if you liked all fighters would the sport be fun?

Discussion in 'General Boxing Discussion' started by Double L, Dec 2, 2008.

  1. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    was just thinking - i have no personal opinions on basketball or football players. but i still love watching both sports.

    but i'm not so sure i'd enjoy boxing if there weren't fighters out there i hated. it's one of many facets that in my opinion distinguishes boxing from the rest.

    any thoughts?
     
  2. REEDsART

    REEDsART MATCHMAKER

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    Your PROBLEM is U only "Like" 1 Style of Fighter...& Because of this, the MAJORITY of your "Boxing Time" is Spent HATING...



    REED:hammert:
     
  3. mexican wedding shirt

    mexican wedding shirt The Greatest of Are Times

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    Yes I still would. It's more fun when you can REALLY root for your guy, against a fighter you dislike, or just don't care for, but I still love boxing enough to enjoy it even when 2 fighters I like fight. I don't feel the need to hate fighters to appreciate boxing.
     
  4. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    false. it's not so much a case of styles. for example, you'd probably be surprised to know that i love judah's style, or that at 130 and 135 i was a huge pbf fan. even david reid, before tito commited felonious assault on him visa vie illegal hand-wraps, had a pleasing style.

    what i can't stand is poor excuses for defense like hatton's or hopkin's, or cherry-picked opponents, for example, pbf at 147, or rjj at 175. and overly metodical fighters bore me like wright. finally, i don't like 1 punch at a time pot-shotters.

    so i'm a fan of multiple styles, and object to others.

    i defy YOU to claim you don't feel the same way.

    you misinterpret this as an issue of styles.
     
  5. Hut*Hut

    Hut*Hut The Mackintosh of temazepam

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    I usually enjoy a fight more if I like both guys.
     
  6. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    i agree it'd still be fun to watch. but i think the hate/love factor distinguishes it as the best sport there is.
     
  7. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    interesting. care to expand? wouldn't expect a response like this because it means seeing a fighter you like lose.
     
  8. steve_dave

    steve_dave Hard As Fuck

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    I would still love boxing. I haven't really hated anyone since Vargas and Tarver were good.
     
  9. whiskey

    whiskey Czarcasm

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    I think for the most part if would be just as fun. Sure there is the odd time where you I some additional enjoyment seeing a guy I can't stand getting beaten up.

    Sometimes it's also nice watching a matchup where you like both fighters. Sure you may feel somewhat bad for the loser, but at least during the fight you can sit back and just enjoy the action.
     
  10. Hut*Hut

    Hut*Hut The Mackintosh of temazepam

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    Dunno man. Negative emotion is negative emotion, I'd just rather feel admiration for two good guys putting on a great fight and showing great skill. I love boxing for the skill and the artistry, not out of blood lust.

    Even if a guy I really dislike loses I usually just feel kinda hallow and guilty for wishing ill on them anyway. There's never any great joy in watching a tremendous fighter get KTFO.

    Fat heavyweights on the other hand I'd happily see die painfully right there in the ring. Then shit their 42" pants on national television as their bloated bowels relax. :shit:
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2008
  11. Outlander

    Outlander Leap-Amateur

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    Wow, I am truly shocked by some of the posts in this thread. I can't believe that a dislike (or yes, even a hatred) for fighters doesn't make many fights much more intriguing than they would otherwise be.

    In fact, I would say that almost half the time I watch a fight because of the fighters involved (as opposed to some undercard fight I may watch with no interest at all), it is because I DISLIKE one of the fighters.

    I think every John Ruiz fight I ever watched was solely to see him get stretched and embarrassed. I am typically drawn into a fight more if one of the combatants says or does something rude or wretched to the other in pre-fight buildup. Watching the shit Mayorga was talking to Trinidad, De la Hoya, and Vargas pulled me in every time just to see him get STOMPED on again.

    It boggles my mind how anyone can watch Vic Darchinyan and not be attracted to the fight (whichever midget he is fighting) just to see his eyes get crossed again like with Nonito. He is so incredibly arrogant, and his style is so frustrating, his very presence in a fight demands I root against him.

    Without this dislike I would probably just skip most of his fights against nobodies.

    The thought of me sitting down for a major fight with a big ol' smile on my face because I "like" both guys is totally foreign to me. It's a sport where 2 guys are trying to beat each other's brains out... how can you like both fighters and enjoy the fight?

