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Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?


selij
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Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

With all the recent activity and build up towards Cleverly/Bellew #2 which is to be fought at cruiserweight. it reminded me of this great cruiserweight fight. James Toney vs Vassiliy Jirov on 2003-04-26 for the IBF strap.Was this the Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

Holyfield v Qawi 1 was epic,split decision win for Holyfield great fight.

 

--- While a great fight in the early 190 lb days of cruiser, Qawi was a bloated 5-5 shadow for that fight compared to his stellar LH days when Mike Spinks boxed his ears off.

 

Both Jirov and Toney would beat Field/Qawi that some other cruisers of note might also accomplish with less drama.

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I know the Holyfield of the first qawi contest was inexperienced but for me even that Holyfield would beat jirov

 

--- It's quite fashionable to big up Mr. Field, but the prejuiced 186 lb Field literally went life and death with a sawed off light punching pressure fighter well above his best weight.

 

It's easy to overlook a Kazakhstani from back then, but Jirov was naturally bigger and stronger and punched harder in the same pressure swarming style as the tubby Qawi who only lost a split decision. Naturally we can't prove who wins, but we can put forth our best case. Maybe the 190lb version of Field in his last cruiser defense has enough experience to ward off Jirov, but Jirov went the distance with Toney who knocked out Field rather easily. With so many ups and downs in his career and then the list of allegations, I don't generally see the type of consistent performance to beat a very strong and consistent fighter in Jirov.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

Holyfield v Qawi 1 was epic,split decision win for Holyfield great fight.

 

I agree. Dwight defeats an unknown, but undefeated CW champ, follows it up with leon Spinks & sets a high bar for any other CW's to show up with his war with the Real-Deal. Non-stop incessant punching from pillar to post.

#1 Holy-Qawi I

#2 Toney-Jirov

#3 Oneil vs Mormeck I -Both guys did some serious chin-checking- their styles meshed well together producing fireworks in an all-too ignored division.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

I agree. Dwight defeats an unknown, but undefeated CW champ, follows it up with leon Spinks & sets a high bar for any other CW's to show up with his war with the Real-Deal. Non-stop incessant punching from pillar to post.

#1 Holy-Qawi I

#2 Toney-Jirov

#3 Oneil vs Mormeck I -Both guys did some serious chin-checking- their styles meshed well together producing fireworks in an all-too ignored division.

 

--- Another cruiser, HOFer me thinks is very underrated Tomasz Adamek who was in stunning fights against Jonathon Banks and Steve Cunningham consecutively.

 

Also a great series as LH against Paul Briggs and Chad Dawson. Did OK as a top heavy though never got his third division title.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

You said the most beautiful and famous fights of cruiserweight. I say Cantatore - Gurov for the European title (2007). Not a classic like Holyfield - Qawi and Toney - Jirov but still a great fight from start to finish

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

Adamek vs Cunningham I - kind of forgotten, but a very good fight. "USS" looked to be slightly ahead at various moments of the fight, but blew up everything by being floored three times. Reminds of his last fight against Glowacki.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

Another very good fight in a cruiserweight division is Eubank - Thompson I

I was surprised by the power of Eubank in cruiserweight, he came from supermiddleweight

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

Adamek vs Cunningham I - kind of forgotten, but a very good fight. "USS" looked to be slightly ahead at various moments of the fight, but blew up everything by being floored three times. Reminds of his last fight against Glowacki.

 

Yeah, I agree. Cunningham is really hard to put away it seems, by cruisers. Great fight and shame Adamek stayed at cw so shortly. He coulda been the king of the division.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

Holyfield - Qawi was a classic, no doubt, but I have a soft spot for Toney-Jirov. I still remember Steward almost losing it in commentary when the action got too brutal in the later rounds - like it was too much for him to watch but he was still somehow enjoying it. It kind of captured the brutality of what it's like to watch a really great fight - almost too violent to watch but captivating nonetheless.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

people are not going to like this but David Haye, pound for pound the biggest puncher the CW division has ever seen. A trim 200 pound Hayemaker that is fast, sharp, and explosive knocks out every man in that division when he hands his right hand. Of course Haye could get chinned but I feel he would have the height and reach advantage over 95% of the other crusierweights. Also Haye has been known for his fast starts at cruiser so I reckon he would chin most opponents within 3 rounds so other opponents cant bank on Haye's stamina fading.

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

--- It's quite fashionable to big up Mr. Field, but the prejuiced 186 lb Field literally went life and death with a sawed off light punching pressure fighter well above his best weight.

 

It's easy to overlook a Kazakhstani from back then, but Jirov was naturally bigger and stronger and punched harder in the same pressure swarming style as the tubby Qawi who only lost a split decision. Naturally we can't prove who wins, but we can put forth our best case. Maybe the 190lb version of Field in his last cruiser defense has enough experience to ward off Jirov, but Jirov went the distance with Toney who knocked out Field rather easily. With so many ups and downs in his career and then the list of allegations, I don't generally see the type of consistent performance to beat a very strong and consistent fighter in Jirov.

 

Be fair Qawi was a very good fighter, two weight champ before all these belts and extra weight categories were added, plus those were the days of 15 rounders. Also Holyfiled only had 11 fights and had fought no one. In the rematch he got a clean ko, whereas in his very next fight the 5ft 7 Qawi moved up to fight the much bigger Foreman, who could not ko him.

Also Holy was obviously not himself when Toney easily stopped him. If you look at the ko, he goes down from nothing, yet was able to go two whole fights with Lewis, and took much more punisment off people like Bowe, Tyson, Foreman, Cooper, Dokes and even Qawi. He seemed to give up against Toney, and it is not that he wasn't in fatboys league. If Sanderline Williams can get a draw, a peak Evander would have annihilated him. Toney got gift decisions over Dave Tiberi and twice over an old McCallum, lost twice to Montell Grifin and another was Drake Thadzi, plus twice to Sam Peter which again indicates, he got lucky to fight a very off form Holy. Circumstances often dictate outcomes, and looking at the guys who beat Toney, whether he got a gift decision or not, clearly proves that.

Also most pro athletes take performance enhancing drugs and/or stimulants, it is just that they often don't get caught, and at the end of the day, he was still a light heavy in the olympics and fought as light as 1lb over the light heavy limit as a pro, so to get in there with Valuev, Foreman, Bowe, Lewis etc and do well, was still a great acheivement.

Edited by Righthook
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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

people are not going to like this but David Haye, pound for pound the biggest puncher the CW division has ever seen. A trim 200 pound Hayemaker that is fast, sharp, and explosive knocks out every man in that division when he hands his right hand. Of course Haye could get chinned but I feel he would have the height and reach advantage over 95% of the other crusierweights. Also Haye has been known for his fast starts at cruiser so I reckon he would chin most opponents within 3 rounds so other opponents cant bank on Haye's stamina fading.

Could you see Carl Thompson beating a young Holyfield?

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Re: Greatest Cruiserweight Fight Of All Time?

 

people are not going to like this but David Haye, pound for pound the biggest puncher the CW division has ever seen. A trim 200 pound Hayemaker that is fast, sharp, and explosive knocks out every man in that division when he hands his right hand. Of course Haye could get chinned but I feel he would have the height and reach advantage over 95% of the other crusierweights. Also Haye has been known for his fast starts at cruiser so I reckon he would chin most opponents within 3 rounds so other opponents cant bank on Haye's stamina fading.

 

--- Id take 190 lb JCGomez to box and lacerate Pink silly. At 200 he prob KOs Pink. Pink well light in the legacy department.

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