My take on the Oscar/Floyd fight

[zhubin]

Let me guess Miles...you are one of those "boxing purists" who thought he witnessed a fantastic fight? Haha. If you want to call me, and many others, an idiot for feeling cheated by an uninspired fight that was billed as the biggest event in recent years...that's just fine. Hopefully, boxing can win back some of the casual fans it seems like it desperately wants...with great upcoming fights that truly create some excitement and don't cost $65.

[luvfightgame]

Let me guess Miles...you are one of those "boxing purists" who thought he witnessed a fantastic fight? Haha. If you want to call me, and many others, an idiot for feeling cheated by an uninspired fight that was billed as the biggest event in recent years...that's just fine. Hopefully, boxing can win back some of the casual fans it seems like it desperately wants...with great upcoming fights that truly create some excitement and don't cost $65.

Yup, and although many boxing purists think PBF won if you ask the average person watching who won they will most likely say ODH. And that they wouldn't want to see another fight with PBF cause he runs. That's reality. And huge ppv's come from normal people that don't know squat about boxing.

[ClydeB]

Before this fight there was so much press about this mega fight "saving" boxing...and while i think that is being overly dramatic...this certainly was a HUGE chance for boxing to bring back a mainstream audience. Well...it's not going to happen...and we can blame both Floyd and Oscar for that. There was really no passion shown by either of these guys. After all the hype, knowing so much was on the line...they give us that?! Now, some of you boxing "purists" are gonna jump out of your seats screaming that Floyd exhibited tremendous skill and poise or that Oscar fought valiantly to no avail...blah, blah, blah. Bottom line....this was not a FIGHT....this was not two fighters who left their heart in the ring and give the MILLIONS of people watching, a show they could be excited about...instead...it was two fighters who wanted to make $$$ and not look bad. Sure, Oscar pressed the action a bit more and would try and land flurries....and every once in a while Floyd would pick his spot and throw a crisp shot...but is that it?! Oscar looked content with throwing flurries at the end of some rounds and going to the cards and Floyd also looked perfectly content with doing just enough to win 7-8 rounds and going home. So after all the hype, after 24/7, after all the talk of the importance of this fight in bringing good light and popularity back to boxing...this is the the result we get for one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport?! Would this fight have made fighters like Ali, Hagler, Duran, Hearns, Leonard, Chavez, etc....proud? Those fighters gave us a show. They exhibited their skill, heart, and sense of the dramatics. For me...the most exciting part of this fight was the last 10 seconds....the only time where you got a sense that both fighters just let go...trading hard punches till after the bell. Again, some of you so called boxing purists will try and persuade me that Floyd showed his defensive mastery and that Oscar tried to cut the ring off and that boxing isn't only about knockouts and going toe to toe, etc. But that is ultimately a cop out. Both these fighters should have realized the importance of this fight and had a sense for the kind of stage they where on. They could have thrilled us...but instead they put on a business like performance. S***...the interviews with Floyd Sr. where more entertaining than the actual fight.

If you expected a slugfest from two of the greatest BOXERS of any generation then you drastically misjudged the merits of the fighters on show. I disagree with you wholeheartedly. I do not think Oscar or Floyd fought like men out for a paycheque. I saw Oscar display tremendous heart in trying to maintain the pace he set in the early going. He wanted to prove he was the better man. He doesn't need the money, nor has he needed it for a long time. And Mayweather showed fantastic character to actually fight his way back into contention.

Really, what did you expect? Barrera-Morales IV?

[ClydeB]

Let me guess Miles...you are one of those "boxing purists" who thought he witnessed a fantastic fight? Haha. If you want to call me, and many others, an idiot for feeling cheated by an uninspired fight that was billed as the biggest event in recent years...that's just fine. Hopefully, boxing can win back some of the casual fans it seems like it desperately wants...with great upcoming fights that truly create some excitement and don't cost $65.

It WAS the biggest fight in recent years. What on earth led you to believe it would be the BEST fight in recent years, though? Surely you can make the distinction between "biggest" and "best".

