The Army Boxing Thread

[binnie]

Kell brook I like and I think he might get a big money khan big hype fight .

Brook-Khan is a good fight. It'd sellout a stadium in the UK.

If I was Brook's promoter I'd let him have 1 or 2 defences first. There are some decent fights out there for him at 147, and I think he has the movement to give a lot of the big names problems.

[binnie]

Looks like Cotto-Alvarez is going to get made for next year.

[binnie]

Fantasy ATG Heavyweight competition.

Competitors:

Muhammed Ali
Larry Holmes
Rocky Marciano
Lennox Lewis
Evander Holyfield
Mike Tyson
Jack Dempsey
George Foreman
Joe Louis
Vitali Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko
Joe Frazier

All fighters are in their prime.

[binnie]

Round one, fight one:

Larry Holmes vs Vitali Klitschko

The jab vs the chin. As the fighters enter the ring, the disparity in size is very apparent. Commentators wonder how Holmes will cope giving away so much height and reach, and doubt whether he can hurt Vitali, who is renound for his iron jaw. Vitali is a very slow starter, however, and Holmes easily takes the first two rounds, establishing his jab. In the third round, Vitali tries to impose his size and power, walking through Larry's punches and landing to the body and arms. This causes a change of tactics from Holmes from round four: he imposes some lateral movement and uses his superior speed to keep Vitali off-balance and continues to work the jab, often dropping it into Vitali's chest. The Ukranian just doesn't have the speed to keep Larry where he wants him, and by round 9 his face is marked up, although he's never been hurt. A hell-for-leather approach from Klitschko steels him rounds 10 and 11, but in round 12 Holmes meets him in the centre of the ring and gets the better of the exchanges simply because he picks his punches better.

Result: Larry Holmes by wide UD. Holmes gets 3 points for the competition.

In the post-fight interview, Holmes claims that no-one in the tournament is fit to hold his jock-strap.

[binnie]

Round one, fight two:

Rocky Marciano vs Mike Tyson.

The buzz around this one - billed as 'Iron meets Rock' - is off the chart. As the bell rings they charge at each other, and although the pundits had it as a 50/50 fight it is immediatedly clear that the pundits were way off. Marciano has never faced a man as big as Tyson - giving away 30lbs, + speed makes it a nightmare for him. Marciano gets in some good shots, but 2 minutes into the first round and he is bleeding heavily. Tyson bobs, weaves, throws those crazy combinations and repeatedly rocks the Rock, driving him to the ropes and winning the best of the inside fight. Marciano looks pleased when the bell rings. In round two, Tyson is more bullish, slipping Marciano's assault to land a four punch combination which puts Rocky down. Marciano gets up, but its now only a matter of time, and Tyson hits him with a left hook-right cross combination that ends the fight. The rest of the competition has been put on notice.

Result: Tyson KO. 4 points in the competition (3 for victory, 1 for KO).

[binnie]

Round one, fight three:

George Foreman vs Lennox Lewis.

The US media is bullish in its prediction of an easy night's work for Big George. But then they always under-estimated Lennox Lewis. When the bell rings, it becomes apparent that Big George ain't so big. Lewis has significant advantages in height and reach, and works behind his jab to frustrate Foreman's attempts to load up on power shots. Lennox is cautious, and the crowd boos, but he racks up the points and takes the first 4 rounds with relative ease. Foreman becomes desperate in round 5 and 6, and even manages to catch Lewis with a couple of haymakers. But Lewis is too quick, and too smart - his jab wears Foreman down, and by round 9 and 10 he is catching George with uppercuts as the latter rushes in. In round 11, Lewis rocks Foreman with an overhand right. Big George fights valiantly in the 12th, but it's too little too late. The fighter's faces say it all: Lewis is unmarked; Foreman looks like he's had an allergic reaction.

Result: Lewis by wide UD: 3 points for Lewis.

[binnie]

Round one, fight four:

Evander Holyfield vs Wladimir Klitsschko

Much is made of this one in the build-up: the competition's smallest puncher vs its biggest puncher. Holyfield, however, is highly-confident, despite giving away 4 inches in height, 35lbs in weight, and working from a considerable reach disadvantage. The pundits look at Wladimir and state, almost unanimously, that 'a good big 'un beats a good little 'un'. 'He's dull', they say of the Ukranian, 'but he's difficult to beat'. What they underestimate, however, is Holyfield's belief - something which almost no Wladimir opponets have. As the fight goes on, Holyfield's growing confidence causes Wladimir's self-doubt to increase.

