Classic fights I've watched recently

[margaret thatcher]

[hhaehre]

Back to classic fights and Riddick Bowe.
I just rewatched his fight with Pierre Coetzer and what a war that was. Both guys in their primes and just teeing off on eachother. Connect rate around 50% for both guys but the power and size of Bowe won it for him. The only disappointing thing about the fight was the ending. Coetzer was badly busted up around both eyes and the writing was on the wall, but the 7th round tko came as a result of a low blow from Bowe. Coetzer bent over and turned away after the blow and Bowe landed a couple of shots prompting the ref to stop it.

[oogiebe]

Back to classic fights and Riddick Bowe.
I just rewatched his fight with Pierre Coetzer and what a war that was. Both guys in their primes and just teeing off on eachother. Connect rate around 50% for both guys but the power and size of Bowe won it for him. The only disappointing thing about the fight was the ending. Coetzer was badly busted up around both eyes and the writing was on the wall, but the 7th round tko came as a result of a low blow from Bowe. Coetzer bent over and turned away after the blow and Bowe landed a couple of shots prompting the ref to stop it.

Watched today as well. Coetzer was game as heck. THought it was stopped prematurely too. Coetzer landed a lot of punches throughout. As I posted earlier, Bowe wasn't difficult to find. Made me search up more Coetzer fights. Watched him vs Foreman the other day, but he didn't come across as well as vs Bowe.

[hhaehre]

Back to classic fights and Riddick Bowe.
I just rewatched his fight with Pierre Coetzer and what a war that was. Both guys in their primes and just teeing off on eachother. Connect rate around 50% for both guys but the power and size of Bowe won it for him. The only disappointing thing about the fight was the ending. Coetzer was badly busted up around both eyes and the writing was on the wall, but the 7th round tko came as a result of a low blow from Bowe. Coetzer bent over and turned away after the blow and Bowe landed a couple of shots prompting the ref to stop it.

Watched today as well. Coetzer was game as heck. THought it was stopped prematurely too. Coetzer landed a lot of punches throughout. As I posted earlier, Bowe wasn't difficult to find. Made me search up more Coetzer fights. Watched him vs Foreman the other day, but he didn't come across as well as vs Bowe.

Coetzer was your typical South African heavyweight, always coming forward and throwing punches, but man did he soak up punishment in the process. His last three fights were brutal.

[oogiebe]

Watched today as well. Coetzer was game as heck. THought it was stopped prematurely too. Coetzer landed a lot of punches throughout. As I posted earlier, Bowe wasn't difficult to find. Made me search up more Coetzer fights. Watched him vs Foreman the other day, but he didn't come across as well as vs Bowe.

Coetzer was your typical South African heavyweight, always coming forward and throwing punches, but man did he soak up punishment in the process. His last three fights were brutal.

Bruno just flat wore him out. Not the best way to end one's career. Stoppage losses (and punishing ones) to Bowe; Bruno; and Big George.

[Onetimeonly]

It's above there---you clearly said you think Wilder destroys a prime Bowe 'very early' , within 4 rounds, and it's 'no contest'. That's all right there, even if you wish it wasn't . Sure, maybe I got your KO1 prediction mixed up with Kalan's, true, my bad!

But my question was really getting wether you still are so unimpressed by Bowe and still think he'd get wrecked. What's your prediction now?

Bowe's great trilogy with Holy was styles and Holy not having that huge KO power. Wilder would take Bowe out. Fury's dominance over Wilder is due to Fury being Fury. Wilder is still a very dangerous puncher. If you'd like, I'll make yet another post saying that. I never denied saying any of that. I denied your post saying I said one round. That is what i take exception to. You do that way too much.

Evander was a big puncher. Wilder would have to do it in 1 round, because he's not going to deal with riddicks 70 punches a round well.

[Onamastus]

Serious question. How do you beat Riddick Bowe when you have no jab, no chin, no stamina, literally no inside game, and in fact no ability to fight at all? Because it sounds as if Wilder would be helpless against Bowe.

Also, if Wilder was good enough to destroy men the calibre of Riddick Bowe, why was he protected his whole career?

