Wlad and Vitali are too polite and respectful for a lot of boxing fans

Me too!

 

American sports media types still think the black man is a sports ubermensch. That accounts for the continued uncritical worship of actually quite compromised figures like Ali. They can't see the racist implications of their viewpoint, which after all is like saying black people are all great dancers. It's a fairly benign form of racism, but it is still racist. Yet back in the day, such a view was seen as "progressive." Whites could feel good about themselves because, if they didn't actually know any black people, they liked Ali and the Chicago Bulls. It would be real progress if we could just judge an athlete on his accomplishments, and not on his skin color.

 

I never hear anyone complaining that a footballer or whatever is boring. I mean, what do you want him to do? Seriously...

[ame]http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=jDR-Q5Yco64&feature=related[/ame]

Just watching him fight Charles Shufford, so far, it's not in the slightest bit boring. I do agree that some of their fights are a little boring, but two people are meant to make a fight. I also think that sometimes they could get their oponents out much earlier..

 

The only truly boring fight was the Ibragimov fight. I was at that one in MSG, and even all the Russian and Ukrainian fans there were pissed off.

But hey, everybody has an off night. Lennox's fight against Tua wasn't any better.

If you win all the time and make it look easy, you get called "boring." Roger Federer gets called "boring" in the tennis world a lot as well. He makes it look too easy -- at least unless he's playing Rafael Nadal.

 

Just think if Federer didn't have Nadal ... the rivalry has elevated both of them. Before Nadal came along, it was so boring watching Roger beat the snot out of everyone. Yet Roger is one of the greatest of all time (as is Nadal).

The problem for Wlad and Vitali is that their greatest rivalry would be with each other ... and they can't / won't fight each other.

 

I don't equate both brothers like they are the same fighter.

I don't now and never have found Vitali "boring." How can you call a guy who engaged in the barnburners with Lennox and Corrie Sanders, who blew out Kirk Johnson and destroyed Danny Williams and made Sam Peter quit, "boring?"

Since his comeback, everyone is so scared to fight Vitali that his fights lack drama, sure. I did enjoy his beatdown of Arreola, though: he showed a lot of skills, such as with his lateral movement, that people didn't think he possessed.

Wlad, OK. He is a work in progress. It's too bad his highest profile fight in the US was the Sultan fight. That fight was partly Ibragimov's fault as well, but nevertheless.... I think we can judge Wlad more from this Peter rematch onwards. I think he is going to go for it, and Manny has said as much. Wlad can still get more Americans and Brits on his side with some highlight reel KOs. Let's see what happens on Saturday.