What criteria accounts for whom you root for?

Time for a little introspection.

What criteria do you use, consciously or not, in your decision of which fighters to root for and which ones not to root for?

Competition:
For me, the willingness to take on all comers tops the list. If a fighter ducks or dodges his best competition, I simply cannot root for him.

Style:
I prefer offensive minded fighters who like to force exchanges and not avoid fighting.

The following hyopothetical inner dialogues illustrate the contrast between fighters who want to fight and those who don't:

How can I land on this guy. Oh, here comes a punch, better block this. Now, back to why I'm here. How can I hurt this man? There! I landed that and I know it hurt him. Let me see if I can land another. Whoops. Got hit with that. Next time he tries that he will pay.

compared to

Oh no. How much time is left in the round? If only this guy would stay outside and stop throwing punches at me. Maybe if I hug him I can buy some time before I throw a flurry and make the judges think I'm winning.

Affiliation
Also, unconsciously I find myself rooting for the underdog often. I can't justify it, but I think it's explained by my disdain for the status quo in boxing - for the likes of cable networks, promoters and anyone else who stands to lose when the underdog wins.

Skills
Also important, and somewhat related to style, is a fighter's skills. I prefer fighters who throw punches with good accuracy, technique and timing. More subtly, I like fighters who are methodical, keep their emotions in check, and fight with a purpose. I'm usually not a fan of fighters who are in any way sloppy or improvisational.

 

The hippity hop quotient weighs heavily in my criteria. Can't root for those fuckers

 

Being British

 

Just kidding, skills are what matter to me, plus someone who will always come to fight. It means I'll watch. In terms of rooting for someone, that's different. They'd have the above but other intangibles like being the cousin of a QPR legend come into play too.

 

Interesting. So even if fighters from the so-called Hip-hop culture meet all or most of your other criteria, you tend not to root for them? On the basis that they like hip-hop and all of the other crap that goes along with it? Like sparkly rims, for example? That seems unfair. Is it any particular feature of the hip-hop scene that you have trouble stomaching? Or do you need more work teasing out what exactly it is that repulses you about it?

 

it is the grafitti and break dancing that i loathe in particular.

 

::

 

Style and the willingness to fight as many good opponents as possible. A guy doesn't have to be like-able (Whitaker was a surly little jerk, Chavez was a tempestuous crybaby) but obviously you hope the guy will be a decent person, that's just not always the way it is. Other guys I like for different reasons, I like Saad for his ridiculous courage and resilience, rather than his style (beauty of a right hand, though)

 

Nationality- Chances are if you are Irish I won't root for you, so annoying do I find the domestic praise lavished on bums like Andy "Opiates" Lee and Bernard "Round One" Dunne. Darren Sutherland, he was the next big thing, had a really bright future, if he could live past next week, which, as it happened, he couldn't. The historical element also annoys me, McGuigan was pilloried by the press and presented as some sort of an object of hilarity, especially after he lost in Nevada, and Carruth and McCullough stood up to the Cubans in 1992, when that still meant something, but got very little attention at home. So, if you are Irish, you are pretty well fucked as far as I am concerned. I won't support you unless the press hate you.



2. Attitude. I don't like shitheads who speak in the 3rd Person or who refer to themselves as "Bidness Men" or any of that shit. Not interested in manufactured stars. Floyd is a good example of this, as is Khan, but at least Floyd cares about boxing. Khan is an utter charlatan who is convinced his poo is odourless.

3. Representation. Who represents you? Fatty Shaw? That's a line through your name so. Golden Toy? Another line through your fucking name. Not interested in fighters who mix with Scheusters like that. I like fighters who go out on their own, get their own team and don't "large it up" with outrageous demands and fronting.

4. Local Heroes. People like Spurm make my shit list. I give Ottke a pass, he fought some decent fighters.

5. Cheap political and religion mongers. Fake fucks like Mundine and Hamed can suck my dick. Evander too. No, God doesn't give a fuck about you, not your one true god, two false god or any other sort of God. You aren't winning titles because of God, you are winning them cos you got good management, good steroids, or got fucking lucky. Keep your God and your Surahs and your Bible verses to yourself, along with your cheap poli-ticking. No, you don't fucking represent anyone, cunt. Ali could be an exception to this, as could Vitali, who was politically inclined but toned it down a lot and had it really only on display for one night.

Underdog. I like underdogs, both career-dogs and on-the-night dogs. Oleg Maskaev, take a bow. Brought in as fodder for more established fighters but stuck at the game long enough to win the HVY WT title. Never got any love all his career, always took hard fights against guys he was brought in to make look good.

