Clinton Woods announces his retirement....

[Quixall]

Fought Roy Jones Jr at his prime, which is something special to remember and fought the guy who beat jones Jr, Antonio Tarver.

Forgotten to mention his 3 tough fights with Glencoffe (a man, has to be said has been considered a very good dangerman - not many ppl choose to fight Glencoffe by choice)

I did'nt mention Johnson because although he best him, i feel that it's the bigger names on his record that ppl will talk about, hence Jones Jr and Tarver. Bit similar to other fighters, where the big names are remembered, ie, Buchanan - Duran, Bruno - Tyson, Hamed - Barrera, Hatton - Mayweather, etc etc

[d]

How many kids, amateurs, current pro's or day dreamers would like to say they achieved the following in their pro boxing career?
Central Area,British,Commonwealth,European and World Champion.
Fought a legend at his peak.
And all started with no big backing as he came up from small hall/dinner shows.

Not a lot of negatives there about his career if u ask me.

Great career.

[Deserter]

How many kids, amateurs, current pro's or day dreamers would like to say they achieved the following in their pro boxing career?
Central Area,British,Commonwealth,European and World Champion.
Fought a legend at his peak.
And all started with no big backing as he came up from small hall/dinner shows.

Not a lot of negatives there about his career if u ask me.

Great career.

Yep, puts it all into perspective. What I respect most about him is that he did work his way up completely from the 'grass-roots' and also seems to have kept a humble attitude all the way through his career. Great career and great role model

[STEVE WOOD]

Could well have had the best chin in boxing over the last 15 years , I remember watching him beat Crawford Ashley who was a big puncher and Clinton tired him out with Crawford hitting him with everything including the kitchen sink.

Sure he would admit not the best of boxers but continued to improve and that chin took him further than many with a lot more talent will ever dream of going.

Enjoy the retirement.

STEVE WOOD

[doctorboxing]

Could well have had the best chin in boxing over the last 15 years , I remember watching him beat Crawford Ashley who was a big puncher and Clinton tired him out with Crawford hitting him with everything including the kitchen sink.

Sure he would admit not the best of boxers but continued to improve and that chin took him further than many with a lot more talent will ever dream of going.

Enjoy the retirement.

STEVE WOOD

His chin certainly stood up well his whole career. He has achieved a hell of a lot and can be proud of what he has done in the sport.

Enjoy your retirement Clinton

[stevieb_8006]

BOXING NEEDS MORE FIGHTERS LIKE CLINTON!!!! WHO DID HE EVA DUCK OVERHAND RIGHT?

[Lenny]

Not sure why it should be held against Woods that he isn't up there with the greatest light heavies of all time. Won the traditional belts, traveled to fight the best, was rarely in a dull one. Nobody is arguing that he was ever the best light heavy in the world but even in todays world, an IBF belt is still a massive achievement for a fighter like Clinton. Props to Hobson as well for the job he did with Clinton, I wonder if it's the end for him now as well?

[Old bones Ian]

I remember being in a pub waiting to watch Clinton v Johnson III , most had never heard of Clinton and were not interested in the fight, by the end of the night everyone was glued to the big screen cheering him on.

Out of 48 fights he won 42, and of the 48 fights the only disapointing performance was aginst Tarver, which can happen to any boxer.

Hope he has a long and happy retirement.

[opticald]

he won fair and square a reputable world title belt and in addition defended it

What exactly is fair and square about coming up short three times in a row and the IBF still then stripping Glen Johnson of his belt so Clinton can box a punchbag in Sheffield for it, yet again? Was that fair on Glen Johnson? Was it fair on boxing?

Christ, his Tarver fight was dismal almost beyond comprehension and would have barred most boxers from another world title fight for life but no, all he had to do was maul a journeyman in a small hall & he ended back over in the states fighting AGAIN for the IBF belt. Thank Christ Cloud got rid of the big lump for us.

Too many blokes round here come across as pub-knowledge boxing fans, seen the odd Ali fight repeated on TV over the years, watched a bit of Hagler on You Tube, and just lap up whatever nonsense Sky and terrestrial TV boxing pundits feed to them about any semi-successful British boxer, simply because their British and you're more interested in seeing a Brit holding any belt without questioning whether they actually are championship material.

