Staying cool and calm the greatest pre-fight weapon??

There is something intimidating about someone who keeps their cool.......Much more intimidating than a big mouth pointing the finger or attempting to push past security to try to get at you...Surprised more fighters don't do it..

CAMACHO v CHAVEZ........Camacho was using all kinds of bravado at the press conference, throwing his hands up and threatening JC and Chavez just stood there with a smile on his face....and I think it was Camacho that was unnerved more by the experience..Same with Smith-Chavez...

CLEVERLY v Bellew.....I think Bellew with his antics was either scared stiff or trying to upset Cleverly but all he ended up doing was probably convincing himself that the guy thought he was an easy night....Although he was the aggressive one Cleverly made the biggest statement!!!

What you see isn't as worrying as what you don't......

Staying cool calm under fire is the greatest asset of them all....

Sometimes, perhaps, but there are examples on the flip side too.

For instance, Duran intimidated and riled Sugar Ray with his pre-fight posturing before their first fight, and goaded him into a fight he shouldn't have been fighting. Would he have done this if Duran had been polite, amiable and complimentary?

Maybe it depends more on the character of a person, but outright intimidation seems just as valid a technique as playing the gentleman to me.

Mouth is one thing, but skill also comes into play, as does preparation. Naz was brash, but usually won. Mayweather is all mouth, and is probably the biggest, most glaring omission you could have made Truss.

It's not an omission.........They were much more talented than their opponents....

When someone stays cool in front of you...youare naturally worried as to why he is so calm.....

If someone is aggressive without much provocation it kind of makes you wonder why he's acting like that..

Keep your cards close to your chest for me..

Barrera is the best I have ever seen. No emotion whatsoever. In the ring he is so cool and focused he never shows the pain of getting hurt.

There have been some serious cold blooded assasins but Barrera must be right up there.

I think Mannys a good example. He goes about things in a quiet manner and always seems relaxed and laid back. It would freak me out watching my opponent smiling non-stop the whole way into the ring... As said above I think talent is is the over riding factor here. They're calm because they're confident in their own ability.

When he smacked Morales at the pre - fight conference he wasn't..

Its all about being able to read you're opponent. Some fighters can hide when they are hurt others give it away with shaking the head or smiling there still hurt. A good fighter is someone you cant read in the ring.

It's easy to say "They were much more talented than their opponents", but that doesn't address the fact that their pre-fight demeanour wasn't foiled by any kind of steely silence.

I have to agree with TRUSSMAN from experience when a fighter shows no emotion in front of you it can put you on the defensive as you are not sure what to do. Watch two calm fighters in the opening round each not willing to commit until one of them throws the first meaningful shot.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:When he smacked Morales at the pre - fight conference he wasn't..

That was genuine bad blood. There was no acting going on.

It wasn't a case of acting the Billy Big Banana.

I remember the Ring Magazine journo's being impressed with the way Froch calmly stalked Taylor in that 12th round.

Talking about winning the psychological battle Balti....

Doesn't matter if someone is a hundred times better now does it!!

Lennox Lewis was also very cool in and out of the ring,almost laid back.

Thought when Lewis had that war of words with Bowe after Holyfield and stayed cool he got an edge over Bowe..

It was 1 of his strong points being so cool in the ring. He never seemed to be in a hurry when he fought even when he beat Rahman he remained cool while obviously looking to ko Rahman something rotten.

Too cool in the first fight...

Best example I could think of would be Joe Louis. Utterly passive and expressionless, and he scared the living daylights out of his opponents.

Had it not been for the Ali fights I would have added Sonny Liston to those already mentioned.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:Lennox Lewis was also very cool in and out of the ring,almost laid back.

He had fight with Rahman on live TV?

He's probably the most intimidating fighter in history...for me...

Cool fury...impassive stare.

HumanWindmill wrote:Best example I could think of would be Joe Louis. Utterly passive and expressionless, and he scared the living daylights out of his opponents.

Had it not been for the Ali fights I would have added Sonny Liston to those already mentioned.

