Magomed Abdusalamov is in Self-Induced Coma

[Beanflicker]

What really gets me with this kind of situation was listening to Max Kellerman and Lampley gushing about how this was how fighters should fight, how this was true skill, ect. How guys like Klitschko could learn a thing or two from guys like Magomed. It really is a bastardization of the art of boxing.

What happened last night was an entertaining BRAWL, where Magomed showed virtually no defense or head movement of any kind. A guy who decided to take punches just because he can. That's how guys end up with dementia in their early 40s, or even worse getting killed or seriously hurt in the ring.

I hope Magomed pulls through but goddamn. You can't have it both ways. You can't expect a guy to shuffle forward face first and eat flush punches to the head all night, then get sad when he gets hurt in the ring or ends up punch drunk.

[TitoFan]

What really gets me with this kind of situation was listening to Max Kellerman and Lampley gushing about how this was how fighters should fight, how this was true skill, ect. How guys like Klitschko could learn a thing or two from guys like Magomed. It really is a bastardization of the art of boxing.

What happened last night was an entertaining BRAWL, where Magomed showed virtually no defense or head movement of any kind. A guy who decided to take punches just because he can. That's how guys end up with dementia in their early 40s, or even worse getting killed or seriously hurt in the ring.

I hope Magomed pulls through but goddamn. You can't have it both ways. You can't expect a guy to shuffle forward face first and eat flush punches to the head all night, then get sad when he gets hurt in the ring or ends up punch drunk.

You make a good point, Bean. But it's also a fine line to walk. How many classic wars have we seen down the lines of a Gatti-Ward, Corrales-Castillo..... where defense has been minimal, and the number of head punches absorbed boggle the mind? And as boxing fans we love these wars. Mago may wade in face-first, but he's hardly the only fighter to do that, and not all of them end up in a coma. As for Klitschko "learning a thing or two", can't really blame the commentators for going down that road, especially in light of the horrific stinker Wlad and Povetkin put us through recently.

[Beanflicker]

Mago may wade in face-first, but he's hardly the only fighter to do that, and not all of them end up in a coma.

For sure, luckily serious boxing injuries and deaths aren't regular occurances. But unfortunately it's getting harder to find guys who aren't punchy after their careers. Especially now with what they've learned about concussions in recent years, and the dangers of the subconcussive blows.

Of course I love the war, but when I see guys like Magomed marching foward with no defense or head movement (fuck, even Gatti could box and move his head when he wanted to), it's a little scary. Especially when you have so called expert commentators telling people "see, this is how you're supposed to fight". That kind of fighting will lead to many nights in the hospital and probably a horrible quality of life post-career.

As far as Klitschko goes, I'll never fault him for boxing safely for this reason. I do fault him with the excessive holding and fouls he pulled in his last farce though.

[TitoFan]

Mago may wade in face-first, but he's hardly the only fighter to do that, and not all of them end up in a coma.

For sure, luckily serious boxing injuries and deaths aren't regular occurances. But unfortunately it's getting harder to find guys who aren't punchy after their careers. Especially now with what they've learned about concussions in recent years, and the dangers of the subconcussive blows.

Of course I love the war, but when I see guys like Magomed marching foward with no defense or head movement (fuck, even Gatti could box and move his head when he wanted to), it's a little scary. Especially when you have so called expert commentators telling people "see, this is how you're supposed to fight". That kind of fighting will lead to many nights in the hospital and probably a horrible quality of life post-career.

As far as Klitschko goes, I'll never fault him for boxing safely for this reason. I do fault him with the excessive holding and fouls he pulled in his last farce though.

I get you bro.

But Klitschko to me is the epitome of why so many fans have been turned off by boxing. It's ok to box and try to "hit and not get hit." But Klitschko truly fights as if he's scared of getting tagged on that chin. So he clutches, pushes off with his mega-long arms, tangles up the opponent, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Luckily for him, most of his recent opponents are even more scared shitless than him, making for comical, boring fights.

IMO, Klitschko could very easily be more "offense-minded" without giving up his boxing skills and advantages. But to hell with the fans. Klitschko would rather stink up the ring by clutching and mauling than trying to be more fan-friendly.

Somewhere between Wlad and Mago, there's lots of middle ground which we as fans would love to see in the HW division.

[Beanflicker]

I get you bro.

But Klitschko to me is the epitome of why so many fans have been turned off by boxing. It's ok to box and try to "hit and not get hit." But Klitschko truly fights as if he's scared of getting tagged on that chin. So he clutches, pushes off with his mega-long arms, tangles up the opponent, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Luckily for him, most of his recent opponents are even more scared shitless than him, making for comical, boring fights.

IMO, Klitschko could very easily be more "offense-minded" without giving up his boxing skills and advantages. But to hell with the fans. Klitschko would rather stink up the ring by clutching and mauling than trying to be more fan-friendly.

Somewhere between Wlad and Mago, there's lots of middle ground which we as fans would love to see in the HW division.

With the Klitschkos, I really admire them as tacticians because they box beautifully. But I'm not so much a fan of the excessive holding and other fouls. But to be fair, we have to concede that they don't do anything that guys like Muhammad Ali didn't do himself.

[IamInuit]

Mago may wade in face-first, but he's hardly the only fighter to do that, and not all of them end up in a coma.

For sure, luckily serious boxing injuries and deaths aren't regular occurances. But unfortunately it's getting harder to find guys who aren't punchy after their careers. Especially now with what they've learned about concussions in recent years, and the dangers of the subconcussive blows.

