Protected by Copyscape DMCA Takedown Notice Violation Search

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Sergio Martinez Says It All Over Twitter, Regarding Golovkin VS Murray: Quote Spotlight


                                   (Image captured from: Sergio Martinez's Twitter Page)

Sergio Martinez was "Tweeting" last night, during Martin Murray's dangerous, dangerous challenge of middleweight executioner Gennady Golovkin. Martinez, having shared the ring with Murray in a controversial win and likely having been one fight away from fighting Golovkin himself if all had gone well, pretty much said all you can say. "Ole tus huevos, Murray" followed by a brief English translation to clarify for his followers: "INCREDIBLE BALLS" and all in capital letters. Championship caliber fighting men appreciating each other, that is. Cheers to all three.
 


Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing




Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:


Golovkin teaching light heavyweight prospect Sullivan Barrera some lessons 

David Haye trains with fake Klitschko jab

Or (Click here for a random BGB Page)

Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Klitschko Arm: GIF Spotlight, with Tony Thompson



In a grueling, competitive enough match in 2008, Wladimir Klitschko scored a one-punch knockout over big, crafty southpaw Tony "The Tiger" Thompson, defending his major world title and status as the premiere heavyweight of his time. Thompson was laid out in a way that didn't look like he would recover (he actually did get to his feet somehow, though it was called off).

He fell an odd way, with his right arm instinctively curling up into a pillow for the side of his head. What's even stranger than Thompson finding his way back to a position of mandatory challenger for the same title at age 40, and against the same man, is that when he fought Klitschko the second time, in 2012, and was knocked out after a roughhousing flurry forcing him to the ropes, it happened again. Same pose. I now deem this position in a knockdown as "Klitschko Arm". Tony Thompson got Klitschko Arm'd. You don't want to get Klitschko Arm.


Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing


Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

Wladimir Klitschko's Sparring Profile
David Haye trains with fake Klitschko jab
Klitschko's jab against Brewster, Wach, Peter and Povetkin
Or (Click here for a random BGB Page)

Friday, February 13, 2015

What is Mayweather's record against southpaws? No one knows? Let's see. . .



The above image is not that of a fighter while being actively ducked or winning. This is apparently a difficult concept to grasp. 

"He has fought so many southpaws as an amateur that he's very hip to what to do to 'em."

~Al Bernstein, on Floyd Mayweather Junior possibly being thrown by Reggie Sanders' southpaw stance in his second professional fight, on ESPN, as commentator during the match in question.

So, before his first professional match against a southpaw was complete, the talk was already of being experienced against southpaws.

Floyd Mayweather Junior then went on to face eight of them in total, as a professional, all without suffering defeat, as follows:

1996: Reggie Sanders: Unanimous decision in his second fight.
1997: Bobby Giepert: KO1 victory, in his sixth fight.
1997: Jesus (Roberto) Chavez: TKO5 victory, in his ninth fight.
2004: DeMarcus Corley: Unanimous decision victory over twelve rounds, in his thirty-second fight.
2005: Sharmba Mitchell: TKO6 victory, in his thirty-fifth fight.
2006: Zab Judah: Unanimous decision victory over twelve rounds, in his thirty-sixth fight.
2011: Victor Ortiz: KO4 victory, in his forty-second fight.
2013: Robert Guerrero: Unanimous decision victory over twelve rounds, in his forty-fourth fight.

His total record against southpaws: 8-0-0, with four knockouts. So, he's never drawn with or had anything worse than a unanimous decision victory against 8 different southpaws. Five of the eight southpaws (that's a majority here, if you're mathematically challenged) have been major world titlist names. So, he's faced and decisively defeated southpaws throughout his career, from his time as a prospect, to his time as a young champion, to his status as a pound-for-pound elite PPV celebrity.

Where does the Mayweather southpaw myth come from? We all know the myth we're talking about. Where does it come from? Ignorance, manipulation, stupidity, lack of integrity, any of those, I would say. Maybe Bob Arum would know something about this propaganda as well. Now, if you debunk the Mayweather southpaw myth on Tuesday morning, and you're missing the high you get from it, just take comfort in the fact that it will be as unharmed as ever by Tuesday afternoon, and you'll have a fresh chance to debunk it again, if that's your thing. That is the power of myths.

