These Panto match ups have to stop!

[Ron Swanson]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

[Beanz]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

The circus and the field were there long before the gym so you can get on your high horse but the view is not the same from up there

[Dark Lord Al]

These panto matchups have to stop ?

" OH NO THEY SHOULDNT ".

[Batman]

these panto matchups have to stop ?

" oh no they shouldnt ".

'' oh yes they should ''

[Beanz]

These panto matchups have to stop ?

" OH NO THEY SHOULDNT ".

[smashup]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

The one where both men refused to fight - utter shite/snoozefest Thurman v Garcia and they were booed from midway non stop until the end.

Haye v Bellew entertained, had loads of Drama and the crowd loved it.

I know which one i'd rather watch miss match or not

[Gandalf]

They were both good fights. The Haye one more because you didn't expect the leg to go like that. I really expected a missmatch. Didn't consider Hayes injuries, age and inactivity. I should have. The mug was me.

[Ron Swanson]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

The one where both men refused to fight - utter shite/snoozefest Thurman v Garcia and they were booed from midway non stop until the end.

Haye v Bellew entertained, had loads of Drama and the crowd loved it.

I know which one i'd rather watch miss match or not

Yes, you're the target audience. The drama, the trash talk. I'm not the target audience, I prefer the sport of sport. I know I'll always be in the minority. But someone should speak up for sport because we know the crowds will always speak with their money for empty bluster.

[Beanz]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

The one where both men refused to fight - utter shite/snoozefest Thurman v Garcia and they were booed from midway non stop until the end.

Haye v Bellew entertained, had loads of Drama and the crowd loved it.

I know which one i'd rather watch miss match or not

Yes, you're the target audience. The drama, the trash talk. I'm not the target audience, I prefer the sport of sport. I know I'll always be in the minority. But someone should speak up for sport because we know the crowds will always speak with their money for empty bluster.

I don't think it is a case of either / or . It is quite possible to enjoy both for what they are. There are many here that can appreciate both the sublime and the ridiculous. Often the sublime is not quite as magical as we make it out to be and the ridiculous not so stupid.

[smashup]

@Ron Swanson

I like and enjoy the technical fighters as much as the brawlers but this fight got everyone talking and wanting to see who came out on top.
Yes there was insane hype, trash talking etc but thats what draws new fans to the sport.
I had me, my gf, her girl mate and two 11 year old boys glued to the tv on the edge of our seats and loving it, all of us shouting at the screen and it was a great night.
If that was the elite "Sport" genuine ppv fight your on about I.E. Garcia v Thurman and hypothetically it was on at 10pm uk time there would have been me watching on my own as they wouldn't have wanted to watch it/zero interest and if they did they'd have been bored shitless in a muted room due to the fact that it was a shit and very boring fight.
So thats me and 4 non boxing fans (2 kids, 2 women) all of which wanted to watch Haye v Bellew because we knew we'd be entertained and entertained we were.
Boxing isn't just for the purist/anorak brigade and never has been.
Never underestimate the pulling power of a genuine domestic uk grudge match.
We love it

[smashup]

Without fights like Haye v Bellew, circus, pantomim, drama etc the sport doesn't attract new fans.
Look at Floyds last 6-7 fights.... the main man in the sport who single handedly gave UFC more viewers on a fucking plate through running round the ring pot shotting his opponents.
Technically brilliant yes
Entertaining no

[Ron Swanson]

So we should be like the casuals, umm, no. And we shouldn't talk to each other like them either.

Yes, the circus is great for the casuals. But to come here with the real fight fans and discuss it as if it is valid because people are talking about it. My God, you're becoming casuals yourself.

Everything has its place, yes. And our place should be above validating what isn't valid. If you want to scream and shout with all those that don't care about a real fight that's super. Where I am genuinely offended is when people who know better come here and talk as if publicity equals validity. It's offensive to all logic and truth.

[Spicoli]

Without fights like Haye v Bellew, circus, pantomim, drama etc the sport doesn't attract new fans.
Look at Floyds last 6-7 fights.... the main man in the sport who single handedly gave UFC more viewers on a fucking plate through running round the ring pot shotting his opponents.
Technically brilliant yes
Entertaining no

I'll watch two obscure 50-50 journeymen in a war before I make ufc a priority OR tune in for Floyd boxing by the numbers for $65.95, but it's not like Dana White and one of his biggest stars think Floyd is not the main attraction with all the 'match' talk going on.

The great thing about the sport is the depth, global spread and individuals. Boxing fans have many many options and endless networks.

[ono]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

The one where both men refused to fight - utter shite/snoozefest Thurman v Garcia and they were booed from midway non stop until the end.

Haye v Bellew entertained, had loads of Drama and the crowd loved it.

I know which one i'd rather watch miss match or not

Yes, you're the target audience. The drama, the trash talk. I'm not the target audience, I prefer the sport of sport. I know I'll always be in the minority. But someone should speak up for sport because we know the crowds will always speak with their money for empty bluster.

Boxing hipster in the house.

You can't separate the purity of the sport from the out of the ring sideshow that comes with it. And why would you want to anyway? How can you care who wins if you turn a complete blind eye to their out of the ring personalities? I'm totally at a loss to how somebody could prefer the utter shitfest and letdown of a fight which was Thurman - Garcia to what we saw earlier on in the night.

From a purity point of view, if you ignore the build up and out of the ring bullshit, Haye and Bellew was still a much more entertaining fight. It just was and any argument on the contrary is pure boxing elitism.

[Beanz]

Great thread. Sad that people defend the circus. At the highest levels there should be the highest levels of competition.

I joined Gandalf in not even watching the circus for free. I watched the real fight.

The one where both men refused to fight - utter shite/snoozefest Thurman v Garcia and they were booed from midway non stop until the end.

Haye v Bellew entertained, had loads of Drama and the crowd loved it.

I know which one i'd rather watch miss match or not

Yes, you're the target audience. The drama, the trash talk. I'm not the target audience, I prefer the sport of sport. I know I'll always be in the minority. But someone should speak up for sport because we know the crowds will always speak with their money for empty bluster.

Boxing hipster in the house.

You can't separate the purity of the sport from the out of the ring sideshow that comes with it. And why would you want to anyway? How can you care who wins if you turn a complete blind eye to their out of the ring personalities? I'm totally at a loss to how somebody could prefer the utter shitfest and letdown of a fight which was Thurman - Garcia to what we saw earlier on in the night.

From a purity point of view, if you ignore the build up and out of the ring bullshit, Haye and Bellew was still a much more entertaining fight. It just was and any argument on the contrary is pure boxing elitism.

....and Ono knows one when he reads one. He had that beard even before Moses though it might catch on..