Mister Scruff
1st Level Orange Feather
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
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Is this what the heavyweight division is reduced to now? Some half-arsed nonsense staged at the behest of some Germans who want a night out in Zurich? A fight between a 46-year old American has-been and some 7 foot Russian freakshow?
Holyfield was never a "great" fighter in my opinion (my biggest problem being that he kept losing to nuggets like Riddick Bowe and John Ruiz), but he had tons of drive and his heart was never in question (no pun intended). He put on some cracking spectacles during his career and did enough to ensure he'd have an enduring legacy; why then he felt he had to go and ruin that by making a comeback is beyond me. Fair enough he put a few nuggets down in his first few fights, but the fight against Ibragimov wasn't anything more than an old man trying to prove to the world that he still had the stomach to get in the ring and slug. He did that, he fought as stubbornly and bravely as ever he had done; and he still lost comprehensively to an untidy, undisciplined Dagestani.
Valuev is a lot bigger and stronger than Ibragimov, those being the only two qualities he brings to the game as far as I can see. He's a freak; his size is intimidating, his reach is difficult to deal with, he hits like a train, and in combination those three factors are usually enough to unsettle opponents. Put him in against someone who knows what they're doing, like Ruslan Chagaev (one of a very few current fighters I'd consider to be worth watching - and even he isn't particularly compelling), and he's sunk. He isn't a boxer, he's just a freak of nature, however his size and power mean he's got the potential to do a lot of damage to a 46 year old former champ who has never known when to walk away.
There's a lot of room for something to go seriously wrong in this fight; Valuev could end up hurting Holyfield very, very badly, and thus giving the people who want boxing banned yet another disaster to point to. On the other hand Holyfield could end up beating this otherwise ordinary fighter, winning his 5th title, then deciding to carry on fighting until he ends up dead. Being honest I doubt it'll be as eventful as all that, but whatever happens it's still a sad day for the heavyweight division in boxing when this is what passes for a world title fight.
Holyfield was never a "great" fighter in my opinion (my biggest problem being that he kept losing to nuggets like Riddick Bowe and John Ruiz), but he had tons of drive and his heart was never in question (no pun intended). He put on some cracking spectacles during his career and did enough to ensure he'd have an enduring legacy; why then he felt he had to go and ruin that by making a comeback is beyond me. Fair enough he put a few nuggets down in his first few fights, but the fight against Ibragimov wasn't anything more than an old man trying to prove to the world that he still had the stomach to get in the ring and slug. He did that, he fought as stubbornly and bravely as ever he had done; and he still lost comprehensively to an untidy, undisciplined Dagestani.
Valuev is a lot bigger and stronger than Ibragimov, those being the only two qualities he brings to the game as far as I can see. He's a freak; his size is intimidating, his reach is difficult to deal with, he hits like a train, and in combination those three factors are usually enough to unsettle opponents. Put him in against someone who knows what they're doing, like Ruslan Chagaev (one of a very few current fighters I'd consider to be worth watching - and even he isn't particularly compelling), and he's sunk. He isn't a boxer, he's just a freak of nature, however his size and power mean he's got the potential to do a lot of damage to a 46 year old former champ who has never known when to walk away.
There's a lot of room for something to go seriously wrong in this fight; Valuev could end up hurting Holyfield very, very badly, and thus giving the people who want boxing banned yet another disaster to point to. On the other hand Holyfield could end up beating this otherwise ordinary fighter, winning his 5th title, then deciding to carry on fighting until he ends up dead. Being honest I doubt it'll be as eventful as all that, but whatever happens it's still a sad day for the heavyweight division in boxing when this is what passes for a world title fight.