It seems that every day, as I comb the Internet forums to see what boxing fans are bickering about, it comes up. Every time, it is just as wrong as it ever was. People do believe what they want. But the question is: How many fighters in the sport of boxing have fought eight southpaws, let alone five major world titlist southpaws, and beaten them all by no worse than unanimous decision or knockout, let alone done any better? Can you think of one around at the moment? I can't. How about ever? Let me know your thoughts. I'm genuinely curious if you can name any or have any corrections about these statistics.



Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing


Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

Floyd Mayweather Junior's sparring profile

What is Floyd Mayweather Junior's reach?

Bob Arum Trolls ESPN Viewers: Troll Quote Of The Week Included, Complete With Southpaw Myth And Hitler Comparison

The Mayweather Matrix GIF

Friday, February 6, 2015

Ahmed Elbiale VS Dustin Echard: A Mess of a Stoppage From Referee Bill Clancy



The Setup:

Two undefeated prospects with similarly and understandably soft opposition so far took to the stage as the opener for ESPN's Friday Night Fights. West Virginia's Dustin Craig Echard came in 10-0 with one No-Contest and all concentrated into West Virginia and the neighboring state Ohio. The hotter prospect, Ahmed Elbiale, from Egypt, having been on Friday Night Fights before and scoring a flashy KO at the time, came in 8-0 with all knockout victories. They meet just above the Light Heavyweight limit. It's technically at Cruiserweight but with a contracted catch-weight of 178 pounds. Echard reportedly had a little trouble making the weight and came in less than a pound over for this one and while Boxrec does not reflect it, he did hit the sauna and come in within the contracted limit, though Boxrec still currently lists the initial weigh-in. Echard contested his last couple fights at 10 and 14 pounds heavier than he was for tonight, and he looks to have a very top-heavy build. It might be significant. The bout is scheduled for six rounds and regardless of any issues with the weight, they both look in immaculate shape.

The Action:

With a likely-ill-fated nickname, Dustin "The Clean Coal Assassin" takes his first defeat via second-round TKO. He started well, and landed a handful of significant shots against Elbiale. The first round was highly competitive. It didn't begin with the appearance that they shouldn't be in the ring together. But Elbiale's killer instinct and power seem very considerable. It wasn't long before Elbiale put Echard down with a crushing overhand right to the jaw that initiated it and sent Echard sliding underneath the bottom rope and outside the ring.

This is where it gets dodgy. Echard looks confused and to be directed back into the ring by his corner, as Teddy Atlas points out. He doesn't look to have his feet or his wits. Upon replay, I think he seemed to think the fight was either over or they were on a break. Elbiale comes in with the anxiousness of a man who smells nothing but blood. He wades in behind a fury of punches and Echard is not able to defend himself. I think Echard even exclaimed "Hey!" as if to ask why he was getting attacked. Referee Bill Clancy steps in and I think it's over but then he lets it continue. I thought straight away that this would be a mistake. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas had talked about seeing Bill Clancy officiate several times before and how good of a referee he was. But this was, as I said, where it got dodgy.  He can't move anywhere and can only offer a rudimentary guard. He's close to helpless at this point.

Elbiale comes in again, just as furious, and after eating some more shots, Echard, if I'm not mistaken, actually shouted "What are you doing?" I could be wrong, but if he did, he seems completely confused and unable to even know why the fight is continuing at this point. It's like he thinks they're on a break and Elbiale is attacking him for no reason. As he tries to ask what's going on, as best as I can here, Elbiale's assault is finally ended by Bill Clancy and the fight is called. This was probably about three spots too late to stop it. I was very puzzled by Clancy letting it continue where he did. Ahmed Elbiale wins, and by very messy TKO2, over a brave but confused Dustin Echard.