Christ, think of Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles being ducked year after year, and then think of Clinton Woods cuffing that inept Rico Hoye about the ring in his backyard having come up short multiple times against actual world championship calibre fighters.... They must be spinning in their graves.

Listen pal, I think you must be mentally ill if you think anyone on here is comparing Woods to the great of the light heavyweight division.

Yes, we know he would never have won a title back in the 70's or 80's.

It is hardly Clinton's fault that the sanctioning bodies suck. Our appreciation is for a good solid pro, who at his best was a top 10 fighter in the division, what's wrong with that.

I think you need to take a look around more closely before you slag people on here off as armchair boxing fans.

Look at any of the threads on Calzaghe's career, and it's clear that people on here know the difference between 'shite and shinola.'

Just because Clinton was a footnote in boxing history, and only ever a short lived titlist, doesn't mean he doesn't deserve respect. He made the best of his career and his opportunities, and never gave less than his best (well maybe Tarver aside where he chronically underperformed), and that's all you can ask of a fighter.

Clinton never stripped Johnson of his IBF belt, the IBF did, so reserve your vitriol for them, not clinton.

On a serious note James, I think that overhand has got some good points. I agree that the IBF are the problem by and large. HOWEVER, Clinton got the best and was lauded as a world champion, what is wrong with overhand pointing out that he only got the belt because Johnson was stripped for not fighting him? Clinton was a solid honest pro, who was near enough to the top 10 on his day but got way more title shots than he deserved and came up short in almost all of them. He deserves respect, but also should be considered with a touch of pragmatism with regard to his accomplishments.

[mickey1975]

he came from boxing on dinner shows in yorkshire to headlining on hbo ffs.give him some credit.it will be difficult to repeat

[TheGoods]

Great career considering, in his own words, he only took up the sport in a bid to lose his beer belly. Was ringside for the third Johnson fight and it was a cracker. Always came across well in interviews and despite losing a bundle backing Hoye to beat him in 2005 I always enjoyed watching him fight.

[Autobarn]

re over hand right asking whether clinton would have won a round vs virgil hill:

crawford ashley gave hill a very hard fight. regardless of how they scored it, hill was shaken badly and had lost his composure, and wasn't sure if he was ahead or not. he was heard asking his corner if he was winning.

obviously, it's not the same. but clinton did beat crawford, didn't he?

clinton, crawford, good fighters, seemingly moody yorkshire fighters. when they're good they're good. when they're bad, they can be terribly bad, very negative or everything seems to go wrong.

what happened in america for the tarver fight? tarver's ex trainer was helping clinton, etc. was it a trick?

[jamesmcdonnell]

[/quote]


On a serious note James, I think that overhand has got some good points. I agree that the IBF are the problem by and large. HOWEVER, Clinton got the best and was lauded as a world champion, what is wrong with overhand pointing out that he only got the belt because Johnson was stripped for not fighting him? Clinton was a solid honest pro, who was near enough to the top 10 on his day but got way more title shots than he deserved and came up short in almost all of them. He deserves respect, but also should be considered with a touch of pragmatism with regard to his accomplishments.[/quote]

That's just it though, when was Clinton ever 'Lauded' by anyone. The average man in the street wouldn't have known him if he'd gotten himself a cameo in Corrie.

Clinton was never given much in the way of coverage in the media, nor was he a doyen of chat shows and panel games - he was a hard working pro who won a portion of the world title, and never proclaimed himself the best in the division.

Where on earth have all these outrageous plaudits been coming from, because I've not seen them. All I've seen is people congratulating Clinton on a good career with some nice highlights to remember him by, and a pat on the back for a hard working professional who made the best of his relatively limited abilities.

Overhand may have some valid points, but they are hardly points that nobody is aware of, and his tone is frankly disrespectul and entirely uneccessary.

[Old bones Ian]

I do find some of the comments when people announce their retirement quite amusing.

you either have "He wasn't a good boxer because he never faced the best"

or

"He wasn't a good boxer , because he faced the best , but lost"

[Wrists]

How someone like Clinton Woods can be slagged off I will never know!!

What do people expect him to do?

Say 'thanks IBF for the title shot' but no thanks!!??

He had a great career and never ducked anyone and made the most out of his ability. He also came accross very well and to my mind never slagged other fighters off, choosing instead to give praise where it was due.

