Who else thinks a prime RJJ beats the whole LHW division

So Roy wanted a king's ransom to go over to fight a guy in Germany who he ''didn't know was good enough to beat the American fighters at the top of the rankings'' and who was ''barely able to get past Richard Hall'', a fighter Roy literally toyed with all night and beat with contemptuous ease? lol

He didn't want to fight in Europe because he was robbed in Asia as an amateur? lol

He didn't want to go over there to fight Dariusz and get robbed even though he'd seen his countryman Virgil Hill (a fighter he'd knocked out in four rounds) go over there and come away with a close decision, one that I wasn't alone in thinking at the time was controversial (although to be fair I haven't seen it for a very long time) over the insanely popular unbeaten German ''Golden Boy'' Henry Maske whose popularity in Deutschland rivaled that of a pint of bear and watching football?

Indigenous German Maske was a hell of a lot more popular over there than Polish born Dariusz was but funny how those evil Germans who obviously would've had a fair amount of Korean blood coursing through their veins didn't rob Roy KO victim Virgil Hill when he went over there. Roid was obviously well aware of that too.

This is how popular Maske was in Germany.

"The German boxing business really started in 1992 when my dad did the deal for [German boxer] Henry Maske with [TV channel] RTL," insists Kalle Sauerland, whose father Wilfred kept the business ticking over for 15 years before the Maske deal. "There are three people responsible for boxing in Germany: Wilfred Sauerland, Henry Maske and Hans Mahr of RTL because he took the risk and it looked like a risk at the time." Maske went on and had 12 world title fights between 1993 and 1996 and averaged 17.8m viewers, with a peak at 23m.

"When Henry boxed it was like a national holiday," remembers Sauerland

They used to call Maske the ''Michael Jordan of Germany'' over there for goodness sake!

Maske vs Hill was a unification match up with both Hill's WBA belt and Maske's IBF one on the line and obviously a huge event for German boxing (it was the most expensive one in German boxing history).

MUNICH, GERMANY. On the evening of Saturday, November 23th, Germany`s Henry Maske and Virgil Hill from the USA were scheduled to meet in the ring for the unification of their IBF & WBA Light Heavyweight world titles. Maske had planned this to be his farewell match (`My greatest dream is to retire as an undefeated world champion.`). As usual, a whole bunch of stars and wannabe-stars were showing up at ring-side, surrounded by patriotic fans on the cheaper places. The rest of the nation was at home watching TV, where the fight was not broadcasted but celebrated.

Maske was also highly accomplished amateur who'd brought back gold medals in the Olympics, the world amateur championships (and also a silver too), and three golds from the European championships. He was revered like a god over there. He was also undefeated as a pro with (30) with 10 world title fights under his belt.

Maske-Hill I would actually have been a draw had one of the judges scored it a point the other way. Just a single point on the Swiss judge's card meant the difference between the most popular fighter in German history losing his unbeaten record and IBF strap.

But American Roy KO victim Hill was still awarded a split decision over there, snapping Maske's 30 fight unbeaten run in the process, both of which there was an awful lot of people in Germany who had vested interests in not see happen, in a fight that would've been declared a draw if one judge (a European judge) scored differently by a solitary point in an event that was not only the most expensive in German boxing history but was also supposed to be Maske's farewell fight before heading off into the sunset with his immaculate record intact. lol

"Hopkins asking for 10 million is the best way to say no without saying no, you dig?' Jones concluded. "But nobody will write that. Why do Roy got to be the one to give everybody a chance and help them make money?"

But when Roy does the same with other fighters it's a completely different story. He's actually saying yes when he prices himself out, right? lol

To summarize

Roy said he needed to score a KO over in Germany to win. Funny how his KO4 victim Virgil Hill, who Roy had beaten with ease, didn't need to score a knockout over there to get his hand raised in a close fight against Henry Maske (which Roy obviously was well aware of) who was

The most popular German boxer in German boxing history (sans Max Schmeling)
In the most expensive event in German boxing history
A fighter who was nicknamed ''The Michael Jordan of Germany''
Who was almost worshiped like a god in Germany
Who averaged 17.8m viewers on TV, with a peak at 23m.
Who when he boxed it was ''like a national holiday"
In a fight that ''wasn't broadcast but celebrated''
A fight that was supposed to be ''The German Michael Jordan's'' farewell fight before he rode off into the sunset with his immaculate spotless undefeated record intact after compiling a stellar amateur (Olympic gold, World Amateur Championships gold & silver, and 3 golds at the European championships) and pro career.

How badly do you think the powers that be in Germany boxing and all his millions of adoring fans wanted Maske to win that fight and especially not see him lose, lose his belt, his career defining unification fight, his unbeaten record, again, in the most expensive event in German boxing history? Mull that one over for a moment. And Roy damn well knew this because Hill is the fighter who Dariusz beat to unify the WBO, WBA, and IBF straps way back in 1997.

And isn't it funny how Julio Cesar Gonzalez didn't need a KO to get his hand raised over in Germany when he went over to Germany and won a close decision over Dariusz in a fight where there was a lot on the line, because had Dariusz been awarded the decision he would've equalled Marciano's long standing record of 49 fights without a loss.

 

/thread