Great question Sean G I think the non educated to the sweet science like the rock em sock em but the knowledgeable fans like both aspects of the game. When you see a guy control a fight with out using a jab over a great fighter (Roy Jones Jr) you know you are witnessing something very special now to the uninformed they really don't understand what it they are seeing it's a shame . I always write on here when Mayweather or Andre Ward fights that it is going to be a masters class in boxing hoping that the guys that don't know that much about the sport would set down a learn from the greats because when there gone there gone. I like to see a guy use his mind and his body to break down another man. There is no other sport in the world that comes close to boxing.
Not me. I like a good slug fest as much as anybody, but I like to see fighters use all of their skills. If Mayweather were a more decent person, I would be a supporter. I respect his defensive skills. I respect the heck out of Hopkins. He is also a defensive wizard. Loved Winky Wright, another defensive master, as well as Pernell Whitaker. I don't think defensive fighters are boring at all. Boxers who enter the ring scared usually end up on the canvas as was the case in many of Tyson's earlier fights. You could see the fear in people's eyes when they were facing him and down they would go. Defensive fighters are not scared, they just know how to use their skills to avoid taking the punishment that brings out the accolades of "gutsy fighter" or "warrior" but shortens people careers and lives. Hopkins would not be a champion at 48 if he had taken the punches that Jermain Taylor (the man that supposedly beat him) has taken in his much shorter career.
Well I am always drawn to intelligent fighters that are defensively elusive and have a very high boxing I.Q. that is why fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manual Marquez are able to have such long careers. Floyd being smart and giving himself well needed breaks at a time.
I think we are drawn to all out brawls rather than chess matches. If you look at the fights that are considered the best, they are almost always toe to toe wars. Personally I really like defensive boxers. Watching someone dance their way out of trouble and expertly counter is just as exciting as a war. You have to appreciate the technique and skill that a defensive boxer has.
No fear kind of fighter because im a boxing fan...I want to be entertained...Now, i like ali, roy jones, leonard,duran, pacquiao,tyson simply because they can entertain people...I dont like defensive fighter because they are boring as hell...If sweetie pea has the power, i like him too but the issue with most defensive fighter is that they dont have the power to KO their opponents...So they simply focus on their defense which makes them boring to watch...Lennox lewis is a boring fighter, because he keeps running but the guy has the power to KO his opponents...Which makes him a little different from the other...
As long as a fighter does what he needs to do to win,they'v got my attention.of course i like brawls because they make for excitement but if every fight were like that it wouldn't be the same.
watching defensive/cautious fighters can be something to behold.it don't have to see a brawl to know i'm witnessing something special.
i feel nothing but appreciation when watching fighters like mayweather and klitschko
so in short i am drawn to all fighter's who show me something great
I for one have always enjoyed a good slugfest, I think brawlers are more entertaining than runners. I respect what Ray Leonard did with Hagler and Duran, but I didn't enjoy it. I blame Ray for Floyd's style, you have to do what keeps winning, and Ray Leonard taught an entire generation of boxers led by Floyd how to win. Toe to toe slug fests like Hagler/Hearns or Hagler/Mugambi are the exception, not the norm which is why they are appealing to boxing fans. Boxing purists appreciate what Ray Leonard did, but the average fan just saw Ray run for 2:45 then flurry to con the judges. Duran quit out of disgust for Ray's refusal to fight, and as a result the "No Mas" fight stained Duran's legacy for all time. Duran/DeJesus on the other hand, like Arguello/Pryor went down in history as boxing greatness. I think most people prefer sluggers to runners and when Ray Leonard stood and slugged, he KOed one of boxing's great KO artists in Hearns so in that respect he vindicated himself and showed that if he chose, he could slug, but if not, he was capable of choosing to "not slug" or "run" or if you prefer "box defensively".
People like Pernell Whitaker and Roy Jones Jr. could make opponents miss without running, which is far more appealing to boxing fans, but he ability to stand in front of an opponent and still make them miss, then counter them without running takes a God given gift that few fighters are blessed with, so most must use their feet to escape such exchanges or take the shots, stand their ground and slug. It helps when you can chose one or the other style as the circumstances dictate, and guys like Ray Leonard could do that, but you tell me which the fans prefer. I know I prefer the Leonard that KOed Hearns over the one who frustrated Duran into quitting.
I have heard many say defensive fighters are boring or scared. I feel they are being smart. Do were prefer "rock em sock em"?
