COLIN HART ONCE AGAIN

[Wrists]

In todays Sun has done a terrible piece basically spouting a whole range of negative rubbish about David Haye.

In his usual style Hart has harked back to the 'good ol days' of Ali etc etc etc yada yada yada

He then goes on to talk about Harry Gibbs and what he wouuld have said to Haye and Valeuv if he had of been the ref.

Honestly, I know Colin Hart has probably forgotten more than I know about boxing but I for one have grown sick and tired of his negativity, the rubbish he writes and his general attitude about anything boxing wise which didn't happen during the 'Ali' era.

I am beginning to think Naz had a point in Atlantic City...........................

[rhino222]

much as i respect colin, all he drones on about is the rumble in the jungle.... he should have bloody stayed there !!

[teddy007]

much as i respect colin, all he drones on about is the rumble in the jungle.... he should have bloody stayed there !!

Not many things make me laugh out loud, but that did

[Top Dog]

I'll tell you what guys, there are too many people look at Ali, Marciano etc with rose coloured glasses on. There are plenty of Alis fights that were dire, and most of Marciano were horrendous, street fighting at best no technique. I reckon a peak Tyson smashes Ali all day long, Marciano as well. Can you imagine them against a peak Lewis, Marciano would get mullered, 13st against Lewis, no feckin chance, and I reckon Lewis gives all the problems he could handle. Ali done fornicate all in the Rumble, until Foreman tired cause of the heat and got KO'D with a few weak punches. Let the debate begin

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think that as much as Hart might get criticised, he has a fair point. James Lawton made similar points.

It was a dreadful fight, and a terrible performance from both men - and it represents one of the low points in the history of heavyweight title fights.

Yes, it's nice to have a british fighter holding one of the heavyweight belts - but lets not be effusive here - it wasn't a great performance and Haye has to beat one of the Klitchskos if he wants to be considered one of the main men at heavyweight.

The heavyweight division is appalling at the moment - worse even than the late 80's before Tyson came along, Vitali and Wlad are so far ahead of all the leading contenders it's ridiculous, and neither man would have have dominated anything 10-15 years ago. They are merely the best in mediocre era.

[Wales]

Persoanlly think Vitali would've held his own in any era, on the other hand wladamir is far too fragile. Really surprises me more opponents dont try and jump on him, like sanders did. Easier said than done when you're having a left jab down the throat, but you get the idea.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Ali had some poop nights, granted. Marciano, though, was more than just a street brawler. I enjoy his fights.

Agreed, Ali had a number of awful nights, esecially once he hit 30, but the skill he displayed in his best fights is on a level that is non existent today.

I think Vitali would have been competitive against most fighters as he's tough and surprisingly quick for a big man.

Marciano would have been too small in todays era - but he was very very effective at what he did, and a tremendously hard puncher, with an almost inhuman ability to take punishment.

[DavidPayne]

Persoanlly think Vitali would've held his own in any era, on the other hand wladamir is far too fragile. Really surprises me more opponents dont try and jump on him, like sanders did. Easier said than done when you're having a left jab down the throat, but you get the idea.

Based on losing to Fat and Old Lewis and beating that murderer's row of devout professionals;

Fat Kirk Johnson
Fat and Old Corrie Sanders
Fat Danny Williams
Fat Sam Peter
Fat Chris Arreola

Someone illuminate me to his great moments?

Vitaly is a good heavyweight, but he's not great.

[stujones]

I don't even know why Marciano gets brought into such debates. Marciano vs Vitali would never have happend. Marciano vs Haye in a Cruiserwight title fight would have been far more realistic.

Marciano vs Hopkins, Adamek, Cunnigham etc is the comparisons that should be made.

I completely agree with James (yet again) on this matter. Hart does go into a nostaligia trip sometimes, with rose tinted glasses - but to many journo's are going over board about this meaning of this fight, and the performance of Haye.

[Wales]

Vitaly is a good heavyweight, but he's not great.

Who mentioned "great"?? I said he could hang with fighters from any era. Decent boxing skills, good jab, tough as old boots, hard punching 6ft 7 ... He's currently head and shoulders above any other heavyweight since Lewis retired, Haye and Wladamir included.
Also, it may have been a fat old Lewis, but Lennox has a shout of being the greatest of all time does he not? Its difficult to see where that fight was going had the cut not occured (I wish it hadnt). Lewis wasnt clamouring for a rematch, thats for sure.

