BoxRec

We were spoiled when Lewis and Hamed were fighting 3 times a year each meaning every other month you got a major world title fight involving a Brit.

Makes me misty eyed just thinking about it....

The big nights when Benn & Eubank fought were good too but I never stayed up to 5am to watch either of them, funny that.... Became the norm with Lennox and Hamed and almost part of the ordeal...

Hamed - I used to believe 'Hamed making a comeback' rumours up until about 18months ago. I will always think he could have beat Barrera/Morales if he got his act together. Maybe he was going down hill though and got out at the right time. I think he didnt really give himself a chance to earn a great legacy, althoug hhe achieved allot theres that what if.

Lennox Lewis I'm glad he left as I would have hated to him to have got beat past his prime against Vitali.

Most boxers leave after the right time but I think Hamed left before and thats the main disapointment

I'll miss Morales when he decides to hang em up. Great fighter Morales, he'll probably lose to Diaz but I'll def be cheering for him. Lewis a close 2nd. I'm sure most of us will miss Corrales(RIP) in time also.

Would you be a boxing fan if you were new to the sport now?

If I was 20 years younger, I would think boxing is quite shit and not be bothered with it.

If it wasn’t for Tyson, Naz, Lewis, Eubank, Benn, Bruno ECT I don’t think I would have any interest in this sport like I do now.

Those were great days for me, exciting fights, the media circus involved around those big names.

It seems to have lost its appeal, and if it wasn’t for those memories I would have discarded boxing years ago.

Good post ABA.

And my awnser is that I don't think I would get interested in the sport now, it's not really in your face like it was in the early eighties when I was growing up.

Unless a parent or elder piques your interest in boxing now then I think it's tough for a kid to develop an interest in the sport off their own back.

A topic almost worthy of a thread on it's own methinks.

Ok I don't sneak over here much but if anyone does not admit that Naseem wins this hands down then people are not being honest.

One of the greatest dissapointments in boxing for me was when Naseem did not re-commit to excellence in the wake of his loss. Hell I thought it was entirely possible that his first loss would be just the beginning of his career rather than it's virtual end.

Honestly? I think he "misunderestimated" himself. He had as much natural talent as anyone, all he needed was to develop discipline instead of just riding his natural talent....he just did not mine that gold and was WAY too easily discouraged. IMHO.

Talent just tossed way it seemed.

Goz wrote:A topic almost worthy of a thread on it's own methinks.

Since i dont start many topics i did just for you Goz

http://www.boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63125

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:Hamed - I used to believe 'Hamed making a comeback' rumours up until about 18months ago. I will always think he could have beat Barrera/Morales if he got his act together. Maybe he was going down hill though and got out at the right time. I think he didnt really give himself a chance to earn a great legacy, althoug hhe achieved allot theres that what if.

Lennox Lewis I'm glad he left as I would have hated to him to have got beat past his prime against Vitali.

Most boxers leave after the right time but I think Hamed left before and thats the main disapointment

It suddenly dawned on me the other week that we haven't heard from Naz for a little while. Last 'noise' was when he basically tried to get a reduced sentence by claiming to be back in training as a pro boxer. I, like you, did have some faith that he may come back, but surely now there is zero chance or point. Shame really. He might have been a cocky bastard, and was far from perfect, but he was very entertaining to watch.

BoxBuzz wrote:Ok I don't sneak over here much but if anyone does not admit that Naseem wins this hands down then people are not being honest.

One of the greatest dissapointments in boxing for me was when Naseem did not re-commit to excellence in the wake of his loss. Hell I thought it was entirely possible that his first loss would be just the beginning of his career rather than it's virtual end.

Honestly? I think he "misunderestimated" himself. He had as much natural talent as anyone, all he needed was to develop discipline instead of just riding his natural talent....he just did not mine that gold and was WAY too easily discouraged. IMHO.

Talent just tossed way it seemed.

'He couldn't get out of bed at 6am with his silk pyjamas on'

Lewis, Roy Jones, Tszyu, Fenech, Trinidad, Corrales the list is never ending

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

Ezzard wrote:Hearns

Always went out on his shield. Any of his fights could be be over with one punch. He was also vulnerable himself. This made for a really exciting spectacle.

OOOOoo good call...forgot Hearns. Hagler is one fighter whose passing I really lamented, I loved watching him masticate his opponents.

Maybe it was just because I was a kid but Hagler seemed sincere in his pre-fight talk. It never seemed as if he was just talking up the fight. Remember Mugabi at the press conference punching his fist through a Hagler poster? Hagler seemed bewildered by it and said something about punching a poster bei9ng a bit different to actually fighting him.

The other thing about Hagler was that there was no bu11sh1t. He always took on the best challengers. There were never any excuses as to why a fight couldn't get made. He didn't hop divisions or make claims about this or that. He just dominated the MW division.

Hard not to admire Hagler. Tough as nails, technically accomplished, totally fearless, fought his way to the top after a few hard knocks early in his career, kept the middlweight title unified by taking on all comers.

