how to finish a guy in trouble. He wasted a lot of energy throwing wild shots and letting Bradley clutch when he was in trouble. If Ruslan had pushed Bradley and set up his shots, when he had him in trouble, I think he could have finished him off. Also, he got Bradley in trouble with single shots. I was hoping to see some combos when he had him hurt.

Even though Bradley lost in my opinion (or perhaps fought to a draw), he showed heart and the fight was exciting. I'd like to see a rematch because these guys match up pretty well. He's a smart fighter, and I'm happy to finally see him in an entertaining fight.

Amen to most of jackman's take.

vortrex · « **Reply #146 on:** 17 Mar 2013, 07:29 pm »

it's unfortunate that a couple times when bradley was hurt bad there were only 20 seconds left in the round. totally agree about the 10-8's. I've never seen a guy take such a sustained beating and stay on his feet. you know that when your family gets up and leaves the arena early on things are not going well!

mjosef · « **Reply #147 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 04:59 am »

Terrific fight night. Bradley got my respect for his ability to soak up Provodnikov's bombs and remain standing trading. I knew of Provodnikov's power punches and was kinda' expecting him to KO Bradley, but I didn't know Bradly had an iron chin. Wow.
I had Bradley winning by 1 point. He threw over a 1,000 punches/jabs!

I can see a rematch in a couple years. Provodnikov needs to learn to pace himself, and beef up his conditioning, then he would be unstoppable in his weight class.
Two thumbs up for HBO, helluva fight.

django11 · « **Reply #148 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 11:34 am »

Well I guess the old saw that "you are as good as your last fight" is true.

dB Cooper · « **Reply #149 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 01:36 pm »

Quote from: vortrex on 17 Mar 2013, 06:54 pm

I also think if you turned off RJJ's mic the fight would look different. a friend of bradley's and quite biased. it was funny how RJJ was saying ruslan was "hurt bad" and bradley was the one out of it. even lampley was wondering what RJJ was talking about.

RJJ is the court jester like Foreman used to be; he's there because he says things that are ridiculous, not in spite of it. (Like when Hopkins fought Trinidad; he dominated him but you'd have thought the opposite listening to George.)

jackman may have hit the nail on the head: RJJ was actually pretty good when he started doing commentary (but not as good as Tarver.)

jackman · « **Reply #150 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 01:40 pm »

I like Tarver, he is a natural! Still miss Manny Stewart. He was my favorite.

dB Cooper · « **Reply #151 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 02:54 pm »

Quote from: django11 on 18 Mar 2013, 11:34 am

Well I guess the old saw that "you are as good as your last fight" is true.

Yeah, tough for Manny (Pacquiao that is)...
So sad for Steward to go at a mere 68...

Chazro · « **Reply #152 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 09:18 pm »

I've got to say that I disagree with all the negativity being thrown at Roy Jones Jr. commentary skills. Although his speaking skills need work, his POV and insight give his comments an authority that a few of the others lack. Lampley's more eloquent, the consumate pro of the group, and while his insight is substantial sometimes I wonder if he'd be better off sticking with golf or tennis. Though he's an old-timer, I've always respected and (until Saturday's undercard) agreed with Harold Ledermans' calls, he was wrong on Saturday and the judges agreed. Max Kellerman's the young lion of the group (he was actually in disagreement with RJJ and had the stones to say so!), I like him and he'll be around after all the rest retire. To say Roy Jones is punch drunk just illustrates that some people don't know what punch drunk really is. Suffice to say that the ONLY thing Jones was guilty of was allowing his obvious affection for Bradley cloud his vision of the fight. Personal feelings should never be part of a pro sport commentary BUT....Jones is guilty of being a good friend. i think there's worse things that can be said about a person.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #153 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 09:23 pm »

Bravo, Chazro.

jackman · « **Reply #154 on:** 18 Mar 2013, 10:01 pm »

Okay, maybe I was a bit harsh. Maybe Jones isn't punch drunk but he's certainly punch tipsy. He was never a good technical boxer anyway and I often find myself disagreeing with his observations. The Bradley fight is just one example. RJJ is a fun and colorful character but I don't take his commentary seriously.

Manny Stewart knew boxing and I miss his insights. Big George was a colorful guy who had great success in the ring. I usually chuckled at his observations but recall the Golatta fight when a riot erupted and he stood there with fists the size of hams and protected his fellow announcers. Even at 50 years old, those idiot rioters knew not to test him when big George said, "you don't want to do that, son".

I wish HBO would fire RJJ and replace him with someone who actually knows boxing like Winky Wright, Pernell Whitacker or Buddy McGirt.

django11 · « **Reply #155 on:** 19 Mar 2013, 01:34 am »

What do you guys think of these match-ups?

Marquez vs Bradley

Rios vs Provodnikov (I might seem a bit blood thirsty with this one)

dB Cooper · « **Reply #156 on:** 19 Mar 2013, 02:16 am »

I will stir the pot here and say that Roy Jones IS punch drunk. It hasn't gotten as bad as, say, Tommy Hearns, but if you listen to tapes of his broadcast work when he started and now, you will hear that it isn't that "his speaking skills need work" but that his speech has deteriorated- not dramatically yet, but noticeably. Being knocked cold multiple times can do that to you.

Roy was such a natural talent that he never had to learn how to fight. When Ali slowed down, he had solid fundamentals and skills to beat the other guy with. When Roy slowed down, he had nothing. I will always think of Roy Jones as a great athlete who was never in a great fight. I have a hard time thinking of any of his fights I'd want to see again. Even his historic win vs Ruiz was against one of the most limited heavyweight champs ever. Too bad.

django11 · « **Reply #157 on:** 26 Mar 2013, 08:43 pm »

Just a heads up for the HBO card this week end which should be Rock'em Sock'em Robots...

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #158 on:** 7 Apr 2013, 10:36 pm »

Damn! Anybody see Villorio vs Estrada on HBO Sunday? Villorio, the champion, is a very compact and punishing puncher and was dominate over the rangy Estrado in the first five rounds, but there was NO quit in Estrada. He just kept coming and his up and down punch production was text book stuff. I've never seen that kind of punch production before in all my years as a boxing fan. This kid had to be in some kind of shape to keep the pressure up so continuously and high. Hundreds of punches non stop and he never pulled away from his more powerful opponent. This was one of the best contests I've ever seen and if you get a chance to see it you, too, will be amazed at Estrada's pressure and six and eight punch combinations. Just wow!

A Fight of the Year contender.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #159 on:** 7 Apr 2013, 11:33 pm »

Quote from: django11 on 19 Mar 2013, 01:34 am

What do you guys think of these match-ups?

Marquez vs Bradley

Rios vs Provodnikov (I might seem a bit blood thirsty with this one)

Bradley is a skilled boxer but doesn't take a punch so good. Bradley was beaten by Pacman- literally, at least- and now Bradley knows for sure that he best not get hit by a clean shot from Marquez. I'll guess I'll pick Bradley by decision, but I have more respect for Marquez.