What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

[davemurphy]

Unlike rock concerts, a good comedian, or any other form of entertainment that's a "sure thing" and your guaranteed to enjoy (if your a big fan of the performer in question), sports can sometimes go the wrong way, your football or basketball team can get blown out, your horse or drivers car can break down, and yes, your favorite fighter can lose. Of the various disappointments you've felt when that's happened to one of your favs, what fight were you the most disappointed in and would change if you had the ability to wave a magic wand and have it go away (I know, a ridiculous proposition, let's just stick with wiping out the result).

 

 

For me, two come to mind. Larry Holmes not breaking Marciano's record and losing to Michael Spinks, and Ray Leonard stopping Tommy Hearns in their first fight. Those two are head-and-shoulders above the rest, but others that come to mind are Jones getting KO'd by Tarver and Buddy McGirt coming up just short against Pernell Whitaker.

 

Wishful thinking I know, but thought it might make a decent category exploring everyone's most painful disappointment.

[gavpowell]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Two for me: Tyson losing to Lewis, in the round I backed him to win it! I think most experienced boxing fans knew Tyson was done, but I was relatively new to the sport and bought the hype wholesale - this was Mike Tyson, for god sake, he wasn't going to lose to a plastic Brit with a dodgy chin and a tendency to bore for half the commonwealth.

 

Erik Morales not just losing to Manny Pacquaio but refusing to get up from the knockdown. Manny broke his heart and it broke mine - I absolutely adore Morales as an almost unique fighter in the way he genuinely does seem to fight for his fans.

 

It was obvious Morales was beginning to fade even by time the first fight rolled around, but I kept telling myself he still had enough to beat Pacquiao one more time. I felt absolutely gutted when

[mofo2]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Possibly the most excited i have ever been watching a fight was Eubank v Watson 2, the way the fight developed into an outright War with Watson out working, out moving and out scoring Eubank with ease was hard to watch as a fan of Chris. The way the fight unfolded made this fight my all time classic, with both men leaving everything they had left in the ring in what was an extremely punishing fight for both!!

 

But looking at the subsequent events that unfolded as Watson collapsed and the medical people rushed to his aid to stabilise him leaves my feeling almost guilty that I cannot get over the excitement both warriors brought to the table on this night....so if I could turn the clock back I would most definitely be happy to see Eubank out scored on points if Michael was able to have come out of this fight fit and healthy as he was from the first bell!

[BoztheMadman]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Golota being blown out by Lewis in 1...he had a panic attack before the fight and was injected with lydocaine, which later almost killed him. Had to be rushed to hospital right after the fight and nearly died. He never shoulda walked into the ring but the pressure was tremendous, both from his management and all the Polish fans. I really felt sorry for him about that, because after that he more or less fell into obscurity, blowing all the rest of the big fights he got...makes me wonder what would happen if he didn't suffer that panic attack, but I guess he was always emotionally and mentally unstable.:tsk: Such a sad story, since he showed so much promise early on. And had he not been disqualified against Bowe, he woulda gotten 2 wins over Riddick, which nobody else could claim. Instead today he's known for getting DISQUALIFIED against Bowe and punching him below the belt like there was no tomorrow.

 

The worst part about the Lewis fight is that the press and everybody else thought that was the REAL Golota out there and that Lewis was THAT good. Ptooey! It was only after Golota sued his management for injecting him with that stuff that we found out the truth...but still many don't know it.

Edited May 30, 2013 by BoztheMadman

[brooklynbrawler]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Personally, it has to be a couple of standout fights;

 

Naseem Hamed losing to Barrera.

Though I really had a dislike for Hamed at the time, and didn't appreciate his antics or arrogance, it's only through time that I've come to realise his uniqueness in both talent and in terms of providing entertainment and bringing boxing squarely back into the public eye in a big way.

Boxing in the UK suffered greatly for a few years after his defeat and it never really recovered to the same degree since, in terms of general interest in the sport.

Prince Naseem may have divided opinion, but there is one thing he certainly did and that was get people talking about the sport.

At his best, he was an absolute joy to watch and if he had gone on to defeat Barrera, we could have witnessed some great nights of British boxing with him squaring up against the likes of Mayweather, Morales, Marquez and Pacquiao.

 

Instead, the air of invincibility was lost, along with his confidence, he came back, put on a poor show, went on an eating binge and retired, well before his time.

It's everyone's loss, not just his.

 

 

Secondly, Wlad vs Haye.

Not necessarily that I want the result to change, because while it was true that it may have really set the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of opening up the heavyweight division for a much needed revival, Haye has hardly set the world alight in the heavyweight division and I severely doubt whether he is the guy to return the division to it's former glory.

What I was annoyed about, was Haye's tactics.

I was across in Germany for the fight, and was hoping for him to make the most of a rare heavyweight unification opportunity.

