Guest alex Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Plenty would disagree with that, and I'm one of them and we'd never know how our boxers would've performed on a level playing field against the likes Marvin Hagler and the hit man Hearns. It doesn't diminish how good they were as boxers because they were British, American boxing has been on the decline almost since then, when it utterly dominated every division for as long as people can remember. You're probably the first person I've ever heard say Benn, Eubank et al represented a better selection of boxers than the ones I've mentioned like. I wasn't saying being British diminished how good they were but the quality of opponents Eubank in particular fought at times did. If you're talking about great British boxers though Calzaghe pisses on the lot of them imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Wilfred Benitez too, he was excellent. How would you rate the 4 in order of legacy? God, that's a tough one. If you had to pick one of them to bet your house on, if they were all in their prime, I'd probably go for Hagler. But Sugar Ray was my favourite, as he was so great to watch and a true boxer (Hagler probably only lost to him because he got it into his head he should try and 'outbox' him though). Hearns was fantastic too. A great boxer with a devastating punch and a slightly dodgy chin, which pretty much guaranteed entertainment when he fought. His fight, than ended in 3 rounds, against Hagler is absolutely mental. Probably saw less of Duran than the others but he was obviously a great fighter too. I suppose Leonard would shade it in terms of legacy because of the comebacks after so long out, his longevity and being able to win titles at so many different weights. Duran was at his prime as a lightweight in the 70s. He was in his mid 30s by the time he moved up to middleweight. His career went topsy turvy ever since the 'No Mas' debacle, and eventually descended into farce as he fought into the 2000s (from his wiki: Durán is one of the only men in boxing history to win fights in 5 separate decades. He registered wins in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s) because of money issues. He retired when he was 50 only because he sustained injuries in a car crash that prevented him from continuing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Plenty would disagree with that, and I'm one of them and we'd never know how our boxers would've performed on a level playing field against the likes Marvin Hagler and the hit man Hearns. It doesn't diminish how good they were as boxers because they were British, American boxing has been on the decline almost since then, when it utterly dominated every division for as long as people can remember. You're probably the first person I've ever heard say Benn, Eubank et al represented a better selection of boxers than the ones I've mentioned like. I wasn't saying being British diminished how good they were but the quality of opponents Eubank in particular fought at times did. If you're talking about great British boxers though Calzaghe pisses on the lot of them imo. First person I've ever heard say that too. Shades of the English vs American music argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Wilfred Benitez too, he was excellent. How would you rate the 4 in order of legacy? God, that's a tough one. If you had to pick one of them to bet your house on, if they were all in their prime, I'd probably go for Hagler. But Sugar Ray was my favourite, as he was so great to watch and a true boxer (Hagler probably only lost to him because he got it into his head he should try and 'outbox' him though). Hearns was fantastic too. A great boxer with a devastating punch and a slightly dodgy chin, which pretty much guaranteed entertainment when he fought. His fight, than ended in 3 rounds, against Hagler is absolutely mental. Probably saw less of Duran than the others but he was obviously a great fighter too. I suppose Leonard would shade it in terms of legacy because of the comebacks after so long out, his longevity and being able to win titles at so many different weights. Duran was at his prime as a lightweight in the 70s. He was in his mid 30s by the time he moved up to middleweight. His career went topsy turvy ever since the 'No Mas' debacle, and eventually descended into farce as he fought into the 2000s (from his wiki: Durán is one of the only men in boxing history to win fights in 5 separate decades. He registered wins in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s) because of money issues. He retired when he was 50 only because he sustained injuries in a car crash that prevented him from continuing. Aye, I was going to say in mitigation that Duran was over the hill and from a lower weight division in fairness. Sad how someone with his talent was in a position where he still needed the money after so many fights as well. Even if he does strike you as a prick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Duran doesn't strike me as a prick at all, got a lot of admiration for people who fought their way out of 3rd world conditions. I saw an interview with him recently where he was asked, "what would you say to aspiring boxers?" and he said, "go to school! Be a doctor or something!