[Top Dog]

I hope Haye gets his chance with the big Klits, I would love to see him muller the robot brothers. They are terrible to watch at the best of times.

[Rocky Balboa]

Colin Hart needs to go buy some hair dye & fix the fcuk up!

[Carbo]

Persoanlly think Vitali would've held his own in any era, on the other hand wladamir is far too fragile. Really surprises me more opponents dont try and jump on him, like sanders did. Easier said than done when you're having a left jab down the throat, but you get the idea.

Based on losing to Fat and Old Lewis and beating that murderer's row of devout professionals;

Fat Kirk Johnson
Fat and Old Corrie Sanders
Fat Danny Williams
Fat Sam Peter
Fat Chris Arreola

Someone illuminate me to his great moments?

Vitaly is a good heavyweight, but he's not great.

I made this point in a form that might best be described as "shoddy picture essay", once. It's amazing to look and the tonnage of lard Vitaly's shared a ring with since beating Lewis. Even Gomez was at somewhere approaching a career high weight and didn't have much definition.

Vitaly would cause problems for any heavyweight in history, but that doesn't mean he'd be favourite to beat them. Certainly, if's doubtful that either would have been outstanding even during the 90s, which is very underrated as a heavyweight era.

[Carbo]

On Colin Hart:

Here's a question, if he was a blogger, would we even give him the time of day, given the quality and volume of his output? I think not. It's only because of the credibility he gets from being a 'real' journalist, and that other 'real' journalists seem to respect him, and that he's been around forever, that we cut him the slack we do.

But since when has longevity been a substitute for quality, knowledge and commonsense?

Far better to read Payne, Dooley or others who are far more erudite, write with greater verve, and are actually plugged in to what's really happening in British boxing today.

[saad muhammad]

How many times do people think Lennox
is canadian, he was born in Forest gate, east london.
ENGLAND.!!!

[hurlock]

what he's saying is truthull,but bang out of order & unsupportive of haye & british boxing,if it wasnt for our better talent this guy wouldnt have a job :!:
yet he rips them down in such a dissmissive manor the jumped up little priick.
he dont mention he predicted haye to run out of steam in 8 rds with the weight being too much,so he doesnt even applaud him for proving him wrong,just dismisses valuev as the sloth?

[jamesmcdonnell]

It isn't a journo's job to 'support' british fighters. It's their job to give opinion and report truthfully on events that transpire within the sport.

What you are referring to is called 'cheerleading.'

Yes, Hart's remarks may have been harsh, but if that is his honest opinion, he has every right to do so. My problem with Hart is that he seems to have little interest in, or knowledge of modern boxing - whichi dents his credibility somewhat.

[banjo]

How many times do people think Lennox
is canadian, he was born in Forest gate, east london.
ENGLAND.!!!

Dunno, it's like those who call Honeyghan and Hope British.

[Carbo]

On Colin Hart:

Here's a question, if he was a blogger, would we even give him the time of day, given the quality and volume of his output? I think not. It's only because of the credibility he gets from being a 'real' journalist, and that other 'real' journalists seem to respect him, and that he's been around forever, that we cut him the slack we do.

But since when has longevity been a substitute for quality, knowledge and commonsense?

Far better to read Payne, Dooley or others who are far more erudite, write with greater verve, and are actually plugged in to what's really happening in British boxing today.

Payne certainly. I'm just muddling along. Without starting a spat here, I think the real journalists of bygone days could be both brilliant and a right bane on the sport. Prior to Sky+, WBVA and the like these guys would turn up for a fight, no doubt drunk in some, many, cases, take the fight in, make notes and then have to spin it off ASAP. A lack of constant relays or recorded version meant that they could go for years without seeing the bout again.

So they get together in bars, talk boxing and it becomes a bit of a dick measuring contest with the stories becoming more and more elaborate. Next think you know Pep won a round without throwing a punch, Johnson dived and Dempsey had nuts and bolts in his mitts. All because they've not seen the fights in question, or not seen a replay at any rate, not their fault, but it does lead to errors.

Print articles on boxing often amounted to cliche, cliche and more cliche, maybe with the odd fib thrown in, though the good ones were great, don't get me wrong. The digital/PC age may be destroying many things, literature for example, but it is great for boxing and for talking about boxing as it eliminates these daft myths that used to be freely spread.

