saturday night fights ....retrospective

[sphincter]

1)bernard hopkinds is my new #1 pfp guy.....actually,i still think jones is the most talented fighter in the world....but off that dominating performance....at almost 39 years old,hopkins is utterly amazing....

he beat joppy inside,outside,he roughed him up....uppercuts,hooks,body shots....cute stuff inside...holding and hitting....cute,dirty stuff....a masterful performance...

the guy never carries any excess baggage...doesn`t have to much muscle....he`s the perfect fighter....and stamina?.....at 39?..what a pace he set..just incredible...that pace was torrid....joppy has a ton of heart...he earned that extra 50 g`s with sweat and blood....but,it was no contest... a mugging...

dela hoya gets destroyed....mosley gets overwhelmed....mayorga?....lol....

it`s almost unfair that the guy doesn`t have devastating power....it would be more merciful...we watched a great middleweight...

2)hasim rahman....i know ruiz is awkward and difficult to fight...but,please...rahman was totally unprepared....he did everything wrong vs ruiz...and roger mayweather is a joke as a cornerman...kept telling rahman to go toward ruiz....and that played right into ruiz` hands..as bert sugar said,"one, two, clinch"....rahman forgot about keeping distance on rahman....forgot he had a right hand....actually forgot about any punch accept a jab....

ruiz is better than i gave him credit for...but,he`s still not real good....and rahman`s preparation...his corner in particular,was a joke....stuff like"keep going forward"...."be the boss"...."he don`t wanta fight"...."he just clinchin`"...

these guy`s are boxing trainers?...how about some advice...like,"don`t fall in behind your shots so he can clinch"....."throw your right hand behind your jab"...."turn him...don`t let him stand there and get set"...ruiz has terrible feet...you give him subtle angles,those lunges set him up for easy counters...

the mayweathers may have been great fighters...but what i heard in that corner was atrocious...

the big difference between fighters?...imo,it`s focus and heart...rahman came into the ring like he was more concerned with taking in the spectacle than focusing on beating ruiz....say what you will about ruiz(and i`ve said plenty),he comes in focused and always gives 100%.....i now have a very grudging respect for a very limited,but real competitive guy....and you don`t know how much it hurts me to say that...


and rahman stinks on ice....he may be one of the 5 worst heavyweight champs in history....a one punch wonder...

which brings me to spinks/mayorga...



3)..great performance by spinks...not a pretty fight....but he exposed mayorga as an amateurish strongman that is very,very limited.....spinks didn`t land big shots...maybe spinks can`t throw big shots...but he made mayorga look like a clown....horrible footwork...amateurish lunging shots...nothing to set his shots up....just,throw wild shots and hope for the best...well,it didn`t happen tonight.....can you imagine how de la hoya,mosely and god forbid,hopkins would make mayorga pay for that amateurish b.s?....hopefully,the top 10 pfp stuff will be put to bed now....i`m sure forrest is somewhere kicking himself for getting intimidated by a guy with those skills...

the guy did show some class at the end of the fight...bravo for him....but,he ain`t great....not even close...

what really impressed me,was spinks cornerman...i don`t know his name...light skinned black guy....man,he was as sharp as a tack....yelling at spinks not to stay in front of mayorga after throwing his shots....stay off the ropes...side to side....get in and out.....i know it`s nothing we haven`t heard before...but he kept hammering good advice into spinks` head....kept him alert....he was solid with his advice...he yelled when he had to...he toned it down when he thought he should...that guy really knows how to handle a corner,imo.....he really kept spinks tight...

travis simms landed a nice sneaky left hook....garcia let his guard down....expected the ref to step in...them`s the breaks...

hopkins is still special...very special...

 

[whormoan]

very solid analysis, sphincter. Somewhere, Lennox Lewis is wondering how in god's name he lost to that chump. Hopkins was superb.

 

[Gillian]

One more thing to add to how bad Rahman is... John Ruiz wasn't in great shape... he was dead tired in round 4, which is why he clinched so much. 241 is too high for Ruiz. Rahman, on the other hand, was in good shape, but still couldn't do a god damn thing. I think he threw one right hand the entire fight. Rahman gets hit, starts wiping his face with his gloves... why bother. Terrible indeed. If John Ruiz was in better shape, say 230 - 233 lbs... he would have Ko'd Rahman. Rahman is a joke.

PS: If Lennox Lewis wasn't going to fight again, he wouldn't have been at tonight's fight card. He'll fight, and beat Klitschko.

 

[almly]

I have the utmost respect for you Spinch but I disagree with almost eveything you say in this post.

