peter barlow wrote: ↑21 Nov 2021, 07:13
Great fight, I thought Porter fought his heart out. Hard to argue with Kenny Porter stopping it, it was only going one way. But his comments afterward trying to humiliate his son were pathetic. The man's a fornicating bully, and Shawn should get a new trainer he has plenty left in the tank if he wants it.
Bud Crawford is a special fighter. Terrific left hand and movement.
I think that Kenny Porter’s comments, in retrospect and given the post fight presser, were meant to setup
Shawn’s retirement announcement. IOW, it was their predetermined contingency plan if the fight did not go their way. It rationalizes retirement based on Shawn’s loss of the desire necessary to be at the top of his game.
The Porters are a savvy team, and superior role models.
ironbeard wrote: ↑21 Nov 2021, 03:14
I think that he has lost a bit of quickness and is not quite as fluid at pulling the trigger. He was actually very honest about the fact that he was having a hard time landing flush shots early on and that he was allowing Porter to score points without response at times.
Maybe it’s cuz he fought Porter.
Porter was all over the show.
Porter was sharp early but even TCraw mentioned that this was not his best effort.
To be honest, few guys have their best effort vs Porter, except for Ugas, and he was robbed, imo.
Jeff_lacy_ko wrote: ↑21 Nov 2021, 13:53
Excellent performance from Crawford
Lets hope he and spence resume their thrilling twitter fight asap.
Just read Spence is coming back probably March for a BIG fight. He said he'll fight whoever they put in front of him, but my guess is he'll fight Ugas before Crawford.
I had it 5 to 4
No issue with stoppage. Porter couldn't win after the second knockdown
Crawford jabbed well and those underneath body punches were great. I figured the fight would go this way - i think porter was fine to continu, but still a stoppage is impressive
By the end of the ninth round, the scorecards could have gone either way.
And the stoppage seemed at tad premature to me, though that three point round effectively ended Porter's hopes of beating Crawford.
EO, I actually had Porter up by a point heading into the 10th. But I’ve been so damned off with my scoring the last year or two. I honestly don’t know what wins a round anymore where nothing obviously happens to tip it into one guy’s favor.
In Canelo fights, aggressions > punches landed. In other fights it’s the opposite. I wish that the sport would just pause and all reorganize from a scoring perceptive to not only provide some uniformity amongst these alphabet entities but to also assist us fans to be better equipped viewers of the sport we love. Because, I’ve not even been close scoring these fights at home and I really do try to call them without any bias.
I don't like to complain after such a great fight. And you can't criticize a father for trying to protect his son from getting hurt, knowing what we know about the short and long term effects from head injuries. But this fight is a great example of why we'll never see great fights again and why the sport is declining into oblivion. It's likely if the fight had continued Porter would have been KO'd fairly quickly. But what if he didn't? What if he fought back and knocked Crawford down?
In the past he would have had the opportunity to. 20 or 40 years ago Porter's father would have been ridiculed for stopping a championship fight, criticized and hounded by the media. Porter would have been labeled a coward. For fighters of the past a title shot meant everything, going out on their shield was a badge of honor. Now, Porter has to think about his future, his career in media. He has a life outside of boxing. In the past boxers lived paycheck to paycheck and had to think about keeping their entourage and all the other parasites happy and paid.
In the past a fighter getting knocked down twice would have been the start of a great fight, not the end of a good one. Fights went 15 rounds and Porter would have had a greater opportunity to come back and win by points or KO. Society has changed, medical science has changed. More fighters are using drugs and nutrition that make their bodies bigger and more powerful. I don't know if boxing has a place in the future and we won't see the truly great fights anymore. It's sad but it's probably not a bad thing.
thereverend wrote: ↑27 Nov 2021, 08:56
I don't like to complain after such a great fight. And you can't criticize a father for trying to protect his son from getting hurt, knowing what we know about the short and long term effects from head injuries. But this fight is a great example of why we'll never see great fights again and why the sport is declining into oblivion. It's likely if the fight had continued Porter would have been KO'd fairly quickly. But what if he didn't? What if he fought back and knocked Crawford down?
In the past he would have had the opportunity to. 20 or 40 years ago Porter's father would have been ridiculed for stopping a championship fight, criticized and hounded by the media. Porter would have been labeled a coward. For fighters of the past a title shot meant everything, going out on their shield was a badge of honor. Now, Porter has to think about his future, his career in media. He has a life outside of boxing. In the past boxers lived paycheck to paycheck and had to think about keeping their entourage and all the other parasites happy and paid.
In the past a fighter getting knocked down twice would have been the start of a great fight, not the end of a good one. Fights went 15 rounds and Porter would have had a greater opportunity to come back and win by points or KO. Society has changed, medical science has changed. More fighters are using drugs and nutrition that make their bodies bigger and more powerful. I don't know if boxing has a place in the future and we won't see the truly great fights anymore. It's sad but it's probably not a bad thing.
Nice post, therev.
Boom Boom v Duk Koo Kim was the death knell of the greatest era of professional boxing. Shortly after the fight, and DKK’s death, the WBC lowered championship fights from 15 to 12 rounds. It took the WBA and IBF over four years to follow suit, but in 1987 the 15 round championship fight era ended, changing boxing forever on multiple levels.
Most who are 40 and under have little to no memory of the era beyond historical accounts and film of old fights. The vast majority do not understand the impact of that change on boxing. Even those who claim to understand it do not feel it on a cellular level like those who grew up with 15 round championship fights.
It is similar to the change in American football that made the use of the helmeted head in hitting/tackling/blocking opponents, and the use of the forearms for striking opponents illegal. Without those weapons, I would never have started a game in football.
Training, and strategy/tactics changed radically with that simple rules change. Boxers who would have had little to no chance in the 15 round era gained potential. Boxers who could thrive on the championship rounds of the era were diminished.
The change dramatically effected the Heavyweight division, imo, making it easier for lumbering behemoths to takeover the division, leading to less well trained top HWs in general.
Leonard v Hearns I
Ali v Frazier I, II, III
Arguello v Pryor I
Holyfield v Qawi I
Leonard v Benitez
Hearns v Benitez
Weaver v Tate
Holmes v Norton
Benitez v Duran
Duran v Leonard I
Hagler v Antuofermo I
Ali v Norton
Monzon v Valdez II
Monzon v Griffith I, II
Monzon v Briscoe II
Etc.
Boxing is not what it was during the 15 round era but it is still pretty darned good and it is safer, as is American football.
And, if you are looking for some old style blood and guts, bare knuckle boxing is the rage in Russia right now and available on PPTV (Putin Propaganda TV / Kartina).
