'Style' or Style

Hey all, only posted a bit and it's my first post on the boxing forum, so as per i'll say, 'long time reader, first time poster' bla bla bla.

Okay, onto my debate, being only 20 my boxing knowledge isn't as great as some on here, when i was younger i remember watching Hatton Vs Oliviera and was instantly drawn into being a Ricky Hatton fan. I watched all his fights after up until his retirement and i always believed he COULD knock anyone out with that dazzling left hook of his. Being slightly older now i realise that styles make fights, and would never of knew at the time all the various forms of technique, tactics and other antics during a fight in order to gain a victory.

I'm mumbling slightly, but what i'm trying to come to is that, as a fan, what time of boxers do you find yourself becoming a fan of? The majority on here value and appreciate the values of terrific boxers, but sometimes, that's not enough for the slightly less hardcore of a fan to become a fan of that fighter. Me, i truly appreciate the style of boxers like Andre Ward, Martinez etc... But for me personally, i'm just not drawn into being a fan of that fighter.

What i wanted to know is, what does it take for you personally to become 'connected' with a certain fighter, whether it be that one knockout blow, or that ability to outbox and out-do their opponent time and time again. Whether it be the slick and quick PBF or the rough and tough of B-Hop. I'm just curious as to whether what gets you guys on here connected to a boxer, and would just like to start my trip on the boxing forum with a light hearted but thought provoking topic.

So is it 'STYLE' or Style?

Shock

I love a good defensive fighter. A guy who can make you miss and counter you with a bit of swagger about it. Guys like Calderon, Whittaker and Mayweather.

Also guys like Jones Jnr and Nas who could make mistakes and get away with it because they were so damn talented. These guys had a way of making good fighters look average.

Kid Galahad is a prospect I'm really excited about. I think he's been forgot about a bit in the whole Quigg v Frampton debate I would have him to beat both of them.

I am drawn to a bit of both. I love Cuban fighters like Lara and Rogondeux who are master technicians, but also love your blood n guts fighter slike Froch.

I cannot stand the style being adopted by Ward and Molina of hitting, holding and pushing your opponent all over the ring. Can't stand it.

Bhop gets away with that cos he is 47 but seeing it in young fighters turns me off.

Welcome mate!

I like watching Ward he never held Frpoch that much, he stood in front of him and gave him a lesson.

just out of curiosity, a slightly un-related subject but... Why is there such a problem with Cuban fighters going pro? I mean the amount of olympic/world champs they seem to pick up is phenominal, surely a country of Cubas status would like the best amount of publicity possible?

Cuba doesn't have a pro system and because they have an embargo with the US, in most cases, a Cuban has to defect from Cuba to become pro. Richard Abril is allowed to come and go from Cuba to US but most defect, it's purely political.

they actually allow some fighters to turn pro? i didnt know that, i was under the impression that if you defected you were outcast for life.

Most are Abrill is a special case. I'm not sure why he is allowed to travel back and forwards from Cuba.

PBK, of course it's a long shot, but would you be willing to write a topic with more information about this sort of thing? Are there any other boxers (preferable recently) that have had this sort of restriction due to politics, beliefs or any other reason?

Knowledge is power.

Shock.

I would love to help mate but I don't know much on the subject. I know what I know about Abrill because he recently fought Rios I knew nothing of him before that apart from his win over Miguel Acosta.

A Mexican got refused entry into Japan when he was supposed to be facing Koki Kameda 12-18 months ago due to him having a criminal record. It was basically a breach of the peace. A late replacement was found and Koki still had a fight and an easy win against a horribly under matched opponent.

The rumours were that Koki never wanted to fight the guy and put pressure on the TV company or his manager to do something and they lobbied a politician. I'm not sure if this is true it was a rumour going around at the time. Koki has fell into a comfort zone of late because he makes barrel loads of money in Japan which is a shame because he is a good fighter.

I don't think guys get restricted as much because or race, religion or politics (excluding boxing politics). It tends to be dangerous guys like Martinez who don't have star name value that get a raw deal now.