What it means to me:

For Echard, little can be said. He got his shot, started well, then got blown out. For Elbiale, some of the punches he was caught with, even with his big finish, were a concern. But with such little fight against such an unknown name, little can be said for him either. Only that he's a fun fighter with power and a genuine killer instinct. We have to wait to know anything more than that. I look forward to his next appearance. This was a good choice by ESPN, if not so much by Referee Bill Clancy.



Work that bag,
 Basement Gym Boxing



Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:


Ahmed Elbiale VS Dwayne Williams: The Expected Kayo

Quote on Antonio Tarver's Power: Former Boxer, Brian Adams on FS1

Ali is mercilessly beaten by Ruth Buzzi

Tyson Fury Is Not The Only Boxer To Punch Himself In The Face: GIF Spotlight




On the sixteenth of July, 2010, Zab Judah matched Jose Armando Santa Cruz on ESPN and stopped him in the second round. Before stopping him, he put him down with arguably his best punch, the left uppercut. The punch and fall looked like a dramatic sequence for the highlight reels, but upon further review, and slow motion replay, Zab does indeed punch himself right in the face. Yet Tyson Fury is always the one who gets picked on for this undoubtedly complicated maneuver. He is the Charlie Brown of uppercutting yourself in the face. Why's everybody always pickin' on him? Granted, Judah is more skilled and managed to crack two people flush but that's the way it is at the lighter weights. They're always more athletic and coordinated!



Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing


Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:


Zab throws his stool in anger while being restrained by father and security guards.

Blind Ugandan boxer hits referee. From a real news story.

Floyd Mayweather Junior Merges With Matrix Villain During Phillip Ndou

Eddie Cantor, For Tense Anticipation: Reaction GIF Spotlight




All-purpose entertainer Eddie Cantor had a seat here for Joe Louis VS Jersey Joe Walcott I, the fifth of December, 1947, in Madison Square Garden. While announced on camera, he gave his best reaction GIF face and gestures for tense anticipation. I don't know how he knew about GIF's or reaction GIF's so far in advance, but he surely did. Singer, dancer, comic, clairvoyant. . . What couldn't he do? Forumites everywhere salute you, Eddie Cantor.


Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing




Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:


Ali is mercilessly beaten by Ruth Buzzi

Muhammad Ali & Sonny Liston Psyching Each Other Out: GIF Spotlight

Liston menacingly wags his finger at the police

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Muhammad Ali Kissing Hands In Côte d'Ivoire: GIF Spotlight



Muhammad Ali, on a segment for Entertainment Tonight, in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), using his considerable global fame for the greatest good. Ali and companions like Yank Berry of VitaPro Foods and Sister Sponsa Beltran (far left of GIF), who'd initially requested his help in providing aid, arrived with six months' worth of food and medicine. The people here were said to be just two days away from running out of food completely. I believe this TV spot was from 1997, but I do not see it listed in IMDB.


Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing



Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:


Ali and Cus D'Amato demonstrate Ali VS Frazier

Muhammad pats his hair and thanks you with a real caption

Muhammad mock fights with Sylvester Stallone

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Revisiting Russell Mora Calling Official Knockdown With Low Blow: GIF Spotlight



What happened: 

On the thirteenth of August, 2011, Ghanian all-comers fighter Joseph Agbeko defended his major Bantamweight title against a fighter equally willing to fight anyone in Abner Mares. Mares won the fight, officially speaking, but Referee Russell Mora had a double-digit low blows display from Abner Mares, who not only went without point deduction, but scored an official knockdown with this clear low blow/illegal punch/non-scoring blow. Mora stuck to his guns when grilled by Jim Gray, who turned in one of his better performances in doing the grilling, even upon this very replay on the Showtime broadcast. This mess did mar a fantastic Bantamweight tournament put on by Showtime. To Mares' and Agbeko's credit, they matched each other again before the year was out and settled the matter, with Mares coming out on top again.

My take:

My take at the time remains the same, and is that it's a fighter's job to fight and get a win, and a referee's job to keep him clean, "or else". Mares was out of hand but fights are out of hand by their nature. It is a chaotic, violent sport. Instinctively, fighters do what works for them. They fall into habits, sometimes producing fouls, even without thinking about it. If they're not paying attention to punches going low or to the back of the head, the kidneys, landing after the bell, etc, then the proverbial ball is then in the ref's court. Are they clinching and leaning like Klitschko? Is the head leading and landing like Tim Bradley's? Where's the line?  It's where the referee draws it and no further. The buck stops there.

