Tavoris Cloud isnt a good fighter, isnt elite by any stretch of the imagination

Do you even remember why he had to fight Clinton Wood for the IBF Belt...

A: Because someone decided to not fight a mandatory and instead fought another guy... Wonder who that could be... (Hint: Tavoris Cloud was ranked #1 at the time.)

Cloud lacks stamina but was still able to have a high workrate in the Wood fight.... How does that happen~?? If Froch can make it as far as he did, I have faith in Cloud...

Also look at the division he's in...

Dawson, tremendous boxer, but once it's a fight he tends to fade a bit....

Pascal, sensational performance against a tremendous boxer, but against guys of lesser skills than Dawson, not as much...

Shumenov, has like 11 fights under his belt... Still growing..

Braehmer, Doesn't do too well against guys with High workrate (Garay)

Chris Henry hmm.. cause his losses were to Diaconu and Mack... But his best wins were over Shaun George and Garay.. But he's pretty much a one dimensional guy...

I just named 5 top ten guys.... He's better than atleast 3 of them.. Because of that, this thread shouldn't even exist...

 

Cloud is the best LHW out there, and I expect him to beat both Pascal and Dawson. Better chin than anyone else, faster hands, better combos, and better power. He is the only man to have stopped the rugged Julio Cesar Gonzalez.

 

Cloud lost to Johnson, at best it was a draw!

 

:deal Now he rates Froch jab all of a sudden, u-turns all the way . What a joke the bitchigan has become

 

I stopped reading here.

1) People need to stop comparing Cloud to Lacy just because there's a bit of a superficial resemblance. Doing so exposes one as an idiot. The thought pattern is so transparent: "Oh, a bald black fighter with bulging muscles. They must have similar styles, too! :nut"

2) Cloud has already surpassed Lacy as a fighter.

 

Hows that?

 

He is better. It's pretty clear.

As for their runs as IBF world champion; old Woods and old Johnson is already as good as Vanderpool, Sheika, Williams, old Reid and old Pemberton.

 

I agree I think he looks like potentially he will do better in his career, but Lacy looked good pre Calzaghe and at this time id say Lacy has done more in his career. Its a bit incorrect to just rate fighters on potential, just look at Taylor, Lacy, Pavlik, Dawson, Dirrell etc

 

Lacy also fought, beat, and lost to better fighters. The level of competition is in Jeff's favor at this point that I think it's impossible to tell if Cloud's really better at all. The MO of Cloud's team has been to match him up with old guys who eat alot of leather- we still haven't seen him fight a decent contender fitting any other style or a guy who doesn't already have one foot out the door.

 

Pascal would utterly destroy this kind of guy with only one arm.

 

Pascal's shoulder was already injured before the Pittman fight. Look at the fight if you haven't, you will notice he is using one hand only.:good

 

Lacy beat better fighters? I'm not sure about that. His best wins outside his so-so title run were the two over Tsypko. I don't know if Tsypko is head and shoulders above any of Cloud's last three wins (even taking into account where those victims were in their careers).

Certainly Cloud has not yet faced a Joe Calzaghe type (or even someone on the level of a humbled but still sharp Jermain Taylor), but even if he loses to someone like Dawson or Pascal it won't acquit Lacy as the better fighter IMO (unless it's a beating comparable to the one he copped against Calzaghe). He's pretty clearly a top three man in his division, which Lacy never really was (despite the US media's skewing of perception).

 

Wow dirrell and dawson are 1 fight away from being "the next best thing" ... lacy, and pavlik deserve the over rated tag ... taylor @least fought decent for acouple years .. has some names under his belt .. granted the ones that stick out were jr. Middleweight fighters but benard has a couple under his belt also ..

dirrell and dawson tho are different ... dirrell can make the argument that he is undefeated and has a fair shot to win the super six .. if he wins the supersix his resume would be solid ... dawson is in the position paul williams was when he was between his fight with quintana ...dawson is more talented than paul williams ...

Cloud is not a bum ... not everyone can throw some of those combinations ... he is a scary dude and I thinkhe gives anybody problems but with his style I think anyone can give him problems 2 .. but still he can fight .. bottom line