I've had a quick read up on Abril and it appears that the cuban fighters are now able to turn professional as long as they follow the correct avenues which are quite time consuming. It is the time constraints which makes them defect and then turn pro rather than being forced by the government, Abril won some sort of 'lottery system' which meant the process was hurried through.

Seanusarrilius wrote:Cuba doesn't have a pro system and because they have an embargo with the US, in most cases, a Cuban has to defect from Cuba to become pro. Richard Abril is allowed to come and go from Cuba to US but most defect, it's purely political.

Actually its the other way around. US has an embargo on Cuba purely because Cubans had the temerity to remove a mafia bribed leader who allowed US criminals to rule their country.

SugarRayRussell (PBK) wrote:Most are Abrill is a special case. I'm not sure why he is allowed to travel back and forwards from Cuba.

He gives nearly all of his earnings back to the govt as tax. He asked for special dispensation and got it.

SugarRayRussell (PBK) wrote:I would love to help mate but I don't know much on the subject. I know what I know about Abrill because he recently fought Rios I knew nothing of him before that apart from his win over Miguel Acosta.

A Mexican got refused entry into Japan when he was supposed to be facing Koki Kameda 12-18 months ago due to him having a criminal record. It was basically a breach of the peace. A late replacement was found and Koki still had a fight and an easy win against a horribly under matched opponent.

The rumours were that Koki never wanted to fight the guy and put pressure on the TV company or his manager to do something and they lobbied a politician. I'm not sure if this is true it was a rumour going around at the time. Koki has fell into a comfort zone of late because he makes barrel loads of money in Japan which is a shame because he is a good fighter.

I don't think guys get restricted as much because or race, religion or politics (excluding boxing politics). It tends to be dangerous guys like Martinez who don't have star name value that get a raw deal now.

You got a thing with these minimum weight fighters. Do you also go dwarf tossing?

Az, Ghosty what sort of qualities lead to you 'connecting' with a fighter and becoming an instant fan?

azania wrote:

SugarRayRussell (PBK) wrote:I would love to help mate but I don't know much on the subject. I know what I know about Abrill because he recently fought Rios I knew nothing of him before that apart from his win over Miguel Acosta.

A Mexican got refused entry into Japan when he was supposed to be facing Koki Kameda 12-18 months ago due to him having a criminal record. It was basically a breach of the peace. A late replacement was found and Koki still had a fight and an easy win against a horribly under matched opponent.

The rumours were that Koki never wanted to fight the guy and put pressure on the TV company or his manager to do something and they lobbied a politician. I'm not sure if this is true it was a rumour going around at the time. Koki has fell into a comfort zone of late because he makes barrel loads of money in Japan which is a shame because he is a good fighter.

I don't think guys get restricted as much because or race, religion or politics (excluding boxing politics). It tends to be dangerous guys like Martinez who don't have star name value that get a raw deal now.

You got a thing with these minimum weight fighters. Do you also go dwarf tossing?

Not that I want to correct you but Kameda is a bantamweight who moved up from flyweight!

I could be be the dwarf I'm only 5ft 4 with my trainers on.

For me its their style and I suppose attitude. Huge fan of Duran both for his style and that he was simply a nut outside the ring.

Loved Sugar Ray Leonards style but disliked him mainly because of all the marketing hype and also I saw him as an Ali imposter and no-one comes close to Ali. Wanted everyone who fought him to spark him. Magnificent boxer and for me the best P4P ever. Still hate the git though.

Ah I see. Kameda should call himself the "dragon".

Kamedas a character. the Mayweather of the East. He's a star in Japan and makes a lot of money but splits opinion. Some hate his cocky, flashy attitude and some love it.

Showtime offered him into the bantamweight tournament but wouldn't take any fights to Japan and he laughed at the money on the table from them.

A guy from Japan on the torrent site I use uploads all they hype stuff and Kameda fights from Japanese TV with subtitles. Some of it has been dubbed Bruce Lee style it's fantastic stuff.