Of course I love the war, but when I see guys like Magomed marching foward with no defense or head movement (fuck, even Gatti could box and move his head when he wanted to), it's a little scary. Especially when you have so called expert commentators telling people "see, this is how you're supposed to fight". That kind of fighting will lead to many nights in the hospital and probably a horrible quality of life post-career.

As far as Klitschko goes, I'll never fault him for boxing safely for this reason. I do fault him with the excessive holding and fouls he pulled in his last farce though.

Odd eh.Less rds plus less activity equals more injury. Given equal math comparisons, I'd bet more deaths have happened post 15 rd title fights. Now this fight notwithstanding as 99% of corners would have stopped it much earlier. Greb fought 49 times in a year. That's like 4 times a month. Boxers today are almost part time. At the top level they almost make as much with endorsements (local or otherwise) as they do fighting.

All kinds of fighters have faced no pun intended much worse the he did. Some made a career out of it. Its a throw of the dice in this business.

[Beanflicker]

Greb fought 49 times in a year. That's like 4 times a month. Boxers today are almost part time.

That's true, but that being said how many of those fights were against absolute pushovers who didn't really have the skill to touch him? There's no way he fought 49 world beaters a year. A lot of those were stay busy type fights I'd say, little more than sparring.

I love to see a war, boxing is a brutal game and guys are gonna end up getting fucked up no matter what you do. I love Ali/Frazier because it was two elite guys forced into a war.

With Magomed, he was in a war because he was unskilled. It's like asking Nascar drivers to drive drunk to make it more entertaining. I think being in a war for the sake of being in a war is retarded. If it's genuine where it's the strategy like a Hearns/Hagler, I love it.

[Spicoli]

What really gets me with this kind of situation was listening to Max Kellerman and Lampley gushing about how this was how fighters should fight, how this was true skill, ect. How guys like Klitschko could learn a thing or two from guys like Magomed. It really is a bastardization of the art of boxing.

What happened last night was an entertaining BRAWL, where Magomed showed virtually no defense or head movement of any kind. A guy who decided to take punches just because he can. That's how guys end up with dementia in their early 40s, or even worse getting killed or seriously hurt in the ring.

I hope Magomed pulls through but goddamn. You can't have it both ways. You can't expect a guy to shuffle forward face first and eat flush punches to the head all night, then get sad when he gets hurt in the ring or ends up punch drunk.

Don't forget we're talking about the same network that treats Rigondeaux as if he has a disease. They are coming at it strictly from a chest thumping network pov and are doing the utmost to dumb down the sport. Still. Fans are smarter than that, and honestly we all at one time or another celebrate the violence but we ourselves will never be asked to pay the price. I don't fault a Mago for using what he has and whats worked before and I can't expect him to be something he's not, styles make the fights as they say.

[bigstinkybug]

LOL... self induced coma?...more like "medically induced", this happens when swelling to the brain is substancial and pressure becomes too high cutting off circulation to the brain... comas induced along with burr holes to relieve pressure... intercranial edema subsides, then fighter may be brought out...u vcan bet he'll have some kinda deficits... rehab will be needed.

[El Kabong]

What really gets me with this kind of situation was listening to Max Kellerman and Lampley gushing about how this was how fighters should fight, how this was true skill, ect. How guys like Klitschko could learn a thing or two from guys like Magomed.

Yup, and we get the "Why doesn't Wlad fight like that?" bitching and complaining....well there's your answer right there. NEVER has a fighter been hurt by a punch that DIDN'T make contact with his head. Willie Pep fought over 240 fights and lived to the ripe old age of 84 specifically because he didn't get hit all that often.

I hope Magomed pulls through alright.

Yes it's possible to have entertaining fights where no irreparable damage is done, but there's a correlation between the amount of damage you take and how long your career will last. The more damage you take the shorter you'll be around.

[Kirkland Laing]

Top quality discussion in this thread. Nothing to add apart from thoughts and prayers with Abdusalamov.

[Beanz]

There is no line in the sand with boxing on one side and brawling on the other. People will never forget Joe Frazier and that is not just because he was a boxer. It is too simplistic to boil the argument down in such terms. Even Perez proves the point by employing head and waist movement in his relentless march forward. Winning is everything is a peculiar ideal in which apparently fouls do not exist unless awarded and anything goes except brawling? I think not. Winning may be the primary goal but it is not everything unless you reduce life down to a single espresso.

[El Kabong]

apparently fouls do no exist unless awarded

I know you're being sarcastic but YES EXACTLY THAT!!! How many times have you watched your Plymouth Argyle and seen an offsides not called, a penalty not given, a foul not given, a card not shown....it happens and if a team gets caught up in the "B-b-but that was a foul" victim mentality then they are beaten already.

You can foul in boxing and get away with it, you can foul in basketball, football, soccer, and get away with it, it's all about knowing when and how to foul and knowing that makes you cagey, it makes you professional, and it makes you extremely difficult to beat.

If the ref doesn't call it.....then it's not a foul and it's like it never even happened. So it's no use to complain after the fact, a ref won't go back and award a foul because he feels he missed a call or messed up.

[ykdadamaja]

I don't ever remember Perez having that kind of power!?!? When injuries like that happen against guys you know have the capacity to take it, my mind always runs on Panama Lewis and the whole Resto/Collins incident.

[Beanz]

World Boxing News - Mike Perez: My main concern is with Mago Abdusalamov's health