What made Tony sibson so popular

[Jaclem]

...maybe if some of us could get together we could raise the money to make a movie about this simpson...(sibson?..whatever) fellow. in fact now that i've been reading all these comments i'm surprised it hasn't been done already. appears to have a huge built in audience. i know cinderella man didn't do well at tbe box office, but hey...who was jim braddock by comparison.

[john2345]

...maybe if some of us could get together we could raise the money to make a movie about this simpson...(sibson?..whatever) fellow. in fact now that i've been reading all these comments i'm surprised it hasn't been done already. appears to have a huge built in audience. i know cinderella man didn't do well at tbe box office, but hey...who was jim braddock by comparison.

Maybe they could make a movie about greats like Jeff Lacy and Peter Manfredo in case we ever forget how great they were too...??

[Elton John]

...maybe if some of us could get together we could raise the money to make a movie about this simpson...(sibson?..whatever) fellow. in fact now that i've been reading all these comments i'm surprised it hasn't been done already. appears to have a huge built in audience. i know cinderella man didn't do well at tbe box office, but hey...who was jim braddock by comparison.

sorry if you weren't around at the time to catch any of his fights.

[The Great John L]

He was a very good fighter and was well known on both sides of the pond. If guys like Sibson are forgotten in 20 years, it’s no wonder there are so few posters who even know the names of guys from 100+ years ago. Pretty sad…

[KOJOE90]

...maybe if some of us could get together we could raise the money to make a movie about this simpson...(sibson?..whatever) fellow. in fact now that i've been reading all these comments i'm surprised it hasn't been done already. appears to have a huge built in audience. i know cinderella man didn't do well at tbe box office, but hey...who was jim braddock by comparison.

Jaclem. I don't think anyone here is trying to claim that Tony Sibson was a great fighter. He was just a very popular fighter in his day here in the UK. He was what you may call in the USA a 'blue collar' fighter. Just an honest, entertaining quaility fighter in the ring and a modest likeable guy outside of the ring.

He was usually value for money and when he was 'on' was a world class fighter and if he had come along post Hagler may well have picked up a version of a World title, if only for a short time.

[ringsider]

.....and if he had come along post Hagler may well have picked up a version of a World title, if only for a short time.

Come'on now..... that is bit of a stretch.

[kick asner]

...maybe if some of us could get together we could raise the money to make a movie about this simpson...(sibson?..whatever) fellow. in fact now that i've been reading all these comments i'm surprised it hasn't been done already. appears to have a huge built in audience. i know cinderella man didn't do well at tbe box office, but hey...who was jim braddock by comparison.

Jaclem. I don't think anyone here is trying to claim that Tony Sibson was a great fighter. He was just a very popular fighter in his day here in the UK. He was what you may call in the USA a 'blue collar' fighter. Just an honest, entertaining quaility fighter in the ring and a modest likeable guy outside of the ring.

He was usually value for money and when he was 'on' was a world class fighter and if he had come along post Hagler may well have picked up a version of a World title, if only for a short time.

That is a very fair assessment.

[Arbachakov]

Sibson did have one of the divisions best ever left-hooks.

Up there with Hart, lausse and Tiger among others.

[Jaclem]

..kojoe....right-o my friend....i'm just having a little fun with funsobaby....who no doubt thinks duran belongs in the pioneer era and willie pep was a bareknuckle fighter.

as our boy says, i have just marginal knowledge of boxing history....though i do wonder if the funso one can name, say, two fighters who fought a draw with sugar ray robinson before he won the middleweight title..and what was the result of the rematch with one when he challenged sugar ray for what title, and i'd ask who robinson won the welterweight title from but that would be unfair as it is something of a trick question. as i doubt if the little fellow has any record books, i'd leave it up to his honor as a gentleman to come up with these answers without checking on boxrec,as i entered them without using either.

[KOJOE90]

.....and if he had come along post Hagler may well have picked up a version of a World title, if only for a short time.

Come'on now..... that is bit of a stretch.

I don't think that the idea that a peak Tony Sibson, on a given night, may have gotten the better of the likes of Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley, Quincy Taylor, Reggie Johnson or John David Jackson an unrealistic opinion? I don't see Sibson getting the better of them a huge upset. Having said that on a given night I am sure these fighters could have got the better of Sibbo as well.

However the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney, Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins would have been too much for Sibson.

[silkov]

..kojoe....right-o my friend....i'm just having a little fun with funsobaby....who no doubt thinks duran belongs in the pioneer era and willie pep was a bareknuckle fighter.

as our boy says, i have just marginal knowledge of boxing history....though i do wonder if the funso one can name, say, two fighters who fought a draw with sugar ray robinson before he won the middleweight title..and what was the result of the rematch with one when he challenged sugar ray for what title, and i'd ask who robinson won the welterweight title from but that would be unfair as it is something of a trick question. as i doubt if the little fellow has any record books, i'd leave it up to his honor as a gentleman to come up with these answers without checking on boxrec,as i entered them without using either.

