Dumbest Fighter Of All-Time

[Counter-puncher]

in terms of in-ring intelligence, either Meldrick or jermaine Taylor would be worth a shout.

[Diamond WEAPON]

in terms of in-ring intelligence, either Meldrick or jermaine Taylor would be worth a shout.

Absolutely. I'd say Jermain moreso though. Meldrick would consciously dispense with his boxing if hit hard for some payback and he liked to slug it out, not unlike another skilled boxer in Erik Morales. Jermain though would really do strange shit. He sat back and boxed with Cory Spinks and tried to blow out Ouma even as Kassim showed little sign of wilting as a couple of examples.

[Counter-puncher]

i love the way people feel empowered to make assumptions about why certain fighters brawl instead of boxing

just the same with Morales, nothing personal against you DW, but that line 'Meldrick would consciously dispense with his boxing if hit hard for some payback and he liked to slug it out', which i see often regarding both Taylor and Morales, always makes me chuckle.

i mean i respect your knowledge and all, but i really think it falls short of mind-reading.

last time i had a spar, i consciously dispensed with my usual defensive genius in order to get punched in the face a few times. it wasn't a shortfall in skill it was a conscious decision. combination of desire to please the fans and machismo. anyone watching ringside would have just known i had consciously made that decision.

again, no offence like, it just strikes me as funny how many fans see fit to second-guess a fighter's mentality/ 'decision'-making

[Diamond WEAPON]

i love the way people feel empowered to make assumptions about why certain fighters brawl instead of boxing

just the same with Morales, nothing personal against you DW, but that line 'Meldrick would consciously dispense with his boxing if hit hard for some payback and he liked to slug it out', which i see often regarding both Taylor and Morales, always makes me chuckle.

i mean i respect your knowledge and all, but i really think it falls short of mind-reading.

last time i had a spar, i consciously dispensed with my usual defensive genius in order to get punched in the face a few times. it wasn't a shortfall in skill it was a conscious decision. combination of desire to please the fans and machismo. anyone watching ringside would have just known i had consciously made that decision.

again, no offence like, it just strikes me as funny how many fans see fit to second-guess a fighter's mentality/ 'decision'-making

Well I know that in the 12th round of the first fight with Pacquiao Erik Morales DEFINITELY consciously turned southpaw and started slugging it out with him because he wanted to prove a point.

[Counter-puncher]

oh ok so you ARE a mind-reader then, props.

[Diamond WEAPON]

oh ok so you ARE a mind-reader then, props.

Fine, you tell me what he was doing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTzqra_xyhw

[Counter-puncher]

seen it before, thanks. I've no pretensions to mind-reading so i will leave that to you.

[Diamond WEAPON]

seen it before, thanks. I've no pretensions to mind-reading so i will leave that to you.

OK, so I guess all those times Shane Mosley went out throwing bombs at somebody who just landed hard on him he was just following his gameplan, he wasn't trying to retaliate at all.

[Counter-puncher]

OK, so I guess all those times Shane Mosley went out throwing bombs at somebody who just landed hard on him he was just following his gameplan, he wasn't trying to retaliate at all.[/b]

oh dear. we're not talking about Mosley. we're not even necessarily talking about retaliating to getting hit

we're talking about whether you, as a fan, can know why a fighter reacts in a certain way- in your words, that a fighter made the 'conscious decision' to leave their skills in the closet and fight like a caveman

you say you can see into a fighter's motivations.

i say I can't. i wasn't even so vicious as to cast aspersions over your putative mind-reading skills.

so what's your problem?

[Counter-puncher]

oh and just an attempt at an alternative theory:

he had been taking lots of punches to the head.

sometimes 'decision'-making goes out of the window at these points. but then with your special insight, you'd know that better than most.

[Darling]

How about smart boxers?

I read this article about Michael Spinks. He was asked why he didn't continue fighting after his loss to Tyson. He was still young and had gas in the tank. He said he had made more money than he could have ever dreamed of and was able to provide a nice life for him and his family. He marveled at the opportunity his skill had created for him and that was enough.That's uncommon wisdom.

So maybe a certain iconic figure that hung around far too long and paid dearly for it didn't really possess such wisdom, right?

Every single thread, mate. You need to let go.