That's a matter of opinion, and the opinion that counts is that of the people that have denied us interviews because of the the forum bashing. Cupey
Do you mean to tell me that guys who generally grew up poor, in crappy parts of town, on the streets, and who often were lucky just to survive to adulthood are somehow intimidated or turned off by a couple of assholes in a boxing forum saying "Yer a tomatoe can LOL"? Guys that when they do the ringwalk have crowds of people screaming vile shit in their ears, and they then get up in the ring to fight one-on-one with tough bastards who want to pummel them night after night? But they are really soured by the thought of a "scary" messageboard? I suppose there may be promoters out there who are somehow afraid their boy might look bad in some sort of Internet chat appearance, but it is truly a ridiculous concern if the appearance will generate press & interest among fans. Sure, an A-level fighter isn't going to waste their time with some boxing website that has 4 members and gets 12 hits a day. I get that. But if you are talking about an established site with decent traffic, I fail to see how reading through the forum posts and finding the usual 15% asshole content would make any difference whatsoever to anybody. Do these guys have virgin ears that have never heard a wisp of criticism? Are they so protected that their handlers are worried they will come unhinged if some forum poster calls them "feather fisted" or "chinny"? I personally have never seen any forum that had significant activity (including Internet cooking forums for god's sake) that didn't have a contingent of assholes & trolls. Using this sort of logic, promoters should also probably try to make sure no sportswriters do any articles on their fighter in case the article is too "critical". And they should avoid interviews, too, as the reporter might ask them "tough" or "aggressive" questions. Maybe they should also deny fight tickets to fans who hate them, and are only paying their $50 to see the guy they can't stand get knocked out?
The problem is that you don't understand a fighter, a professional fighter. They are extremely sensitive. Don't be fooled by their outward appearance. They absolutely care and really can't take the heat. I remember saying one negative thing about Matt Godfrey on Facebook and 2-seconds later I was de-friended. Just talk to managers, promoters, and get their opinion on the matter. Why don't you talk to Max Boxing. Boxing Talk. And ask them what happened when they said bad things about Lou Dibella's fighters. They couldn't even get credentials to any fights. There are tons of examples, just ask around. Even Mike Marley has been denied credentials and he is a pretty known figure in the sport. Cupey
That's because nobody goes to their forums Jake. Here it was the opposite. Remember this quote: "WE HAVE A HOME PAGE" Cupey
But that's the point - there's a huge difference between what a writer (or in BoxingTalk's case - transcribers and bloggers) files for copy for all to read on the home page, and what someone says on a forum under an online username. I'd love to know which specific fighters have ever directly declined interviews/working with FB over what was said on the forums.
The forums bashing excuse was given to you because they thought the site was not worthy enough to give an interview.
Jake, I wouldn't post that information here. In any event, as you know many fighters speak through agents and their agents have denied requests. Furthermore, we have been denied credentials because of actions on this forum. Truthfully, the forum was more of a hindrance to the site then not posting articles. Cupey
Quite frankly, who cares about crybaby contenders who want their dicks sucked by websites otherwise they'll curl up in the foetal position. Fact is, what happened with Karl and Henry was predicted well in advance of it happening. Not one of the owners, admin or mods believed for a second that it would come off, but we played along for kicks.
Yeah. Ok. The forum was the issue. You mean the only thing this site had going for it? I'm sure the 6 month old news and articles on the front page had nothing to do with it.
And further, we all predicted well in advance exactly how it would play out. Karl announces with great fanfare that Henry is joining Fightbeat......someone posts some smack......Karl then announces that Henry will no longer join Fightbeat due to the smacktalk. And that's exactly how it went. Compare that to Otis. Posts here of his own accord, can roll with the rough stuff, and commands 100% respect in return.
Chris Henry was featured on FB's Radio Show twice, and is on a friendly basis with several posters here who know him personally: REED, ringsidemike, Otis, and myself. He sure as hell wanted to come on board, until he read those posts, Punk, whether you and the other MODS want to believe it or not, that's just the way it is. He was shocked by the nature of those posts, the jealousy, the envy, and the cowardice behind them. Again; he is not the only one that said no. Mr. Savannah took one look at those posts concerning Juan Diaz, ballpark 2005-2006, and said no to Juan having a forum on this site because of the filthy content of those cowardly posts, but consented to give Carlos an interview with his guy as he knew Guzman was a stand up guy who owned the site where his fighter got good and fair ink in the features. I really think fightbeat can get back to being one of the elite sites again as there are some terrific writers and posters here, but as always, there are a few clowns on the forums that have messed things up for all concerned here. Karl
Likewise. You want to palm the blame off on the site when the fact that the owner didn't give a shit for months is far more likely. Hey I understand we all have lives but don't say it was the forum that caused all the issues.
why dont you go find the original thread where you came in here, sweating bullets of excitement from your chrome dome about Chris Henry and read the whole fucking thing again? Nobody said shit about Henry, they said shit about you and when you were told by the mods that Henry being here had to be about HENRY and not about YOU, THAT is when you started in with your usual "keyboard warrior, typist" nonsense It was the typical ego trip by YOU and when it was made clear to you that you were not to play any significant role in Chris Henry chatting with fightbeat posters, you pitched a hissy fit and started antagonizing others who (as usual) humiliated you Chris Henry likely never saw the thread, if it is even remotely possible that he ever expressed any desire to involve himself in the first place. After all, we have only your word, which is essentially worthless
Where did I say it caused all of the issues? Reading is fundamental. But to say that the forum isn't a problem is understating the problems the site had/has over the years. Although Karl has his way of saying things I agree with him to a point. Even Joe Rein told me to get rid of the forums. I never did because I believe in it too. Cupey
Hey Jake let me ask you something about BScene. Why does Boxingscene call every fighter a champion in their articles, even if it´s just posting press releases unfiltered. One time for example a headline said something like: Mtsuaka Homlamateka set to make first middleweight title defense ..and I was like WTF I never even heard of the fighter, out of curiosity I clicked on it (you win I guess) and it turns it he was fighting for the WBF International Youth Championship of the southern pacific region. So for what reason does a boxing website support this title mess? Why don´t you stick to WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO as championships fights, and ignore all the other belts? Imho the boxing media has lost any right to criticize sanctioning bodies, if they play along with the idiocy and call every fighter under the sun a champion.
I'm sure the forum played its part in the issues. It isn't the only reason for the deterioration of the site and further, was the only reason this site had any traffic at all at one stage.
I would've left fightbeat a long time ago if the boxing forum had turned into a bunch of respectful mature losers.
Well if that's truly the case, then Henry and co must never have been on the interweb before, because EVERY internet forum, boxing or otherwise, has it's share of smacktalkers, clowns, trolls whatever. If a boxer wants lily white, a forum doesn't provide it. A forum is about anonymous people posting, shit-talking and shooting the breeze, without fear nor favour. Funny how Otis can rock up here and gets respect even amongst the shit-talking crew - not because he's undisputed, or because he threatens them or says he's gonna leave. Because he's a cool dude. He earned it. As Haymaker says, if this forum becomes PC and respectable, well it's lost its way - Secondsout and BoxingTime were always full of smart-asses, smack battles and fanboys and so is FightBeat. And if boxers don't like it, tough. This place is about the fans.