I'd have to say, Hagler is probably overall my favourite fighter ever, I just thought he was a god when I was a kid. That big shiny bald head and that intimidatory, deadly single-mindedness, summed up what a fighter was for me.

A great shame that he got beaten by Leonard and became bitter and twisted. Hagler finds it hard to deal with EVEN NOW to accept that he lost his title, but Leonard beat him fair and square.

Hagler on his management should have insisted on the 15 round distance and a smaller ring, rather than that polo field they fought in over 12.

I think though that Leonard probably had his number, but would have been interesting to see how the fight went in a smaller ring.

Yep.

Hagler was THE goods. As Ezzard said, you got the impression that he literally wanted to kill anyone who tried to take his belts from him.

It says a lot about the aura that Roberto Duran carried with him, that Hagler treated him with such respect during their fight. That and the fact that Duran was an all around fantastic fighting machine.

Hagler's mantra of 'destruct and destroy' was utterly convincing and by and large he doled out just that to anyone who got in the ring with him. People talk about the Mugabi fight, but people forget that Hagler absolutely beat the shit out of Mugabi badly, and he was never really the same fighter again. Hagler may have been past his best, but it took an all-time great like Leonard to make that apparent.

Tyson, Benn and Hamed.. probably Nigel Benn the most..

Oli - it would have to be Wayne Wheeler :)

Captain Hook wrote:Oli - it would have to be Wayne Wheeler :)

I'd pay top dollar for a tape of Wheelr v Abdul Mannon!

Probably Hamed for me - He was a special talent.

Terry D wrote:[It was also inspired of Hagler to label Roldan a racist just because Roldan called Hagler a chicken or something equally non-racist. Halger declared him racist and festered. Then battered him after a rocky start.

I have heard that during the Hagler - Roldan fight Roldans cornermen were shouting racist abuse at Hagler everytime he moved near them in the ring to try and ruin his concentration.

As a youth Hagler was on the receiving end of many racist comments and it took him years to learn to trust 'white folk'.

When I first watched Hagler on TV I was still very young, I think it was the Minter fight. To me he looked like he had stepped straight out of one of the pages of one of my Marvel Comics I loved to read so much as a kid.

I thought the guy was indestructable a real life Super Hero. He is still my favourite Middleweight, followed closely by Nigel Benn and Bennie Briscoe.

Nigel Rafferty

steve689 wrote:Nigel Rafferty

Legend! I went to a charity boxing match with him fighting at the start of the year. He battered a prison guard who looked after him in Winson Green!

It was a gentle beating, though!

Tom Podmore.

too many to mention - good topic to get the memory banks working overtime though

Podmore_Birmingham wrote:

steve689 wrote:Nigel Rafferty

Legend! I went to a charity boxing match with him fighting at the start of the year. He battered a prison guard who looked after him in Winson Green!

It was a gentle beating, though!

Tom Podmore.

Raffo was a class act; very likeable. I covered his centenary fight and planned a big feature provided he won. It was all set up for him to do so, but unfortunately he lost. Anyway, he and his team were all great guys.

Anybody know what Raff and his old manager John Price are up to these days?

oliverfennell wrote:

Podmore_Birmingham wrote:

steve689 wrote:Nigel Rafferty

Legend! I went to a charity boxing match with him fighting at the start of the year. He battered a prison guard who looked after him in Winson Green!

It was a gentle beating, though!

Tom Podmore.

Raffo was a class act; very likeable. I covered his centenary fight and planned a big feature provided he won. It was all set up for him to do so, but unfortunately he lost. Anyway, he and his team were all great guys.

Anybody know what Raff and his old manager John Price are up to these days?

Nigel served four-and-a-half months at Winson Green last year after being convicted for threatening behaviour and blackmail.

As i have already said, he did a charity-boxing match with one of his prison officers, who are great friends. He is also hoping to fight Neil 'Razor' Ruddock at the Molineux later this year for charity.

He gets to quite a few shows but the last time i spoke to him was at a show at the Wolverhampton Civic last December.

I saw Raff fight loads of times - the best being the three fight series with Stevie Pettit - a win a-piece and a draw. Nigel finally won the Area title in those fights.

I'm not too sure about John Price, though.

Tom Podmore.

Nigel began a new career as a tattooist in his own shop in Wolverhampton called "Scorpio's" or something but it has since changed hands. He was charged recently as Tom said for blackmail and fought a prison guard for charity, was that at Featherstone prison? I used to see him around the three tons regularly where he lives when i lived there but now i've moved i don't see him as much Everyone knows Nige for good and bad reasons

steve689 wrote:Nigel began a new career as a tattooist in his own shop in Wolverhampton called "Scorpio's" or something but it has since changed hands. He was charged recently as Tom said for blackmail and fought a prison guard for charity, was that at Featherstone prison? I used to see him around the three tons regularly where he lives when i lived there but now i've moved i don't see him as much Everyone knows Nige for good and bad reasons

No. They fought at the infamous Winson Green prison in Birmingham. It was the prison where Nigel served his time and where the prison officer he boxed, Graham Gill, works.

Tom Podmore.