The best heavyweight title fight of the year...

...included John Ruiz:hammert:

 

:dunno:

 

Haye vs Harrison

 

I think it shows exactly how low the division has gone, but since this thread was started by Ugo his agenda probably is to say how dominant Klitshkos are

 

Fight means that both guys actually extend their arm at least once

 

I'm hard pressed to think of a fighter who was in the top 10 for as many years as Ruiz, without ever getting a title shot.

 

:giggle:

Has a competitive heavyweight title fight taken place this year? No.

 

How many competitive heavyweight title fights was Mike Tyson in during his first reign?

 

0. What does one have to do with the other?

 

0

 

Actually he was in 1 competitive fight, which he lost. James Douglas.

The point I was making is that fights don't have to be competitive for us to have decent worthwhile champions.

Reference Naseem Hamed. Uncompetitive shite against no-hopers and he was being put into the best 8 fighters of 126 and 130 of all time by NOTED journalists in the UK. Shocking.

 

Does the Word "Competitive" Describe PRE or POST-Fight Perception???....



REED:dunno:

 

Wouldn't matter if we're talking about the Klitschko's recent competition.

 

Yeah, good question- I would say it describes the in-fight perception, as in "Mike is in deep here, Mike is in trouble, good uppercut, Douglas is in trouble"

Tyson lost- but he could have won. Douglas won- but he could have lost. Competitive fight.

 

Yes it would. There is a perception out there that these guys teeter on the verge of their very next loss, especially for Wladimir. He starts off all these fights as "a heavy favourite but........." and Vitali is this tough guy "whose body could break down at any time". It isn't until the fights have ended that the old routine of uncompetitiveness is touted as if it were plain wisdom.

 

Is this a joke?

 

Well, I'm only talking in recent years. This obviously wouldn't include black fighters that didn't get shots years ago, for example.

 

Ugo is perhaps the most annoying agenda-driven thread starter not named Double L

 

Yeah, but the problem I have is that he's actually criticized for receiving TOO MANY title shots.

Not sure if you are just limiting the scope to lineal championships. If so, I guess I see your point... though largely his own (or at least King's) doing.

But as far as regular titles go - something like 18 of his final 20 fights were sanctioned by the WBA and he seemed to get a title shot every time their belt became vacant. The man didn't have fans, but certainly had friends.

 

I'm talking title shots, not WBA. ::

 

OK but again... that's his promoter's own doing. Ruiz could've had his shot if he/King played ball.

 

BTW for the thread topic... are we really calling Haye-Ruiz the best heavyweight fight of the year? Sheesh, was the division THAT bad? I'm struggling to recall any particularly memorable HVY fights this year (Adamek-Arreola?).

Strange year if in fact Haye-Ruiz was it... but then if it were to happen, it'd be in a year when Ivan Calderon was in the overall best fight of the year (or among the best)

 

Absolutely. I wasn't exactly joking, just trying to diminish Ruiz and his career in as few words as possible.

 

Can you think of a better title fight? I don´t think any titlist lost a round in 2010.

 

Yeah, actually Adamek-Arreola wasn't a title shot.

Damn, what a sad statement.

 

Gotcha.

In that sense, Byrd never received a title shot either... and kind of surprised that he and Ruiz never fought.

 

Yeah, it was bizarre. Byrd would have won big... but you'd figure at some point King would have tried to sell a "unification" fight.

 

Don liked it better having two "champions".

Byrd-Ruiz would never have sold even with the "unification" bullshit hyped up.

 

You see, this is what get's me. I already asked, how many competitive title fights was Tyson in during his first installment as champ, and most people felt he had none.

But nobody felt the division was shit back then, even though it featured Tyson going through quite a few very very average fighters, guys who could fight but wouldnt {Spinks} or guys who used to be able to fight, but couldnt anymore {Holmes}

Mikes first competitive fight was the first one he lost.

Don't confuse poor fights, or poor fighters, with one-sided bouts.

Arturo Gatti vs Drift Wood had the potential to be very competitive, but that doesn't mean either of them had any skills.

 

Are you still trying to compare Tyson to the Klitschko's?