[handsofstone]

Chris Eubank vs Graciano Rocchigiani



Eubank beats Rocchigiani by UD to retain his World Super Middleweight title, another drab affair from Eubank, nowhere near busy enough fought in sports but mainly postures and strutted about the ring, Rocchigiani wasnt great either, just had his earmuffs on for thr most part, especially first half of the fight, whether going forward or backwards he didnt throw enough punches


Rocchigiani did improve late on and began to out work Eubank although there wasn't a lot of clean work from him either, Eubank lost a point in the 11th for repeatedly ducking low but he still won the decision, 2 close cards and 1 only gave Rocchigiani a round which was horrendous

[hhaehre]

Chris Eubank vs Graciano Rocchigiani



Eubank beats Rocchigiani by UD to retain his World Super Middleweight title, another drab affair from Eubank, nowhere near busy enough fought in sports but mainly postures and strutted about the ring, Rocchigiani wasnt great either, just had his earmuffs on for thr most part, especially first half of the fight, whether going forward or backwards he didnt throw enough punches


Rocchigiani did improve late on and began to out work Eubank although there wasn't a lot of clean work from him either, Eubank lost a point in the 11th for repeatedly ducking low but he still won the decision, 2 close cards and 1 only gave Rocchigiani a round which was horrendous

Prime Eubank was horrible to watch, but when he lost a step late in his career he was involved in several very entertaining wars, especially the Thompson fights.

[handsofstone]

Chris Eubank vs Graciano Rocchigiani



Eubank beats Rocchigiani by UD to retain his World Super Middleweight title, another drab affair from Eubank, nowhere near busy enough fought in sports but mainly postures and strutted about the ring, Rocchigiani wasnt great either, just had his earmuffs on for thr most part, especially first half of the fight, whether going forward or backwards he didnt throw enough punches


Rocchigiani did improve late on and began to out work Eubank although there wasn't a lot of clean work from him either, Eubank lost a point in the 11th for repeatedly ducking low but he still won the decision, 2 close cards and 1 only gave Rocchigiani a round which was horrendous

Prime Eubank was horrible to watch, but when he lost a step late in his career he was involved in several very entertaining wars, especially the Thompson fights.

Aye the Thompson fights were excellent, the Super Middleweight reign was drab as fcvk

[Bodyshot3]

Coetzer was your typical South African heavyweight, always coming forward and throwing punches, but man did he soak up punishment in the process. His last three fights were brutal.

Pierre was very brave-tough, possibly more rugged than either Coetzee or Sanders.....

…..but he was arguably a level below these guys in terms of key tools. Coetzee had a proper, big dig and so did Sanders who had considerably sharper hands as well. I think he was possibly a bit behind Johnny DP as well.

He's a bit more like a South African Gary Mason, a good domestic champ but not quite got the ammo to beat world class opponents but certainly enough to trade with them and not get shown up either.

I saw some of his fights on M-Net when I lived over there and most of the guys thought he was a tough guy but a level below the likes of Coetzee and even Knoetze.

[hhaehre]

Coetzer was your typical South African heavyweight, always coming forward and throwing punches, but man did he soak up punishment in the process. His last three fights were brutal.

Pierre was very brave-tough, possibly more rugged than either Coetzee or Sanders.....

…..but he was arguably a level below these guys in terms of key tools. Coetzee had a proper, big dig and so did Sanders who had considerably sharper hands as well. I think he was possibly a bit behind Johnny DP as well.

He's a bit more like a South African Gary Mason, a good domestic champ but not quite got the ammo to beat world class opponents but certainly enough to trade with them and not get shown up either.

I saw some of his fights on M-Net when I lived over there and most of the guys thought he was a tough guy but a level below the likes of Coetzee and even Knoetze.

He took too many punches but offensively he was quite good. He could throw pretty sharp combinations and had a good array of shots. His big problem, the way he fought, was that he didn't have big league power. I agree that Sanders, Knoetze and especially Coetzee were better, but what they had over him was mostly power. I rate him over du Plooy. All these guys were great to watch.

