Which fight was better?

Two great fights that went the distance. But which fight was better and why?

 

Toney/Jirov was a better sustained fight and much more pleasing to the eye (thanks to Toney, who always looked great against brawlers)

Gatti/Ward had the best "LIVE" round out of both (the 9th, which was incredibly dramatic)

Replay value? Toney/Jirov by a country mile

 

When I watch them live on tv....Gatti vs.Ward......which one I can watch over and over...Jirov vs. Toney

 

I've never rewatched Gatti-ward and I've rewatched Toney-Jirov a bunch of times

 

i prefer JC Gomez vs Sinan Samil Sam to either

 

Toney-Jirov for me as well. However if i was to show a fight to a n00b to try to get them into boxing i'd probably put on Gatti-Ward. A lot of nuances in Toney's game a novice wouldn't fully appreciate.

 

I'd probably show them Toney, I think anyone who was ever gonna appreciate boxing would appreciate Toney immediately

 

I'm not so sure, although if i was going to show Toney, the Jirov fight would be one of the first fights i'd think of.

 

I'm with Whiskey

Hut, you are looking at this through the eyes of a long-time boxing fanatic, a student of the game, a guy who looks for the craft

Fact is, none of us start out that way... You ever had a friend who didn't follow boxing try out a heavybag in front of you? It's a lot of wild haymakers and shit like that

I don't have a bag anymore because where I live there's no place to hang it or use it without infuriating the nieghbors, but I had one for years with the bag gloves and some very rudimentary handwraps... I remember my older brother coming over and he saw it and wanted to use it... I started to get the gloves and the wraps to wrap him up and he said "nah, I don't need any of that" and started whaling away with the arm haymakers, quickly cutting up his knuckles in the process and of course, because he was punching with his index finger knuckle first, he was absorbing the impact on his radius and kept "ah!" (like ow that hurts) and then punching like an idiot

I managed to get his attention and told him he was going to end up with a Boxer's Fracture to go along with the lacerations on his knuckles... A friend of mine did exactly the same thing but since he's less of an idiot than my brother I was able to show him how to basically position your feet, how to transfer the wieght when you punch, how to punch straight, how to shorten them, basically as much as a nobody like me could actually teach a neophyte and right away he was like "hey, this really works!"

The point is that we were all dudes like that at one point, completely ignorant of anything technical and we were probably attracted to boxing at first hoping for the "brawl"

Somebody who has never watched a boxing match is going to be more entertained by the cruder two-way stuff of Gatti/Ward than they will be by Toney/Jirov because so much of it is about busy hands versus precision... Precision is too subtle for a beginner... You have to watch a lot of fights before a real pro like Toney jumps out at you... I appreciate Toney at his best a hell of a lot more now than I did when I was a teenager and he really WAS at his best

 

Nope, I'm still with Hut on this one. If I was showing a 13 year old boxing for the first time I'd show them a wild brawl and a KO but if it's an intelligent grown up I'd show them da skillz. Or ideally a combo of both like Duran-Cuevas or Toney-Stackhouse or something.

 

Yeah, well you're just wrong so

 

Retarded

If you want to get anyone interested in something, it's generally the best bet to show them something raw, physical, savage

Someone who has never seen basketball before is going to be more blown away by a crazy slam dunk than by a guy with a great jump shot... whether they are 12 or 40, as smart as Rooster or as dumb as Karl Hegman

mammoth home runs and 100 mph fastballs are going to wow ANY newcomer more than a guy who can make a pitcher throw 12 pitches and wind up drawing a walk or a pitcher who changes speeds exceedingly well and forces ground ball outs and harmless pop ups

The fact that Ward/Gatti were Sportscenter fodder and Toney/Jirov is a fight known only by hardcore fans tells you all you need to know... I'm pretty sure most of the guys producing Sportscenter are older than 12, some are probably smart and many have probably even seen a match or two... They felt Gatti/Ward, a fight between two glorified second/third tier guys, was worthy of a segment on the most watched sports news show in America... They may have included the result for Toney/Jirov, a fight between two of the very best fighters in their division and one of them a deserving hall-of-famer, on the little microscopic crawl at the bottom of the page, right after the scores for that night's MLS and WNBA games

 

YOU HEAR ME, HUT?????

RETARDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the question wasn't 'which fight would entertain a group of casual non-fans more'. It was 'which fight would you show somebody you were trying to turn onto the sport'. Keep up, FANNYBAWS.

 

SHUT UP!!

 

Boxing Fandom's a GRADUAL Thing Though, Brother Hut...It's Not So Much about AGE as it is about EXPOSURE to the Sport...

James Toney was Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Tooooooooooo SUBTLE to Show to a 1st Time Fight Watcher...They'd LOSE Interest within a Couple Rounds...LACK of Attention Span...They Want Some Shit that'll JUMP OUT @ You...REED's "Introduced" Plenty of People to Boxing, Over the Years & Toney's 1 of THE LAST Guys he Would've Thought to Show them, Initially...

But Fast Forward to Round 5 of Gatti-Ward I & they're Immediately INTRIGUED for the Rest of the Bout...The Thing is, Most are Accustomed to BRIEF, Sometimes EXPLOSIVE Displays of Violence, like the Type Shit you'd See on the Street on a Schoolyard...Gatti-Ward is the Type of Give & Take, SUSTAINED Violence that Grips Any Viewer...

EARLY Tyson, Naseem Hamed (When he was Still w/Brendan Ingle), Aaron Pryor, Some Good, Early Tommy Hearns KO's...Those are the Guys You Introduce a Newbie To...Or SUSTAINED Action Fights, Regardless of Skill Level...

Save the James Toney's & Alexis Arguello's for Dowwwwwwwnnn the Road...




REED:hammert:

 

Whats this, fucking gang up on Hut day? Who's gonna pretend to agree with me? Slice, get your ass in here.

 

You're just wrong.

Any more out of you and the mods might have to get involved.

 

Sittin' on top of the world. Sittin' on top of the world, everything's peach fuzz.WTF are you, huh, Bishop Sheen? Mr Slick? Friend to the working man? :flip:

 

Imma get Billeh to shut you up in person!

 

I remember showing some friends Tyson vs Berbick and the final round of Tyson vs Holmes. They were all in aww.

 

HOW 'BOUT YOU FUCKING BLOW ME????

BLOW MEEEEEEE!!!!!

 

Wrap it or I'll fucking rip yer jaw n pluck wonderwall on the ribbons ya fandan. Wise man say TODAY IS GONNA BE RA DAI!

 

I will playfully throw a few light punches and as we're laughing ... BOOM! ​DDT

 

I always show the Noobs Hamed-Kelley, it's the perfect "entry level" fight. You can even include the ring walks. That's the one.

 

no, you are doing it wrong

The best bet is to show them a Ralph Dupas match so they really understand right off the bat what great footwork, defense and fundamentals looks like... that's the shit that sells to the uninformed viewer:cheer:

 

You eyeballing me?

 

As a young nubcake it was Duran that made me a hardcore boxing fan. I appreciated his style immediately. But then again I am someone who just inately loves boxing.

For your average non boxing fan I'd probably show them something OTT and action packed with a good KO. Still not something as scrubby as Gatti - Ward though :kidcool:

Chico - Castillo would be a much better fight to get someone into boxing.

 

There's an OTT Quality to Duran Too Though, Brother Mex...

His MACHISMO was VERY Much Over the Top...Ditto for his FEROCITY, which Manifested Itself in the Way he Went After Guys like Soon-to-Be-Killed PREY...His Sheer ACTIVITY...It's the Anti-Thesis of the More MEASURED Manner in Which Toney Fought...

REED's 1st Time Seeing Duran was the 1st Leonard Fight & he IMMEDIATELY Stood Out, but in a Different Way than Your Case...As a HARDCORE Ray Leonard Fan, Duran SCARED REED...He was the MEANEST Fighter REED had Ever Seen...ANIMALISTIC...

Duran's Instant IMPACT Upon REED had NATHAN to Do w/Skill or Technique...Nonetheless, Even if Duran had Permanently RETIRED that Night, There's No Way REED Would've EVER Forgotten Him...


REED:hammert:

 

Actually you're completely right. It was Leonard 1 that I first saw Duran in too, and it was his ora and overall badassness that struck me, and the ferocity and energy. Very different to a laidback, subtle, technical fighter like Toney. I guess the fact that Duran is technical and skilled is neither here not there, as it wasn't really that that I picked up on when I first saw him.

He became my favourite ever fighter right then are there btw, I think after just a few rounds of that fight.