I was just at a card in hinckley mn where my buddy phil williams ko'd Antwun Echols who stepped in for Jaidon Codrington, who is apparently retired. Echols was incredibly gracious in defeat, also announcing his retirement and offering to become a sparring partner for phil. just a little tidbit for u guys from a fight that may have slipped the national radar. new found respect for echols:good
poor echols he's been a punching bag for a few years now. glad to hear he's finally considering retirement. really sad to see him slip the way he has over the last few years, all the best. consumate proffessional and classy guy despite his problems outside of the ring.
Echols could have been really good if he had learned to box instead of just brawling but he could never resist the temptation to turn it into a slugfest. Go watch his first fight with a prime Hopkins where he nearly has BHop out on his feet and Hop got on his bicycle and boxed beautifully to a decision. Echols had amazing power at that time.
I think it was his raw aggression and his unorthodox approach that really suprised Bernard..and others. Either way he was never the same after those two fights...he absorbed some hellacious shots, both legal and illegal...the humilation of getting dominated and stopped by a one armed man couldnt have helped either.
Yea and the thing is Echols could have beaten Bernard if he knew how to do anything other than just Brawl. His trainer must have sucked or Echols just wouldn't listen him.
Hmmm...I dont know about that man. He would have to really of lifted his skill level to have a chance against a technician like Hopkins. He just straight out went at Nard and caught him out a couple of time early. I seem to remember one point where Nard tried to brawl his way out of trouble instead of moving or holding, and got nailed by some big shots on the ropes. I liken it to the raw aggression and unorthodox moves that Mayorga used to negate the skills of Forrest..that can happen sometimes in boxing. That was his best chance..he threw everything he had at Hopkins, including low blows and rabbit punches..he had his moments but Nard adjusted and dealt with him. That was a dirty ****en fight. If he had been trying to outbox Nard and fought reserved and patiently he would have been playing into Bernard's hands and would have been picked off just as badly. As it worked out, he hurt Hopkins enough to get a rematch, even though that fight overall wasnt that close.
Sad to hear his career is finally over. During his prime he epitomized the phrase "One Punch Knockout Artist"...I mean, they didnt call him Kid Dynamite for nothing (honestly one of the biggest punchers of his era). But honestly, he is akin to a power pitcher in baseball losing those couple MPH off his fastball. He just could never master that second pitch once the power started to fade. And once that was gone, he faded away. His 2nd fight with Hopkins is still my favorite Bernard fight...and one of my favorite fights ever. He was really an underrated fighter in his prime...but its been time to hang them up for a while now.
