Rolly exposing Tanks resume and cherrypicking - “Tank doesn’t hit that hard”

Myth is a bit far.

But overrated? Quite probably yes.

This is not news, everyone knows Tank loves a rehydration clause to make it easier to topple the big blokes... And that legit world class fighters are off-limits.

Much like Wilder, there's clearly power there, but the more extreme claims are manufactured to make people buy the exaggeration.

 

I can't stand the weight bullying that goes on, either.

I'm more than happy to see weight bullies get KTFO, even when drained.
I'm also not going to give full credit for beating them to the guy that drained them.

As a fighter, you choose which weight categories to fight in - you accept whoever happens to be at that weight needs to be beaten.
Those opponents credibility is based on their performance at that weight and who they've beaten (or done well against) including any advantages they might hold.

Fighting those guys drained is like fighting a tiger that's been declawed and had all it's teeth pulled out, while it's gums are still bleeding... If you win, yea you technically beat a tiger, but it's not what most people would be thinking of when they picture a tiger - you don't get full credit.


Weight bullying is for the orgs to fix - it's wrong, but it's endemic and until they pull their finger out it's going to remain part of the sport.

 

No one put a gun to their head and forced those guys to sign the contract, they all willingly did it.

Funny how Ryan/Rolly say virtually nothing about rehydration clauses etc before they get in the ring with Tank… then only suddenly begin to start crying about it when Tank outclasses and stops them lol

All of this is cope and seethe from Tank’s victims and haters. Don’t like the terms of the contract? Then you shouldn’t have signed in the first place. Excuses, excuses. Rolly can cry more

 

He’s just spouting **** off that he’s seen non-fighting ass people on the internet say that makes him feel better….. COPE!

 

Let's be clear here, though.

1) These guys knew being drained meant they'd be likely to lose.

2) Those wins aren't worth as much because they were drained.

Both 1 and 2 can be true at the same time - and IMHO they clearly are.

These guys chose to fight, they accepted that they'd be easier to beat and even easier to permanently damage (avoiding dehydration on safety grounds is the entire reason we don't do fightnight weigh-ins anymore)...
But by draining them, Tank wasn't fighting the versions of these guys that we'd seen before - he was fighting inferior versions with compromised sharpness and punch resistance.


They have no reason to whine, they chose to accept the clauses.

Tank has no reason to expect anyone to respect those wins without the asterisk - he had the option to fight the versions we all know and wasn't willing.

 

Those like Rolly can keep using the BS as a warm blanket. The eye tests shows Tank hits very hard!!!

 

Rehydration clauses are fine, and honestly probably more acceptable than guys fighting 15-20 lbs below their natural weight…

It’s easier to overlook the insane weight cutting at the top level, where both guys often have access to similar resources, but when you look at boxing from the bottom up, you see how screwed up the crazy weight cuts are…

A lot of guys are working full time or more + training and fighting… they generally dont have the resources to cut stupid amounts of weight without a huge dip in performance.. When they get matched for a 140 lb fight against a 165 lb opponent, the size discrepancy is very clear and usually a big advantage. Can it be overcome? Yes, is it usually? Eeeh, probably not… especially in the case of a guy with money behind him training for life vs the guy holding a day job and fighting.

But if we’re going to look down on wins due to rehydration clauses, it’s fair to look down on wins where one guy weighs 2 weight classes above the other on fight night.

 

So you're saying being dehydrated doesn't reduce punch resistance?

Tank clearly hits hard - but using dehydrated guys as a benchmark doesn't present the best of evidence.

Rolly etc chose to take the fight dehydrated - they deserved everything they got.

Tank chose not to fight these guys at their best - he doesn't deserve full credit for having beaten them in a diminished state.

 

Absolutely, we should look down on both.

Equally...
It's worth judging people on what they do at a given weight class - whether they're blown up and/or their opponents are, they're a package at that weight (as opposed to at the class that their real fighting weight should be in).

For example, beating Haney at 140 is about beating the guy that is effective at "140" - it doesn't matter that he's really a 165lb fighter at the "140" weight class, and it doesn't mean that dehydrating him to actually 140 and beating him would mean anything.

And, for example, the fact that Loma is small for 135 doesn't mean he's a better fighter for 135 just because he's able to be competitive with guys who are 10lbs heavier on fightnight... In a P4P sense yes, but that's purely theoretical and not grounded in the way that figuring out what's what at a given weight should be.

 

Great points.. I like the distinction between P4P and within the weight classes when measuring performances. It’s makes for an interesting thought experiment for Lomas historical standing in particular..

He’s possibly not even a very great lightweight, while being a head to head “great” at maybe 130 or 126 - but with not enough of a resume to be among the top all time greats of those weight classes…. With much of this being based on solid winning and losing performances against guys who are clearly much bigger than him. I say this being a big fan with huge respect for Loma.

 

Definitely.

And yes, I have huge respect for Loma for doing it the way (I think) it should be done and still being competitive.

At the same time - weight bullying isn't against the rules, it's not even really pushed back against in any meaningful way...

In one sense he's a hero for doing it right - in another he's a chump for not staying in lane with peers his actual size and looking like a legit ATG.


(The exact opposite applies to extreme weight bullies like Haney, for example, who is a coward for not fighting guys his own size and looks better than he is as a result).

To get back on topic...
Tank is somewhere in the middle - he's not as big as most of the guys at 140 and so won't fight them without draining them (because not doing so is too high a risk of a loss)... But he's also not willing to fight the best at 135 where the playing field is more even either.

 

Some sanctioning bodies put in a rehydration limit others don’t. If it’s put in it’s the same for both fighters. I don’t believe there was any in the fights against Rolly and Barrios but Tank haters need to find excuses whereas for Garcia a catchweight fight was conceded above the Lightweight limit.

 

He is fighting Loma next but guys like you already have your excuses prepared when Loma loses.

 

You say that as if it's not an objective fact that Tank ducked Loma until he'd aged enough to make him less risky.

Intentional or not, it's objectively not the achievement it would've been a couple of years ago.

Still an excellent win and easily his best, but not what it could/should have been.

 

The point isn't whether it's the same for both fighters...

If one is 100% the best they'd ever be at a given weight and the other is drained by rehydration clause - that means one is significantly advantaged compared with how they usually fight.

This absolutely means that any wins with such clauses have less worth than wins without.

It's not levelling the playing field for the smaller guy, it's giving an advantage to the smaller guy that makes his win look better than it is.