So What Did We Learn?

[badr_hari]

Badr Hari.
I remember watching Alexey Ignashov kick your ass.

Took the fight in short notice. Than revenged that loss.

[JazMerkin]

Ok, so I had a training course this morning so I had to DL the fights from last night & had managed to avoid the results all day. I sat watched Rios-Antillon first (had small shades of Hagler-Hearns) & was delighted to have got my pick close to right on that, although I had Rios in 5. Then I settled down for Cintron-Molina & was delighted to see Molina pull the upset as I predicted & Ramos got the KO as I backed him to, although he looked utter shit.

Then time to see if Lara could pull the upset & give me a very very rare 100% weekend picking fights. I'm normally one to jump on the HBO guys for being one-sided, but I just didn't see anything other than probably the 4th & 6th which could go to Williams. I thought he landed a lot of cuffing punches in the clinch. It was one of those, where I thought they CAN'T rob him it's so wide. When I heard the scorecards I was sat there thinking 'those are disgracefully close & the draw, these guys need investigating' & then he says from North Carolina & it took me about 15 seconds to process it, I was thinking 'he must have read the wrong winner out'.

I hate seeing the word 'robbery' thrown around as it is after almost any close-ish fight, but I really feel this was. I can't see any way that someone could have it even close. I felt this was more one-sided than last weekend's fight & I though Wlad won that at a canter. Seeing this kind of shit is what kills boxing for any new fan watching. I always think I should be immune to this, but it is fucking gutting when you see it happen to a fighter who has trained has heart out & put it all on the line.

[marbleheadmaui]

I'll start with the HBO Card.
-It wasn't televised but Chris Arreola showed up at 236 again, good for him. The two accounts I've read describe him completely dominating tough guy Friday Ahuanya. Probably a good thing for Arreola to go ten rounds. I really do think he might be as viable an opponent for Wlad as there is right now. Now here's to hoping he stays busy. How about getting on the Vitali-Adamek undercard somehow?

Hold-up a minute. I think you're being a little inconsistent here.

You've spent weeks shitting all over David Haye, yet here you are praising a fighter for a) actually trying to get fit and b) going 10 rounds with a "tough guy." You class certain "world" champions as "journymen," right? Ahuanya, who has never beaten a fighter of note, and is clearly not close to the top ten heavyweights let alone a potential world champion, is a "tough" fighter?

Your view is the complete opposite of which Arreola himself has stated. Which highlights just how unreliable it is to form an opinion about something we haven't actually WITNESSED.

Arreola said about his performance (paraphrasing) - I was shit. I was hurt. I am not ready for Wlad. I need more fights.

Inconsistent in what way exactly? 13 deserves every ounce of vitriol everyone has hurled at him. ALL of it. When Arreola was weighing in at 250 plus NOBODY was harder on him than me. I try to recognize improvements. 13 didn't show any. Ahunaya IS a tough guy. That is a completely different thing that categorizing someone as a journeyman or a champion. Tough guy is a personal characteristic, not a level of accomplishment. For example, Glenn Johnson, Tex Cobb and Joe Grim are/were all tough guys. But one was a contender, one a journeyman and the third a tomato can with an iron jaw. See how that works?

Lastly my view and Arreola's are NOT in opposition. I stated Arreola DOMINATED him. He obviously did. Arreolas wasn't pleased with his performance. He obviously wasn't. Those two are NOT mutually exclusive or even opposites. See how that works?

[Mars_ax]

Good on Arreola for staying busy, other then the Klitschko bros, I'd give him a shot at beating all of the other HW contenders, including that douche, princess HAREmaker, who's too much of a pussy to fight him..

He would beat Adamek too, right? As soon as he begins to fight young hungry boxers his status will be tomato can.

Not too sure if Arreola gets past Adamek, that's a pick 'um. I'm more or less saying Arreola has a shot, not that he'll necessarily beat them all. Don't get me wrong, Arreola already tends to be a 'can, just saying his competition outside the K-bros, and Adamek, ain't much better then him.

[TitoFan]

I'll start with the HBO Card.
-It wasn't televised but Chris Arreola showed up at 236 again, good for him. The two accounts I've read describe him completely dominating tough guy Friday Ahuanya. Probably a good thing for Arreola to go ten rounds. I really do think he might be as viable an opponent for Wlad as there is right now. Now here's to hoping he stays busy. How about getting on the Vitali-Adamek undercard somehow?

Hold-up a minute. I think you're being a little inconsistent here.

You've spent weeks shitting all over David Haye, yet here you are praising a fighter for a) actually trying to get fit and b) going 10 rounds with a "tough guy." You class certain "world" champions as "journymen," right? Ahuanya, who has never beaten a fighter of note, and is clearly not close to the top ten heavyweights let alone a potential world champion, is a "tough" fighter?

Your view is the complete opposite of which Arreola himself has stated. Which highlights just how unreliable it is to form an opinion about something we haven't actually WITNESSED.

