Boxers you grew to love

[coghaugen11]

He might. But what a bellend.

[Cyclops]

Kovalev a little, it also broke my heart when he wasn't given the win in the 1st Ward fight.

I get you. I really liked him and was absolutely gutted that he got shafted in the first fight against Ward. Unfortunately Ward was just one of those guys that always fought at home. Some Americans got shirty about this saying that he'd fought Froch in Atlantic City, which was miles away from Oakland, but it's still the same country isn't it, you idiots? Ward didn't come to the UK and he didn't go to Russia. He just went to a different state.

The rematch was won on nut punches as well, so Kovalev was a pound for pound guy and was one decision away from being number 1. It was similar to Golovkin against Canelo, and those four fights are why I rarely stay up to watch big fights in the US anymore. My European brethren are going to get, at most, a draw, unless they beat the absolute f*ck out of the American (well done Mr.Fury). It's depressing.

But then it came out what a dick he was to work with, and he never tried to win against Canelo: Ward took his soul and he sold his title. I wouldn't say it was a dive, but it wasn't exactly a spirited performance. Not to mention all his legal problems. Good people don't put hands on women- especially professional fighters. I just get the impression he's a nasty drunk with a bad attitude.

[Loki]

Canelo.

[THEBUTCH]

Wasn't overly convinced by Josh Warrington but he scored that good win over Ceylon and kept improving.

Sibbo Always liked him, but the more I look back on his career, on his night, he was the best British middleweight.

None of the British middleweights would have won world titles if they'd ran into Halger the night Sibbo challenged him.

[coneye]

Conor Benn is turning into Prince Patel.

I'm predicting he will exceed that

Think you may be right there ,, He's definetly not relized he's a Koala yet , Getting to the stage , i can't wait to see him in with a live opponent , this kid needs a real reality check .

Seen at the garden party when the albanian put it on him ,, Barry came out and said , to the Albanian , you will fight him when its going to earn the big money , stuff what the fans want ,,, shows what Warren has said all along about the Hearns is correct ,, its all about the money they could'nt give a toss about the fans ,, hence why Eddie told Benn its a five fight plan for you , then the Koala gets put in with a live opponent

[KiwiRider]

Conor Benn is turning into Prince Patel.

I'm predicting he will exceed that

Think you may be right there ,, He's definetly not relized he's a Koala yet , Getting to the stage , i can't wait to see him in with a live opponent , this kid needs a real reality check .

Seen at the garden party when the albanian put it on him ,, Barry came out and said , to the Albanian , you will fight him when its going to earn the big money , stuff what the fans want ,,, shows what Warren has said all along about the Hearns is correct ,, its all about the money they could'nt give a toss about the fans ,, hence why Eddie told Benn its a five fight plan for you , then the Koala gets put in with a live opponent

I can see some of that, I also think Benn will get a few goes at a strap, it's a name, barely, but still enough to trot him out for another couple of loses after the first big one.
Can't complain though, he is, and will make a very decent amount of money.
Also I can't really see him tainting his father's legacy (like Charvez Jr) unless he does something really stupid.

[gilgamesh]

James Toney is one of the only boxers to have went from being one of my most hated boxers to one of my favorites. A tough transition to make.

[The Gratest]

Duran - when I was young, all I saw was this guy with too much anger and attitude (the shove of SRL after the final bell of the first fight always stuck in my mind) who then got put in his place by The Hitman. It wasn't until years later that I grew to appreciate his fighting intensity and how that attitude was what made him so fearless and ready to take on anyone.

Neville Brown - he didn't have what it took to reach the highest level, but was involved in some classic domestic battles and always showed tremendous heart. I also liked his studio presence, very humble, friendly and warm.

[Ezzard]

Duran. Seemed arrogant and over hyped when I first started watching and reading bout the sport. Of course he was widely derided by US journalists. But then as I read more about him and watched more of his fights I realised how great he was. And i admired the fact he just fought whoever. No care for his chances.

[banjo]

Kovalev a little, it also broke my heart when he wasn't given the win in the 1st Ward fight.

I get you. I really liked him and was absolutely gutted that he got shafted in the first fight against Ward. Unfortunately Ward was just one of those guys that always fought at home. Some Americans got shirty about this saying that he'd fought Froch in Atlantic City, which was miles away from Oakland, but it's still the same country isn't it, you idiots? Ward didn't come to the UK and he didn't go to Russia. He just went to a different state.

The rematch was won on nut punches as well, so Kovalev was a pound for pound guy and was one decision away from being number 1. It was similar to Golovkin against Canelo, and those four fights are why I rarely stay up to watch big fights in the US anymore. My European brethren are going to get, at most, a draw, unless they beat the absolute f*ck out of the American (well done Mr.Fury). It's depressing.

But then it came out what a dick he was to work with, and he never tried to win against Canelo: Ward took his soul and he sold his title. I wouldn't say it was a dive, but it wasn't exactly a spirited performance. Not to mention all his legal problems. Good people don't put hands on women- especially professional fighters. I just get the impression he's a nasty drunk with a bad attitude.

To be fair the USA is so diverse that different states can feel like a completely different country.

[margaret thatcher]

part of fighting on the road is stuff like long trips, time zone differences, etc....none of which you get just going to the next state. ward never had any of that and never really faced a crowd against him from what i can recall

in usa, racial/ethnic backgrond often do take precedence though. you see way more mexican, european, etc flags than american ones. and even if you're an american, you can bet your ass you prob wont be fan favourite if youre fighting a mexican in texas. tomas adamek also used to get racuous polish/polish american crowds cheering for him vs american opponents in new jersey

[Onetimeonly]

Not going to say love, but donaire. One of those message board things, when bloggers and fans had him top 3 p4p I disagreed so adamantly that I cheered against him and now these old man performances have made me a fan.

[Cyclops]

Kovalev a little, it also broke my heart when he wasn't given the win in the 1st Ward fight.

I get you. I really liked him and was absolutely gutted that he got shafted in the first fight against Ward. Unfortunately Ward was just one of those guys that always fought at home. Some Americans got shirty about this saying that he'd fought Froch in Atlantic City, which was miles away from Oakland, but it's still the same country isn't it, you idiots? Ward didn't come to the UK and he didn't go to Russia. He just went to a different state.

The rematch was won on nut punches as well, so Kovalev was a pound for pound guy and was one decision away from being number 1. It was similar to Golovkin against Canelo, and those four fights are why I rarely stay up to watch big fights in the US anymore. My European brethren are going to get, at most, a draw, unless they beat the absolute f*ck out of the American (well done Mr.Fury). It's depressing.

But then it came out what a dick he was to work with, and he never tried to win against Canelo: Ward took his soul and he sold his title. I wouldn't say it was a dive, but it wasn't exactly a spirited performance. Not to mention all his legal problems. Good people don't put hands on women- especially professional fighters. I just get the impression he's a nasty drunk with a bad attitude.

To be fair the USA is so diverse that different states can feel like a completely different country.

But it still isn't a different country.

Russia is double the size of the US. If a Russian never fought out of Russia but fought an American at one venue really far away from where they usually fought, you'd still say the American was fighting the Russian in Russia, wouldn't you? You wouldn't go: well Russia's really diverse, so actually there's no home advantage because the Russian is fighting so far away?

[Onetimeonly]

That was bullshit that ward never had to travel, but fanwise many non us fighters have been huge favorites here.