[zhubin]

I never would expect either of these two fighters to display the heart of Barrera or Morales. They don't need the money?! Now that's funny. Not sure what society you live in...but people, ESPECIALLY if they are business men, want more money. Sure Oscar is rich...but he runs a promotion company...he wants to bring as much income and exposure to that as possible...and hey...that's not a problem. And if you read my earlier posts...i mentioned a fight does not always have to be a slugfest. But all the great and memorable fights have shown two men who leave their ALL in the ring. If you think you saw that...i guess we where watching different fights. And luvfightgame, you are right...huge ppv's do come from "normal" people. And as much as you want to discount their knowledge of the sport....if they feel like they didn't get what was advertised....that's boxings loss. If the sport, and the media, desperately wants it's popularity to rise....you wont get that with these kind of fights. Whether you like that or not...or even care...THAT is reality.

[ClydeB]

I never would expect either of these two fighters to display the heart of Barrera or Morales. They don't need the money?! Now that's funny. Not sure what society you live in...but people, ESPECIALLY if they are business men, want more money. Sure Oscar is rich...but he runs a promotion company...he wants to bring as much income and exposure to that as possible...and hey...that's not a problem. And if you read my earlier posts...i mentioned a fight does not always have to be a slugfest. But all the great and memorable fights have shown two men who leave their ALL in the ring. If you think you saw that...i guess we where watching different fights. And luvfightgame, you are right...huge ppv's do come from "normal" people. And as much as you want to discount their knowledge of the sport....if they feel like they didn't get what was advertised....that's boxings loss. If the sport, and the media, desperately wants it's popularity to rise....you wont get that with these kind of fights. Whether you like that or not...or even care...THAT is reality.

Who said anything about Oscar or Floyd not wanting the money? I said they don't need the money. Again, you have to ascertain the difference between "want and "need". They are both millionaires many times over. You are talking as if they both went through the motions. Pure boxers do not "leave it all in the ring". Warriors like Gatti do. When have you ever seen a Chris Byrd leave it all in the ring? Oscar has been known to engage in the occasional memorable fight, but it was never going to happen against Mayweather unless you appreciate the more subtle aspects of boxing.

There's no shame in not appreciating the more subtly entertaining fight, but if other people do then don't knock them for it. There really is no accounting for taste, my friend.

[zhubin]

"Pure Boxers"!!! History has many examples of fighters who have tremendous skill AND heart. And where did i say i don't appreciate "subtle" fights. But NOTHING about this fight, and everything leading up to it, was subtle. It was advertised to create excitement, to to bring in not only the purist, but the casual sports fan who normally wouldn't shell out $$$ to see a fight. That is how the media AND the fighters SOLD it. Chris Byrd doesn't generate interest and money for the sport. As i said before...the only time in this fight where BOTH fighters showed a spark...where they said "hell with it...lets put it out there"...where they laid it out on the line...was the last 10 seconds. You think this will be remembered along side of the Hagler/Hearns/Leonard or Morales/Barrera/Pac/Marquez or so many other fights where the fighters raised their level to thrill us. Where all those fighters purely warriors....unskilled brutes just slugging it out?! They all had/have tremendous skill to go along with pride, heart....and most importantly....a sense of what is at stake....not only for themselves....but for the people watching. So call me tasteless.

[p4pking]

If Floyd had fought like he did in the last 10 seconds from the get go he would have been blown out by the middle rounds. Of course this is what you wanted to see, like many others.... But if you actually followed each fighter there was no reason to expect a war, obviously..

[Scrap]

zhubin, you know your stuff. If you talk the talk you have to walk the walk, we watched a lie.

[ClydeB]

"Pure Boxers"!!! History has many examples of fighters who have tremendous skill AND heart. And where did i say i don't appreciate "subtle" fights. But NOTHING about this fight, and everything leading up to it, was subtle. It was advertised to create excitement, to to bring in not only the purist, but the casual sports fan who normally wouldn't shell out $$$ to see a fight. That is how the media AND the fighters SOLD it. Chris Byrd doesn't generate interest and money for the sport. As i said before...the only time in this fight where BOTH fighters showed a spark...where they said "hell with it...lets put it out there"...where they laid it out on the line...was the last 10 seconds. You think this will be remembered along side of the Hagler/Hearns/Leonard or Morales/Barrera/Pac/Marquez or so many other fights where the fighters raised their level to thrill us. Where all those fighters purely warriors....unskilled brutes just slugging it out?! They all had/have tremendous skill to go along with pride, heart....and most importantly....a sense of what is at stake....not only for themselves....but for the people watching. So call me tasteless.

And you actually bought into the hype? When will people learn that the buildup is orchestrated to sell tickets?

Who cares how it was marketed? If you were actually gullible enough to swallow all the pre-fight hype then God help you, mate. It was the biggest fight of recent times, but hype, talk, promotion, it's all just for show.