You're bragging about how smart you are right after I pointed out the error you made earlier in this thread? As for the "trivia question" you're asking, no. I can't remember both their names off of the top of my head. I know that I'm not the one you asked, but does that mean I don't have a thorough knowledge of boxing? I've read round-by-round reports of what happened in the Basora fight, I've done microfilm research on many of Basora's opponents, and I have indulged in the possibilty that Basora might be one of the 40 or 50 greatest middleweights of all time.

Boxing knowledge isn't defined by trivia; it's defined by what you write or say, and you haven't written anything meaningful in this thread - or any other, to my recollection.

So you've gone from someone who couldnt even remember Sibson to an expert on him all of a sudden??!.... have you even seen any of his fights???.... I doubt it... also Sibson did ko Collins, try looking up his record....

[silkov]

.....and if he had come along post Hagler may well have picked up a version of a World title, if only for a short time.

Come'on now..... that is bit of a stretch.

I don't think that the idea that a peak Tony Sibson, on a given night, may have gotten the better of the likes of Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley, Quincy Taylor, Reggie Johnson or John David Jackson an unrealistic opinion? I don't see Sibson getting the better of them a huge upset. Having said that on a given night I am sure these fighters could have got the better of Sibbo as well.

However the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney, Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins would have been too much for Sibson.

Sibson would definately have had a good chance of beating Dewitt, and Johnson, Jackson and Taylor were not exactly standouts imo.... a lot of these American fighters tend to get reps that flater them quite a bit while British fighters are often sneered at... for instance people on this thread mention Minter like he was a bum yet he handled Antuofermo far easier than even a peak Hagler did... people go on about how great Jermain Taylor is, but the guy can barely fight a full 2 minutes a round let alone three... as for Bernard Hopkins, loads of defences yes, but who did he actually beat aside from some blown up welters and lightweights???.... 8)

[Seamus]

Kind of a strange question the thread poses to begin with. Tony Sibson was never popular in the US, but he was in Great Britain. And why shouldn't he be popular in GB ? He won Commonwealth and European titles, destroyed a former MW World Champion, beat the number 1 ranked contender and took over that poll position himself. And in addition, from what I've heard, was always friendly and personable with fans outside the ring. He wasen't a great fighter, but he was a pretty good one, and had he fought later on, I'm pretty sure he would at least have won some version of the MW title.

[Jaclem]

..hey dec and silk...i was just kidding around about fungoboy..not you guys....and the only reason i did the sugar ray stuff was because the fungus among us thought everyone should know offhand every challenger that hagler tangled with.

..as for bragging about how smart i am....nonsense...i have many others who point that out so often they bring a blush to my silken face...

[Jaclem]

...oops..almost forgot...i did thank you decagon, on finding that error i made in nearly 2000 posts...

..indeed i saw the sibson/collins fight...as i mentioned earlier...

...maybe i've stepped on a toe or toe of those who mistakenly think i am making fun of the british....which i am not....as a fair minded american i have willingly paid my taxes that rescued you from two wars....and i congratulate you for having the good sense to pull away from the idiotic incursion we are involved in now.

[silkov]

...oops..almost forgot...i did thank you decagon, on finding that error i made in nearly 2000 posts...

..indeed i saw the sibson/collins fight...as i mentioned earlier...

...maybe i've stepped on a toe or toe of those who mistakenly think i am making fun of the british....which i am not....as a fair minded american i have willingly paid my taxes that rescued you from two wars....and i congratulate you for having the good sense to pull away from the idiotic incursion we are involved in now.

You took your time 'rescueing' us from the 2nd little world spat didnt you!.... ...as for the latest jolly I think just about everyone regrets that incursion except for two dimwits named Bush and Blair... my conscience is clean though as I never voted for either of them!... honest!! :x

[JC]

...maybe i've stepped on a toe or toe of those who mistakenly think i am making fun of the british....which i am not....as a fair minded american i have willingly paid my taxes that rescued you from two wars....

Wow! You were paying taxes during the first world war? You must be around 110!

[BoxBuzz]

...maybe i've stepped on a toe or toe of those who mistakenly think i am making fun of the british....which i am not....as a fair minded american i have willingly paid my taxes that rescued you from two wars....

Wow! You were paying taxes during the first world war? You must be around 110!

I'm a bit on the Libertarian side but the way I figure it I'm still paying the tax bill today on what it cost to run you redcoats out of here over 200 years ago. This whole "combat" thing is a very expensive proposition. I think we could have lured you out of our midst far cheaper by simply loading a single ship with all the tea we had stockpiled and sending it east....your military would have simply followed it back to your own country like true bloodhounds. However, military leadership skills such as my flair for command, were not available in those days.