1) Hopkins is nowhere near one of the best fighters in the world. He is a very good fighter - as solid as they get. However, I dont believe that he can deal with a guy with great speed. I saw that in the Jones fight even though it was a long time ago. I think he's very similar to James Toney - great fighters - nobody can out grind them but when they fight a guy with great speed they have serious trouble. Lets not kid ourselves. Hopkins has not been fighting really good competition for the last 7 or so years. Great job beating Trinidad but I really think Trinidad was fighting out of his optimal weight range.

I think Calzaghe might be able to beat him at 168. Calzaghes hand speed would give him some problems I think. However, after watching Calzaghes last fight I was concerned about how he started getting wild and winging his punches when he got in a little trouble. If he does that against Hopkins I think he'll pay. On the flip side Calzaghe showed that he has some heart in his fight against Mitchell.

Bottom line: Hopkins is a very good fighter but when he fights a good fighter with great speed I say it will be a different story then what you saw last night. He destorys De Lahoya? I say he dosent. But if they fight at 160 his chances are better.

Listen people, Rahman and Ruiz both are fuking horrible. The heavyweight division as a whole is horrible - thats the only reason why they are in the mix. But both of these guys suck ass - I'm suprised you dont see that Spinch.
I really disagreed with the HBO crew during night of the young heavyweights. Merchant is dying to see some good white boys step up - and so am I. But they talked Mesi up way too much.
The guy I really was impressed with is Gomez.
I am lurking in the shadows waiting to see who he fights next. Put him in against Ruiz or Rahman and I'll dump my ass off on that fight. Id put every fuking dime I can on it.

About the Simms fight I'm pretty sure that dumb ass ref yelled break. By watching his mouth during the replay its clear he yelled one word and then Garcia let his guard down. Lame fight anyway but that moron should never be allowed to ref again for counting that as a knockdown.

As for Mayorga vs Spinks I think Mayorga won a close fight. I did I big write up on it 10 minutes ago in my Spinks vs Mayorga thread.
Bottom line, that ref also needs to be banned.
I disagree with the two point deductions. I thought he deserved one more stern warning before taking points. However, you cant tell me that Spinks didnt get legitimately knocked down. Spinks beat Mayorga to the punch most of the night but I thought Mayorga landed harder punches with more substance. Really similar to my take on DLH vs Whitaker. But Spinch, Mayorga is FAR from amateurish.

 

[sphincter]

it`s amazing when 2 guys can look at sports and see completely different things......but,it happens.....

a couple things,,a.....i can agree somewhat on ruiz and rahman....they`re not much..rahman`s a joke....at least ruiz tries...very hard.....but if you watched spinks and mayorga and didn`t think mayorga looked like an amateur...and don`t think that someone like hopkins,mosely or de la hoya whip his butt,then i don`t know what to say....spinks couldn`t make him pay for all those mistakes....he can`t punch....but,mayorga can`t box...a lick..oh,he can intimidate guys before the fight starts(forrest)....he can get lucky and land a big punch......a plan b?....forget it.... he`s a a fraud as far as being top 10 pfp...guys at my gym have better technical skills than mayorga...he`s just very,very strong for a welterweight..with a good chin.....but now he`s exposed...



hopkins?...you actually think joppy sucks?....joppy`s a decent fighter....did you see how badly and thouroughly joppy was beaten?...it was brutal...the beating trindad took from hopkins?..these fights weren`t even close...and the guy`s 39 years old......forget roy jones...the guy isn`t human..nobody compares to jones...his reflexes... ..but,if you weren`t impressed with the methodical beating that 39 year old man gave joppy,then you`ll never be convinced.....

one thing...a caveat....hopkins,at 39,will step into the ring one of these days in the next few years,and look like sh-t.....one night,it`ll be gone...he won`t be able to get punches off....his reflexes will be shot...he`ll hit the wall...it`s gonna happen...it happens to every boxer...and it will be sooner rather than later.....

you think mayorga`s a good fighter and hopkins isn`t that great.....whew....i`m at a loss for words,bud....

btw....did you lay the 4-1 with mayorga?.....really liked him that much?.....i`m sorry to hear it...those are tough odds...i wish i`d have known....

if you did,don`t sweat it...we`ll get it back early next year....

we can agree to disagree...no biggie....


take it easy bud...

 

[almly]

No I didnt go after it becuase I didnt know anything about Spinks. Glad I didnt. Looks like were done until January. There are so many good potential matchups out there that I know I would get a good line on and would love to dump on. I just wish they would happen.