Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 I've shared on here before how I spent a greater part of my youth in the boxing ring. Having reached middle age, there is no way in hell I would ever step in the ring again. But I do stay in shape. In fact, I'm in immaculate shape for my age -- but the operant phrase is, "for my age." I'm definitely not in fighting shape, and don't want to put in the effort. Plus, let's not forget the approximately 40 concussions I've had in my lifetime. The doctor has attributed the concussions as a contributor to my PTSD (I didn't know there was a connection; given the trauma I've experienced I would think it wouldn't need the help of concussions for a PTSD diagnosis). In addition to weights and cardio, there is a heavy bag in my gym. I'll wrap up and glove up from time to time and work the bag for a half-hour or so. I also have a double end bag, and am considering adding a speed bag. Let's just say there is some "ring rust." But anyway, I still like to watch a good boxing match every now and then. Perhaps you've noticed that I'm interested in the history of whatever I'm interested in -- guns, America, baseball, coins -- you name it. Boxing is no different. My fighting style was the same as Floyd Patterson, Mike Tyson, and Jose Torres, the somewhat-rare "peek-a-boo" style. So I used to watch TONS of old video from these three. That was for academic reasons, and it helped me win. But I always like to watch the greats regardless of whether I copied their style or not. Ray Robinson was my favorite, but I do not have the finesse to pull off that style. Of course Muhammed Ali, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Joe "The Brown Bomber" Louis, Rocky Marciano. Who could forget George Foreman? The *OLD* George Foreman, before he became a Christian, was a genuinely evil man. The Christian George Foreman was just doing his job, but the pre-Christian George enjoyed hurting people. Some of the more modern ones were less thrilling to watch. Vladimir Klitsko was the champion for a decade, but he looked like a giant lumberjack. But this one has to be one of my all-time favorite fights: "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler vs. Tommy "The Hit Man" Hearns. Here you go: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Sugar Ray Leonard was always my favorite to watch. Had a speed and style that was unmatched. As a kid I followed Ray Mancini, mostly because he was from Ohio like me. I saw the Duk Koo Kim fight. It really soured me on the sport for a long time. I’m sure the ref carries a lot of guilt. He was the one who most could have prevented it. I definitely enjoy the lighter weight classes over the heavyweights. It’s a different sport. More speed and movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeaconKC Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Even though I boxed Heavyweight, I love the Middleweight guys, just such a beautiful balance of speed and power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Foreman was scary during his 'first' career. Once he found Jesus and started selling indoor grills, that mostly went away- mostly. I don't remember who he was fighting in the early '90's but the guy was much shorter than George and spent most of the fight in a deep crouch with his head buried in Foreman's sternum while he threw hooks up towards his face. George was unamused, but tolerated it for a few rounds- ultimately resorting to pushing/holding him off with the lead hand. About the 5th round, Foreman got tired of it and started putting a snap at the end of that Telephone Pole jab of his. The moment is easy to see in the fight because the guy's head starts snapping back like it's on a hinge. When that didn't deter him, he stepped on his opponent's lead foot to throw off his timing, 'missed' with a short cross- but hit him with the elbow on the back swing and 'missed' with a close in jab that 'somehow' found the guy's kidney. His hunting down Micheal Moorer in the later rounds of that title fight also shows that his finisher instincts were still there but his body wasn't quite up to the task. Moorer should have been knocked out in the 5th but it took George to the middle 6th to keep the range long enough to throw 2 sets of combinations. (Not that I'm complaining, I won the pool at work since I called the winner and the round.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 I'm old enough to remember Rocky Marciano, (I met him once and got an autograph "From one champ to another") and still consider him one of the best boxers ever. You could hit him with an axe and he'd shake it off still clean your clock. And I like Rocky Graciano, just because. Some woman reporter asked him if he was a pugilist. No Ma'am, I'm just a prize fighter." Gotta like a guy like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry T Harrison Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 I can now hear the jingle for Gillette blue blades rattling around in my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 2 hours ago, DeaconKC said: Even though I boxed Heavyweight, I love the Middleweight guys, just such a beautiful balance of speed and power. Would you believe I was a welterweight back when I was fighting?!?!? I would fall into the cruiserweight category now (below 200), just one below heavyweight (200 and up). They need to create a super heavyweight division for the professionals. People are simply BIGGER than