Do you let a fighters personality get in the way of appreciation?

Afternoon Folks!

Have you ever or do you let the personality of a fighter get in the way of appreciating their skills?

Some fighters that seem to rile some people:

James De Gale
Amir Khan
Floyd Mayweather
Naseem Hamed
Mike Tyson
Chris Eubank

Alot of people I have spoken would often say that they turn up for their fights just to see them get knocked out! Is this actually true, would someone actually pay good money (boxing tickets arent cheap!) to see someone lose? I certainly wouldnt!

Now Floyd is the most skilled boxer I have seen (my generation). Although he is a bit of a plonker - i am in awe of his skills when he fights. I personally dont let it get in the way of appreciation of his skills.

With fighters, i think it goes with the territory - if you can back it up - then why not be brash? It sells tickets, gets your name about and you can become famous (or imfamous).

What do you think?

Have a nice weekend folks!

Dazstarr

No. The guy I normally want to win is normally based on what future matchups they could be in, or based on their boxing skills. Very rarely do I want the guy to win because I think he's the nicer person etc. I could never allow a boxer to annoy me to the point I hate them and would turn up to a fight to see them knocked out. Even DeGale, while I don't particularly like the way he comes across, as long as he keeps working hard and stepping up in terms of opponent, I'm not so sensitive to really care about how he talks, he's not really hurting anyone.

I certainly agree that it goes with the territory, Daz.

In one on one combat situation, nothing sells better than the morality play of good v evil. Boxing has embraced that philosophy all the way back to John L Sullivan, and probably even earlier.

Agree about Floyd, also. He gets up my nose, but he's a wonderful talent.

Have a nice weekend yourself, mate.

No

D4thincarnation wrote:No

You're a good sport.

The boxer I want to win is the boxer I got my money on.

Like it D4!! Didnt realise you were a betting man.

Thanks Windy! Will do!

Scott - Bang on mate. Thats exactly my stance.

Some of the biggest draws in boxing have been the pantomime villain type of guys. Eubank, Naz, Mayweather, etc. Then we have the genuinely shady fellas...Tyson...the boxers who ACTUALLY commit quite horrid crimes. Then bizarrely there's people like Bruno who seemed to be popular because of brown sauce and dressing as widow Twanky.

D4thincarnation wrote:The boxer I want to win is the boxer I got my money on.

Ha !

I'm not a gambling man but, nonetheless, I find that to be an excellent principle.

Dazstarr wrote:Like it D4!! Didnt realise you were a betting man.

Thanks Windy! Will do!

Scott - Bang on mate. Thats exactly my stance.

Won a lot of money betting on Pacquiao and also Mayweather, had a few losses too but thats down to me being too technical

I don't let it get in the way of how much respect i have for them as a fighter, if they deserve it, but like to see real cocky people brought down a peg or two, nothing personal though, just for my own amusement.

I don't let it affect my opinion negatively often, but I can't help but warm to fighters who come across well.

Most recently the K boys WWF tag team tactics have got up my nose abit, but that also effects what happens in the ring.

BALTIMORA wrote:Some of the biggest draws in boxing have been the pantomime villain type of guys. Eubank, Naz, Mayweather, etc. Then we have the genuinely shady fellas...Tyson...the boxers who ACTUALLY commit quite horrid crimes. Then bizarrely there's people like Bruno who seemed to be popular because of brown sauce and dressing as widow Twanky.

Hahaha!!! Quality!

I won a hefty sum on Clottey/Pacman. It was massivley obvious from the off that it was a points win for the Pacman!

Biggest win i had - Prince Arrom winning Prizefighter!

I enjoyed Scotts use of the phrase 'he's not really hurting anyone' when referring to Degale!
That aside, I personally don't allow a fighters personality get in the way of my appreciation of their skills. Amir Khan can really irritate me, but I think he's a tremendous talent from our shores and I want to see him in the best match ups at 140 and win. And D4's point was also excellent!

slash912 wrote:I enjoyed Scotts use of the phrase 'he's not really hurting anyone' when referring to Degale!

It's the old Audley Harrison joke: "I don't know why everyone is so hard on him..."

Dazstarr wrote:I won a hefty sum on Clottey/Pacman. It was massivley obvious from the off that it was a points win for the Pacman!

Biggest win i had - Prince Arrom winning Prizefighter!

I lost money on that one, not very happy with Clottey's tactics I thought the guy had some pride.

Had a great accumulator up a few months earlier, Pacquiao to KO Cotto in rounds 10-12, Haye to beat Valuev on pts and Dawson to win on pts.

Always used to put Dawson for a pts/UD win as apart of my accumulators, bumped up my winning more than a few time.

Had Mayweather to stop Hatton in the 10th also. Think I cover rounds 10-12 and pts.

Had Mayweather to stop Hatton in the 10th also. Think I cover rounds 10-12 and pts.

Good shout mate!! We should start a 606v2 betting thread!

Longest bet I ever won was a 90/1 Pascal W11 Dawson. Thought Dawson would UD him but couldn't resist the odds. Thanks to coxy promoting the Khan vs Maidana UD odds I had a fair bit on that.

I can't remember ever having won a bet on boxing, my analysis must be somewhat lacking. I did win on a Darts Premier League accumulator a few weeks back though, maybe I should stick to that!

I don't mind fighters being brash if a fighter backs it up with performances. Mayweather is a prime example, trash talks every guy he fights but has never been beaten and has totally outclassed most of them. I would never buy a ticket just to see a fighter get knocked out. That's sad. Think it is more likely to happen with a more casual boxing fan than a hardcore one.

I had £10 on Prescott to KO Amir in the first round. Not because I actually thought it was going to happen, but I had a dream about it a few days before. The odds were to good to resist. You can imagine my delight when I was watching it.

I also had a dream that Fagan stopped Amir in the 5th....

Why does Amir Khan keep popping up in my thoughts, I hate the guy...

For me a boxer is a boxer. I dont want to hear him moralising about the plight of the homelsss and how he wants to cure all the world's ills. Sure a boxer can have political views. But I want a boxer to be an animal like tyson, trash talker like Floyd, Camacho, Mayorga, Naz et al or an absolute plonkers like Anthony Small (whatever happened to him).

They make me laugh and make the build up more exciting. Humble boxers like Pac annoy me prior to any fight (Pac is exciting once the bell goes) but his personality is a cure for insomnia.

Scottrf wrote:Longest bet I ever won was a 90/1 Pascal W11 Dawson. Thought Dawson would UD him but couldn't resist the odds. Thanks to coxy promoting the Khan vs Maidana UD odds I had a fair bit on that.

Still couldn't believe they had the odds that high for that one. By the end of it the odds had come in a massive amount on the UD.

Naturally when he knocked Maidana down in the 1st and Khan was all over the show in the 10th i had a Snatch (Film) "Now, we are f**ked" moment!

Haven't really had a bet since, odds on Khan stopping McCloskey are low, something like 4/11 which isn't really worth it

And regarding the article itself: I had a dislike for Naz but never stopped me giving praise, sadly others place him on a "what if he had a brain" pedestal though. Which is like saying if you took Tiger Wood's mental strength away he's be average.

Anyway, i can't keep replying to threads all morning! Off for a bacon buttie and all day beer, wish me luck!