I sure am. F*ck 'em. I used to like him and respect him but now looking back, I realize how much of a sh*t head he was. Not only sabotaging Lennox Lewis' post fight press conference after the Vitali fight and telling Lewis that he looked "like crap and needs to be gone from boxing", but then having a couple of very lucky title defenses where he clearly lost to Oquendo in his first IBF title defense and escaping by the skin of his teeth in a draw against a shot inactive Golota in his second defense, then again scraping by the skin of his teeth against his good buddy Mcline through a SD in his third defense, and then completely stinking out the joint against Willamson in one of the most boring fights ever. Finally, he couldn't dodge Wlad anymore and got what was coming....a BRUTAL owning! Losing his IBF title which IMO he didn't deserve to have for as long as he did. Now 2 years later, he's just a memory! Even though the heavyweight division is on life support, it's still a lot better without the likes of Byrd as champion. Same goes for Ruiz. Also glad that Tracy Byrd isn't in the crowd anymore. Don't know what the hell she thought she was, some kind of a boxing trainer who thought she was in a position to give advice. Won't ever forget her words of wisdom to Byrd as he was getting smashed by Wlad; "Chris you gotta fight smart....you're fighting stupid!" LOL!
It's funny that,.. because,.. today, more than ever, there's more crying about the state of the division than there was back then in the good ol' days with Byrd as champ,.. it's why one must question what is it REALLY, that people are referring to, now that the "shitty"..cries have intensified so much more..? Never seen anything quite like it since Jack Johnson came about,..and yes, I was around for all that.. in a different shell, same soul but.
It doesn't matter if he was fat or not. What mattered was that he was not a true champion in the slightest. Those fights against Oquendo and Golota and McCline where he was damned lucky to hold onto his strap and not only that, calling into question Lennox Lewis' credentials and disrespecting him.....we all know who the frustrated one was in all this mess. I'm happy Byrd had a decent career, a former heavyweight champion and made some cool millions in the process but I'm happier he's no longer around. Those last few fights of his where he got smashed...he had it coming.
Byrd sucked ass... His pitty pat style was frustrating. A HW with no power is instantly a no-no :nono:
I don't miss him and I'm not happy he's not around. Im indifferent. That said, the division was in a better place when Byrd was holding a belt.
Byrd avoiding the unification with Ruiz made me lost a lot of respect for him. Still, he was a warrior even if he had a very unappealing style, he was a lot better than a lot of the shit we are being feed right now.
dsimon writes: Byrd was a quality guy. Ironickly the division is packed with guys who can box ok... but Byrd was sort of the exception, a gimmick at the time he was on top. Byrd had mad skills though thats why Hanzy does not like him.
byrd was a true warrior. given the right opposition, he was fun to watch. i enjoyed his fights vs. thunder, klitschko I, ibeabuchi, tuah, holyfield, mccline and some parts of the mo harris fight especially towards the end when byrd whupped his ass. his fight vs. golota wasn't bad either although i expected byrd to beat up that fragile bum.
Byrd was a cancer to the eyes...ONE of the only fight i enjoy of him..other than the ones he was getting brutalize..was his W over David Tua..
Byrd had fine skills. But you notice him after winning the title that he looks more and more unimpressive with each performance. He was outboxed by Oquendo in his first title defense. He lost that fight. Even Byrd knew it as you saw by his post fight mannerisms. What makes it funnier is that Byrd was all up in Lewis' face a month prior telling him he looked like crap and he'd box circles around him and that he should retire to save himself further humiliation. Then he gets smacked around by Oquendo.::
