Yeah, "stay of the line" (very hard against an authoratative jabber) and "make it rough inside". Hmmmm. Okay. That was the only thing I liked about him.
Yup, absolutely terrible. Nothing at all beyond "You're not trying hard enough." No advice, no encouragement, just pure criticism. Bunce has just called all American heavies gutless wonders and said they shouldn't be allowed to fight for a heavy title for 5 years. A little harsh, but Thompson was pathetic in the later rounds tonight.
Nope. Thompson was competitive for one round, ate a boat load of rights after that and then effectively quit in the eleventh. Poor fight all round.
Thompson is a sparring partner at heart. He went out and tried for about 4 or 5 rounds but that was it. Boxing has a way of stripping away all of the fronts and showing you who you really are. Thompson's mentality is not that of a champion. So he went throught the motions and behaved like a good sparring partner should. Klitschko also showed us once again who he is. He is aptly named (Dr. Steel hammer) but he would not last the distance with any historical HW great who had power and malice on his mind. Why? Klitschko is inordinately fearful about being hit. Because Klitschko is a sportsman, he is not a fighter in his heart. Almost any time the feather-fisted Thompson showed agression or even postured forward, Wlad would do one of two things: 1. He'd grab and clinch 2. He's jump away and perhaps throw a couple of "get off me" punches. Primo Carnera had a better repertoire of skill than Wlad. Steward needs to teach him how to throw hooks, uppercuts, combinations, and how to fight inside. He relies on two punches. Two! A jab, which is either pawing or simply extended too long 40% of the time, and a right cross. The fight was devoid of skill. It wasn't even a fight, it was a tentative sparring session.
He is one tough sob, remember he has only lost once in his career. He would've beated the 2005 Wlad. I'd love to see him in there with Peter. :bbb
Hold up a minute... Thompson won the 1st round... Thompson was easily out punching Klitschko up until the halfway point of the fight, and though Wlad was throwing the harder punches, almost all of them were hitting leather... Thompson then got run over by Wlad Klitschko, but up until the halfway point, Wlad was by no means running away with the fight, (at least not from start to finish anyways)... Wlad did dominate in the last few rounds as Thompson indeed was trying to find a way out imo... But this was nothing at all like Cotto's domination over Gomez, let's not get it twisted...
Oh cut the crap. Thompson landed more punches than Klitschko. He WAS competitive, it's supported by numbers.
Great post, Do you think we will ever see a renaissance in skill levels in the heavyweight division? I am not one of the boxing fans who thinks everything was better in the past, but the skillset of modern heavyweights is depressing to say the least.
No question Thompson was looking for a way out; he was COMPLETELY outclassed. He won - maybe - one round. And even that one was debatable.