[Onamastus]

Good to hear Pierre Coetzer being discussed. I'm late to the party here so forgive me if this has been discussed. Have you seen Coetzer's shoot out with DuPlooy? It's incredible.

[hhaehre]

Good to hear Pierre Coetzer being discussed. I'm late to the party here so forgive me if this has been discussed. Have you seen Coetzer's shoot out with DuPlooy? It's incredible.

Yeah, a two round war. Coetzer basically out-chinned DuPlooy.

[littlepug]

Good to hear Pierre Coetzer being discussed. I'm late to the party here so forgive me if this has been discussed. Have you seen Coetzer's shoot out with DuPlooy? It's incredible.

Yeah great domestic fight that

[handsofstone]

Chris Eubank vs Henry Wharton



Eubank beats Wharton via UD to retain his World Super Middleweight title, good showing from Eubank, much less posturing than usual and fought at a solid pace, sterling effort from Wharton he lost fairly wide but cant fault his effort and fitness, makes Eubank's performance all the most impressive as he had to fight at a fair old pace himself just to keep Wharton off


Wharton came forward all night and tried to make things uncomfortable for Eubank and tried to break him down to the body with some success, all in all though it was the quality of Eubank that won on the day, he looked sharp, his jab was excellent, he threw that 90% of the time, occasionally banging in the left hook or uppercut on the inside before moving out of harms way, Wharton was chasing shadows for the most part, Eubank showed his class, looked sharp and up for it

[handsofstone]

Jeff Fenech vs Daniel Zaragoza



Reigning World Bantamweight champ Fenech beats former champ Zaragoza over 10 round in a non title fight, decent wee scrap, fought mostly at close quarters, Fenech was just the sharper busier man in there, Zaragoza wasnt exactly dominated but Fenech looked the boss in there, he controlled ring centre, got up close and fired away to head and body roughing Zaragoza up


Zaragoza had a little success with the southpaw left and never gave an inch but Fenech just seemed to bully him in there and looked more comfortable, his inside fighting was on point and he never allowed Zaragoza to old man him, youth won on the day

[Bodyshot3]

Chris Eubank vs Henry Wharton

Classic Eubank chalk-and-cheese performance I'd contend.

Put in with someone unthreatening, outgunned or barely worth a title shot....he posed, fenced and often stubbornly refused to give the paying punter even a scintilla of a show.

And sometimes the only entertainment was that he put himself bang in trouble by being so cynical.

But matched with the likes of Wharton and who Benn recognised as a threat too - who could box and punch, was properly strong and absolutely coming to win - and you get an altogether different Eubank who was alert, sharp and a very decent champion determined to keep his title.

Eubank often came out with all sorts of daft cod-philosophical statements during his career and mainly to feed the press.....but his view that he did not like boxing and that he did enough to move from one good payday to another and keep his title always somehow ring true and was not abut keeping the sports editors happy.

He'd go right to the wire if and when necessary with Watson, Benn, Wharton, Thompson and Calzaghe.....and cruise much as he damned well pleased in other fights and against lesser men.

Towards the end he got the balance wrong..... Ray Close probably should be a world champ for example and Collins would simply outhustle him.

[handsofstone]

Jeff Fenech vs Carlos Zarate



Fenech wins a TD after 4 rounds to retain his World Super Bantamweight title when the fight is stopped due to a cut inder the right eye to Fenech, bit of a strange one really, Fenech was in front he got up close and worked away on the inside, Zarate whipped in some hurtful looking lefts to the body but they didnt seem to effect Fenech


Zarate harshly lost a point in the 3rd for a low blow then Fenech had him down in the 4th from a quality left uppercut/right hand, Fenech was cut by the end of the round, didnt look that bad in my book but it was stopped and they went to the cards where Fenech was a clear winner, I think Fenech spotted a way out to keep hold of his title

[milpool]

Barry McGuigan v Eusebio Pedroza

Barry McGuigan relieves Panamanian Pedroza of his WBA Featherweight title that he had won seven years earlier.
From the off, you could see how smooth and classy Pedroza was as he was jabbing and moving superbly. But from about round four, McGuigan started to out enthuse the champion and Pedroza just seemed to lose his composure and struggled to keep McGuigan at bay.
McGuigan was so busy that you felt that there was no way he could keep it up and that he'd tire down the stretch. However, his engine kept motoring and after he put Pedroza down in the seventh it was inevitable that we'd have a new champion.
I'm not sure I ever appreciated what a great performce this was from McGuigan, I had McGuigan winning 147-137 and I think that is a fair refelection of the fight.
From that performance, McGuigan should have gone on to much greater things but in just over a year he had lost his title.

