Why don't fighters watch more fights?

Carl Froch on 'on the ropes' didnt know who Anthony Dirrell was
Paul Smith said he hasn't seen much of Groves??
Fighters saying they havent seen a recent big fight


There are endless examples in the run up to fights of fighters saying they dont study, havent seen or are not that familiar with either their upcoming opponent, recent big fights or current contenders in their own division. Now i am not saying they have to be a historian on the sport but this is their profession. I have a full time job and i still make time to watch alot of fights and monitor upcoming talent.

So why don't boxers themselves watch more fights? Especially those who can afford to do it full time.

Strange one really, isn't it? You'd think they may be able to learn the odd thing or two from watching others at the top of their game, too.

Watch fight/sleep with model. Delete as appropriate.

I'm really not sure to be honest, Sean. From a training aspect, in times gone by a fighter sitting down with his trainer to watch as many tapes as possible of an upcoming opponents was more than just the norm, it was seen as an absolute must. Obviously, in their own free time, a boxer (like anyone else) can do as they please, but when I hear fighters saying they don't feel the need to watch the opponent they're about to face, it does leave me puzzled. Mind you, free to use their free time as they are, I still find it alarming that so many boxers don't really seem to come across as fans of the sport they earn from.

It's crazy to me the amount of fighters that seem uninterested in tape and instead decide to rely entirely on their corners gameplan. Its inexcusable for me, you are bound to learn somethign from watching tape. Even if it is only that you are likely to lose. SO many interviews too of boxers not having seen recent big fights, i mean seriously, after the model banging, what else have they got to do?

Not sure but speaking specifically about Froch, he's said before he's not a boxing fan and doesn't really enjoy watching it!

They all talk nonsense IMO.

Of course they study their opponent.

I hate when a fighter claims these ridiculous statements. With the exception of Froch & Dirrell, as I don't think many people knew that much about Andre the actor due to him being a nobody whilst now he is .......well still a nobody.

Paul Smith is talking nonsense as Groves is very well known due to DeGale. Probably more known than Smith now.

Every fighter trains to build a strategy to defeat their opponent, how on this earth could they do that by not knowing what they are coming up against.

smith's getting knocked out saturday

i dont care if boxers like th esport or not, they're in it and their paycheques depend on winning and getting thru the sport without brain damage should be enough to push them into studying their opponents enough to minimize how many times they get belted in the head. If i was a trainer i would be like, watch this with me, it may save your life.

Anyone who doesnt watch tape is a Dummy

I didn't know who Anthony Dirrell was either, until I saw him on KOTV last week. He won a fight by cracking some guy in the plums. Can he see straight with those eyes? He's worse than Rendall Munroe.

I would be inclined to think alot of it is kidology on the boxers part. Somebody like Paul Smith will have watched the Goves v DeGale/Anderson fights with interest I would imagine. He may have even been at them. Find it hard to believe he wouldnt watch te fights back. Look at how detailed Groves and Booth were in their prep for DeGale for instance.

At very low level, or against journeymen I can understand but I think it would be very common to study opponents tapes during training for decent level fights.

Lewis doesnt watch much boxing now that he is retired he says the heavyweight division is boring and he knows the klichkos will be boring fights who can blame him lol?

agree manos that it doesnt matter when they're fighting duds,

Union. You dont have to know he is he isnt about to be your numebr 1 mandatory

how hard is it to be aware of your own divisions top ten??

it is a bit baffling and there doesnt seem to be many boxers apart from guys like hopkins that attend a lot of events either.
any half decent fight in america ane you will see hopkins bald head ringside.
im sure that some exagerate it to i dont know lull there opponent into a false sense of security. ie. making him think he doesnt know what hes getting himself into then catching him off guard?

either that or theyre lying for some strange reason. if i was a pro boxer in the run up to a fight i would be looking at all his fights.

i remember roach saying that manny got bored watching his opponents and never really did it except when it came to de la hoya.