The rise of (eastern) EURO boxing..........has it had a positive inpact???

first of, this is not meant as a hate thread so please try to argue and dont just bark insults if you can.


it has been now nearly 18 years since the iron curtain has come down, and ever since then eastern block fighters have been turning pro.

and they have been successfull, no question. but success is not always a good thing. think of mcdonalds: they are as successfull as you can be, but have they contributed positively to the health/eating habits of the worlds population???

so they have been so successfull that some people even claim that they will (or already have) already taken over the sport.

but what has been their contribution to boxing outside of success and making money???

when you think of boxing, what is the thing that first comes to mind??? what is boxings lifeblood??? what memory of boxing puts a smile on your face???

for me, its simple: its the memory of big fights. great fights. great fight series etc.

first it were just the US fighters that provided the action. ali-frazier. graziano vs zale.
then the latins entered and did their share (and a bit more). in the eightees and ninetees US americans and latin americans set the bar.

think of pryor vs arguello. duran vs leonard. hearns vs leonard. chavez vs taylor. bowe vs holyfield (all three). moorer vs cooper. morales vs barrera etc etc etc.............

now think of the recent years during which the eastern euro fighters have been around.........think of the great fights. how big a part did they take in providing memorable fights???

the eastern euro flagship fighters for years have been the klitschkos.

vitaly provided one exciting fight vs lennox lewis, but he retired and nothing significant followed.

wlad either knocks his opponent stiff or gets clobbered himself. no bowe vs holyfield from him.

maskaev, chagaev, valuev and ibragimov..........okay, lets not even comment on them.

karmazin makes pretty good fights.........but he his fights are not on a memorable.

sergej dzinziruk is damm good................but about as exciting as watching paint dry. put in his fight with alisultan nadirbegov and you know what im talking about.

the only somewhat memorable fights involving an eastern euro was toney vs jirov and adamek vs briggs.

but then again, adamek is not a typical eastern euro fighter.

the style that eastern euros usually and very successfully employ can be summed up as following: hands up, chin down. both gloves tightly infront of their face, elbows in while employing a rather square stance. kinda like a turtle that has all of its limbs tucked in leaving no exposed area to attack.

they move into range of their opponent, looking for him to start his attack with lead punches that they can block........only to counter with quick straight and very accurate punches.
this they do round after round.

very effective, no question. hard to beat.

but does this make for memerable fights??

i recently watched fights like leonard vs mayweather senior and buddy mcgirt vs meldrick taylor.

not exactly barnburners, but very gracefull displays of boxing. the art of slipping punches and countering. pulling someone in and "suckering him up".
alternating between long range punching and infighting.

even a non-slugfest contains beauty.

and the eastern euro style doesnt provide that.

yes, as i said several times, it is effective and successfull. and it may take over the sport.

but as i asked before, is it a good thing??? as i said, success does not guarantee immortal fights.

and it is such "immortal fights", memories that will put a smile on your face 40 years from now if you live that long. stuff you will tell your grandson about!!
IT ARE SUCH FIGHTS THAT BOXING LIVES ON!!!!

such fights will ensure the survival of this sport.

so if the eastern euro fighters are taking over (and with them, the eastern euro style of boxing)...........what are the chances of boxing getting to enjoy fights like bowe vs holy etc???

will the success of the eastern euro style in the end be a bad thing for boxing???

 

golota makes exciting fights cause he is a nutcase.

adamek i mentioned.

jirov is gone.

kostya........what knockdown dragout brawl are you talking about he took part in???

 

Who said kostya wasnt good??? and who said that floyd and b-hop and so on taking part in a knockdown dragout.

but cotto did vs torres.

gatti did many times.

as did ward.

what eastern euro fighter provided such memorable fights???