Who are your most misunderstood fighters?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Boxed Ears, Feb 22, 2010.


  1. Boxed Ears

    Boxed Ears this my daddy's account (RIP daddy) Full Member

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    I think we all have guys that we have followed closely enough that we form very definite opinions on them and strongly feel they're not what they're typically made out to be, whether inside the ring or outside the ring.

    A guy who is painted as a brawler, and you think they're technically underrated. A guy painted as a dirty fighter, and you feel it's just a bad rap. A guy painted as Mr. Nice guy outside the ring and it gets on your nerves for a specific reason, a guy you think had a career that was more opportunism than talent, or a fighter you feel had one bad fight that gave people a wrongfully negative impression of their entire careers, etc, etc, etc.

    Who are your fighters? Past or present, the ones you think are very misunderstood on a professional or personal level for better or worse and why. I look forward to some interesting discussion. Inform, share, gripe, let loose on it. I even look forward to Pachilles next Duran manifesto. :hey
     
  2. lora

    lora Fighting Zapata Full Member

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    Saad
    Ruben Carter
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  3. Boxed Ears

    Boxed Ears this my daddy's account (RIP daddy) Full Member

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    Okay, but how come? Please elaborate.
     
  4. IntentionalButt

    IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me

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    Myth: Mayorga and Tua are both just wild brawlers with literally no technical skill whatsoever. The former can not throw a straight punch guided by laser sights to save his mom, and the latter is congenitally missing the piece of the frontal lobe that controls head movement.

    The majority is wrong. Cerdan had plenty of competitive moments against LaMotta; it was not child's play.

    Acelino Freitas had a ton of heart. Two moments does not tell the story of a twelve year career.

    The count in Tokyo was not excessive.

    Seldon was legitimately stopped with no hanky-panky in '96. So was Liston in '65.

    Yes, I'm drifting away from the intended spirit of the thread now...:lol:
     
  5. Boxed Ears

    Boxed Ears this my daddy's account (RIP daddy) Full Member

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    It's okay, man. You go for it. :lol::happy
     
  6. Addie

    Addie Myung Woo Yuh! Full Member

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    Marco Antonio Barrera is often described as a dirty fighter but I don't think that's the case. On most of the occasions where he got rough it was in retaliation. Both Morales and Mckinney got up in Marco's face first at the press conferences, so Marco punched them both in their face for being disrespectful. A lot of the times when he supposedly punched after the referee broke a cinch, it was actually a second before or a half a second after. He did it throughout his career, it's not an illegal move.
     
  7. IntentionalButt

    IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me

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    Yeah, people need to chill and give MAB the benefit of the doubt on a lot of those heat-of-the-moment "late shots". It's the ref's discretion to punish those, if they don't deem them punishable then it's a dead issue. It certainly never seemed Marco was trying to wait for those moments on purpose.
     
  8. Arriba

    Arriba Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I've done this with Addie before and it always leads to interesting debate. I'll bring it up again here:

    He was a dirty fighter perhaps not in the most direct definition of it but a dirty guy. He was rough in the ring and a bit of a dick out of it. From claiming he was always being robbed by some higher boxing authority to throwing punches at press conferences to insulting his own people (Tijuana people are still Mexicans unless they seceded themselves while I sleeping during high school :lol:) As a Morales fan, I can admit that Morales was a bit of a dick too. They were both absolutely amazing fighters who were willing to do whatever it takes to win.

    I think the whole "illegal hand wraps" talk on Barrera is absolute bunk though. Myth's by Freddie Roach to make Pac even more of a hero.

    Here's one: Marvin Hagler was not a mindless brawler. There are some People who see him warring against Mugabi and 3 rounds of fury with Hearns and assume that he's just some come forward slugger with no mobility. Watch Hagler 5 years before that and you'll see an underrated boxer.

    Edit: I'm pretty sure annexed was the wrong word.
     
  9. BENNY BLANCO

    BENNY BLANCO R.I.P. Brooklyn1550 Full Member

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    About time someone finally says this in regards to Mayorga, yes the man can be rude and crude with his technique but he is not a completely unskilled fighter that he is painted out to be by pretty much every boxing fan. I forgot whether it was the first or second Forrest fight but there was a moment in which Mayorga started boxing back against Forrest and Forrest seemed to be having trouble with Mayo when he did that, and that uppercut he hit Oscar with in their fight would have had alot of fighters with lesser chins really hurting.
     
  10. IntentionalButt

    IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me

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    :thumbsup
     
  11. teeto

    teeto Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    I think Tunney gets portrayed as a pure outboxer ie all footwork and jabs, mostly because of the Dempsey fights. He was a counterpuncher and always a strategist, but he was rugged, that's my preferred descriptive word for him. He would let a man approach, then stand and rough him up, but keeping on top of him and maintaining an advantage of leverage. He could finish as well, he'd keep the pressure on without rushing in like a madman, instead he would keep landing hard one twos utilising his full reach to smash the life out of his man.

    My other two are Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns as boxing wizards, the footage speaks for itself on that misconception.
     
  12. Arriba

    Arriba Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Tua is certainly a hell of a lot more skilled than most people give him credit for. He's got power and a fair amount of underrated skill to go with it. He just didn't have the overall skill set to get by a dominant champion like Lennox Lewis.
     
  13. teeto

    teeto Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    Lewis' win over Tua is a top one for sure.
     
  14. Sweet Pea

    Sweet Pea Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    How do you mean?
     
  15. teeto

    teeto Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    You know what i mean, i always try my best to squash it whenever it comes up that these two are wizard types ie as their preferred style and being what they are best at.