I think Joe was forced to be passive and show no emotion whatsoever because of the damage Jack Johnson had done with his antics earlier. I am sure some part of Louis wanted to let loose and goad a few of his opponents.

Probably the best recent example is W Klitscko v Haye for me. Haye so much mouth, t-shirts and daft vids for about two years solid. WK just took it all in his stride and the rest is history.

In fact, generally the Ks are masters at keeping quiet and dignified and just disect their opponents on the night.

Chavez snr always looked cool to me. Cool, methodical and cunning when he went about wearing down his opponents bit by bit.

Chavez v Rosario good example.

Good example boony...Think Haye was rattled.......

Don't know Windy think the guy was a gentleman and maybe you are undermining him there!..

Maybe he realised being cool and impassive was a weapon in itself!!

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:

HumanWindmill wrote:Best example I could think of would be Joe Louis. Utterly passive and expressionless, and he scared the living daylights out of his opponents.

Had it not been for the Ali fights I would have added Sonny Liston to those already mentioned.

I think Joe was forced to be passive and show no emotion whatsoever because of the damage Jack Johnson had done with his antics earlier. I am sure some part of Louis wanted to let loose and goad a few of his opponents.

I doubt it.

He had been quiet as a child, and was exactly the same in later life, long after racial tensions had eased in the US.

Think if you are ired or hurt and you have the abiity not to show you can sometimes make an opponent break before you... even though you both feel the same inside..

I think it's very much a 'horses for courses' situation here, Truss. Depending on who the two fighters are and what personalities they have, it can vary from being a huge advantage to being totally redundant, possibly even harmful.

Boxers, no matter how great, are still only human at the end of the day, and it's not always healthy to battle your natural instincts. Some are bound to be intimidated by load and thuggish demeanours and see passivness in their opponent as a weakness, whereas others will be on the other side of the spectrum. As I said, horses for courses. Far too many variables for it to become a generally accepted theme.

Would you not be more intimidated with a guy who sits there smiling, calm and cool or a guy who tries to act crazy like Bellew..

Think it radiates confidence Chris and puts questions into an opponent..

But for sure maybe you have a point.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Talking about winning the psychological battle Balti....

Doesn't matter if someone is a hundred times better now does it!!

But that's the thing: it's proved my original point, which is that it's about more than a psych-out. Sure, that aspect is important, but it's only one of a number of influential factors.

I have tried the cool, calm approach. I think it has more to do with the fighters personality then anything else. TRUSS you mentioned yesterday that Holyfield and Hearns could not help but engage in a scrap and its true. I am a reserved character myself and employed the calm approach in the ring. I never came out swinging or going on the offensive I would wait for my opponent to attack first always responding to whatever he did more then instigating the attacks myself.

Different strokes for different folks - Aaron Pryor always did his crazy man routine in the weeks leading up to a fight, Mayorga rattled Forrest with his antics and so, most famously, did Ali on numerous occasions to many opponents, notably Liston.

Too much depends on the fighters, remember reading Holmes biography and he said all that snarling at each other and slagging each other off beforehand was BS. Staying calm is obviously important to an extent because fighters should all enter the ring with a gameplan and the calmer you are the more likely you are to stick to it and execute it but as others have said there are plenty who need that fire in their belly to perform.

Larry wasn't altogether calm with Cooney.....beforehand but was a model of professionalism inside it..

But in essence he was right........Stay cool..

Horses for courses though I guess...different things spook different people..I'll buy that.

BALTIMORA wrote:Mouth is one thing, but skill also comes into play, as does preparation. Naz was brash, but usually won. Mayweather is all mouth, and is probably the biggest, most glaring omission you could have made Truss.

Whilst Mayweather is all mouth during the build up, come fight night and especially the ring walk, he is coolness personified, totally comfortable.

Lennox was always a cool character too.

When Calzaghe walked to the ring against Hopkins I remember thinking how controlled and comfortable he looked on the big stage compared to Hatton against Mayweather. Calzaghe was happy to be there and focused whereas Hatton looked in a right old state.

Of course it's not 100% as sometimes the mouthy character does the job, but as a general rule, I would always lean towards the cool controlled fighter.