Face-First-Only-Fighters. Pawel Wolak, get the fuck off my TV screen now. A face-firster with a bomb of an equalizer is OK, a face-firster who relies on you getting tired and dying is a waste of fucking time.

Good Guys, Educated Fighters Lennox Lewis, Vlad, Vitali, Terry Christle, take a bow too.

 

Nice.

 

I root for violence. I'm a sick man, sick I tell you.

 

:giggle:

 

Division- I really can't care much for you if you weigh 105-108-112 pounds....


Nationality...if you are pueto rican i will likely root for you. But that is not always the case I didn't give two shits about Ivan Calderon(look above and below). Or Juanma Lopez because he has always been a dumb fuck.

Fighting Style...If you are an aggressive fighter like Chavez, Pryor, Trinidad it's good possibility i like you more than someone like Camacho, Calderon, unless you have master boxing defense as Whitaker, Benitez and Mayweather jr.

Skills: You can be the biggest asshole in the world ex. Floyd Mayweather jr, but if you are skilled i probably like you or can digest your skills mix in with the assholeness of you character.

 

I like guys who can roll with punches rather than ear muff/back up and who pick shots with the intention of hurting the other guy rather than just 'scoring'. And who actually fight on the inside. If anybody ever spots a fighter fitting this description again please PM me.

 

Some guys with the old-school skills, like Toney or Vitali, are never going to fight on the inside- too counterpunchy, or too tall and counterpunchy. The criteria you lay out are pretty rare in any era. Toney rolled with shots like nobodies business but wasn't an "inside" fighter per se. He could fight on the inside of course. Vitali is just too tall and long to be an inside fighter but he is a decent mid-ranger. He likes to hurt people. I mean Monzon, Foreman, Arguello are legends but they don't tick all boxes.

Agreed on the ear-muffing and the "moving of hands". Lots of that going round. Its like Amateur boxing with a bit more power. Probably more important to snuff that shit out first. When Wlad was in deep shit against Peter, or Sanders, or Brewster- his instinct was to try and find a power shot to turn things around- perversely, it was Steward who told him to "bip bip bip" in the final round of the first fight with Peter.

I guess that brings up something else I like- fighters who trust their own instincts regardless of the consequences. Marciano never stopped believing he could find Walcott- its dressed up as a miracle, but thats BS. He never stopped believing he could land that shot, and he never made the mistake of thinking he could get the job done with anything less, because he couldn't. Guys with confidence issues annoy me..."Oh...I'll move my hands...run around a bit...throw a few haymakers...can't make my mind up".

Decide what works. Believe in it. Stick to it. You can get perverse results when guys like Wolack follow this to a T. But when guys like Marciano or Foreman follow it out, you get results.

 

I dont even mean bona fide inside fighters like Frazier or Chavez - just guys who know how to fight if they find themselves there

Oh also add to things i love - calm/relaxed fighters. :bow:

 

Intelligent, complete fighters, guys who can do it all. Still good or at least competent in their weakest areas, and excellent in their strong ones. These are the guys who "styles make fights" don't really apply to, because they're capable of adapting to and adjusting to almost any style you can imagine -

Prime Bernard Hopkins, Roberto Duran, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Pernell Whitaker, Erik Morales

Highly skilled aggressive guys who are all balls, out to fuck you up & don't give a fuck -

Young Fernando Vargas, Erik Morales, Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson

 

I usually root for the fighters who bring it, plain and simple. I dont care what his record looks like, if he runs all night, im not watching.

 

Why do you hate Manny then?

 

Harold Johnson

 

Passion
Belief
Skill
Speed
Power

 

a) He ducked the Marquez rubbermatch at 130/135

b) His post 130 run has consisted of cherry picked opponents that he fought at convenient times

c) His ridiculous hemming and hawing on accepting Floyd's testing protocol, which basically translates to me as both 1. he's a cheater, and 2. worse, he's cheating and he's ducking Floyd.

 

I support fighters for no logical reason

 

o i c

 

The ANTITHESIS of Doub's Preferences & Gripes, Basically...




REED:hammert:

 

In No Particular Order...

1. APPLIED ATHLETICISM - REED Likes a Level of COORDINATION in his Fighters...CLUMSY, PLODDING, OAFISH Types Need Not Apply...You Don't Have to B a Track Star or a Dancer, but U MUST Possess Above Average Footspeed/Mobility...A Boxing Ring is Only Sooooo Big, so even if the Opponent is "Running", a GOOD Fighter Should B Able to Cut the Ring Off or Something....Should Also Possess ABOVE Average Handspeed...

