Do you prefer to watch two guys slugging it out and trading leather, like Foreman-Lyle or Chacon-Boza Edwards, or two fighters both showing technical brilliance like in Leonard-Benitez or Toney-McCallum? Since both of these types of fights tend to be the most acclaimed, I'm curious as to what the overall opinion is.
It's not that I don't enjoy seeing boxing skill, but hell yeah I voted slugfest. The enjoyment of boxing is still mostly visceral, after all.
I of course, like all boxing fans, love a slugfest, but I also have an affinity for chess matches. I love matches between technicians, between speedsters and technicians, ...guys who are just too good to be knocked out. Harold Johnson - Willie Pastrano comes to mind, as does Emile Griffith-**** Tiger/Luis Rodriguez, Wilfred Benitez - Roberto Duran, Ken Buchanan - Ismael Laguna, etc., ...Jimmy Young vs anybody...
That depends entirely on the fighter. Slug fests can be boring as hell if neither has any skill, and likewise chess matches can be as boring as hell if nobody throws a punch.
My preference is a bull and a matador (Slugger vs. Boxer) Who wins is not my problem. I just want to see how it unfolds.
by slugfest I think of 2 boxers putting it all on the line each trying to kayo the other and throwing big punches. The level of skill will vary like it would in a chessmatch. Its a real tightrope walk, the slightest mistake could mean the difference between a great win or a stunning loss. very exciting to watch, and very difficult to do successfully at world level. Theres a warrior mentality to it, high risk, high reward, having the ***** to risk it all for a big prize. Hagler and hearns were two of the finest technicians in history and they used every skill possible to kayo the other early. hearns vs benitez just doesn't meausure up in terms of excitement. Benn and barkley were both skilled at taking people out and had a wildly exciting one round fight. I much prefer watching this type of contest. I appreciate the poetry of a willie pep or a benitez as much as anyone, but All things being equal and from a spectator standpoint, id always prefer to watch two fighters putting it all on the line, death or glory.
Boxer vs. Slugger....classic. Love a slugfest...but you really don't see as many as you did years ago... not now in the age of "safety first" boxing. When we had the Gatti-Ward brawls...newer fans went.."wow"..."awesome"...but older fans said"this is the way it used to be"...
I love them all as long as they are eventful. I dislike the pure survivor type that has a limited offense because while they make the other guy look bad the punches they land have less impact and these fights are really hard to score fairly. It is hard to tell impact, hard punches vs taps. That being said I loved Leonard-Benitez but it was Leonard's power that prevailed . I also loved Hagler vs Hearns but it was Haglers chin that prevailed. I also loved Hagler-Duran and it was Haglers age that prevailed. Hagler vs Antufermo 1 was a fighter with skill who was a giant favorite but Vito's will made a big difference and as Howard Cosell said, Vito has intestinal fortitude
