The ending was surprising to me, I was not expecting it to be stopped. When the ref waived it off, I thought the stoppage was confusing. "What's with these Euro wimps?" I found myself thinking for a second. I had no idea the towel had been thrown. Which raises the question, was the towel thrown in too early? After my initial surprise I will say I don't think so. It was surprising because most trainers wouldn't have pulled the plug then, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad idea. It was clear towards the end how the fight was heading, whether it would have ended by knockout or not, Byrd had taken a lot of punishment and was taking more and more as the fight went on. Yeah, he most likely could have been standing at the end of round 12, but he would have been beaten pretty badly over the next 4 and a half boxing minutes and needlessly so. The fight was over before it was stopped. Benifit of having a caring person like your father in the corner with you, but the best advice of the fight came from Byrds son, not father, when he told his dad not "to hang on the ropes like that". Very strange to see a kid in the corner of a heavyweight fight. I had forgotten what a family affair a Chris Byrd fight is. As concerned as his dad was, and as astute as his son was, I don't understand Chris Byrd's wife. Her husband had just lost one of the most important fights of his life, he is beaten and bloody in the corner, and she walks past him and hugs Povetkin like she is married to HIM and tells him nice job? WTF is that? I'd a been pissed. Families. I can honestly say, that I have seen all of Povetkin's fights and I can't really say that I have seen the guy lose a round before. He lost at least three tonight. There were moments when Byrd made him look the worst I have ever seen him look, by far. And, realistically, without being too hard on Sasha, worse than a heavyweight savior should look in a pre title fight. But still, he did well. Although there were more than a couple of people who picked Byrd to win this, the fight was never in question. Povetkin has no stamina issues when compared to other heavyweights out there today and he has very fast hands and puts punches together really nicely. The change in dynamics, after round 8, was either that Byrd's age had caught up to him or Povetkin is also able to adapt. I think it was both, plus a fair mixture of body shots applied before Chris Byrd started listening to his son's advice. For Chris Byrd, I can definitely say that he should hang em up. Not that he did poorly, but, what is the point of him fighting now? The answer might be, oddly, that he might do it for the love of the now almost non-existant American Heavyweight (and of course, money). After the fight, Byrd mentioned he has not (yet) lost to an American. Which is interesting. Byrd seems to want to pass his torch to another American before he cuts out. He did well enough tonight, and is still a big enough name (and a good enough win) that if he were to lose his next fight to a promising American, he will have definitely done his part to put a spotlight on an American hopeful. Which, is kind of a classy (if unhealthy) thing to do. Byrd has always been a class act. I doubt if there wouldn't be a bunch of boxing fans who wouldn't want to see a match up like Chris Arreola vs. Byrd or Chazz Witherspoon vs Byrd turns out. Don't front, you know you would. Byrd probably beats Witherspoon, though. And Povetkin? He probably needed this kind of fight to happen to him. With all the hype that has come his way, in recent photos, he was starting to look like he might just be believing some of it. He seems like a down to earth guy, but not losing a fight since many an amatuer tournament ago, combined with Olympic gold and one of the best, most one sided, pro starts in recent heavyweight history, can make even the most humble guy start to think that greatness for them is written in stone. Many fighters have to lose, like Joe Louis, or at least get knocked on their asses, like Ali vs Cooper, to realize that they are human and that they can be beat, before they have what it takes to go for the title and pull out and win a close championship fight. This is the kind of experience that is meant when it is said that a fighter needs experience. Povetkin got some experience tonight. A telling moment was dealing with the headbut during round three. Povetkin lost that round. Not because the cut was troubling, but because he is clearly not used to being in a situation where things aren't going his way. A stronger fighter Povetkin this will make. So what of Povetkin vs. Klitschko? First things first. He has got to get by the winner of the Brock v. Chambers fight. If he was looking past this tournament to a match with Klitschko, one hopes he has now woke up. I don't think either fighter (Brock or Chambers) has what it takes to beat him, Byrd, in many ways, might make for a tougher outing than either of this Friday's fighters, (the IBF has put together a good tournament) but Brock can punch and Chambers is young, fast and hopefully hungry. The winner of this fight wins kind of a quasi "American Heavyweight Championship" belt. Or, at the very least, second billing behind Tony Thompson. As far as Povetkin beating Klitschko, he might have the style and talent to do it, but he will have to do better than he did tonight. Klitschko won't be as big of a riddle as Byrd, but Wlad will give him much less time to solve it. The shots that Byrd landed on Alex Pov tonight will feel like playful slaps compared to what Wlad lands. Povetkin won clearly and cleanly, and deserves a lot of credit. But Byrd gave him a fair dose of education. Klitschko is the final exam. Alexander needs to start studying very, very hard.
Excellent piece...well-written. I think Pov has "it" but needs to be tested more and yes...Thompson would be raped by Vlad.
This was orrignially for the front page comments, so there is a bit for the American the Greatests in it. Byrd let himself be put in the corners, he let himself be put on the ropes.. His legs are gone. He tried to let the other guy tire himself out....and the Russian did not tire out.. I rooted for Byrd, and he gave away the first six rounds. . Byrd is still hard to hit well. But his father was right even if he was still fighting back, it was too little way too late. With no pop in his fists, he could not win....His kid was telling him what to do in the ring and he was not doing it. He should have listened to his kid.....Byrd still takes a good punch. I am sure a Byrd who did not live on the ropes, one with legs could have won, by dodgem in the middle of the ring, making the other guy use his legs too. Maske was commentating, and said it was a great fight for Povetikin to learn to rate himself, as a pro and get over the amature give them hell for three rounds. The usual Byrd family shaking hands with the winner....now that is exterordinary and I like it....It is a sport not life and death. The Byrds have class. It's not a world war 3 that thankfully didn't happen...it is a sport. One wins or one loses or its' a disputed draw. But some have only a thread bear flag to wave. We have very good Russian, European fighters today. We have less "American" fighters....we have less poverty, more better paid sports options, there for the lesser fighters. At least we have some good fights happening in Heavy now, and only because of the "Russians", Middle weith has some goood Euros as does Super Middle.....I don't care what color a man is or the color of his flag, does he come to give his all, and fairly. Then he's a man, a man to be respected. A African I once talked to, said it best, "It is two men in a ring, what does color have to do with it?" Or the color of his flag?
Well written. one comment I'd like to make is that the fact that you pointed out that when you thought the ref made the stoppage your first thought was "What's with these Euro wimps" but that as soon as you noticed the corner threw in the towel you thought it was a good idea shows the kind of unfair and unfounded bias that European boxing is sometimes subjected to when dealing with American fans.
