Anyone seen Marciano fight live?

[ChrisPontius]

Originally Posted by john garfield

If your opinion about a fighter changed after seeing him fight live, what hadn't you noticed on TV?

I have never seen him live, but my guess would be that seeing him live, it would become clear to the observer that Marciano, even when he looks clumsy, is almost impossible to stop and really breaks his opponent down untill the opponent can't raise his hands anymore. Only Charles survived (the first time) and he did just barely. On film it may look like just another KO but i think if you were to witness it live it would become more obvious that he just pressures, pressures and pressures untill the other guy has no more. He is an animal.

I've recently rewatched his fights and aside from some technical things, the thing that became clear to me is how underrated his breaking-down factor is, and it's really easy to miss or underestimate because most people only see highlights/his goofyness, etc.

[john garfield]

Originally Posted by Jack Dempsey

On modern tv, not much, replays, multi angles allow you to get a much better idea on a fighter than say a 1940's piece of footage would.

For example, imagine seeing a prime Dempsey on todays technology

Excellent point, JD. But there's actually an important difference. Consider this: When you see a baseball pitcher fire a fastball, you've got no trouble tracking it (it's razor sharp) -- even sit home imagining you could hit it. The same goes for an Andy Roddick serve.

You'd never even dream of it if you saw it live.

The next time you see a helicopter on TV, notice that you can see the blades turning. You can't live.

So, speed can't fully be appreciated on TV. The subtle intangibles can only be best appreciated live -- the closer the better.

[Dempsey1238]

comeing from the guy that claims L Spinks would have ko Marciano in a round or 2.

[Mohak]

Originally Posted by Dempsey1238

comeing from the guy that claims L Spinks would have ko Marciano in a round or 2.

Leon Spinks KO Marciano in 2!?

Marciano was no superman but come on!

[john garfield]

Originally Posted by Homicidal Hank

It's harder to see things when you see a fight live. It's easier to be swayed by the crowd.

HH, has your opinion about a fighter changed after seeing him live at ringside?

If so, what did you notice different?

[Duodenum]

Originally Posted by Jack Dempsey

On modern tv, not much, replays, multi angles allow you to get a much better idea on a fighter than say a 1940's piece of footage would.

For example, imagine seeing a prime Dempsey on todays technology

Interestingly enough, something like this could have easily taken place in reality, athough not quite with a prime Dempsey.

One of Jack's final exhibition performances in a boxing ring was at the 1939 Chicago World's Fair. At that same event, color television was demonstrated to the public for the very first time. What might our impressions of the 44 year old Dempsey be, if we saw a videotape of his performance there, in living sound and color? (For one, we'd readily assert that the middle aged version of Dempsey was an infinitely more evolved and fluid boxer than the crude looking brawler battering Willard about 20 years earlier, as recorded on manually operated primitive film technology.)

While I'm no fan of Steve Farhood's writing, the one thing he wrote about that I found most interesting concerned the scoring of the Mike Spinks/Eddie Davis LH Title fight. When attending the match in person, he scored Spinks the winner. But later, when Farhood viewed the same bout on television, he scored Davis the winner.

This was one area where Howard Cosell actually could excel as an announcer while calling a match. He was very good at articulating the difference between what the monitor showed, and what was authentically transpiring in the ring. A hometown crowd might make a loud excited racket over their hero delivering a punch which made a lot of noise, and looked impressive on camera. But if in reality, it was blocked, or merely a grazing punch, Cosell would calmly intone that fact to his viewers.

Likewise, viewing the television rebroadcast of The Valentine's Day massacre between SRR and LaMotta is far different from watching a movie film of the action. TV, movies, or in person, three very alternative experiences of the same event.

[Mendoza]

Originally Posted by Homicidal Hank

It's harder to see things when you see a fight live. It's easier to be swayed by the crowd.

Television announcers can influence their audience by cheerleading too. It is best to judge a fighter by seeing him both live and on television. Boxing is both theater and sport. A ring side ticket allows the boxing fan intimate access to the action more so than any other sport I can think of. The sound and fury of a boxing match looses something in the translation on television, much like watching a play, opera, or concert on television looses something. Think about it. It’s true. The replay jumbo screens at stadiums have the ability to show replays the same as television. If you want to see how fast Roy Jones really is, or how hard Vladimir Klitschko hits, you must see it live to fully appreciate it.

[Jupiter1610]

Nat Fleischer saw pretty much all the greats live, think that lends any credence to his top 10?

Which greats did he watch?

[john garfield]

Originally Posted by Jupiter1610

Which greats did he watch?

Probably everyone you could think of from the turn of the 20th century.

[Dempsey1238]

From Corbett to Ali/Frazoer 1 as far as heavyweights go. And thats NOT including the lighter weights.

[Duodenum]

Originally Posted by Mendoza

Television announcers can influence their audience by cheerleading too. It is best to judge a fighter by seeing him both live and on television. Boxing is both theater and sport. A ring side ticket allows the boxing fan intimate access to the action more so than any other sport I can think of. The sound and fury of a boxing match looses something in the translation on television, much like watching a play, opera, or concert on television looses something. Think about it. It’s true. The replay jumbo screens at stadiums have the ability to show replays the same as television. If you want to see how fast Roy Jones really is, or how hard Vladimir Klitschko hits, you must see it live to fully appreciate it.

That's why, when I tape a match, I'll sometimes watch it live with the sound off, but closed captioning on. If it's good enough, or controversial enough to merit a review, I'll rewatch it with the sound on, and captioning off. Still, it is true that there's no substitute for viewing it live. (Let alone competing in the ring yourself!)