Boxing is littered with guys who, looked good from fights 1-15, great from 16-25+ and were being touted as potential ´greats´. However, this usually came with a caveat: why hasn´t he stepped up yet? when is he going to fight someone good? List the fighters, any decades, who were mowing opposition down month after month and then faced their real, first testing or tough opponent (Win or Lose situations)
Frazier ... Oscar Bonavena ... started off disastrously but Frazier displayed the grit that would ultimately define him by getting off the deck and ferociously fighting his way back ultimately to a deserved victory Ali... though some may say his bout with ancient Archie Moore, I think the far fresher Doug Jones was his first real tough opponent. He'd had a minor scare early on against Sonny Banks but for the most part Ali had cruised through his first 16 fights. Jones, while undersized was a tough and well schooled fighter with considerable experience... over time the bout has been turned into this lucky victory. In reality, Ali fought well and won. The real controversy at the time was one judge's laughably generous card.
Ray Leonard - Randy Shields... he passed the test, of course Tommy Hearns - Clyde Gray ... again, obviously passed the test Roy Jones - Jorge Castro ... passed convincingly
Nonsense. The Jones fight was legitimately close, I've no issue with anyone saying Ali sneaked it but it was far from comfortable.
Vargas-Wright. Probably wasn't seen as big a test for Vargas to most in the US as it seemed Wright had gone under the radar a bit over there but for anyone who followed boxing in the UK at the time, Winky fought a lot over here and we'd seen him easily dispatch good contenders like Dodson and Bingham. I always thought he'd be a tough test for Vargas.
Where did I say the fight wasn't close, you wanker? What it clearly wasn't was any kind of robbery or gift... Ali deserved the decision
REED Scored it 6-3, 1 Even for Clay... As McDogg Noted ALL REED Heard was How Jones Got "Robbed", Which is Why REED Scored the Bout (After Finally Obtaining a Video of It)... Needless to Say, REED Was Shocked by How Close the Fight WASN'T... REED
Right... Jones was very competitive but I think you need to be really sloppy about scoring a fight to think he won
You are correct though. I gave two examples and the second one was a failure on both my and Bojado's part.
I felt the same way and scored it the same. I watched it expecting to see Jones fight really close with Jones. He was competitive but Ali clearly won to me. I wonder if that had something to do with the crowd, Jones throwing shots that didn’t land but the crowd cheered, and people got influenced by that?
Yep... REED’s Pretty Sure Jones is a New Yorker, the Fight was at MSG (if Memory Serves) and Everytime Clay Pulled Away from a Shot, the Crowd ROARED as If Jones Landed... In Hindsight, Clay was Renown for Pulling Away from Shots with his Hands by His Sides, But That Particular Crowd ASSumed Jones was Connecting When he Wasn’t... Jones Jumped On Clay Early, Clearly Winning the 1st, But 1nce Clay Got Acclimated to the Smaller Man’s Speed, it was His Fight... Literally THE Most Mischaracterized “Robbery” REED’s Ever Seen... REED
Bowe vs. Tubbs Jimmy Young's attempt to not lose against Ali was better than the infamous Dog Jones effort
I was going to list Bowe-Tubbs also. Some say it was a close fight (if not a robbery) but I felt Bowe won really clearly.
The narrative says that Wright was robbed against Vargas, but I always scored it a draw. Wright was in control, then faded late and Nando came on. Wright WAS robbed against Taylor though.