they used to be. Rocky Marciano would be considered tiny compared to these monsters -- Klitschko was almost SEVEN FEET TALL!!! So there is a huge size gap; folks boxing at 199 (which would have been Heavyweight in Marciano's day) can be a cruiserweight champion, but a 200 pound guy in the heavyweight division has to compete with 275 pounds of 7 foot tall muscle. So everyone from 200 to about 250 are left out because they don't stand a chance against the giants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 I mentioned the peek-a-boo fighting style that I used. Here is Teddy Atlas explaining it. Atlas doesn't mention it, but D'Amato (the style's inventor) and he had a falling out. I don't know what it was about, but D'Amato wouldn't speak with Atlas for years before he died: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 One of my favorites, Floyd Patterson, displaying the defensive magic of the peek-a-boo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 3 hours ago, DeaconKC said: Even though I boxed Heavyweight, I love the Middleweight guys, just such a beautiful balance of speed and power. Floyd Mayweather has given us a century of footage to study. He was truly an artist. But I wish he would learn to SHUT HIS MOUTH!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 7 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said: Floyd Mayweather has given us a century of footage to study. He was truly an artist. But I wish he would learn to SHUT HIS MOUTH!!!! I assume that you are referring to Junior. He would be even more irritating if he hadn't been able to back up all of the talk. That was a great PPV selling point. A lot of folks were willing to pay $59.95 over and over when he was headlining a PPV card on the off chance, that this time, his mouth had finally out ran his ring skills. Floyd, Sr. was also one of those Pound for Pound greats as well in his time. Since you mentioned Teddy Atlas, he was in Moorer's corner for the Foreman fight and I'm amazed that he survived it. Teddy's game plan was to use Moorer's speed advantage while circling away from Foreman's right hand. Moorer did it for about 2 2/3 rounds and stood and traded for about 45 seconds at the end of the 3rd. Teddy laid into him for it but Moorer was a little tired and had gotten cocky. Halfway through the 4th, he stopped moving again and I thought that Teddy was going to stroke out right there. When the 5th started, Moorer didn't even try to circle away from the right- unless you count stumbling backwards after taking a 1-2 in the mouth. Halfway through the 6th, Foreman hemmed near a corner him up so that he was just close enough to catch him with a second combination in before Moorer could beak contact and regather himself. By this time, Teddy was foaming at the mouth and red faced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said: I assume that you are referring to Junior. Yes, exactly. I hear Senior is still training folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 I always preferred wrasslin’, back in the good ol days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 18, 2020 Author Share Posted November 18, 2020 4 hours ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said: I always preferred wrasslin’, back in the good ol days Ummm...you do know boxing is real, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Yes, but the Road Warriors far more entertaining. I wouldn’t mess with near any of them either. Back in the 70’s my dad said he got in a fight with Dusty Rhodes. Both of them were drunk. Daddy isn’t particularly huge. Back in the day, 5’11”, 210-220. Recruited to play full back by Clemson as a Junior. Knee injury and surgery senior year. Bench press 400 lbs. Anyway back to Dusty Rhodes bar fight story, daddy said he never beat on a man like he did on Dusty Rhodes that night , just made a bloody mess of him and never could put him down. He was just a drunken slob standing like a rock taking a beating. The fight apparently ended with a please stop and Dusty buying drinks. Not to hijack your thread just a good story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Another side note: my great grandfather (b1900,d1988)on my dads side was named after Gentleman Jim Corbett, “ the only man to beat John L Sullivan.” https://greglhamon.com/a-lesson-in-grit-from-the-greatest-heavyweight-champion-youve-never-heard-of/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 I'm so old that I remember Friday night fights. Me and my Granddad watched them. Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, Sonny Liston... Good memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Gambler Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said: Ummm...you do know boxing is real, right? Not when don king was involved. But you can say that they went to a lot more trouble hiding it in boxing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted November 18, 2020 Author Share Posted November 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said: Another side note: my great grandfather (b1900,d1988)on my dads side was named after Gentleman Jim Corbett, “ the only man to beat John L Sullivan.” https://greglhamon.com/a-lesson-in-grit-from-the-greatest-heavyweight-champion-youve-never-heard-of/ It was pretty bold of that author to assume I had never heard of "Gentlemen Jim" Corbett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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