When a fighter says things like "I felt tight" or "I couldn't get going"

Agreed. See the term "outclassed"

 

When your tight is when you feel like you haven't stretched and the hands are just a bit heavier than usual. Also you could feel a bit lethargic. Watch Dawson vs Pascal and Chad is the perfect example of someone who's tight! Sometimes in the ring the most difficult thing to do is relax!

 

Off days can happen to all of us, thats why boxing is more mental than anything, the best guys find a way to overcome this and win fights with mental toughness. All of us probably feel a little sick or slow at least once a month, what if thats fight day? It happens, these guys are human too.

 

I agree..he looked more twitchy then usual..he had way too much respect for floyd.

 

I think we should seperate i felt tight and i couldn't get going although it's possible that these two states happen at the same time.

I felt tight can be a more diplomatic frase for anxiety (and thightness caused by anxiety), or plain tightness of muscles because of lack of stretching.

I couldn't get going could have a lot to do with styles that don't mesh well and not the difference in quality. Let us say that a prospect is fighting a journeyman who is a stylistic nightmare but severley overmatched overall. After the fight a journalist asks the prospect why did he took so long to finish the fight and the answer is i could not get going so i had to overpower him etc.

I used to box so this derives from experience. English is my second language so i could wrong.

 

they weren't relaxed coming in the fight

 

Tensed/stiff, not relaxed enough to get his rhythm going.

 

To me, it usually means they were outclassed, and don't really want to admit to it.

 

it means they have an "off night"....

 

means everything they learned in sparring they weren't able to execute for one reason or another.

Usually because you over think, things to much.

 

This is often the case, but sometimes they are legitimately having a bad night. Williams-Quintana I comes to mind.

 

"I underestimated my opponent"

 

I do agree with some of the previous comments in which the fighter has been outclassed and does not want to admit it and they will say they felt tense.

And then after a fight between two supposedly "elite" fighters, the opinions of people automatically alter wherein they revert to calling the loser a "bum", "over the hill", "dead man walking", and "a walking punching bag". This discredits the victor,to which in actuality he outclassed his opposition.

Sometimes it may also be due to a clash of styles, wherein a certain fighter may have been comfortable fighting in previous bouts until he met an opponent who could hang with him punch for punch, and then some. This will deviate the fighter from his usual style and rhythm wherein he will believe he is still good, but could not unleash his true talent.

After these kinds of fights, its nice to observe how the fighter will bounce back and display learned experience and do better the next time. Rather than completely shunning them off as a "bum" of a boxer.

 

trouble with pulling the trigger

 

Bull****. He was jittering all over the place.