"...two men who will have the same goal come fight night: to beat the crap out of the other guy" Whoever wrote that sour note shouldn't be writing about boxing until they gain some understanding of athletic competition. It detracted from the piece [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R0ro_Rq26I[/ame] www.youtube.com/eslubin
Really enjoyed your comments, great to hear the opinion of someone who has sparred with fighters of this level, thanks a lot. I am a Tua fan though.
So am I, man. Great dude, great human being, helluva fighter. But its just truth to point out the differences between him and some of the great fighters I've sparred with. They are there.
Thanks a lot for the personal and insightful comments. Enjoyed reading, although with the tone of everyone in the thread I had wished for some hope for Tua. Although, reality told me it wouldn't occur. Great great power... but a bit too limited as a fighter.
I don't think there is any question, at least in my mind. Tua was in much better physical condition and he was quicker. He was still a plodding fighter but I think Lennox wouldn't have hit him as cleanly and discouraged him as quickly as he did. Tua pretty much packed it in after the 2nd round.
It always bothers me when a fighter loses a fight he could have easily won. For example, Tyson could have beaten Holyfield. The only difference was that Evander had a strategy; Mike didn't. Same thing happened in the Lewis-Tua fight. I hate watching that fight sometimes because Tua neglected to let his hands go, especially when he had Lewis pinned against the ropes. Lewis spent the entire fight holding his right glove up to his cheek to avoid Tua's incoming left hook. Well Tua, did you ever think of digging a left hook to the body? Punch him in the body enough, and Lewis would drop his right hand. That's when you smash him with the big left hook upstairs.
:goodYou're so right about that. Jerry Quarry used his right glove to block Joe Frazier's left hook in their first fight, but after three rounds, Frazier's body punching strickened Jerry enough to drop his hands. And that's when Joe started launching the hooks to the head. I agree with what you said up there. I take nothing away from Lennox Lewis. Best fighter of my generation. But David made him look even better by not putting forward his best effort. When fighting Lennox Lewis, you can't plod forward and look for one brilliant punch. You're going to have to set it up or throw combinations.