More than a few, Reid especially, how Robin didn't win that fight is beyond me, Ottke got a gift in that fight for sure
There's a big difference between a "Hometown" decision and a robbery....Ottke benefitted from both Reid and Larsen fights were robberies. He had numerous close fights where, IMO, he should have lost by a slender margin but got the nod, that's a hometown decision, but that happens in boxing Also worth mentioning is that, IIRC, the judges had him ahead on the cards against Mundine when it was stopped, which is a joke. Ottke would receive less hate and get more respect if he had actually lost a couple of those fights.
I think this is probably the best statement. If Ottke had gotten some semblance of a comeuppance, people would rate him higher. Even the fact that he got KO'd by his wife doesn't really do it.
thanks for everyone's feedback. BTW, the new Ring Magazine ranks Ottke as the 2nd best SMW of the 2000s.
I agree with most of the above. However he had one of the best styles I`ve ever seen in the ring. If you were wanting to train a young fighter on footwork, timing, shot selection etc, you could do a lot worse than sit him down in front of a You Tube film of Ottke at his best.
Im not sure what channel you were watching , but the ottke I rememeber , was slow of foot and hand , couldnt break an egg with his punches , had an output of about 30 punches a round , the only strength he had was his chin , and that is the most important asset in Germany , if the local can stay on his feet he wins . Ottke was a product of german tv and did bring the audiences in which is a positive , but if he had fought in the UK or US he would not have made more than one defence.
Ottke was only a slightly above average fighter, his career was unremarkable in most respects. He's only really famous for incidents like this: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXmSPbWJ2_4[/ame]
Pretty much sums it up for me too. You can't ignore what he did, even if most agree he is a total fraud.
Sure. 21 defences of his title, unified two belts, fought every top smw of his day aside of Calzaghe and stablemate Beyer, decent resume and during his prime he was always ranked as the number one smw in the world. The Reid fight should count against him but does nowhere negate his accomplishments and resume. Second greatest smw of all-time just behind Joe C. He should be in there and probably will get inducted in a few years.
How many fights did he actually really win though? I mean win now, not get a hometown decision? Watch the Robin Reid fight and tell me Ottke won that one? If that was anywhere other than Germany, Ottke would have been well down by the half way mark. A 8-10 round to Reid was scored 10-08 to Ottke. A knockdown not scored and a deduction for no offense.