Kevin Kelley Questions/Thoughts

forget which fight it was, but kelley had a soft ball inserted under neath both eye lids and the ref was just about to stop it when kelley floored his opponent. kelley had a lot of heart and was exciting to watch!

 

What utter ****ing nonsense. Naz was one of the most difficult fighters to hit clean that I've seen in the modern era, he got floored quite often because on the rare occassions he did get clipped he was off balance and had his hands down by his waist but even those KD's he was rarely hurt.

 

The most difficult fighters to hit clean in the modern era don't get floored quite often. Naz was hard to hit until he faced elite speed and timing. When that happened he went to ****.

 

Kevin was very exciting, and had very good skills, but was too easy to hit. The Gonzalez fight ruined him. Don't believe me? Watch him get dropped by 18-8 at the time Tommy Parks in the 1st round, and watch him get dropped and almost stopped by 12-2 mediocrity Ricardo Rivera, both fights having happened after the Gonzalez fight

 

Yes. That was a brutal affair. I dont believe he ever completely regained his form after that. I believe the Parks and Rivera fights are indicators, as well as his draw against smaller, nothing special Bones. He had a few decent wins after that but obviously was well past his best at that point.

 

In a weird way, when Vic Darchinyan was on his initial tear through the lower weight classes, he reminded me a bit of Kevin Kelley. Some will cringe at that comparison, given that Kelley was a crisp, skilled boxer puncher with a variety of feints and angles to set up his big guns, while Darchinyan lurched around the ring like a mutated crab.

But I really think I'm on to something when I wrote that Kelley overestimated his own power. I believe in his own mind he possessed punching power comparable with monstrous hitters like Arguello, Olivares, Terry McGovern etc., who effectively turn opponents to jelly at any point in a fight with a single shot. But although he has plenty of explosive finishes, he typically broke guys down with a series of heavy handed onslaughts.

Take the Troy Dorsey fight for instance. Kevin basically had the chance to hit Dorsey in the face with an unlimited amount of punches as hard as he could throw them, but still failed to put Dorsey away. As tough as old Troy was, can you imagine him taking Arguello's best punches for twelve rounds non-stop? Me either.

That's where the Darchinyan analogy comes in. He was another guy seemingly convinced his power was that of a pint sized Earnie Shavers, when instead he was more of a bruising, violent accumulation puncher. Both Vic and Kevin fought like they had a Royal Flush in terms of punching power, when in reality they were only playing with a Straight or a Four of a Kind (I hope this analogy works. My knowledge of poker isn't so hot; a fact that has financially benefited plenty of my friends over the years). While a Four of a Kind is great to have, the difference between that an a Royal Flush is pretty significant if you're planning on swinging for the fences with your chin hanging in the air.

 

Interestingly I heard an interview where Kelley said he and Naz still keep in close contact, and always call each other on the anniversary of their great fight.

I always love hearing about bitter rival bonding after sharing the ring together. It illustrates part of what makes boxing so beautiful.

 

Had to create an account so I could thank you for your calling Vic a mutated crab. It's perfect.

 

That native American head dress was not cheap and his dead brother bought it for him