I might have posted this before but it's always worth a second viewing. The authentic version of Hagler vs Mugabi, and they kept it up for 11 rounds. Middle weight boxing at it's finest and worth 30 mins of anyone's time.
Watched Crocker v Donovan from SSE Arena Belfast tonight and still can’t get my head around what happened. Suffice to say, Marcus McDonnell should retire or be retired. Not only that, a search for brown envelopes should be carried out… Disgusting.
I didn’t think the dq was outrageous. Donovan clearly threw a damaging punch well after the bell. It’s in the rules.
I am happy for you to have that as your reality. The truth is, Crocker was done, wanted a way out and took it. It must be obvious if even Tony Bellend saw it, and called out the referee for his “agenda.”
I agree, Crocker was done and wanted out. Donovan gave the golden opportunity- by delivering a damaging smack after the bell. Boom. A rematch beckons. And based on what we saw Donovan has to be hot favourite. He fought well. Agenda? Sectarianism again
My take on the fight, the ref is supposed to signal the end of the round with his hands and call time, look at him when the bell sounds, he doesn't actually do anything until Crocker dives to the floor. Donovan throws a punch about a second after the bell (have to say the crowd was extremely loud so it may have been difficult to hear). The ref should have considered all this and then make a decision if the punch was accidental or intentional, if he feels it was intentional then he should have deducted 2 points from Donovan. Crocker dives to the floor looking for a way out, he knew he was a beaten man tonight (look at his face). Tony Bellow called it right, the decision should be looked at again and for me the decision scrapped and a re-match awarded. Crocker raising his arms at the end of the fight, slapping his heart (didn't show any heart in the fight) and walking round the ring when he got the verdict was pathetic...
We tend to view Foreman through the lens of those adverts for his grill as a jolly, avuncular fellow, but he was a bad man in his younger days. Although this clip was from the second part of his career, it's one of the nastiest KOs you'll ever see.
Ah... the walking uppercut... ooof! But that's exactly right. In his early days he was a violent angry young man who had the size & power to make it count. It's where the mean in the lean-mean cooking machine comes from. Few dared get in the ring with him and his total demolition of Ken Norton & Joe Frazier, what was it 6 knockdowns in 2 rounds?, are a perfect illustration as to why. The latter is summat I can only watch from behind the settee. And this was why the Ali fight is held in such high regard. A 32 year old ex champ against the meanest mother & hardest hitting guy 7 years his junior? Some warned him not to do it. "That all you got George" indeed.... Evidently Foreman was a broken man after the fight and didn't do anything for 18 months. Everything his whole world was based upon was knocked out in that fight and he has credited Ali with saving his life. This was the start of his road to Damascus and the eventual seeing of the glory of God. The whole thing reads like a Greek epic.
Have you seen the biopic they made a few years ago? Tbh, it’s not a particularly good film, but worth a watch regardless if you have a couple of hours to spare.
I haven't... but have seen the "When We Were Kings" documentary. A number of times. The more you think about these guys from this era the more you realise they are tough, hard, strong men. And in this instance I don't mean just physically.
They are indeed tough men. Makes me laugh when I see Eddie Hearn thinking he’s one of them by shoving Ben Shalom about
Ali never seemed to fit that mould, but in a way he was like me, a big mouth smart-Alec, so he had to learn to fight. However, that’s where we diverge because although I also ended up having lots of them, my record was patchy and my career peaked when I choked out a local bully nicknamed “Mad Dog” in the Kwik Save car park c.1987.
Thinking about it a little more it's their mental fortitude to overcome, not necessarily in the ring, all their doubts & fears. Courage is perhaps a more fitting word. He-he-he... which reminds me of one of Ali's quotes 'It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am". But the Killer at Kwik Save hasn't quite got the same ring to it as the Thriller in Manila the latter of which is another documentary worth watching.
