i like fighters with some breeding. guys you can tell were taught by someone how to behave in any situation. i dont like mutts who act like an ass because they were raised by an ass who didnt know any better. you can tell a lot about the parents by how their little mongrel behaves.
Breeding... mutts... donkeys... mongrels... :-( That line of reasoning doesn't end (or start) in a very good (or relevant to boxing) way.
perhaps i expect too much from the reader. what is it about the post that you find hard to relate to my preference in boxer types?
Different things work for different people. For example Ali got a lot of his gimmick from the heel wrestlers of the day, and he pulled it off brilliantly. Alexis Arguello was "the Spanish Don," the gentleman warrior, and it worked for him. Mayorga said, "I come from a country where woman give birth to men," and then lit up a square in the middle of the ring. That crazy **** works for him. Vic Darchinyan is a beady eyed bad ass. He's the Charles Manson of boxing, and it works for him. Pavlik is like the kid from down the block, and it works well for him. I could go on and on with these examples, but the one thing all these guys have in common is that their "gimmick" is just who they really are. There is no one type I prefer over another. It's the authenticity that counts.
Why is it important to have fighters be role models??? I guess I come from the old school were role models live in your house. At the end of the day boxing is entertainment and boxers are entertainers. Not to mention what one sees as being a role model other see as being a *****... I know that your really talking bout the Klit bros, and me I think that they arent what I would call role models, One tried to kick a guy in the ring and the other cries and bitches when things dont go his way...Not really things that one would want to teach his kids, now is it???
Matters for what. I like the guys who are respectful like Thomas Hearns , but the guys like Holmes who are disrespectful are entertaining. Guys like Camacho I do not like. I think Camacho is all show and he gets in the ring and does nothing. The one thing I like in all sports is good sportsmanship. That is why Hearns always impressed me. He always gave his opponent respect and he rarely did illegal moves in the ring. That is why in this Pacman and Hatton fight I like the guys so much, they are so classy and they respect each other and have manners until the bell rings and then they will go at it. I am sure after the fight they will appreciate each other again.
Marco Antonio Barrera. As respectful as fighters get outside of the ring, that is of course until you get up in his face for no reason like Junior Jones or call him malicious names like Erik Morales, then he'll **** you up. The perfect role model, treat people the way they treat you. :good
I tend to not care, but I prefer them to not be real dirtbags outside the ring. I watch sports like boxing and basketball for entertainment, not because of the wonderful personalities of the athletes.
Fighters who will genuinely take on anyone. Guys like Pac, Darchinyan etc - you know they want to fight the best there is around. Fighters who can adapt. Like PBF or Calzaghe, that can make adjustments in the middle of a fight to get the W. Guys who are respectful. If someone could manage to be a trashtalker and actually be witty then I wouldn't mind it. But most are just stupid. Ali actually had wit, could come up with clever stuff on the spot. You also knew that it was all an act and was tongue in cheek. The supposedly great trashtalkers of today are just dicks. Ali was a ****-stirrer, which is funny - these modern try hards are wannabe gangsters, which isn't funny just pathetic. Like Haye just goes for empty shock tactics without any wit to them. Bad news for Haye - anyone can be shocking just by being enough of a ****wit - but not many people can be witty. Good news for Haye - there are plenty of ****tards who can't tell the difference. Guys who don't feel the need to drop to their knees seventeen times dramatically crossing themselves and praising the lord when they win a fight and then praising him during their speech, then dribbling constant biblethumper **** during any interviews about how God does this or that or gives them their victories. Seriously just STFU or FOAD. Let God inspire you personally and enjoy that and more power to you, but if you bore me with it then you are just a ****. Guys with bad intentions who actually back it up, like Darchinyan. As opposed to try hards who say they have bad intentions like James Toney saying all sorts of **** about the Klits and then waddling as fast as he could away from any possibility of fighting them - on account of being scared that he couldn't eat McDonalds anymore if his teeth got knocked down his throat. I respect Heavyweights who actually come to fight in shape. Guys like Haye and the Klits get the nod for that. Bloated pachyderms like Toney, Peters or Arreola show they have no desire to win by coming in so fat and disgusting. If you are serious about being a champion then you train your guts out, you live, breath and obsess about it 24/7. If you come in like the Michelin Man then you aren't taking your training seriously which means you don't really care about winning. If they aren't there to win then they should just **** off cause they don't deserve a paycheck. They aren't respecting their fans if they aren't trying to win. They are just wanting to cash out. (Toney used to represent the exact opposite of what he does now, I don't know when he stopped caring about winning or about his fans) I respect fighters who learn from their mistakes, and you can see them grow from fight to fight. I respect fighters who show exceptional guts and courage, taking them further then their limited skills suggest is possible.
2 words. Erik Morales. I cant believe no one has mentioned him yet. The guy was balls to the walls. He was probably the baddest mother****er of our era. He had so much skill yet decided to put on shows for us shortening his career. If every boxer was like him there would be no market for the UFC.