Jermain Taylor is an Example of a Fighter that REED Could Never Truly LIKE, Based Primarily on his POOR Footwork & Overall SHITTY Athleticism...

2 B CLEAR, REED is Talking about BOXERS w/Athletic Ability, as Opposed to ATHLETES Who Found Themselves Boxing...There's a DIFFERENCE...


2. POWER - It's HARD for REED To Like a Fighter that Almost NEVER Registers a KO...Sweet Pea Whittaker is about THE ONLY Cat REED Can Think of, who LACKED Power, that REED Adored...While REED has Grown to RESPECT Andre Ward, REED'll Never B "Crazy" about him Because there's Almost a 0% Chance that he'll Score a Knockout (or even a KnockDOWN it Seems)....If you LACK the Ability to Alter &/or END Fights w/a Few Well Placed Shots, your Fights Run the Risk of Becoming REDUNDANT (Ward, Cory Spinks, Malignaggi, Calderon, etc.)...


3. Sense of SELF, ie., an IDENTITY - WHOthefuckARE You???...Could B a Racial, Religious or Nationalistic Thing....Ricky Hatton was a Lighthearted, British Drunk...Kelly Pavlik's a Midwestern Drunk...Ali was a Defiant Shit Talker who was Pro-Black...Prince Naseem was a Defiant Shit Talker who Wore his Muslim Beliefs on his Sleeve...Chavez Sr. was as "Mexican" as it Gets...REED Likes Fighters who STAND for Something, Fighters that Expose who they REALLY Are to the Masses, Unapologetically...Even after Watching his ENTIRE Career Unfold, REED is Still Largely UNSURE just WHOthefuck Dela REALLY Is....Ditto for Floyd...


4. FLASH - It's NOT a Prerequisite w/Fighters that REED Likes, Across the Board, but it Definitely HELPS...& NO, "Flash" ISN'T Just a Shoeshine Flurry or the Ali Shuffle...In their OWN Ways, Duran & Mayorga were "Flashy" in REED's Opinion...The Sugar Ray's were Undeniably Flashy...Roy Jones, Ali & Prince are No-Brainers...Aaron Pryor was FLASHIER than Most Seem to Acknowledge...Talked PLENTY of Shit, would Make FACES @ his Opponents in the Ring, etc...REED Likes "Bells & Whistles"...Something EXTRA...A "Goody Bag", if you Will...REED Wants to B WOWED...He Wants to Say "Did U just SEE That??!!!"..."Can you Believe he just DID That??!!!"...Those that Prefer "Subtleties" Often Try Tooooooo HARD or Even End Up LYING to Themselves, Trying to PERCEIVE Excellence when it's Unwarranted...Whereas "Flash" is OBVIOUS....

These R just SOME Things that Sprung to REED's Mind...

REED:Lok:

 

MALICE - Guys who ENJOY Hurting People...Young Tyson, Duran, Pryor, Kirkland, McClelland, Hearns, Vargas & Morales (as Noted by Someone Else), for Example...You're IN "The HURT Business"...ENJOY It...

Roy Jones Sorely LACKED Malice...



REED:blackcloud:

 

Those are actually all excellent characteristics you point out REED, I agree with all of them. Not all of them will make someone a better fighter necessarily, but they are very likely to make a fighter more appreciated by me.

 

Traits That Affect Who I Root For

1. Fight all comers is pretty much top of the food chain for me (James Toney, you had a big mouth, but I always watched the fights).

2. Big names who don't get too hung up on numbers and get the fights made (A dying breed among "superstars").

3. Fighters who aren't poseurs (Say what you want about Hagler, but when someone wanted to fight him, he REALLY didn't like them and it wasn't an act. Hearns wasn't a poseur either---he really was The Hitman, and it showed.)

4. People who don't make a shitload of excuses (mistimed caffeine high, bad oysters).

 

REED, having mentioned subtlety in my post, I keyed in on your mention of it.

It's not as if subtleties are employed for the sake of being subtle (the way flashiness is). And it's not like I admire technique that's subtle just because it's subtle. So it's not fair or appropriate to compare flashiness to subtlety, as if they're two sides of the same spectrum.

A fighter can be every bit as flashy as you like him, for example, and still employ offensive technique that among other things, may be subtle in its brilliance.