[Bodyshot3]

Barry McGuigan v Eusebio Pedroza

Good thoughts on the above fella

It is one of the first big fights I can fully recall watching and also reading about avidly in the build-up and it gave me the boxing bug. Very easy to forget just how popular Barry was and also how a title fight was major national news.

Barry's book "Cyclone, My Story" is assuredly one the better boxing autobiographies out there.....and his description of what he did to get ready for Pedroza physically and mentally is really fascinating. Check it out if you can.

[handsofstone]

Phillip Holiday vs Jeff Fenech



Holiday stops the ageing Fenech in 2 rounds to retain his World Lightweight title, down in both rounds it was a tough but quick night for Fenech, he was down in the 1st after Holiday stunned him with a big overhand right and a follow up combination had him down and hurt bad but he did bravely make it to the end of the round


In the 2nd though Holiday nailed Fenech again with a massive right hand over the top which sent him down, he managed to get up but his legs were gone and it was rightly stopped

[milpool]

Barry McGuigan v Eusebio Pedroza

Good thoughts on the above fella

It is one of the first big fights I can fully recall watching and also reading about avidly in the build-up and it gave me the boxing bug. Very easy to forget just how popular Barry was and also how a title fight was major national news.

Barry's book "Cyclone, My Story" is assuredly one the better boxing autobiographies out there.....and his description of what he did to get ready for Pedroza physically and mentally is really fascinating. Check it out if you can.

I read Barry's book a few years ago but I might give it another go since I've been watching a lot of his fights recently.

I watched his 14 round battle with Danilo Cabrera a few nights ago. That was a tough fight and although Cabrera wasn't the most skilled fighter in the world, he had plenty of heart and just kept coming forward and happily took a few to give some back.
Again, Barry showed that he had a great engine as he never slowed down but he certainly knew he'd been in a fight.

The referee was struggling to hear the bell and at the end of the eighth, McGuigan was piling on the pressure as the bell rang but again the referee didn't hear it and McGuigan carried on his attack. The referee then looked like he was stopping the fight and everyone piled into the ring only for the man in charge to eventually decide that the fight was to carry on.
In fairness to Cabrera, he battled his way back into the fight before he was eventually worn down in the 14th and was stopped as he was scrambling around trying to pick up his gumshield.
Some alleged thumbs in the eyes made sure Barry had a couple of nice shiners and I remember him being on Wogan a few days later looking like he'd been hit by a truck.

[Bodyshot3]

It is a very good read Milpool and I am pretty sure it is Barry speaking directly to the reader rather than the usual ghost writer most fighters hire for the book job

I think what is interesting about Barry's book is that he kind of half-admits that the way he trained and got results in the ring was not something that was well-suited to a long career or entirely sustainable.

He also makes the comment that it became increasingly hard to be "right on it" and that he wanted to make some technical-training adaptions to extend his time at the top.

Sadly, the train-crash Cruz fight came at precisely the wrong time and wrecked all that. It really was a mental, physical and business disaster

[Bodyshot3]

Phillip Holiday vs Jeff Fenech

Definitely the best win on the South African's resume in terms of a big-time name...…but Jeff was finished by that point and lightweight was not a good place for him despite the passing of the years/extra pounds.

The fight has the feel of two marketable fighters making some well-deserved cash (no problem with that) and I think Holiday was based in Oz by that point too so the gate receipts were very tidy for both guys.

Holiday was an exciting, whirlwind kind of fighter who won some decent title bouts...…easy to forget that there have always been white South African guys like Holiday and Mitchell doing good business at the lower weights and it has not always been about the big, bulldozing heavyweights and cruisers.