[JC]

...maybe i've stepped on a toe or toe of those who mistakenly think i am making fun of the british....which i am not....as a fair minded american i have willingly paid my taxes that rescued you from two wars....

Wow! You were paying taxes during the first world war? You must be around 110!

I'm a bit on the Libertarian side but the way I figure it I'm still paying the tax bill today on what it cost to run you redcoats out of here over 200 years ago. This whole "combat" thing is a very expensive proposition. I think we could have lured you out of our midst far cheaper by simply loading a single ship with all the tea we had stockpiled and sending it east....your military would have simply followed it back to your own country like true bloodhounds. However, military leadership skills such as my flair for command, were not available in those days.

Replace tea with warm flat beer and you might have something.

[Elton John]

Come'on now..... that is bit of a stretch.

I don't think that the idea that a peak Tony Sibson, on a given night, may have gotten the better of the likes of Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley, Quincy Taylor, Reggie Johnson or John David Jackson an unrealistic opinion? I don't see Sibson getting the better of them a huge upset. Having said that on a given night I am sure these fighters could have got the better of Sibbo as well.

However the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney, Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins would have been too much for Sibson.

Sibson would definately have had a good chance of beating Dewitt, and Johnson, Jackson and Taylor were not exactly standouts imo.... a lot of these American fighters tend to get reps that flater them quite a bit while British fighters are often sneered at... for instance people on this thread mention Minter like he was a bum yet he handled Antuofermo far easier than even a peak Hagler did... people go on about how great Jermain Taylor is, but the guy can barely fight a full 2 minutes a round let alone three... as for Bernard Hopkins, loads of defences yes, but who did he actually beat aside from some blown up welters and lightweights???.... 8)

I've seen Sibbo myself a few times. At his peak he was able to beat Minter which put him in line for an eliminator against top ranked Davison whom he outpointed in twelve to qualify for a title shot at Hagler.

Of course, I've seen the Hagler fight, followed by the Collins fight.

It seems that popularity influenced people into thinking John would have the same success as Hagler if you can believe that. I thought John looked too frail next to Tony.

Tony knew he had no reason to fear and in fact had an easy prey in front of him. He was able to avoid the jab coming in and scored with authority using the right lead the way my man Roy Jones would a decade later.

And that left hook was was without peer. Let him hit you with it and you're finished. And it wasn't just the power it carried but the fact that he used it so effectively in succession and on top of that, was also lethal in the form of a jab. No doubt about it, the man was gifted, especially when it came to quickly getting another man in trouble.

The Lee fight shortened his career I believe. he skyrocked downwards afterwards. Lee was mediocre but like Buster Douglas, he trained very hard for this fight. having a decided height advantage at 6-2 to Tony's 5-8 and turning lefty on him gave Tony stylistic problems.

James Toney I give credit to. he was the first man to beat Micheal Nunn but as a middleweight, he proved a few times he could be outworked and several of his bouts were to close to call. I think Sibbo would outwork him and definitely packed more of a punch. I like Sibbo to get inside and work him furiously to the body.

McCallum was technically better than Sibbo but not nearly as powerful. Maybe he could handle him and maybe he wouldn't. That's how I feel about him.

Hopkins was the best of a weak division. he beat a weaker man in Trinidad but it took him 12 to do it. He lost lopsidedly to Roy Jones who fought with one good hand.

I'm not knocking him but I have have never beaten an elite middleweight. An elite middleweight is someone like Kalambay, Nunn and in Hagler's day it was usually contenders.

His durability is without question. But, his power is a bit low and I very seriously doubt that Bernard could hurt Sibson in a tough fight. I'm not saying he would lose but I don't have full confidence in his ability to win either.

[Jaclem]

..i figured box buzz would show up here eventually....and point out that war taxes go on forever..i'm disappointed though that silkov, decagon and banjofun didn't leap in to say the brits and the war comment was a cheap shot. i do that every now and then to give those with whom i am having a freindly (on my part) disagreement a little ammuntion to level off the playing field.

....now....isn't it nice that elton john has brought this thread back to its original topic?

[BoxBuzz]

Sibson popularity...being the original premise...would be a topic that would simply challenge my attention deficit disorder in ways too numerous to mention. He was rarely at the top of the discussion list in the Western U.S. However we were aware of him much as many people are aware of the volcanic activity on the island of Montserrat. We know he caused a lot of people a lot of trouble, but not so much that we felt compelled to christen him with an over abundance of critical acclaim or attention.

[silkov]

..i figured box buzz would show up here eventually....and point out that war taxes go on forever..i'm disappointed though that silkov, decagon and banjofun didn't leap in to say the brits and the war comment was a cheap shot. i do that every now and then to give those with whom i am having a freindly (on my part) disagreement a little ammuntion to level off the playing field.

