The stigma of defensive artists [GREAT ARTICLE]

I found this article and thought I would share it:

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news...ciate-the-skills-of-andre-ward-and-mayweather

It is from 2011, but it's a gem. It discusses the stigma of defensive fighters, and how fans don't appreciate boxers who rely on skills, instead of being brawlers. What it discusses with Andre Ward has only became more valid as his career has gone on.

 

Which is fair enough, nobody has a problem with someone favoring a particular style. This article is about people who have no respect for the guys who rely on boxing skills though, people who disrespect fighters who minimize the amount of punishment they take. If a guy doesn't go out and get his brains bashed in, many people are derogatory in their opinions towards those individuals, this article discusses the bias in that regard.

 

Which is true, neutralizing the offense of a professional boxer is not an easy task.

 

Shouldn't displaying great skill be entertaining? I think a Mayweather or Ward is very interesting, even if their styles don't revolve around throwing wild haymakers and brawling. If a pitcher throws a shut out, they congratulate him, they don't say what a boring game. Defense is highly respected in basketball and football, you don't hear people call a team shitty if they are defensive oriented. Why is it that in boxing if a guy doesn't go out brawling, uses a technically skilled style, and doesn't take a ton of punishment that the majority don't respect them? That takes far more skill than going out out there and bashing each others brains in until someone succumbs to punishment. If a guy can deal out punishment, and is skilled enough not to receive it back, KUDOS to him. I guarantee you that any fighter would go out and box like that if they had the skill set, most brawlers are that way because they lack many of the fundamental skills.

Besides all of that, lets be real here, you would do the same thing. If you were a technically skilled boxer and could avoid punishment, you would too. These guys have a very small window of their life that they are boxing, the majority of their life they won't be. After boxing they get to deal with all the head trauma, look at all the guys who are a slurring mess out there. When their skills diminish, and the big stage is gone, fans don't give a **** about these guys anymore, it's on to the next. They get to deal with the repercussions, and frankly it only makes logical sense to protect yourself in there.

The fundamental premise of boxing is hit and don't get hit, not hit and get hit back, plain and simple. Guys who are technically superior should have their skills RESPECTED, not be degraded to being "boring and lame" fighters.

 

Excessive holding, and holding + hitting are both against the rules, a good referee will enforce them.

This article is talking about the stigma of defensive artists in general. They are the most highly skilled, yet only respected for it by a small minority. Boxing fans are blood thirsty, and don't appreciate a true technician, that's the premise here.