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaul 35 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Plenty would disagree with that, and I'm one of them and we'd never know how our boxers would've performed on a level playing field against the likes Marvin Hagler and the hit man Hearns. It doesn't diminish how good they were as boxers because they were British, American boxing has been on the decline almost since then, when it utterly dominated every division for as long as people can remember. You're probably the first person I've ever heard say Benn, Eubank et al represented a better selection of boxers than the ones I've mentioned like. I wasn't saying being British diminished how good they were but the quality of opponents Eubank in particular fought at times did. If you're talking about great British boxers though Calzaghe pisses on the lot of them imo. First person I've ever heard say that too. Shades of the English vs American music argument. Which was also a non starter. I've heard loads of people say the super middleweight division in the early 90s was the most exciting era, comparing fighters from different eras is complete interpretation, nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio 0 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Wilfred Benitez too, he was excellent. How would you rate the 4 in order of legacy? God, that's a tough one. If you had to pick one of them to bet your house on, if they were all in their prime, I'd probably go for Hagler. But Sugar Ray was my favourite, as he was so great to watch and a true boxer (Hagler probably only lost to him because he got it into his head he should try and 'outbox' him though). Hearns was fantastic too. A great boxer with a devastating punch and a slightly dodgy chin, which pretty much guaranteed entertainment when he fought. His fight, than ended in 3 rounds, against Hagler is absolutely mental. Probably saw less of Duran than the others but he was obviously a great fighter too. I suppose Leonard would shade it in terms of legacy because of the comebacks after so long out, his longevity and being able to win titles at so many different weights. What I liked about Hagler was that he didn't attempt to jump around the divisions and instead made himself the man at Middleweight over a number of years, I would have loved to have seen a dream fight between him and Hopkins as I think they're to 2 stand out Middleweights for me. Hearns was great too but you're right about the dodgy chin, I thought he was winning the first fight with Leonard when he was stopped and got robbed in the rematch when they gave it a draw, you say about the Hagler fight but I also liked his destruction of Duran which had one of my favourite knockouts in boxing. Leonard was the best who beat them all including Benitez, not that keen on Duran as while he was excellent at Lightweight I don't think his opposition were that great in that era. Leonard Hagler Hearns Duran Maybe Duran over Hearns for his win over Barkley but there's not much between them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio 0 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Duran doesn't strike me as a prick at all, got a lot of admiration for people who fought their way out of 3rd world conditions. I saw an interview with him recently where he was asked, "what would you say to aspiring boxers?" and he said, "go to school! Be a doctor or something!" Yeah he seemed like a good guy who gave a lot of his fortune away, kind of like Pacquiao does now. He had a lot to say about Leonard being a bum after their first fight which didn't put him in the best of lights, I remember seeing an interview with Leonard and he said they had them down to do an advert with someone like Pepsi and he said if Duran starts talking shit around his kid he was going to kick off, he said he was great with him though and now does the odd talk in with him when they're over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Duran doesn't strike me as a prick at all, got a lot of admiration for people who fought their way out of 3rd world conditions. I saw an interview with him recently where he was asked, "what would you say to aspiring boxers?" and he said, "go to school! Be a doctor or something!" Read an interview years ago which, thinking back was in an English tabloid, so I'm probably being unfair basing it on that tbh. And fair enough aye, you can knock him for what he achieved in his sport and where he came from. Not sure the platitude you quote exonerates him though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaul 35 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 What about Collins ! He's already been discussed. I'd gamble my life on the fact McGuinness' mobile number was in his phone. Shamrock in his hair. Oh dear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 (edited) He also gave Esteban Dejesus (they had 3 fights) a hug when he was dying from Aids, yet he gets nowhere near the recognition Diana Spencer got. He is arrogant and talked smack about other fighters, but he was a streetfighter from the slums of Panama so it sort of comes with the territory. I find it funny the same way Maradona saying Pele shags goats amuses me. Edited December 6, 2011 by Kevin S. Assilleekunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 (edited) Didn't his brother manage Carlisle for a while btw? Edited December 6, 2011 by alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaul 35 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Didn't his brother manage Carlisle for a while btw? Aye Roddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 (edited) They should do a reality TV show where Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank go around Britain on the trains and trams searching for racist ranters. I could imagine Eubank trying to be diplomatic, "pleath mith, I am vewy contherned by your vulgar language," while Benn goes crazy swinging for them. Edited December 6, 2011 by Kevin S. Assilleekunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 