That's different. Hearns was out on his feet. Any fighter with any experience is going to hold when they're hurt as bad as Hearns was. But what Wlad does is hold incessantly. 90% of his defense is holding. That's not fighting "smart." That's fighting illegally and like shit. And afraid. And yes. It takes heart to get in the ring. No doubt. But my assumption was we're talking about Wlad's heart relative to other fighters who get in the ring. I'm not sure I understand your reference to Corrales and Margarito.
Wlad is afraid. When he gets in trouble he quickly looks for a life raft. He doesn't have the instinct to fight back, but to simply survive. That works for him, but I don't think it's heart. You can't call any boxer a coward, but he's certainly not Mr. Courage either. Cupey
It's not illegal. Holding being illegal is a myth. Boxing world only pretends it's illegal to satisfy the fans who want to see exciting fights. No one is ever going to get dq'ed in a major fight for holding unless they do it 100000 x more then Ruiz and Wlad combined (see Akinwande Lewis)
But that's the very point, IMO, he doesn't do 'survival mode' in an effective manner. He gets flustered as fuck when he's hurt, expands massive amounts of nervous energy & generally looks very vulnerable. For instance, if Wlad had been in Floyd's situation in the 2nd round of that Mosley fight, p4p his chances of turning that fight around are very, very low.
Whoa whoa how about Peter "officially" dropping Wlad twice in a round only for Wlad to come back and school him for the rest of the fight?
But how did he do that. I still think today than Wlad should have been disqualified for the type of holding. It was beyond breaking the rules, it was a disgrace. I was there when hit happened. Cupey
It's not called running it's called superior foot work It's not called Holding. It's called ring intelligence.
It's called ILLEGAL. It's a part of the sport, but he's an extremist to the point he should be Disqualified Cupey
Well he's not disqualified . Can't even remember points being taken away from him for it. Hence it is not illegal. It's a good strategy.
Anybody remember Henry Akinwande being disqualified for holding against Lennox Lewis. Well Wlad vs. Peter is the same thing Cupey
Just because they don't deduct points doesn't mean it's not illegal. Ridiculous argument. He fought like a coward. However, he's improved a lot since then Cupey
No referee is not the problem. If when trained to be referees they were instructed to disqualify fighters for holding they would. Fact is holding sucks but the boxing world doesn't see it as that bad. Only when it's done in extreme fashion (Akinwande Lewis)
The difference being of course that Wlad WON 10 rounds out of 12 while Akinwande didn't win a round, so I'd say there was a slight difference in their tactics:scratcher:
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Silly comparison (though predictable), mate. Firstly, comparing the threat of fat boy Peter to even a 38 year old Mosley with blood in the water stretches things to breaking point just to start with. Secondly, Wlad was never hurt like Floyd was (he barely looked really hurt at all), he was just flopping to the canvas, again, mainly out of panic as far as I can discern. Thirdly, the way they turned things around is what tells the real story. Floyd stayed calm, smothered Mosley, and had the presence of mind to adjust to neutralize the right hand within about a round by calmly adapting. He made the rest of the fight easy. Composure. Wlad totally panicked and survived by the skin of his teeth because Peter was a fat slob who couldn't throw more than about 25 punches a round or move his feet faster than a pregnant panda might swim through custard. He didn't really turn anything around, Peter just failed to finish the job. He did exactly what he did against Sanders or Brewster, but was fortunate that peter was a truly awful combo puncher with glacial feet. Wlad thereafter fought terrified and made an easy fight razor close. Zero adjustment, zero composure, next to zero heart, IMO. If he'd been hurt like Floyd had against a guy who could finish anything like Mosley, p4p, he'd have been absolute toast.
the rule certainly is not enforced. i'll give you that. but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist - it does. and you act like fans who want to see exciting fights are on the fringe or something - like they're the exception to the rule. guess what - if boxing weren't entertaining, i wouldn't watch it. to me, excitement is entertainment. if you can't see that incessant holding is a sign of cowardice and a lack of craft then don't bother debating the topic with me.
BTW - this is what causes Wlad's stamina problems - his lack of calmness. He looks on the verge of physical exhaustian again by the end of the 5th against Peter. Just the nervous energy he expends under pressure or adversity is staggering and basically illustrates exactly what I'm talking about. Compare that to a guy like Toney who barely trains but can go all night because his heartbeat hardly raises above walking pace when he has a puncher like Peter raining blows down. Just totally composed.
Good point. It's also the reason why Jermaine Taylor seems to burn out late although he appears to be in great physical condition: wastes too much energy with nervous tension and wasted movement as a result of this tension.
LOL. What a heartless bitch. That second KD in the first round was straight up dive. After that his face showed he didn't want nothing more. :: I can't believe this uncoordinated goof has made it so far. Travesty they let him hold so much.
DLH, too, IMO. Just too tense & tightly wound. If there's one quality I love in a fighter more than any other it's the ability to be totally relaxed & composed in there. Nothing makes a guy more watchable for me.
