Boxing 2022

[Kevin D]

 

 

[sir roger]

DAZN have got 1, 4 and 5 of those which is nice, Fury will be ppv, any ideas if Sky have the Spence fight ?

 

DAZN also have Chocolatito v Martinez on Saturday night, should be a belter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Boss]

The Charlo brothers are in their early thirties and still haven't fought a legitimate fighter between them. I reckon Ugas could cause a big upset there.

[sir roger]

They ( and their mum ) deserve sparking for being called Jermell and Jermall.

 

Yes I also wonder if Spence will ever regain his level again.

[Kevin D]

Sky are showing the Ramirez/Pedraza fight tonight, which should be decent with an energetic crowd.

[Captain Turdseye]

47 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

Sky are showing the Ramirez/Pedraza fight tonight, which should be decent with an energetic crowd.

What time is that on, mate?

[Kevin D]

They should be in the ring around 4. I’ll be watching tomorrow afternoon, when it goes up on sky’s page.

[sir roger]

It showing as 10 oclock on Sunday morning on Sky Sports Action 407 on my Sky Q planner

[sir roger]

Chocolatito card was decent , any of you who have DAZN there is a half hour highlights package of the four main fights.

 

Recorded Estrada fight but not got around to watching it yet.

 

.

[Kevin D]

The Lara fight on the Gonzalez undercard was three rounds of chaos.

[sir roger]

1 hour ago, Kevin D said:

The Lara fight on the Gonzalez undercard was three rounds of chaos.

Yes, crazy stuff, not sure Lara puts in much roadwork.

 

Got around to the Estrada fight. Technically good but not particularly exciting.

[Guest]

 

[KMD7]

'The Loneliest Sport' 

 

On this day in 1971, two of the greatest and most iconic figures the sport has ever known locked horns for the first time in an epic clash dubbed The Fight of The Century...

'The electricity in the air then was just unbelievable. If they would have dropped the bomb on Madison Square Garden that night, the country wouldn't have been able to run.' - Gil Clancy

8th March 1971 - Madison Square Garden, New York City

Heavyweight World Champion, Smokin' Joe Frazier drops Muhammad Ali with his trademark left hook in the 15th round of their contest on the way to handing the former champion his 1st career defeat in 'The Fight of The Century.'

Ali, who had been stripped of his Heavyweight crown for refusing to accept the draft into the US Army to serve in the Vietnam war rather than losing his title in the ring, was still seen by many boxing fans as the division's true champion. The classic encounter in 1971 would decide who was the king of the division once and for all.

300 million viewers tuned in around the globe, making it the most viewed event in history up until that point. Both Frazier and Ali were to earn a guaranteed $2.5 million apiece, more than any athlete had ever earned for a single event in the history of sports to date.

Fights of such magnitude and cultural significance rarely live up to the media hype, but Frazier and Ali's first fight exceeded expectations. 

With both men yet to suffer defeat in the professional ranks, there was a great deal of speculation and debate leading up to the bout; Ali fans felt their man's superior speed and skill would prove too much for Frazier. Whereas fans of Smokin' Joe arguing that the superior power of Frazier, combined with Ali's 3 and a half year lay-off would steer the fight in favour of the reigning champion.

Ali had made his return to boxing just 5 months earlier, blowing off the cobwebs with stoppage victories over Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena before attempting to reclaim his title. Whilst wins over such notable opposition was impressive, some felt that Ali should wait a little longer and ensure the ring-rust was truly gone before taking on Joe Frazier. Soon enough though, the waiting would be over and the two biggest heavyweight rivals since Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney soon touched gloves.

The atmosphere in The Garden was nothing short of electric, with seats filled with just about every A-List celebrity and prominent figure of the day that one could care to think of. Each having forked out as much as $150 a ticket for the privilege, the equivalent of around $970 today.

Even Frank Sinatra was ringside - in a working capacity as a guest photographer for Life Magazine. Some say tickets were in such demand that even the 'Chairman of the Board' couldn't get his hands on one, so found an alternate route to ringside. However, Ralph Graves who was Life Magazine's Managing Editor at the time denied this, saying Sinatra had been in place as a guest photographer all along.

Ali started well, regularly catching Frazier with his lightning-fast jab throughout the opening rounds while the shorter man looked for a way in. Each time Frazier landed his infamous left hook, Ali defiantly shook his head to indicate the punch was having no effect but nevertheless, the crowd winced in unison each time it connected.

