There is no one alive fighting with Malaria it was total bull- he looked the same as always just not as good as Fenech on that day.
When the realities of a Fight are acknowledged, discussed and most importantly REPORTED on by the Press, be it Questionable Decisions, Outright Robberies and/or Circumstances leading up to said Fight. i.e Short Notice match ups, weight making issues, injuries or recent sickness not yet fully passed, or blatant One Side Favoured Negotiations i.e Ring Size, again weight and any such other things Managers & Promotors get away with to ensure a victory for 'their' Investment! Boxing History IS Littered with such Fixing & Favour.
Same with robberies. If my favorite loses then it is no surprise that this corrupt sport is dying. If my favorite wins then it honestly could've gone either way and you got to beat the champ to be the champ. Works every time.
He said he had malaria? I thought he didn't say what malady he had. I must have misremembered. Having written that, then the difference in the 2 fights was Fenech having fallen precipitously?
How do you figure? Yes, untreated for a long period of time, malaria can cause organ failure and death. But long before that the symptoms are basically like having the flu — fever, chills, etc. and comes in periodic ‘attacks’ … Michael Jordan famously played perhaps his best basketball game in an NBA final with the flu. This would affect an athlete but not necessarily hospitalize them or render them unable to perform, just weaken them. I don’t understand the skepticism. It’s not like you get bitten by a malarial mosquito, collapse and are immediately transported to a hospital in a coma.
So you discount Marvin Hagler’s wins before Leonard, when he had it all his way — ring size, glove size and scheduled distance? Hmmm. Makes me reassess Marvin’s greatness since he always had the A-side advantage as champ.
When they take fights at short notice and give their all, but end up losing a close fight but they've enhanced their reputation.
I was going to say this, Azumah looked like a totally different fighter in the rematch, but then so did Jeff!
Excuses regarding injuries are probably in most cases more or less correct, but then it's commonplace for fighters to have some sort of injury and do fine anyway so if I don't clearly see that the fighter's performance is impeded (as Cerdan clearly being able to only use one arm against Lamotta), I don't put much stock in it.
Absolutely. Though Weaver fought with a huge amount of heart (I happen to like him as a fighter), I don't see him lasting as long with prime, healthy Holmes. I don't think he would have made it 9.
It’s a factor. There have probably been HoF level talents who didn’t make it that far — or even turn pro at all — due to hand problems or other health issues. Not far away from the question of whether someone gets a reputation for being tough without having a good chin. Tex Cobb was a tough guy … would he be any less tough if he had a glass jaw and wasn’t able to absorb so much punishment?