They should do a reality TV show where Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank go around Britain on the trains and trams searching for racist ranters. I could imagine Eubank trying to be diplomatic, "pleath mith, I am vewy contherned by your vulgar language," while Benn goes crazy swinging for them. It's funny because Eubank's background as about as rough as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 70 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Should gather all those bitches and put on some kind of reality tv bollocks....Oh wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 They get on a train here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolly Potter MD 0 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Nah, the 80s with Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran was a much better era for boxing imo. There were some great fights in the period you mention but at times it felt like a glorified version of the British Championship that they were fighting for. Especially Eubank when he had the WBO version and fought a series of bums of ITV. The first Benn v Eubank fight and the Benn v Watson fight and (despite the outcome) Watson v Eubank match were all great fights though. They weren't at the level of middleweight boxing in the 80s or Heavyweight boxing in the 70s though. Wilfred Benitez too, he was excellent. How would you rate the 4 in order of legacy? God, that's a tough one. If you had to pick one of them to bet your house on, if they were all in their prime, I'd probably go for Hagler. But Sugar Ray was my favourite, as he was so great to watch and a true boxer (Hagler probably only lost to him because he got it into his head he should try and 'outbox' him though). Hearns was fantastic too. A great boxer with a devastating punch and a slightly dodgy chin, which pretty much guaranteed entertainment when he fought. His fight, than ended in 3 rounds, against Hagler is absolutely mental. Probably saw less of Duran than the others but he was obviously a great fighter too. I suppose Leonard would shade it in terms of legacy because of the comebacks after so long out, his longevity and being able to win titles at so many different weights. What I liked about Hagler was that he didn't attempt to jump around the divisions and instead made himself the man at Middleweight over a number of years, I would have loved to have seen a dream fight between him and Hopkins as I think they're to 2 stand out Middleweights for me. Hearns was great too but you're right about the dodgy chin, I thought he was winning the first fight with Leonard when he was stopped and got robbed in the rematch when they gave it a draw, you say about the Hagler fight but I also liked his destruction of Duran which had one of my favourite knockouts in boxing. Leonard was the best who beat them all including Benitez, not that keen on Duran as while he was excellent at Lightweight I don't think his opposition were that great in that era. Leonard Hagler Hearns Duran Maybe Duran over Hearns for his win over Barkley but there's not much between them. For many years Hearns didn't get his proper due credit re:those two fights against Leonard. Who knows how the "The War" (the Hagler fight) would've went had Hearns been fighting with two hands after the first round. My favourite Hearns' knock-out was Cuevas, who wasalso destroyer in the weight class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) not that keen on Duran as while he was excellent at Lightweight I don't think his opposition were that great in that era. He absolutely demolished some very good boxers at lightweight, and he's generally considered one of the top 2/3 lightweights in history. He showed how good he was against SRL in their first fight, although I'm not certain he did enough to win it outright (cracking fight that). I think you have to put him above Hearns because he dominated the Lightweight division, then moved up in his later years and got some very impressive results, scoring wins over SRL, Palomino, Cuevas, Davey Moore, and Barkley. Went the distance with Benitez and Hagler. MANOS DE PIEDRAAAA Edited December 7, 2011 by Kevin S. Assilleekunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Thrilla in Manilla has just started on ESPN Classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 It's a repeat mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 19826 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Watched the repeat of the khan fight last night. After his comments I was expecting him to have been robbed. He didn't do enough to win it on points on away soil. Good fight though - he did enough to earn a rematch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 38778 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Going to watch my mate's first fight tomorrow night at Alnwick. Hope he doesn't get battered as we're out on the piss Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gejon 2 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hope he did well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 38778 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) He called me just before I was about to head off at about 6.30. The guy he was due fight , from Boldon, pulled out just before the weigh in. Big fucking mackem ponce! My pal was gutted like, he's been grafting like a bastard to be ready for it, only to see it all pissed away at the very last minute. edit; which probably means tomorrow night's piss up will be brutal Edited December 16, 2011 by Monkeys Fist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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