Hey folks I wanted to share something, in the fight of the century between Ali and Frazier at the start of the 11th round Frazier lands a big left hook and Ali goes down. Mercante says no knockdown and the fight continues. Does anyone else here seem a little bit unconvinced. It might just be me but it doesn't look like he slipped. Frazier lands the hook whilst Ali throws an uppercut has a bit of a delayed reaction and his legs look shaken as he goes down. Again it could actually be a slip but does anyone else think Frazier scored the knockdown here and Mercante was wrong ?
To be honest no, I think he just stumbled, I think the left hook was a warning sign, and it made Ali alert, it is very easy to slip when you stand in that float like a butterfly position. But you know, I could be wrong, I will re watch, and whether you are right or wrong it is great that you are so observant as a judge. This is unrelated to this fight, but I'm absolutely gutted about Tyson Fury missing out on the chance to fight Wladimir Klitschko on the night he was promised to have the opportunity, I just watched a video of them facing off just days before the fight was postponed, and I really think Wlad did not fancy it, Fury actually predicted the injury, time and time again this has happened, Fury has got inside his opponent's head and they haven't been able to handle, they can't lose face, so their only other option is pull a flanker by crying injury, horrible. I think this ruins the sport, injuries are not a holiday break, they are not something you plan, they can not be avoided, and I think to use them falsely to your advantage is just cowardly, I say Wlad is ordered, I repeat, ORDERED!!! To postpone the fight rather than cancel otherwise he is stripped of his belts and hugely fined.
Ali was SMACKED by a left hook about a second before he slipped on the canvas. It was a borderline call that could have gone either way. I felt it was a knockdown since it was chiefly caused by a a punch.
You are right about how it was a borderline call. Even Frazier was confused with Mercante hadn't started the count. Vock who do you rate as the greatest heavyweight of all time ?
I will re watch, there is a good chance you guys are right.
I still am not sure, it could have been a slip but there was a solid left hook that landed.
In order. Ali, Foreman, Lewis... after that in no order it is Holmes, Tyson, Vitali, Wladimir, Frazier and Holyfield.
Thanks vock
Those were all great heavyweights, you know vock and Jonny, I read earlier that Evander Holyfield said in a recent interview that it was very easy for him to forgive Tyson even after the damage he inflicted on his ear, that just shows the lasting bond a fighter has with his opponent after the fight, that is one of the things I've always loved about boxing.
Holyfield is a christian man so I can believe that he forgave Tyson. It seems like all rivalries seem to cure themselves. Even Ali and Frazier somewhat made up, but for a long time Frazier still hated Ali.
To be honest mate, I think that might have had something to do with the fact that he was upset about not being allowed to take part in the last round of their last fight, he must have felt hard done by, most Christians do find it easy to forgive, becoming a christian has defiantly made me a more forgiving person, but it is not always as simple as that, I think it was a case of him managing to put himself in Tyson's shoes and understand why he did what he did.
I would like to get your opinion on a few fights, Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte, Chris Eubank Jr vs Gary O'Sullivan, and Andy Lee vs Billy Joe Saunders.
I'll start with the biggest one in my opinion, Andy Lee vs Billy Joe Saunders. I am excited for this and it will be nice if it is good because it will be the last big boxing event before the year ends, if you know what I mean. Who will win ? I haven't looked at their styles or know much about them and if I were to guess it would probably be Andy Lee.
Eubank Jr vs Gary O'Sullivan, to be honest his dad may speak about him too highly but I think Eubank Jr is a talented fighter and I think he could get a better opposition. That's my opinion though and that is subject to change a lot.
Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte I haven't heard anything about and had to google but it sounds good, Joshua has a 100% percent KO rate and both are undefeated. In theory it looks good but I haven't seen either fight and may be way off.
cotto vs canelo approaches...
Tell you what now that I re-watched the round I am not even sure that left hook landed it looks like Ali might have just slipped it and that Mercante actually made the right call. However nowadays the end of the round would have been called a knockdown because the ropes held Ali up for the last 40 seconds. At one point Frazier lands a left hook and Ali starts to fall and Joe is starting to walk to a neutral corner but the ropes held him up.
So if round 11 and round 15 were technically/subjectively speaking 10-8 rounds would anyone regard this fight as "close" ?