FISTS OF FURY
GIVE me a break. Those labelling the heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko as one of the greatest ever are overexcited.
Maybe they’re just patriotic Brits, or perhaps they’ve been watching pugilism for two seconds, having never seen even Evander Holyfield in his first incarnation as champion, taking on Riddick Bowe at the peak of his powers.
Don’t get me wrong. JoshuaKlitschko was an entertaining scrap that has resurrected interest in the heavyweight division, especially after the turgid wrestling matches fans have been treated to courtesy of Sir Lean-a-lot Klitschko.
It may be the greatest heavyweight title fight since Lennox Lewis retired after beating Klitschko’s brother, Vitali, in 2003, but that’s like describing Darth Vader as a goodie because he was less evil than the emperor.
Think about it.
Joshua and Klitschko delivered three exciting rounds out of 11. For the first four, Joshua lacked intent.
Remember what Corrie Sanders did to 27-year-old Wladimir in 2003? He blew him out inside of two rounds.
There should have been no need for Joshua to play chess with Klitschko, now 41. He should have got stuck in early.
Joshua did well to get up after getting caught, admittedly flatfooted, in the sixth. Getting up to win a fight speaks volumes about a boxer, and that’s a feat Mike Tyson failed to achieve in his career.
The Briton, however, did retreat into a shell for three or so rounds.
Floyd Patterson, in his third fight against Ingemar Johansson in 1961, was put down twice in the opening round. The man with the famous peek-a-boo style didn’t shy away — he retaliated by dropping his opponent in the same round.
There are some key ingredients for a great fight — as opposed to an entertaining bout.
One is that the fighters possess a reasonable level of skill.
Many pundits rate the third contest between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, better known as the Thrilla in Manila, as the greatest heavyweight fight of all time, but I beg to differ.
That 1975 war was brutal alright, but the skills of both fighters had visibly slipped compared to their first outing in 1971.
That’s why they inflicted and suffered such beatings that night.
In 1976, recently deposed champion George Foreman and Ron Lyle turned their non-world title bout into a slugfest.
Having both been down in the fourth, Lyle felled Foreman in sensational manner. Both threw right hands but Lyle’s landed first, and “Big George” toppled onto his side in a heap.
At least they voluntarily threw their skills out the window, but Ali and Frazier only had heart and IN QUESTION: Wladimir Klitschko violence to give. Given how Ali ended up, it’s not a fight that should be glorified on this list.
As for Klitschko’s skill, that has always been questionable. He has mastered many untalented, smaller heavyweights, but he doesn’t like them bigger (or better) than himself. By contrast, legends like Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey feasted on oversized gladiators.
The second element of a great fight is that it must swing both ways, leaving fans unsure of the outcome.
Modern-day boxers will never have the opportunity to reproduce the fireworks of the 1923 showdown between then champion Dempsey and the dreadnought Argentine, Luis Angel Firpo.
There were 11 knockdowns in total, and that’s excluding Dempsey’s eventual knockout of Firpo.
Dempsey put Firpo down seven times in the opening round, and went down twice himself, even going through the ropes on the
Both threw right hands but Ron Lyle’s landed first, and ’Big George’ [Foreman] toppled onto his side in a heap Dempsey put Firpo down seven times in opening round, and went down twice, even going through ropes on second occasion
second occasion.
Had he not been assisted back through the ropes by ringside journalists, it’s unlikely he would have beaten the count.
Back then, there was no threeknockdown rule nor mandatory eight count. There was also no sending boxers to the neutral corner while the referee counted over their felled opponents; the boxer would stand over his opponent waiting for him to get up.
The third key aspect of a great fight is most of the rounds must be filled with action — and this is where Joshua-Klitschko fell down the most, for eight-odd rounds.
There was only one knockdown in the first Ali-Frazier bout, but for 15 rounds they dipped into the planet’s deepest energy reserves. They didn’t hang back waiting as Joshua did for much of the bout.
And if either of them, instead of Klitschko, had stood in front of a hurt and weakened Joshua, they would have finished him off.
It’s too early to judge IBF champion Joshua, but there are interesting fights out there for him, notably against WBC counterpart Deontay Wilder and WBO champion Joseph Parker.
As for a Klitschko rematch, Joshua will win that easily — as he should have done last weekend.