The fighter is only there to get the job done with what works and not pay attention to what isn't in their way when achieving that end. Sometimes he'll foul in dramatic, and blatantly planned fashion (Ortiz headbutting Mayweather, for instance), and it will be a standalone reason to deduct points or disqualify. But so often it will be potentially thoughtless, incidental, accidental, what have you, and not worthy of anything but a warning *by itself*. But it doesn't lend itself to working or winning fights if the referee doesn't allow it repeatedly without penalty and bring it up with a warning for penalty to force them to mind their cleanliness or suffer the consequences. When speaking of legal blows only, I initially thought Agbeko got the better of the first match. But narrowly, and with curiosity about how it would've played out with honest and accurate officiating. The honesty of the officiating I will not hazard a guess for, but the accuracy was clearly not there.

I thought Mora was at fault for what happened that night, and what happened that night caused Showtime's Al Bernstein to fairly say: "This is the most disgraceful performance by a referee I have seen in the last fifteen years." It probably shouldn't be forgotten, because of its outstanding nature. It was a classic as far as terrible officiating jobs and held Mora's entire officiating career under severe suspicion, as far as I'm concerned. The knockdown was off of an entire night's low blow fouling. Anyone can mess up a single call, but missing low blow, after low blow, after low blow, all for the same fighter, then being in seemingly as plain a view as humanly possible without having your cheek glued to Agbeko's cup or Mares' left glove, missing yet another and calling it a legal knockdown. . .It was a horrendous night. But it was also an indictment on boxing officiating and referee's discretion and error changing the outcome of a fight, and the fighters' careers.

Why this was boxing's fault as much as Mora's:

The sport is under suspicion even more so than this single referee is under suspicion. Because in a sane system, after that round was over, Mora would be shown this obvious low blow on slow motion replay. And he could reverse his call to what is obviously correct- which is no knockdown. And if he didn't, considering the obvious nature of the call when seen in slow motion replay, someone else would overrule him, because it's on international television and everyone would be privy to the botched nature of the call and we wouldn't stand for it. Would we? But why do we stand for these calls being left official, when everyone knows that they are wrong? Why when it is so very easily correctable on a high quality production broadcast, with the technology on hand, to instantly replay the events from multiple angles, and as slow as you need it shown?

Why do we stand for replays not being able to correct errors, when they can do it for, say, the NBA? It's nonsense, of course, but if no one wants to fight for it, it will not likely change. It won't matter if the fault is incompetence, corruption, or random understandable human error, because the result is the same. They are currently allowed to get away with it and change entire careers with easily remedied mistakes. It is patently absurd. It should be a rule agreed to by every athletic commission involved, on all of these fights with the technology on hand. If you can demonstrate immediate display of obvious error, the calls should be changed immediately. Period.



Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing



Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:


Eric Hunter VS Rene Alvarado: A Mayweatheresque Performance

Harsh Comments On Kenny Bayless' Performance During Mayweather/Maidana: James Ali Bashir

Muhammad Ali & Sonny Liston Psyching Each Other Out: GIF Spotlight

Sunday, February 1, 2015

The Wolf Also Shall Dwell With The Lamb: GIF Spotlight



Do not confuse the wolf and the lamb, in this 1993 episode of This Is Your Life about the heavyweight destroyer, Frank Bruno, as Jimmy Savile enters the room. It makes the skin crawl, as good and evil collide and evil drops trou and good feels evil's legs up. Life can be confusing. If this GIF disturbed you, I apologise. But, also, if you enjoyed it, I apologise. This feels familiar (click here for explanation).



Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing


Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

Quotes About Power: Leroy Caldwell On Frank Bruno

Teddy Atlas Shoves George Foreman, is calmed down by Michael Moorer

Quote on Antonio Tarver's Power: Former Boxer, Brian Adams on FS1