You go to a fight, watch it live, watch it at home on Sky+ and then download a foreign version of the contest, just because you can. It means that there is less room for propogating myths and falsehoods, more room for accurately discussing fights.

HBO tried to fool people into thinking that Lewis' win over Vitali was a robbery of some kind, they couldn't, well they could, there are some right F-ing idiots in the world, but you get my drift in general. Or maybe you don't. Just bear in mind that I don't care either way.

As for Colin Hart. I don't read the papers anymore. I don't recall much of him or his thoughts. I do recall one Sun writer, a football writer. Old-school type dinosaur. Respected amongst his peers, old-fashioned drinker, wore brown leather shoes and smelled of Brut...blah, blah. This guy was the football editor of the Sun back in the day. He produced an editorial stating that 'Cloughie' would never have allowed David Beckham to have a mohican hairstyle. He said that it looked wrong, that Beckham was captain and that Brian or Don, they were on first name terms you see, would have dropped him from the team, for a haircut. Forget that the Englad team are/were/will always be shite and that Beckham was their best player, this guy seriously argued that he should be dropped for his barnet.

This editorial appeared the day before Englad-Greek, when Beckham, who should have been dropped for setting a bad hair example, dragged his nation to the world cup by working hard, covering the pitch and never giving in, qualities which overshadowed his previous hairstyle choices. The writer in question produced an article shortly afterwards, how he had never doubted Beckham etc, the tide was turning in Beckham's favour, and people had to drop on their knees and do the decent thing.

I think the columnist in question, though I am 110% sure he was the sports editor, was sacked/released/put down, shortly afterwards.

In short: Don't read boxing articles, they are generally poor, just watch the fights and you can't go wrong.

Interesting post.

As for things that the internet is destroying, literature wouldn't be top of the list. From what I can gather, that's going pretty strong. The printed news industry, on the other hand, is being HAMMERED...

[charlieb]

Doesn't Eurosport have a gap to fill with Gutteridge gone?

Whining and naysaying in relative obscurity would be a perfect fit for Hart.

[jamesmcdonnell]

How many times do people think Lennox
is canadian, he was born in Forest gate, east london.
ENGLAND.!!!

Yep, and he got the fook out of here at the first opportunity and never comes back unless he has to.

He is Canadian. He is dull, laid back and over 6'' 2, all Canadian traits. When he did come back it was the equivalent of a guy visiting the clapped a MILF who is incredibly grateful for his attention and will do anything for him. Of course the guy tells her what she wants to hear but as soon as he's done, and she's borrowed him some cash, he'll F off back to Jamaica and have some real fun with some real women.

Remember, Britain is a clapped-out MILF. Always bear that in mind, always.

Vinnie Jones left England as soon as he got an opportunity in movies, does that make him American?


Very humorously put, but erroneous.

[tonyevs]

I think that as much as Hart might get criticised, he has a fair point. James Lawton made similar points.

It was a dreadful fight, and a terrible performance from both men - and it represents one of the low points in the history of heavyweight title fights.

Yes, it's nice to have a british fighter holding one of the heavyweight belts - but lets not be effusive here - it wasn't a great performance and Haye has to beat one of the Klitchskos if he wants to be considered one of the main men at heavyweight.

The heavyweight division is appalling at the moment - worse even than the late 80's before Tyson came along, Vitali and Wlad are so far ahead of all the leading contenders it's ridiculous, and neither man would have have dominated anything 10-15 years ago. They are merely the best in mediocre era.

We agree 100%

The fight did nothing to sell boxing to the general public.
I had people in work who came up to me to talk about the `fight` ... telling me how rubbish it was etc.
When I told them they should have saved their money and watched the Pacman v Cotto fight coming up .. they kinda gave a blank look ..."who?"
So thats the thing. If the general public are only watching this type of rubbish .. then reading in the papers what a fantastic show haye put on (which alot of the papers amazingly did ) why will they want to watch boxing next time its on .. cos if thats classed as a good fight .. how bad will a bad fight be???

[saad muhammad]

Mark kaylor lives in california, wayne mCcullough lives in vegas,
C.B.Edwards also lives in vegas..... Are they all American, you mug.
Your'e obviously a very jealous man.

[J]

12 isnt exactly early age, returning at 22....lews has been based in the uk longer than Canada .........fact.

[iwz678]

Colin Hart needs to get with the times, we are now living in the present and David Haye is the future.

Ali was a great fighter but his time has been and Boxing has moved on.