There is no doubting Wlad's weakness is his chin and Haye's strength is his power punching and speed.

Unfortunately though, he chose to use neither, and was content surviving rounds and completely doing the fans out of a contest.

The atmosphere was electric, there was a huge turnout, there was an air of expectation...but what he delivered only matched the weather after the fight - a damp squib.

I still like to think that if Haye had given it a real go and thrown a reasonable amount of punches, that ultimately he would have eventually caught him with something significant.

Unfortunately, he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was the only one in the arena who thought he was still in the fight, by the time 6 rounds had gone Wlad's way unanswered....and plodded on utilising the same negative tactics and achieving the square root of nothing.

Edited May 30, 2013 by brooklynbrawler

[TheBigTodd]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Paul Appleby Vs Martin Lindsay

 

Im a Scotsman living in Belfast but when living in Edinburgh I was at the same AMA club as Paul and his brother.

 

Being one of the 'away" fans at this fight in Belfast it was brilliant and this was when Paul was such a bright up and comer in the sport. His loss in this one broke my heart.

 

BTW for anyone who ever watches this fight again, I was the only Appleby fan ring side and the camera man must have noticed. During Pauls ring walk and the fighter records the camer pans right in on me standing it up giving it large :)

[Skav]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

I think one of the more obvious ones is Tyson v Holyfield II. I was so looking forward to that rematch and for Tyson to do what he did let the entire planet down. That may sound dramatic but it was a global event. And, of course, he didn't do boxing any favours.

 

Benn vs McClellan - what happened after the fight.

 

Ali vs Holmes - it was sad to see Ali quit on his stool for the first time in his career.

 

Thrilla in Manila - What would have happened had Frazier been allowed to continue?

[davemurphy]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Thrilla in Manila - What would have happened had Frazier been allowed to continue?

 

I wouldn't change a thing on that one, Skav. I thought Eddie Futch did the right thing and it makes me shudder to think what might've happened if Ali had had the opportunity for further target practice. I know Ali said later that he might've quit and not come out, but you can't take that seriously, he'd have put everything into it and possibly hurt Joe seriously. No, I simply wouldn't change that one at all.

[BoztheMadman]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

I wouldn't change a thing on that one, Skav. I thought Eddie Futch did the right thing and it makes me shudder to think what might've happened if Ali had had the opportunity for further target practice. I know Ali said later that he might've quit and not come out, but you can't take that seriously, he'd have put everything into it and possibly hurt Joe seriously. No, I simply wouldn't change that one at all.

 

You obviously giving Ali too much credit-HE WAS DONE! He said Joe hit him so hard that he felt...what was it again? It didn't sound good anyway.

[davemurphy]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

You obviously giving Ali too much credit-HE WAS DONE! He said Joe hit him so hard that he felt...what was it again? It didn't sound good anyway.

 

Yeah, we have the quote where he said he felt it was the closest thing to death and kind of suggesting that he was going to quit if Joe hadn't, but that's AFTER the fight and made good copy. Dundee would've forced him out there like he did against Liston when he was temporarly blinded and he'd have jabbed his way through the last round. He'd have pushed it as far as he could, and against a half-blind Joe he'd have probably done a lot more than that. Ali never quit in a fight, despite his words AFTER he'd won on his stool, I don't imagine he would have this time either, especially with the win already assured.

[Skav]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

Yeah, we have the quote where he said he felt it was the closest thing to death and kind of suggesting that he was going to quit if Joe hadn't, but that's AFTER the fight and made good copy. Dundee would've forced him out there like he did against Liston when he was temporarly blinded and he'd have jabbed his way through the last round. He'd have pushed it as far as he could, and against a half-blind Joe he'd have probably done a lot more than that. Ali never quit in a fight, despite his words AFTER he'd won on his stool, I don't imagine he would have this time either, especially with the win already assured.

 

We know that boxers say thing for the sake of it after fights but didn't Ali tell Dundee to cut the gloves off between the same round that Frazier was pulled out? That's one of the main factors that affected my decision.

[davemurphy]

Re: What fight would you have most liked to have seen NOT go the way that it did?

 

We know that boxers say thing for the sake of it after fights but didn't Ali tell Dundee to cut the gloves off between the same round that Frazier was pulled out? That's one of the main factors that affected my decision.

 

Thomas Hauser has said he was told that by a member of Ali's corner, but never named the person. If true then it certainly goes to his mindset, but let's face it, Dundee and Bundini would convinced him to go on, hell, Bundini didn't even want to pull the plug on the HOLMES FIGHT. They'd have talked him out of quitting, but Eddie Futch had already waved it off at that point (you can see the expression in Ali's face when he realized it). I think it might've been a case where Ali was looking to his corner to pump him up, a proud champion such as himself would've never wanted to hand Frazier the win.