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.

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.

[smashup]

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.

Your beginning to talk shit now, who the fuck are you to say that a casual fight fan shouldn't join this forum or any forum on the back of a fight like Haye v Bellew that maybe they enjoyed so much has turned them into a potential hardcore fan?

I've been watching fights live from when i was 11-12 years old when my Brother used to take me to the Royal Albert Hall to watch Pat Barrett and other Micky Duff fighters.

I was new to Boxing then (a casual) and loved it and remember Barrett being explosive, all action and very entertaining, do you think i was a purist back then or grew and learned to appreciate the more scientific tactical fighters like Floyd over the years as i watched more and more fights?


It's dinosaurs like you who actually stop the sport growing

[Master]

Pat Barrett had a bomb of a punch, think his son boxes.

[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.

Your beginning to talk shit now, who the fuck are you to say that a casual fight fan shouldn't join this forum or any forum on the back of a fight like Haye v Bellew that maybe they enjoyed so much has turned them into a potential hardcore fan?

I've been watching fights live from when i was 11-12 years old when my Brother used to take me to the Royal Albert Hall to watch Pat Barrett and other Micky Duff fighters.

I was new to Boxing then (a casual) and loved it and remember Barrett being explosive, all action and very entertaining, do you think i was a purist back then or grew and learned to appreciate the more scientific tactical fighters like Floyd over the years as i watched more and more fights?


It's dinosaurs like you who actually stop the sport growing

It looks as if you didn't understand a word I said. Because your points have absolutely nothing to do with what I said. You're arguing with yourself.

I'll list all the ways you seem incoherent.

1)"who the fuck are you to say a casual fight fan shouldn't join this forum or any forum"

I never said anything about that.

2)"do you think I was a purist back then or grew and learned to appreciate...."

Again, absolutely nothing to do with what I'm saying.

3)it's dinosaurs like you who stop the sport growing

Again, I didn't say anything to suggest anything about stopping the sport growing. I'm saying educated fans should have an honest dialogue. Saying publicity equals validity is bullshit. By that measure Mayweather/Pacquiao is the greatest fight ever. Umm, no it was not. I'm saying everything has its place and we should be honest. There are a lot of circus fights being made. Always has been, that's true. But it's still a circus fight and should be acknowledged as such even if crazy circumstances happen that accidentally turn the fight compelling.

If there is no honesty then you get Haye trying to con a rematch. You get Wilder trying to further his BS career acting as if Bellew is a legitimate opponent. If the fans accept BS without calling BS then all we will get is BS.

Look how Pacquiao chooses opponents, floating soft names out there and sitting back guaging the publics response. First soft opponent that doesn't outrage the public will be his opponent. Looks like that's Khan. It's been what 6 years since he's held a belt? It does nothing for Manny's resume. It's a cash grab and should be acknowledged as such.

A circus fight, whether it sells or not, should be called a circus fight.

A mismatch, whether it sells or not, should be called a mismatch.

Etcetera etcetera. None of this hurts the growth of the sport. If the sport can't tolerate honesty then what the f are we talking about?

[ono]

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.

Again, so elitist. It's like you don't want to admit enjoying it because lesser intelligent casuals also enjoy it. Boxing is boxing. That's as simple as it gets. It was simply a world champion stepping up a weight to fight a former world champion. You seem mad that people wanted to watch it.

There would have been more discussion on her regarding the Thurman - Garcia fight had it not been a shitfest. What is there really to talk about? Thurman wasn't a decisive winner but nobody is arsed about them doing it again. Just about sums it up. There isn't a positive thing to say about it.

[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.

[erics44]

there's nothing wrong with the fights you mentioned

I found them all entertaining, the fights and the build up and anticipation

whats the problem?

[Master]

there's nothing wrong with the fights you mentioned

I found them all entertaining, the fights and the build up and anticipation

whats the problem?

The problem is you think anything is worthy of ppv.

Absolutely anything.

[Fenster]

Anything is worthy if you can sell it.

Fans that "know" what's good or bad for the sport are always the most naive. Always telling everyone what money this fighter should accept or that fighter shouldn't accept. Always know best about who should fight who - when, where, what weight, for how much. Why everything should be free.

They know something the cunts swanning around in the Bentley's don't ()

[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..