I seem to remember a piece on Sky (could be wrong) where his mother had written a letter to him begging him to stay out of trouble, seemingly he may have been a bit of a wild one in his younger days, therefore if boxing helped him to learn discipline and what was right, and he made a few bob and won a world title then I say fair play.

All the best in your retirement Clinton

Wrists.

PS: Overhand your a tool

[overhand_right]

Anyone who thinks Clinton had a 'great' career must think John Ruiz has had a 'great' career also.

[Asterix]

Anyone who thinks Clinton had a 'great' career must think John Ruiz has had a 'great' career also.

It's all relative. For what they've achieved, I'd say they've had great careers. Certainly could have gone a lot worse for both of them.

[rf]

All the best for the future Clinton. You have shown yourself to be a great professional and have achieved the ultimate in boxing having held titles from area to world honours. Well done and enjoy retirement. Hopefully you will stay in the game in some other capacity..

[jamesmcdonnell]

Anyone who thinks Clinton had a 'great' career must think John Ruiz has had a 'great' career also.

Great is relative.

Relative to expectations and talent, both men excelled themselves, neither man would have been expecting or expected to have won a version of the world title.

Nobody is claiming Clinton was a 'great' champion, or a 'great' fighter. Merely that he 'did great' with his career, considering his lack of backing, exposure and dare I say it, raw talent.

I don't know what your axe to grind is, but you need to get out more.

[Autobarn]

How someone like Clinton Woods can be slagged off I will never know!!

What do people expect him to do?

Say 'thanks IBF for the title shot' but no thanks!!??
He had a great career and never ducked anyone and made the most out of his ability. He also came accross very well and to my mind never slagged other fighters off, choosing instead to give praise where it was due.

I seem to remember a piece on Sky (could be wrong) where his mother had written a letter to him begging him to stay out of trouble, seemingly he may have been a bit of a wild one in his younger days, therefore if boxing helped him to learn discipline and what was right, and he made a few bob and won a world title then I say fair play.

All the best in your retirement Clinton

Wrists.

PS: Overhand your a tool

well said, he's hardly going to turn down the opportunity or the money that comes with an IBF title shot.

[Deserter]

Anyone who thinks Clinton had a 'great' career must think John Ruiz has had a 'great' career also.

Great is relative.

Relative to expectations and talent, both men excelled themselves, neither man would have been expecting or expected to have won a version of the world title.

Nobody is claiming Clinton was a 'great' champion, or a 'great' fighter. Merely that he 'did great' with his career, considering his lack of backing, exposure and dare I say it, raw talent.

I don't know what your axe to grind is, but you need to get out more.

x2.

[Chambers2]

How many kids, amateurs, current pro's or day dreamers would like to say they achieved the following in their pro boxing career?
Central Area,British,Commonwealth,European and World Champion.
Fought a legend at his peak.
And all started with no big backing as he came up from small hall/dinner shows.

Not a lot of negatives there about his career if u ask me.

Great career.

Well said

[alexpaterson]

Anyone who thinks Clinton had a 'great' career must think John Ruiz has had a 'great' career also.

Great is relative.

Relative to expectations and talent, both men excelled themselves, neither man would have been expecting or expected to have won a version of the world title.

Nobody is claiming Clinton was a 'great' champion, or a 'great' fighter. Merely that he 'did great' with his career, considering his lack of backing, exposure and dare I say it, raw talent.

I don't know what your axe to grind is, but you need to get out more.

Well said, he did it the hard way and still got to the top

[Spud]

How many kids, amateurs, current pro's or day dreamers would like to say they achieved the following in their pro boxing career?
Central Area,British,Commonwealth,European and World Champion.
Fought a legend at his peak.
And all started with no big backing as he came up from small hall/dinner shows.

Not a lot of negatives there about his career if u ask me.

Great career.

Well said

x 2

[Spud]

How many kids, amateurs, current pro's or day dreamers would like to say they achieved the following in their pro boxing career?
Central Area,British,Commonwealth,European and World Champion.
Fought a legend at his peak.
And all started with no big backing as he came up from small hall/dinner shows.

Not a lot of negatives there about his career if u ask me.

Great career.

Well said

x 2