Round one sees Wladmir working that ram-rod jab, and Holyfield tries to work his way in. Holyfield is getting the worst of it, but he's unfazed and - crucially - he's attacking Wlad's body: something no opponent has done before. By round four, although he's behind on points Holyfield has worked out that he is considerably quicker than Wlad, and he is using his footwork to set traps for the Ukranian, and begins to catch the much bigger man with 2 and 3 shot combinations. As the middle rounds fall in Evander's favour, Wladimir starts to lose his composure, and Holyfield strikes, landing a four shot combo that puts Wlad down. He's not badly hurt, but until round 11 he retreats into his shell and Holyfield beats the hell out of him. The crowd and the pundits will the Real Deal to a David vs Goliath like victory, in one of like's real Hollywood moments. Klitschko lands some crunching blows in the 12th which would have put away most other fighters, but Evander holds on for the bell.

Result: Holyfield by UD. 3 points in the competition.

[vandeleur]

Binnie , Lennox Lewis is actual the same person as Leona Lewis ....
There is no universe that he beats any Atg unless they have been in jail for 6 years and are so past their prime they have mental health issues .

You are a very knowledgable agreeable fellow but your obsession that Leona is any thing but a foot note in boxing history is crrraazzzy .

Lewis beat Tyson , and as I have commented before I could beat Ali now , he is slow and I could wear him down

[binnie]

Binnie , Lennox Lewis is actual the same person as Leona Lewis ....
There is no universe that he beats any Atg unless they have been in jail for 6 years and are so past their prime they have mental health issues .

You are a very knowledgable agreeable fellow but your obsession that Leona is any thing but a foot note in boxing history is crrraazzzy .

Lewis beat Tyson , and as I have commented before I could beat Ali now , he is slow and I could wear him down

Ha ha!

Lennox was a hard guy to root for - he wasn't a blood and thunder fighter that we love. But he was 6'5'', had a massive reach, a great jab, and was quicker on his feet that most ATG heavies. That = an absolute nightmare for most of them. His downfall - as we'll see as the tournament unfolds - is that he didn't have the world's best chin. Not a glass jaw, but not an asset either.

Foreman would beat just about anyone dumb enough to stand in front of him. But movement would have been a problem for him.

(And by my reckoning Lewis beat two ATG heavies: Vitali and Holyfield).

[vandeleur]

The George Forman who murdered frasier would have defeated any boxer in history on that night .
There has never been a display of power in my tunnel vision since , he was unbeatable on that night .
The jaw that Oliver McCall smashed would have left Lewis and gone solo before getting in a ring with George foreman

[vandeleur]

Tho in my defence I do love these who would beat who discussions

[binnie]

Round one, fight 5.

Muhammed Ali vs Jack Dempsey.

Ali is at his pre-lay off best, dancing round Dempsey and nailing the smaller man with one-twos for round after round. Dempsey is utterly contemptuous of his opponent, goading him to 'stop running' and 'fight', but Ali is no fool - he can't hurt Dempsey, but he can make him look flat-footed and foolish. By round 8, it looks like this may be a shut-out, and the Dempsey throws two of his awkward, idiosyncratic punches that Ali just doesn't see coming, and he goes down. The crowd roars as the the mauler goes on the pounce, pummeling Ali's body as the latter tries to hold. Ali is still feeling the effects of the assault in rounds 9 and 10, in which a furious Dempsey comes on strong, but by rounds 11 and 12 Ali is using his superior handspeed reflexes to seal the deel. Dempsey looks battered and bloodied, but is defiant in his post fight interview that he'll lick anyone else in the competition.

Result: Ali by UD. 3 points for the competition.

[binnie]

The George Forman who murdered frasier would have defeated any boxer in history on that night .
There has never been a display of power in my tunnel vision since , he was unbeatable on that night .

With the greatest respect, that's bollocks. Frasier barely weighed 200lbs and had a leaky defense. Put a bigger guy in with Foreman (Vitali, for instance) or one who could box and frustrate him (Ali or Holmes) and he gets beaten. I also think that Sonny Liston was a far, far more devastating puncher. Crisp where Foreman could be reckless.

Foreman was an ATG, no doubts, but he didn't have the skills to be unbeatable.

[vandeleur]

How can you have greatest respect and that's bollocks be in the same sentence ..,'hyperbole surely, bollox lol.

The foreman frasier fight in my tiny brain is the most powerful punching display and I tend to view boxing through that opinion .

Canny punches though

[binnie]

Round one, fight 6

Joe Louis vs Joe Frazier

As the bell rings, Frazier tries to start smokin, coming forward in a relentless manner and looking to land that great left hook. The size of the challenge he faces is immediately apparent, however: Louis is so much faster he makes Frazier look like he's wearing lead boots, and in the first three rounds smokin' Joe soaks up an incredible amount of punishment as Louis chops at him with continuous combination punches, his face never expressing anything other than a cool detachment from the process. Frazier tries to work inside in round 4 and 5, but Louis quickly recognizes that it's his fight if he keeps it one the outside. By round 9 people in the crowd are calling for the fight to by stopped as Louis continues to pummel Frazier. The latter fights valiantly, but the end comes in round 11 as Louis lands 18 un-answered punches and Frazier goes down. The ref doesn't bother with the count.

Result: Joe Louis by TKO. 4 points in the competition (3 for victory plus 1 for stoppage).