So co,ing up we have this SMW tournament, and recently we have had Prizefighter in britain. what other innovations like these has boxing had? has anything been done like these before? (im sure Jimmy Wilde took part in a kings cup at Bantam which was similar to Prizefighter)
Not sure if it's the point of the topic but I found this quite interesting: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blwrench1.htm http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Jack_Johnson_(boxer) Aside from being a boxer, Jack Johnson was also an inventor. :good
On topic there was the WBA heavyweight title tournament which was won by Jimmy Ellis, and somewhat of a heavyweight title unification tournament which was won by Tyson. Hopkins, Trinidad, Joppy and Holmes also participated in a MW title unification tournament which ended in the showdown between Hopkins and Trinidad. The reality show "The Contender" was successful for a while.
Jem Mace held a series of tournaments in seperate weight classes for the "Jem Mace prize". That might be the begining of the elimination tournament.
Mendoza's style, while I can't put my finger on one specific aspect of it, is the first recognizably modern system. It even has 4 punch combinations.
Oops. Just realized that this was a stylistic innovation, not an organizational one. How about Broughton's boxing coliseum in London? All boxers owned by the "house", which handled all the matchups--a bit like an 18th century UFC.
nice one CT didnt know about the broughtons coliseum sounds interesting also good shout on the numbers flea
Dont know if Im correct on this but, was Ted Kid Lewis the first to wear a proper gumshield? Jimmy Wilde used to spar with his wife ,who wore a light aluminium breast protector.
LOL, I still chuckle at these Prizefighters competitions. All Hearn is doing is ripping off and idea that has gone around since the time of Jack Johnson. Finally in the early 70s the promoters in Britain stopped doing these silly tournaments. We sadly had that farce in the early 90s that I think Tubbs won. And now Matchroom has comeback with the idea, and silly fans are buying it! And what is far worse, is that unlike previous tournaments, that went down as they should of; as exhibitions, people are actually putting the results of these three round fights on fighters pro records!:scaredas: If innovation is ripping off a century+ old idea, then yes, Barry Hearn is an innovator.:good
Battle Royales? Not 1 of the most pleasant aspects of boxing history Reduction of 15 to 12 rounds in the 80s Armstrong being set up to fight 3 world champions (FW, WW, LW)