Arreola said about his performance (paraphrasing) - I was shit. I was hurt. I am not ready for Wlad. I need more fights.

Inconsistent in what way exactly? 13 deserves every ounce of vitriol everyone has hurled at him. ALL of it. When Arreola was weighing in at 250 plus NOBODY was harder on him than me. I try to recognize improvements. 13 didn't show any. Ahunaya IS a tough guy. That is a completely different thing that categorizing someone as a journeyman or a champion. Tough guy is a personal characteristic, not a level of accomplishment. For example, Glenn Johnson, Tex Cobb and Joe Grim are/were all tough guys. But one was a contender, one a journeyman and the third a tomato can with an iron jaw. See how that works?

Lastly my view and Arreola's are NOT in opposition. I stated Arreola DOMINATED him. He obviously did. Arreolas wasn't pleased with his performance. He obviously wasn't. Those two are NOT mutually exclusive or even opposites. See how that works?

Arreola might not be all that, but I've never seen a fight of his where he's talked shit about his opponent and built himself up, only to skate through 12 rounds trying only to NOT get knocked out.

[chinchekked]

What did I learn.......Paul Williams needs to take some time and review his approach to the fight game. I am not going to pretend that changing a style that took you to a 39-1 record is easy but for him to get hit with that left hand after getting KO'd with one is an indication that someone on PWill's team is not handling business. I am not trying to be condescending but these are professionals who are paid good money to prepare this man for battle and the answer to every pugilistic puzzle is NOT to throw more punches or throw first.

[captainanddew]

What did I learn.......Paul Williams needs to take some time and review his approach to the fight game. I am not going to pretend that changing a style that took you to a 39-1 record is easy but for him to get hit with that left hand after getting KO'd with one is an indication that someone on PWill's team is not handling business. I am not trying to be condescending but these are professionals who are paid good money to prepare this man for battle and the answer to every pugilistic puzzle is NOT to throw more punches or throw first.

it was also the same left hand that Quintana landed repeatedly to win their first fight. And it isn't only left hands. Margarito landed more and more shots when they fought (Cheato just waited too late to get going against PW).

[Spicoli]

What did I learn.......Paul Williams needs to take some time and review his approach to the fight game. I am not going to pretend that changing a style that took you to a 39-1 record is easy but for him to get hit with that left hand after getting KO'd with one is an indication that someone on PWill's team is not handling business. I am not trying to be condescending but these are professionals who are paid good money to prepare this man for battle and the answer to every pugilistic puzzle is NOT to throw more punches or throw first.

it was also the same left hand that Quintana landed repeatedly to win their first fight. And it isn't only left hands. Margarito landed more and more shots when they fought (Cheato just waited too late to get going against PW).

I never could stand Williams and the roadkill on his chin he calls a beard but I think thats the best fight he's fought. He kept height, range and volume with movement. Fought within himself but Tony did press at end yeh.

[Mars_ax]

I know one thing we learned, Paul Williams ain't gonna be able to draw flies to another one of his fights, and there's still a bunch of lame ass judges around scoring fights.

[Spicoli]

I know one thing we learned, Paul Williams ain't gonna be able to draw flies to another one of his fights, and there's still a bunch of lame ass judges around scoring fights.

More and more I wonder if it's really the fans who determine what draws flies or its HBO.

[marbleheadmaui]

What did I learn.......Paul Williams needs to take some time and review his approach to the fight game. I am not going to pretend that changing a style that took you to a 39-1 record is easy but for him to get hit with that left hand after getting KO'd with one is an indication that someone on PWill's team is not handling business. I am not trying to be condescending but these are professionals who are paid good money to prepare this man for battle and the answer to every pugilistic puzzle is NOT to throw more punches or throw first.

Good post. A radical overhaul of a fighter at Williams' age is exceedingly rare. Freddy did it with Manny at about that age and Manny S has done wonders with Wlad since his late 20's. But it is rare. It's also probably true that it takes a master trainer to even have a chance of it working. The guy PW has now has ZERO chance of pulling it off. He can't get PW to even recognize that punch, let alone move his head or raise his hand or step to the side to avoid being hit by it. And even if he could teach those things it is another mile to teach the possible counters.

Manny Steward seems the obvious choice as a trainer, but I wonder if it is just too late.

[Mar]

i learned a couple of things, one carlos molina is a pimp. At the very least a junior one. While big names are overlooking the guy and going on about weights, drugs, and every other retarded thing, this dude is lacing up his gloves against whoever and taking them out. I hope dude falls ass backwards into a title fight and wins somehow. Second in arreolla's case. Being in shape doesn't make you box any better, if he worked half as hard on improving his skill set as he did on this stupid quest to look like a better boxer....anyhow. And lastly judging of fights is extremly subjective. Im guilty too of running in the street and crying robbery, but so many people judge fights in different ways that i'm not sure whats right or wrong these days. like everyone i had lara winning easy....really easy but i'll have to sit tonight with my son and watch it with the volume down.