As the fight progressed into the middle rounds, Ali appeared to be showing signs of fatigue and many feared the prolonged absence from the ring was the cause and was proving to be his undoing. Ali backed up onto the ropes and covered up, allowing Frazier to unleash an onslaught of vicious shots to the body and head, letting off a menacing growl each time he teed off on his opponent.

Ali wasn't finished yet however, and throughout the next several rounds each man enjoyed pockets of success, all the while both fighters could be seen trash talking and taunting. At one point, it's claimed that Ali said, 'You know, you're in here with the God tonight. Frazier replied by saying, 'If you are God, you're in the wrong place tonight.'

In the 11th round, Frazier caught Ali flush with a left hook that buckled his legs and sent him staggering back against the ropes. Despite being visibly shaken by the shot, Ali showed true grit to absorb the blow and survive the round.

Going into the final round, the fight had been incredibly close and competitive, although Frazier had put on a display that had earned him the lead on all three scorecards. Both men emerged from their respective corners displaying all the marks of war; Frazier, with swellings below his eyes and brow ridge while Ali's jaw on the right side of his face had ballooned as a result of taking countless left hooks.

Early in the 15th round, Frazier sprung forward and landed a bone-shattering left hook that dropped Ali to the canvas as boxing fans around the world leapt from their seats. Ali rose to his feet without a count and steadied himself against the ropes before the fight continued. Frazier finished the round strong, with his lethal left hook finding its target several more times before the final bell rang and the fight was over.

The result was announced and Frazier had won the fight via unanimous decision, and there could no longer be any dispute as to who was the heavyweight champion of the world.

For some, the excitement was just too much. Two spectators suffered heart attacks and died while watching the fight inside The Garden. A Malaysian boxing fan named Abdul Ghani Bachik suffered a fatal heart attack immediately after jumping out of his seat shouting, 'My God, Cassius Clay has fallen' while watching the fight at home. And in Milan, Italy a fan called Erio Borghisiani was found dead in front of his television set just hours after the fight had finished.

There were also several riots throughout the United States on the night of the fight. One particularly bad riot broke out in Chicago when a theatre experienced a malfunction during the 3rd round of the fight and irate viewers tore the place apart when the fault couldn't be fixed.

At the same time an activist group called the Citizens Commission which had decided to investigate the FBI, also used the spectacle of the fight as the perfect distraction to pull off a burglary at the FBI's offices in Pennsylvania.

The burglary unearthed the COINTELPRO operations which included illegal spying and surveillance of people associated with anti-war and civil rights movements - one of whom was Muhammad Ali, having obtained his records as far back as elementary school.

Meanwhile, the fight would go on to be awarded Ring Magazine's Fight of The Year, saw Joe Frazier awarded Fighter of The Year as well as the contest being ranked the 4th greatest title fight of all time in 1996.

What a fight. What a night.

 

 

[Kevin D]

Well measured and reasonable response:

 

 

 

[Captain Turdseye]

Dear me. Lindsay Hoyle is an absolute knob. 

[Boss]

I guess the police is the usual place you'd report a robbery.

 

[Kevin D]

 

 

 

[Captain Turdseye]

What’s happening with Usyk, Lomachenko and Wlad Klitschko? Are they fighting yet or what? Proper fighting, big guns and that. 

[Bjornebye]

Rightly so. There should be a mandatory rematch, at the same weight and all. In Manchester. 

[Bjornebye]

4 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:

What’s happening with Usyk, Lomachenko and Wlad Klitschko? Are they fighting yet or what? Proper fighting, big guns and that. 

They beamed this into the sky, that's why that convoy stalled:

 

 

 

 

 

[Elite]

4 hours ago, Captain Turdseye said:

What’s happening with Usyk, Lomachenko and Wlad Klitschko? Are they fighting yet or what? Proper fighting, big guns and that. 

I've seen them photographed with guns, maybe it's for publicity. If they are actually fighting, at least one will end up dead on the scorecards.

[Bjornebye]

2 minutes ago, Elite said:

I've seen them photographed with guns, maybe it's for publicity. If they are actually fighting, at least one will end up dead on the scorecards.

One judge would probably still give them the win 

[Captain Turdseye]

Ian John-Lewis is on the side of the Russians?

[Red74]

 

[Kevin D]

Never really been convinced by Conlan but he should be able to pick up his first title. I see this has been sold out for weeks, as well, so the Irish have travelled in good numbers.