Hot take: Erislandy Lara vs. Jarrett Hurd will resemble Yves Ulysse Jr. vs. Cletus Seldin writ large

Well thought out post, however, this fight is levels above the mismatch you reference. In fact, that Canadian guy is domestic at best and Cletus is a disgrace to all the great Jewish fighters of yesteryear. Plus he’s unworthy to use the Hammer moniker. I’d love to see Hank Lundy beat that name off him.

Cletus is so smug, has a terrible corner, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him eat that humble pie one punishing hook at a time.

Lara and Hurd will prove to be an interesting fight for as long as it lasts, simply because of the style clash.

 

I hope tonight has buried this strange and persistent notion, among internet boxing forum mainstays, that Erislandy Lara is remotely worthy of the title 'master boxer'. He isn't. And he never was.

 

war Hurd

 

I think Hurd is more skilled and boxes better than people think he does. There's definitely some craft in his approach. Lara boxed well, and fought really well in defeat against a larger guy who is scary tough to beat when he gets rolling.

 

When I think of a master boxer, I think of guys a lot more rounded than Erislandy Lara. I mean, you yourself have labelled Andre Ward 'boring', yet you'll eagerly bestow such a high plaudit upon someone who's shown a fraction of SOG's repertoire.

As for tonight's fight, well, he was faster of hand, which we already knew. That's not tantamount to outboxing someone, either. Fights can be won on handspeed and mobility, of course, which is how Lara typically enjoys his successes, but it's also how Amir Khan typically enjoys his successes, and I've certainly never credited Amir with outboxing guys so much as outstyling them. A master boxer has a broader technical palette and a deeper well of nous than Erislandy Lara has ever demonstrated inside a boxing ring. He's a chronic rinse/repeater, a one-trick pony. As I said earlier this evening, though, prior to the fights, his caliber within that dimension is high enough to grade him a mite above your usual B leveller.

 

Lara didn't move up two classes in weight and take on a serious gun at 168lb, he fought a weight-bully. Different things altogether.

 

Yeah, I mean, Hurd does sometimes waste some motion and leaves himself out of position (though he really improved on that aspect against Lara), but he doesn't quite have the same knack for landing the right shot at the right time like SSR...At least, not at this stage in his career. But he's more athletic and elusive than Margo.

 

I mean, if you're saying that Erisandy Lara is remotely on Ward's level as a technician and a ring brain, that's not even where I was going here. I wasn't trying to invite that kind of craziness from you, nor would I have expected you to oblige me. I figured that the reverence you show for one and the antipathy you show for another was an arbitrary, subjective kind of thing. Now I have to consider something much more horrible.

Anyway, Lara got handled by his equivalent of Cletus Seldin tonight, if the original premise of the thread is to be credited.

 

Well, I'm not one who ever cared for the fashions or the romance surrounding Guillermo Rigondeaux. It's best I don't even get started on Rigo at this late hour (and not least because he's such a tedious subject), but I've always been consistent on him. If the fashions have come around to agree with me, then I guess I'm just ahead of my time.

Neither man has shown the goods to warrant that accolade. But maybe we have different standards.

Well, Hurd sure isn't a phenom, and I wouldn't put him on par with even a Tony Margarito when it comes to relentless zombie types (and we all know the cruel extents to which Tony's abilities were derided by fans, even long before Wrapgate).