....now....isn't it nice that elton john has brought this thread back to its original topic?

I didnt really play on the war thing so much as I felt you'd shot yourself in the foot mentioning it to be honest!. 8) ... and I've always been told to be respective of my elders , even when they go around shooting themselves in their limbs! :x 8) ...

[silkov]

I don't think that the idea that a peak Tony Sibson, on a given night, may have gotten the better of the likes of Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley, Quincy Taylor, Reggie Johnson or John David Jackson an unrealistic opinion? I don't see Sibson getting the better of them a huge upset. Having said that on a given night I am sure these fighters could have got the better of Sibbo as well.

However the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney, Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins would have been too much for Sibson.

Sibson would definately have had a good chance of beating Dewitt, and Johnson, Jackson and Taylor were not exactly standouts imo.... a lot of these American fighters tend to get reps that flater them quite a bit while British fighters are often sneered at... for instance people on this thread mention Minter like he was a bum yet he handled Antuofermo far easier than even a peak Hagler did... people go on about how great Jermain Taylor is, but the guy can barely fight a full 2 minutes a round let alone three... as for Bernard Hopkins, loads of defences yes, but who did he actually beat aside from some blown up welters and lightweights???.... 8)

I've seen Sibbo myself a few times. At his peak he was able to beat Minter which put him in line for an eliminator against top ranked Davison whom he outpointed in twelve to qualify for a title shot at Hagler.

Of course, I've seen the Hagler fight, followed by the Collins fight.

It seems that popularity influenced people into thinking John would have the same success as Hagler if you can believe that. I thought John looked too frail next to Tony.

Tony knew he had no reason to fear and in fact had an easy prey in front of him. He was able to avoid the jab coming in and scored with authority using the right lead the way my man Roy Jones would a decade later.

And that left hook was was without peer. Let him hit you with it and you're finished. And it wasn't just the power it carried but the fact that he used it so effectively in succession and on top of that, was also lethal in the form of a jab. No doubt about it, the man was gifted, especially when it came to quickly getting another man in trouble.

The Lee fight shortened his career I believe. he skyrocked downwards afterwards. Lee was mediocre but like Buster Douglas, he trained very hard for this fight. having a decided height advantage at 6-2 to Tony's 5-8 and turning lefty on him gave Tony stylistic problems.

James Toney I give credit to. he was the first man to beat Micheal Nunn but as a middleweight, he proved a few times he could be outworked and several of his bouts were to close to call. I think Sibbo would outwork him and definitely packed more of a punch. I like Sibbo to get inside and work him furiously to the body.

McCallum was technically better than Sibbo but not nearly as powerful. Maybe he could handle him and maybe he wouldn't. That's how I feel about him.

Hopkins was the best of a weak division. he beat a weaker man in Trinidad but it took him 12 to do it. He lost lopsidedly to Roy Jones who fought with one good hand.

I'm not knocking him but I have have never beaten an elite middleweight. An elite middleweight is someone like Kalambay, Nunn and in Hagler's day it was usually contenders.

His durability is without question. But, his power is a bit low and I very seriously doubt that Bernard could hurt Sibson in a tough fight. I'm not saying he would lose but I don't have full confidence in his ability to win either.

I wouldnt say Lee was mediocre, far from it, ...look at the wars he had with Doug Dewitt... he was an underachiever though and had an erratic career which partly stemmed I think from the fact that many fighters wouldnt touch him with a barge pole. Had he been handled better he could have gone much further imo.... good speed, skills, and excellent power... I never saw anyone else hurt Sibbo the way Lee did, (aside from Mwale early in Sibs career) not even Hagler.
Sibbo had a lot of injury problems after the Lee fight, I remember him having a chronic elbow problem that hampered his left hook... this led to inactivity... one problem with Sibson is that he probably turned pro too early at 18 and by the time he was in his late 20s he was a little jaded and disillusioned with boxing... I remember his last fight with Tate and he had been doing well but then just seemed to run out of steam and lose heart... I think there were quite a few problems for him going into that fight and he was probably sick of all the hassle that goes with boxing etc... the Sibbo of a few years earlier would have beaten Tate imo...

[dr_devious]

...oops..almost forgot...i did thank you decagon, on finding that error i made in nearly 2000 posts...

..indeed i saw the sibson/collins fight...as i mentioned earlier...

...maybe i've stepped on a toe or toe of those who mistakenly think i am making fun of the british....which i am not....as a fair minded american i have willingly paid my taxes that rescued you from two wars....and i congratulate you for having the good sense to pull away from the idiotic incursion we are involved in now.

You took your time 'rescueing' us from the 2nd little world spat didnt you!.... ...as for the latest jolly I think just about everyone regrets that incursion except for two dimwits named Bush and Blair... my conscience is clean though as I never voted for either of them!... honest!! :x

And the first