Thought i'd better check in and make sure you lot were still behaving!!! First thread i opened you were the first familiar face mate - great to see you and FOF and co still getting it done.
Vitali hurt his shoulder in round three and was in the lead by all three judges by a comfortable margin. In theory, anyone can beat anyone if major injury strikes, regardless of weight.
The point I was trying to make was, If size was such an advantage, surely a much heavier Vitali should have blown through Chris Byrd within a couple of rounds? He had a 40 pound weight advantage after all.
Bryd for his part had a good defense and durability. He's not getting stopped early. Not with the way he fights. 40 pounds means something, but if the fighter with the weight advantage isn't able to use one arm, it's a major handicap. Essentially this was a fluke win for Byrd. He could not believe he won himself when he found out he won. In combat and one on one sports and injury can make the player behind the winner. If there were tennis, Vitali is up 2 sets to zero, then had to withdraw from injury.
I totally refuse to give Byrd the victory for this fight, however the injury occurred later in the fight. Vitali had ample time to get Byrd out of there, after all, Ike did it years before.
I'll make sure i pay the odd visit, cherry pick my topics and catch you and Magoo up. I miss the old times! Um, is redrooster still here hahahaha
Come on, Azzer. You're better than this. Vitali usually tries to counterpunch and / or wear his man down with his jab and 1-2. He rarely comes into a fight and swings for the fences. That sort of style, coupled with Byrd's defensive abilities, means an early KO was very unlikely. But you knew this.