Fighters that grew onto you

Carl Froch is the only name that really stands out.

 

Froch - was rooting for KEssler, but the more i saw of him the more it became clear he & i were meant to be
Money Mayweather
Danny Garcia

 

Money May
Paulie Malignaggi

 

I'm with you on Froch. He's earned my respect and admiration, and I was thrilled when he beat Bute.

Mayweather is maturing, mellowing, and took on a big challenge in Cotto. He's gained a lot of my respect in the last year.

Paulie Malinaggi annoyed the hell out of me a few years ago. Now, I really respect him.

 

Malignaggi. Hated him during the hatton fight.

But can't help but love the twitter king. I actually jumped out my seat when he scored the TKO recently. Never thought that would happen.

Honorable mentions for me:

Margarita - Hated him, but in the manny fight, i realised how great he is/was for boxing in other ways. Also again in the cotto fight.


Floyd - Hated him after hatton. Now he's one of the best characters in boxing.


Chisora - Won me round in the Haye Build u - a crazy guy but actually quite funny

 

Holyfield, im a Tyson fan so i always hated Holyfield and believed his whole career was based on beating a post prison tyson but recently ive looked at his career in more depth and realised he was a great fighter in his own right.

Mayweather, i just wanted this guy to lose, but after studying his style more, i can honestly say he is one of the greatest boxers ever.

Boxing is about hitting and not getting hit and Mayweather has perfected that to a T

 

Paulie M - guy actually tries his hardest in every fight and can pull off a upset
Chavez Jr - hes lookin alot better now his style is fan friendly

 

Froch, Malignaggi, Mayweather, David Haye and of course, Chisora.

Froch because he's a physical animal, ducks no one, is strong as ****, packs a good punch, has underrated skills, one of the BEST chins in boxing and ducks no one. His ego used to grate on me, but he's backed it all up and has one of the best resumes in sport today.

Malignaggi because he has excellent skills and has achieved a lot given his lack of power. He used to irritate me with his trash talking but he has shown genuine respect to other fighters when he is not scheduled to fight them and he clearly knows his stuff. A good guy really who has come back from hard defeats to become a champion again.

Mayweather because he is clearly a great fighter in terms of his skills; defence is second to none and one of the best ever in the sport, great ring IQ, speed, reflexes, stamina and chin make him a match for anyone in history. Think he is very insecure and that comes across as him being a dick but I reckon if you got to know him in his private life he'd be OK.

Haye, because he actually had a fight with Chisora and his power and perceived vulnerability make him interesting to watch. He clearly has skills, good defence when he focusses and he has underrated strength; great athleticism. He only fights once a year which make his fights spectacles. His mouth used to irritate me but I realise now that he is just trying to provide for his family with minimum risk to himself and so he can spend maximum time with them. He is OK out of the ring - one of my mates has met him and said he was a good guy and not at all arrogant.

Chisora because he is mental, clearly hilarious and though he doesn't have the best skills in the world he tries to fight like Joe Frazier, something I really respect since that takes a chin and some serious determination. Would beat a lot of heavies out there and clearly beat Helenius. Used to **** me off because of his bully attitude but he comes to fight so whatever.

On a side note, I never disliked Chavez jr. but I really like to watch him fight now because he brings it big time and really commits to the body, something that is becoming a bit of a lost art in my opinion. I have seen much more talented and skilled fighters beaten by lesser skilled but determined opponents with a good body attack because you can't defend your body easily and have to move constantly, something that in itself is tiring. I myself have been outclassed but knocked my opponent out, just because I caught them with a sweet left hook to the liver. It's old school, exciting, and I like it. I think Martinez has a real job on his hands on the 15th September.

 

For me it was Ali. I followed his career from Olympic Gold to his retirement. I, and many others, found him to be brash, loud, crass at times but mostly way off his rocker with his antics.

Every early fight he had I hoped he'd get KO'd, but it didn't happen. When he got the shot at Liston, I just knew he'd get his ass kicked and I was sitting there watching the fight on TV with one of my uncles that hated him with a passion. We were disappointed, not once, but twice.


Then came his refusal to serve in the military after his seemingly convenient conversion to the Muslim religion. After several years of legal haggling he got his license back. He ruffled more feathers with his antics and lack of respect for Joe Frazier in their first fight. The fact that Frazier carried his distaste for how Ali treated him to his grave shows how he felt about the man.

Bottom line is, for most of his career I pulled for his opponent and every once in a while I got some satisfaction seeing him lose. However, I respected the guy for his immense talent in the ring, regardless how I felt about him outside the ring. I doubt I'll live long enough to see another heavyweight with his combination of hand and foot speed.

I was a kid when he burst onto the scene and mimicked much of what I was exposed to by my peers. As I matured, I grew to respect the guy for many of the things I disliked in him in his early career.

 

lmao