Quote Originally Posted by El Kabong View Post
#1 It was a very good fight totally worthy of being considered for FOTY!

#2 ALL of the great fights involve at least an element of "sloppy boxing" because in a battle like that 1 fighter makes a mistake the other capitalizes and vice versa. Tell me Bowe-Holyfield, Gatti-Ward, or Corrales-Castillo were 100% technically sound fights!

#3 Sometimes journeymen fight with more heart than champions and sometimes heart makes for better fights than just skill.

I'm happy to see the fight again.


Why did Anthony Dirrell have the long layoff?
#2 is just wrong in my view. First off equating the skill levels in Holyfield-Bowe/Castillo-Corrales with Gatti-Ward is indefensible I think.

Skill doesn't mean you don't get hit and getting hit doesn't mean you are being sloppy. Skill, defensive skill, is measured by (among other things) how extraordinary the foe must be to hit you. Go watch Pryor-Arguello I and look for sloppy (meaning poor technical moments). Go watch Ali-Frazier I for the same thing.

One guy using spectacular counters or adjusting his game to temporarily take control is NOT a sign of sloppiness on the part of the guy getting hit. When HE then adapts and temporarily takes control later on? That's not sloppiness on the part of the second guy either. Those aren't technical errors.
That's ebb and flow over time between intelligent fighters.