HBO Boxing

This is the "free week" for HBO. They are showing films of three classic fights tonight:

{1} Diego Corrales vs Floyd Mayweather (1-20-01)
This is a surprisingly easy fight for Mayweather. Corrales is a guy who could give most people his size from any era a tough match. It is a good measure of how talented Floyd is.

{2} Mickey Ward vs Arturo Gotti #1 (5-18-02)
Everything has already been said about this one. Neither ranks among the great fighters, but they put on great fights. I always liked Ward. A left hook to the body is a beautiful thing.

{3} Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko (6-21-03)
If anyone really wants to see Lennox come out of retirement, they should be sat down, in the manner of in "A Clockwork Orange," and made to watch this fight. Again, two guys that will not ever be ranked in the top (if Vitali ever wins a title), but it is a fun fight to watch. It isn't as exciting as a Foreman vs Lyle - type match. But it was good.

I'm not sure why there aren't more boxing fans on a democratic forum. This is the sport of the poor and working classes.

I wish election day was just a boxing match between pres candidates...

I'd suggest we run Samuel Peter.

is a young man who may be the next heavyweight champion. He is generally recognized as the hardest puncher in the sport.

where's he from, how old?

Samuel comes from Africa. After his most recent fight, Teddy Atlas from ESPN (a former trainer with Cus D'Amato's Catskill camp) said he was reminded of George Foreman's power, and that it was like seeing a guy attacked with a baseball bat wrapped in a towel. A few of my friends who are of my age group are reminded of the Big and Little Bears of the 1960s, Sonny Liston and Rubin Carter.

A number of boxing people, including some on DU, are saying that it is possible he will be more in the mold of a Mac Foster or Ron Lyle (or even Earnie Shavers): able to flatten most people in the lower ranks, but not the top contenders. Time will tell. He has a potentially tough fight at the end of the month.

I had heard that there may be some problems with marketing Peter, although I'm not buying into that. Peter's fighting style sells himself: A big heavyweight who punches really, really hard. If advertisers can't sell that, then they are really not trying.

Another issue that has been brought up is his nationality. People are wondering if American fans can get behind a Nigerian heavyweight. Personally, I think so. The casual fan loves fighters who crush their opponents the way that Peter has. Don King has even said things along those same lines. I feel that hardcore boxing fans have been more reserved in praise because they are waiting for Peter to get "the big win". His fight on Sept. 24th is an opportunity for Peter to get the big win. I also feel that Peter is a big win away from super-stardom.

Peter still needs to put together the whole package, though. I would like to see him add some defense to his arsenal. If Peter doesn't, then I can easily see him as a Ron Lyle.

that Klitschko is the best choice of opponents for him. There isn't going to be big rewards for knocking him out, except perhaps with the casual fans. I also think there is a good chance of losing. Though not as good as his brother (at least recently), Klitschko is capable of exploiting the height and reach advantages, and he has very real power. That said, if you want to be heavyweight champion, you need to clean the division now. What's funny is Ron Lyle might have been able to beat any of today's heavyweights. He was a good fighter.

Hey, I had read in The Ring that Vitali had been close to signing with Brock. I would rather have seen that, than him with Rahman. Any idea who Brock will fight next? The guy has earned a title fight.

Vitali doesn't know what he is going to do. Besides he has Rahman in November, I believe.

I feel that Peter has to take risks. Fighting Wladimir is a good way to see where Peter is at this point. For all of Wladimir's lack of defense and lack of chin, he has shown himself to be one of the most offensively gifted fighters in the division. I have never felt that this fight would be easy for Peter. Peter has shown in the past that he does not have much head movement. That plays right in the hands of Wladimir, as the Klitschkos have always loved to fight against fighters who have little to no head movement.

Peter's head is also on what Dundee refers to as the "plane of power" for Klitschko. His hardest punches are at his shoulder level. Peter has to avoid standing in front of him at arm's length.

I would have matched him with two more easier fights, with people who are in the 6'4" to 6'6" range, about three months apart, and then taken the step up in early 2006. His people must feel that he is ready now. I'd rather see him get a fight that goes about 8 rounds, and give him a few more laps around the track.

What do you think about a federal boxing commission? I, personally, think the feds need to be kept the fuck out! Boxing is a sport for the poor and the working class. But it's also about the immigrants, and there are people in the government that either don't care about poor/immigrant/working class, or just plain hate them.

I also think there aren't more boxing fans on here because some people tend to look at the exploitation of race in boxing, and they believe that that sports in general--and/or boxing in particular--objectifies women and has become too corporate.

And your point about the federal government is on target. A boxing commission should not be tied to the federal government. However, a federal commission -- much like in other sports -- could potentially be a very good thing. The exploitation of boxers is done primarily by the combination of immoral managers and promoters. They are the pimps of the sport. The blood is on their hands.

There are, of course, potential down-sides to a federal governing body. And, obviously, boxing is international, and so there will always be ways to get around the rules. But I would like to see an attempt at protecting boxers from slimes like the Kings and Duvas.

I don't see why the federal government is an option, but someone needs to force a commission into boxing. It is a sport that desperately needs to be organized and not just because of the coruption (and there I see why adding the feds wouldn't help), but also to get us the good fights instead of the old tired ones.

That way we could have unified rules and procedures throughout the boxing world. Also, we could have a world champion without having to unify belts and all of that nonsense. It could also make the national and regional titles mean something, as well. Of course, this will never happen.:-(

the idea of regional titles. The truth is, if you are the toughest guy in your town/city, you are pretty tough. In my state (NY) there are four regions in amateur boxing; if you are the toughest guy your weight in your region, that's a big deal. So if a pro is the toughest in a region, perhaps like the northeast, that's huge.

It also gives a structure to boxing. Obviously, places like Philly, NYC, Chicago and LA provide more status than other places. But the regional titles and national titles are a fantastic idea that benefit fighters and fans alike.

if we ended up getting a tournament every three years or so. Even every five years.

It would be the perfect way to make sure the best boxer is the national, and then world champ, but while having plenty of regional fights draw in money.

Let's set this up!

with Ali was baloney, I think the tournament that was set up afterward would serve as a good model for the heavyweights today. They had it limited to 8 back then, which excluded Liston on his come-back, and Frazier opted to sit it out. But if you put the top 16 guys in a tournament, it would put a lot of interest back into the heavyweight division.

There might be two conflicts, with the two brothers and two cousins. But it could probably be worked out. It would establish a champion.

I often don't undestand why the Williams sisters don't forfeit instead of pretending to play.