as much as we witter on about whether calzaghe slaps ,cotto quits or jones is shot, what do you know about the lesser known fighters of this sport you profess to love, but who play just as big a part in the fabric of its history ? what do you know of a man like michael watson, who fought a much bigger fight than the ones you talk about ? what do you know of michael watson ? and are you willing to learn ?
Watson was a beast. He was ****ing great. My opinion - he was better than Benn and Eubank. First Eubank fight, robery. Second Eubank fight, Eubank was getting destroyed, battered. He said that he had "accepted he was beaten". He said Watson was "inhumanely strong", the strongest man he ever faced by a mile. Last round of that fateful Eubank-Watson fight, Watson is coming out going mad trying to KO Eubank so he won't get robbed again. And that happens. Benn, he ****ing smashed him up. Watson was a cracking fighter, and he doesn't get his due.
I love his schooling of Benn. I've been trying to get more fights of him. I have the Benn fight, which I ****ing misplaced, his loss to the Bodysnatcher, and his two bouts with Eubank (Watson won the first fight). I enjoy watching him box. That cover-up defense and nice counters, the crisp way he threw those short shots, etc..
Yes very good and a young watson gave mike mccallum some scary moments but eventually lost to a brutal KO But I put that down to him being drained at middle and clearly gassed which led to the KO. He did nothing special in the ring so to speak but he did everything perfectly if that makes sense.
Good post, yeah, but how the **** you loose these fights you moo? **** all of the man on YouTube, too, just his amazing recovery, etc., he doomed Benn, Benn would never have beaten Watson in 20 tries, and people want to match Benn with Jones, match Watson with Jones.
McCallum is probably a better fighter anyway, but that is a fair point about the weight. 160 did not suit him, I don't think, he was off the hook at 168. I know what you are getting at here, but I think his defence and delivery really were quite special. Not Roy Jones/Bernard Hopkins type special, but he punched with wonderful form even when he was busy and he was hard to hit clean.
the last round of that fight you mention watson should never have been out to face, if he had been stopped by his corner he would never have gone out after having victory in the bag only for a man like eubank to produce the uppercut from hell, the only punch that could have stopped watson winning that title and claiming what was rightfully his, and what eubank, and benn would later lay claim too, and maybe he'd be able-bodied now, but i truly believe that what happened was meant to happen, that michael watson was meant to have lied there in a coma close to death as boxings vultures circled for reasons to end this brutal sport, in the name of the daily mail, but michael watson , man who was too far gone to live any sort of life worth living came out and proved to everyone that you can achieve anything. he transcended the sport . and in time people might appreciate this. while we sit here arguing whether he would beat him, whether he has a glass jaw or he has a padded record, i think we need to look at a man like michael watson to remind us about not only why we love this sport that we wouldnt be able to stand 5 minutes in, but how some people show us how far the human spirit can go and prove to us that we can do extraordinary things. i might be pissed, but in the words of william shakespeare, some things are better said drunk... michael watson - legend
I moved, so some of my DVDs are in a box in the garage surrounded by countless other boxes. One of these days I'll get around to finding them.
Watson was fantastic and it was a buzz for me to meet him in May. He was vastly underrated and it is an injustice that he was robbed of the world title he so richly deserved. He gassed out against McCallum because he was made to fight out of his style as counter-puncher, as he believed his normal style would not take the title from a champion. His fight against Benn was clinical IMO
McCallum gave him a thrashing, but aside from that he was a very solid technician, just not as varied, strong, or overall skilled as someone of that caliber. Still, a very strong jab, high guard, good composure, good strength, etc. Gave Benn a pretty good beating early on, pretty much laying the blueprint on how to beat the younger, wilder Benn. Knocked him down with a stiff jab toward the end after the accumlation of clean shots had taken their effect. Very strong performance that one.
what about passion sweetpea? what about breaking out of this encyclpeodia knowledge thats very impressive but going beyond that and getting to the bottom of the human struggle which is magnified by the sport you love, embodied by someone like michael watson ???
McGrain, he was as good as could be expected. The signs are obvious but seems very happy - not as happy as I was after!