I always like Manny's ring walks too, get the feeling he is totally happy with the task facing him.

One of the most inventive and best tricks I've seen at a weigh in was when Koki Kameda knew his opponent was struggling to make weight and he turned up to the weigh in eating. I can't remember who he was fighting although I'm pretty sure he was Mexican but the Japanese public didn't like it one bit.

For me the best pre fight weapon is being better than your opponent.

It generally helps.

Pinot anyone?

Recent fight that comes to memory? George Groves. He kept a cool head before and during the fight against DeGale, got the job done and won some fans in the process.

As mentioned before, Lennox Lewis was just so Zen before going into the ring. I heard before a few of his fights when Sky would try and interview the team backstage that he would often have a nice little nap before putting his gear on. There was barely a word spoken from him... then his ring walks, where he looked in trance he was so focused. Incredible.

Having "that" look of coolness and sheer calm must scare people.

prettyboykev wrote:One of the most inventive and best tricks I've seen at a weigh in was when Koki Kameda knew his opponent was struggling to make weight and he turned up to the weigh in eating. I can't remember who he was fighting although I'm pretty sure he was Mexican but the Japanese public didn't like it one bit.

Didn't Mayorga do the same thing on a couple of occasions? I am sure I can remember him eating and smoking a big fat Cohiba before one of his weigh-ins?

Not that he could be called calm or anything.

Mayorga did I forgot about that Mayorga was great at press conferences and weigh ins. The guy is nuts.

HumanWindmill wrote:Best example I could think of would be Joe Louis. Utterly passive and expressionless, and he scared the living daylights out of his opponents.

Had it not been for the Ali fights I would have added Sonny Liston to those already mentioned.

Sonny Liston just looked awesome prior to the first Ali fight. Of course it is amplified by Ali's histrionics, but Sonny just looked terrifying. I love the bit when Ali is shouting about finishing the fight inside 8 rounds and someone asks Liston what his prediction was. You can hear Ali screaming in the background and all Liston does is stick two fingers up, palm facing out, before turning his hand round and giving Ali the two fingered salute, all in total silence. Brilliant stuff.

Didn't help him come fight time though!

You not think Ali's histrionics were a result of Liston's calm impassivity..

I'm not sure Truss. Some people who know more about it may be able to give a better answer than me, but my understanding was that Ali and his team had played up to it a little in a deliberate attempt to unsettle Sonny, possibly as a result of Listons calm and still nature prior to fights. What better way of getting under a controlled persons skin that by doing the exact opposite, and to such an extent that Liston actually thought Ali was mentally unstable.

There is no doubt that Ali was wound into a frenzy, whether that was a deliberate and considered plan or just Ali's insecurities surfacing when faced with Listons impassive nature, who knows.

I thought Ali was scared stiff prettyboy...but who knows!!

Liston was thought of as unbeatable and Ali was going into the unknown..

Sure his menacing coolness helped with the intimidation.

But you might be right!!

Now Truss, I am confused. You are addressing my points but calling me prettyboy.

Or are you just chatting me up again?

No. Training is.

Scottrf wrote:No. Training is.

Eh?

I am not as bright as you Scott. Make it simpler please.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Scottrf wrote:No. Training is.

Eh?

I am not as bright as you Scott. Make it simpler please.

Read the title of the thread.

Scottrf wrote:

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Scottrf wrote:No. Training is.

Eh?

I am not as bright as you Scott. Make it simpler please.

Read the title of the thread.

My apologies Mr Scott. I, rather arrogantly, assumed you were replying to me.

Clay's antic's were apparently part of a brilliant gameplan. The doctor took his blood pressure shortly before the fight an almost called for the bout to be cancelled as it was so high. Approximately 20 minutes later, it was allegedly as near normal as it could possibly be. Chasing Liston with a bear lead, gatecrashing his training camps etc were all designed perhaps not to unsettle Liston but in fact give the Liston the impression that Clay himself was unstable.

Perhaps, the illusion of insanity is one of the games best pre-fight tactics...although I believe Oliver McCall may have gone too far!

Chatting you up.........

Need new blood at the blue oyster...