Watched the Harding/Andries I match-up a few days ago. Hell of a fight. Anyway, what are classics general thoughts on the man? Why was he only active for something like 6 years before retiring? How close was the third Andries/Harding match-up?
He had no defence at all.That takes it's toll on most fighters after they have been in a few wars because of it.
Did he remind you of Siarhei Liakhovich at all? Completely OK with being hit flush as many times as he needed to be, fighting on the inside most of the time. Almost lethargic at times? Would be inactive for periods and then explode out with flurries. More then likely both had their careers shortened by horrific, brutal slugfests. The Siarhei Liakhovich/Brewster fight reminded me of the dynamic between Harding/Andries in their first fight a little. Maybe its just me, I see a smidgen of similarity though.
Incredibly tough, although the KO loss to Andries was almost comical. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxBRAMDYeTs[/ame] Great comeback to win the first fight with Andries: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6GZpn1nXGs[/ame]
What? Harding was one of the best at blocking punches I've ever seen. Of course, he did happen to mostly use his chin and face for that, but let's not get caught up in minor details here.
Typical brawler. Slow, defenseless, and limited as hell. But tons of determination, good stamina, heavy hands, and Andries rematch aside, a very good chin. And yes, the first Andries fight was a classic.
He was somewhat like a modern-day Wayne Thornton - Big, strong, ugly, mauling, brawling type fighter, almost like an overachieving clubfighter. His stay at the top was extended with a few bizarre/controversial wins. Injuries. He was out of boxing for about a year or so while still technically considered champion, and Mike McCallum won the "interim" title in the meantime. The two eventually met to unify the title, teed off on him for 12 rounds like a punching bag. Close enough that myself and others thought Andries won it, or at the very least deserved a draw.
He always looked soooooooo slow and powerless to me. Strange mix and look but got the job done here and there..
I think he was deceptively powerful or powerfully deceptive. I mean he took out Christophe Tiozzo with a single left hook but then tees off on Dennis Andries for 3 fights but only floors him just the once completely due to exhaustion after Andries tires badly from hitting him so much. I can't tell if he was powerful or not.One thing he did do was attack the body constantly so maybe he was looking to break his opponents down.
No argument at all. He must have been doing something right. Maybe sorta like Monzon fools many, tho Jeff is 6 or 7 rungs down of course lol