    I think part of what makes boxing so great from a fan standpoint is that it's only 2 guys - no teams, no substitutes - just 2 men. So the face of the "team" is really just the face of one guy, and it is far, far, easier to grow to like or dislike a person then a team. Teams change lineup all the time. Teams have good players and bad players. With boxing, I almost always have a personal opinion on the contestants, since I've seen them fight, seen them talk, seen all the shit they pull outside the ring.


    Plus, for every guy you really like, doesn't that kind of by default create a bunch of guys you dislike, since every time a favorite gets beat, don't you have a tendency (at least at first) to HATE the guy who just beat up on of your favorites?

    Geez, it feels like I watched Casamayor fight 100 times just to see him get rendered unconscious.
     
  12. steve_dave

    steve_dave Hard As Fuck

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    And you're talking to a bunch of guys who wouldn't. Don't be surprised.
     
  13. KaukipRrr

    KaukipRrr "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    No,.. it sux to hate,.. I become unstable and obsessive about the subject, and though it is not deliberate, I turn into a 'troll', all my posts have been based on hate, most are smalmy and sarcastic, and the remainder are direct hate-fuelled outbursts. I dont know why I keep coming back for more punishment.
     
  14. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    smart guy - but you got me all wrong. above all, prize-fighting is what i like.
     
  15. Joe King

    Joe King WBC Silver Diamond Emeritus Champ

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    So you've never hated a fighter?
     
  16. KaukipRrr

    KaukipRrr "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    :nono: Uh, uh, uh, uh,.. Double L,.. I know there are a pack of 'meanies' on this board nibbling on your ankles and forearms,.. but I am not one of them, that post was describing the 'off the handle' mindset I possess, when the word 'Floyd' or moreso, 'Hopkins'... is announced.
     
  17. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    ah. my apologies for being hyper-sensitive, if not narcisistic.

    but for what it's worth, we share some common hatred. don't know about you, but it fuels my passion for the sport.

    for example, when sanders k wlad tfo i called all contacts with glee, knowing he could no longer become the fearless star that tyson or holmes had been - instead, he would become a steward hit and holder.

    if pbf had had the sack, and faced tony, it would've surpassed the glory of that night.
     
  18. Erratic

    Erratic "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    The sport would still be, but message boards wouldn't be as fun. Maybe this one wouldn't change as much, but the others wouldn't be as fun to troll and piss off fanatical fans.

    There's a short list of fighters I really like or dislike. Most of the time, I just root for a fighter based on the potential matchup that fight would create if one of the guys won.
     
  19. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    don't you hate certain fightes for no other reason than the fights they refuse to make? rjj, pbf, sloppy, etc.

    it's why i generally prefer lower weight classes; they're only chance at attention is to fight real comp.
     
  20. Erratic

    Erratic "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    The only fighters I truly hate are scumbags unworthy of human life (Ayala Jr, Butler, etc..).

    Fighters are often hated for "refusing" to make fights, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes other than what's broadcasted in the media.

    Jones gets a lot of shit for his opposition at 175, and I blame both him and DM for that fight not taking place, but Jones pretty much cleaned out the rest of the division besides DM. I have more of a problem with Jones's opposition at 168 and the good fights that were never made, although I don't put all the blame on him anyway. I wanted to see Mayweather-Tszyu in 2004-05, but I don't hate PBF or Tszyu for that fight not taking place. Tszyu was largely inactive, and they were exclusive fighters on rival networks anyway.

    I don't care much for the whole public "calling out" process anyway. It means shit.
     
  21. Neil

    Neil tueur de grenouilles

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    so basically your mixed up mind was filled with glee knowing that a potentially exciting fighter would be transformed into something you loath to watch? great logic there, steve howe.

    either way you're going to watch his fights, and yet you became overjoyed knowing the guy was destined to bore rather than entertain in the future.
     
  22. V10

    V10 Undisputed Champion

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    Pretty much what I was thinking. :lol:
     
  23. Double L

    Double L Book Reader

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    yeah i guess so. either way, i know i was excited as hell when Sanders K him TFO. Maybe I've misread the reasons for my excitement. Maybe I just tend to root for the under-dog when all else is equal and that's why I was excited. Because you make a good point. Had he won, and not been KTFO, and then somehow managed not to gas out against Brewster, he'd still be fun to watch. But like you said, as it stands, he's become a tedious fighter to watch.
     

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