I did not call you tasteless either. It's like talking to a brick wall. I said that there is no accounting for taste. All that means is that different people appreciate different things. It was not meant to knock your taste for the sport.

[ClydeB]

zhubin, you know your stuff. If you talk the talk you have to walk the walk, we watched a lie.

Then I'm afraid you will find yourself sorely disappointed the vast majority of the time. Very few fighters can back up what they say outside of the ring.

If you actually believe what half of the fighters say then you are as deluded as they are. Show me a fighter who will not talk up his own ability and I'll show you a liar.

[Scrap]

I know qiute a few, Im lucky as a rule I dont pay to watch, what I watched Saturday was 2 fighters not wanting to lose but doing nothing to win, to me thats dissapointing.

[zhubin]

Why should it be all for show?! Isn't that one of the problems?! There are plenty of examples in recent fights where the fighters lived up and backed up the hype. So how can you say "who cares how it was marketed?" It's one thing to not live up to the incredible expectations...it's an entirely different thing to NOT EVEN TRY!!! They set up the show and you want people to buy the copout that "it's just a show." You obviously thought it was a terrific fight...it seems like you felt they put their all in the ring. I, and many others, certainly don't. You might be right...there might be only a handful of fighters that back up what they say...but those are the fighters that people embrace...they are the ones that create lasting memories. Wish there was more like them.

[Lords Gym]

"Pure Boxers"!!! History has many examples of fighters who have tremendous skill AND heart. And where did i say i don't appreciate "subtle" fights. But NOTHING about this fight, and everything leading up to it, was subtle. It was advertised to create excitement, to to bring in not only the purist, but the casual sports fan who normally wouldn't shell out $$$ to see a fight. That is how the media AND the fighters SOLD it. Chris Byrd doesn't generate interest and money for the sport. As i said before...the only time in this fight where BOTH fighters showed a spark...where they said "hell with it...lets put it out there"...where they laid it out on the line...was the last 10 seconds. You think this will be remembered along side of the Hagler/Hearns/Leonard or Morales/Barrera/Pac/Marquez or so many other fights where the fighters raised their level to thrill us. Where all those fighters purely warriors....unskilled brutes just slugging it out?! They all had/have tremendous skill to go along with pride, heart....and most importantly....a sense of what is at stake....not only for themselves....but for the people watching. So call me tasteless.

cc# 54 excellent reads mate !

[The_Infinite]

"Pure Boxers"!!! History has many examples of fighters who have tremendous skill AND heart. And where did i say i don't appreciate "subtle" fights. But NOTHING about this fight, and everything leading up to it, was subtle. It was advertised to create excitement, to to bring in not only the purist, but the casual sports fan who normally wouldn't shell out $$$ to see a fight. That is how the media AND the fighters SOLD it. Chris Byrd doesn't generate interest and money for the sport. As i said before...the only time in this fight where BOTH fighters showed a spark...where they said "hell with it...lets put it out there"...where they laid it out on the line...was the last 10 seconds. You think this will be remembered along side of the Hagler/Hearns/Leonard or Morales/Barrera/Pac/Marquez or so many other fights where the fighters raised their level to thrill us. Where all those fighters purely warriors....unskilled brutes just slugging it out?! They all had/have tremendous skill to go along with pride, heart....and most importantly....a sense of what is at stake....not only for themselves....but for the people watching. So call me tasteless.

And you actually bought into the hype? When will people learn that the buildup is orchestrated to sell tickets?

Who cares how it was marketed? If you were actually gullible enough to swallow all the pre-fight hype then God help you, mate. It was the biggest fight of recent times, but hype, talk, promotion, it's all just for show.

I did not call you tasteless either. It's like talking to a brick wall. I said that there is no accounting for taste. All that means is that different people appreciate different things. It was not meant to knock your taste for the sport.

Casual fans and people who know nothing about boxing will buy the hype. That's what the hype are for. THat's why they do all those bullshit and promotions for. To attract more people into the fight. I really don't think the casual people are dumb enough to expect a slugfest from the two fighters but we did expect a great performance from the two. As zhubin has said, we expected both fighters to put their hearts out in this fight to make it a great fight. And they failed to deliver in the casual fans eyes. This is one reason why boxing is on the decline. Fights like this. Unless you please the casual fans, boxing will continue to decline because casual fans are 100 times greater(in quantity) than boxing purists.