₦airaland Forum

afrodoc2:
That rope-a-dope has been overhyped. It was nothing magical, it was just Ali betting his iron chin against Foreman's suspect stamina. He allowed Foreman to punch himself out and get exhausted, betting that Foreman would get tired before he (Ali) got knocked out.
In essence the rope-a-dope was based on the premise that Foreman had suspect stamina.
Skill and stamina can be worked on and the kind of stamina needed to fight the ferocious battles of the 70's was not required in the 90's.
Chin and punching power are God given.

Taking nothing from Foreman, he is one of the greatest ever heavyweights, likely 2nd only to Ali in terms of modern heavyweights. Had he not retired at 28 he might have gone down as the G.O.A.T

That's why I said it was Ali at his improvisational best. If it were that easy other fighters would have replicated it.

Foreman's fights with Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young were bloodbaths that showed Foreman could hang. Any fighter that fought as inefficiently as Foreman would on that night would have ran out of gas 9 times out of 10.

I agree that the 70's fights took more toll on you but when a boxer comes back at 39 years old and almost a decade out of the sport to fight younger guys and compete favorably then it has to be considered that perhaps his stamina was not as bad as purported

Ibime:
The way Foreman beat Smoking Joe in Kingston should let niggas know wargwan. Foreman woulda murdered Ali in rematch but I heard Ali was ducking.

Fury would beat AJ if he regains fitness.

E really pain me say them no fight again. I've seen that fight multiple times and I was a bit appalled by Foreman's lack of strategy, a lot of Foreman's blows were mainly landing on the arms Ali was using to shield his face. If he were a bit more efficient he could have taken down Ali because I can count at least two occasions Ali was literally out on his feet

You also have to salute Ali's intestinal fortitude too because the amount of body shots he took were ungodly. I wouldn't blame Ali for ducking Big George. He was 8 years older

I think for AJ the one weapon he has and that can work in his favor against Fury is that he is not scared to go inside. And the amount of power he can generate without telegraphing his blows is why I argued he can easily match Wilder power for power. You saw that uppercut against Klitschko. From out of nowhere

DevdanSanguine:
Weak side blocks. Besides, it's jelly blocking peanut butter. It's all good.

Isn't that LeNomad's specialty?

What I'd give for a Heat vs Cavaliers playoff series. They just look like a team that would give you fits. No Waiters. No Whiteside and still hung the L

afrodoc2:
[b]

Point of correction, it was Ali's 19th fight not his 1st fight and his next fight less than a year later he beat the undisputed champion Sonny Liston who was thought to be unbeatable and who most other heavyweights were ducking. So don't make it look like Ali was a novice when he fought Cooper.

Styles make fights and Cooper gave Ali more problems than Foreman. Same reason Ali struggled like hell against Frazier THREE times and was able to knockout Foreman while Foreman beat Frazier like a sadist TWICE.

Foreman's stamina was questionable compared to the other great heavyweights of that era. In his first half of his career the man lost only twice and they happened to be 2 of his 4 longest fights (round 8 and round 12). The man rarely went beyond round 5.
The Ali knockout was as much about fatigue in the humidity and heat of Zaire on Foreman's part as it was about punching power on Ali's part.
Against Jimmy Young after the 12 round fight he suffered from heat stroke. His stamina was not the beast but he had an iron chin and fists of steel.

First fight with Cooper not first ever fight. That's not what I intended to type.

Either way I don't rank Cooper amongst Ali's top 3 toughest opponents. He might not have been a novice but judging by how he found it relatively easier in the second go around you can't rule out the fact that Ali was still rather young and that played a role in their first bout

Cooper gave a 22 year old Ali problems in the first fight not the 2nd fight when he was older and arguably in his prime.

The rumble in the jungle was Ali at his improvisational best. That fight was won largely on the back of a one-off strategy and not a styles clash per se. There is every possibility another fight between them would have yielded a completely different outcome

I'm not saying he had the best stamina like say an Ali but it's tough to say it was a weakness when a vast majority of the guys he fought just couldn't last the distance including all-time greats. He won a few decisions too while on that KO streak so he wasn't a complete liability stamina-wise. He was even able to improve on it when he returned which means there was something there before as 40 year olds don't magically just stumble upon stamina.

Fatigue and Ali's counter-punching aside Foreman's gameplan was not good enough. He fell too cheaply for Ali's rope-a-dope

Roland17:
10 points (5/13 shooting), 8 assists and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes for M. Fultz after missing 68 games.

Not bad if you ask me. More than anything, I am happy he is back on the court.

13 shots is a lot but they are going to need him because Ben Simmons is rather inconsistent offensively

raumdeuter:
Looks like Thomas Tuchel won't be coming to Bayern
He is a good tactician but there are some things against him that didn't make our management unanimous on him.

He has a history of bad relationship with management.

He prefers an environment where he has more freedom more than Bayern and most top clubs can give

He has a history of bad relationship with senior players. He clashed with Schmelzer Sahin and Hummels. Hummels warned Bayern players about Tuchel and many of them aren't looking forward to him
He has a history of poor transfers. Toprak, Schurrle, Rode, Castro are examples of wastemen he filled his Dortmund team with.


Our management have been trying to get Juup to extend for several months and Tuchel felt Bayern didn't want him enough and he is just a distant second option

I'm more concerned with his on-pitch production which was very good at Dortmund

Based on some of the decisions our management have made lately I can't say I have absolute trust in their judgement. I think with the way Dortmund threw Tuchel under the Bus (forgive the pun) with the bombing incident it was always unlikely they were ever going to make amends in their relationships. Remember they also reneged on their understanding not to sell off their top stars but did and only held on to Auba.

I also suspect the poor form of Schmelzer ,Sahin played a role in why they had problems.

Transfers have been hit and miss I agree but he also bought Dembele and groomed Pulisic. Future stars that they have and would most likely sell off before they hit their prime. The job was a thankless one tbh yet he still ended their 5 year trophy drought

Tuchel is the best young German coach out there so it's a pity we've missed out on him. We might have to look towards Europe and I don't even know who to suggest. I do like Jardim and Rudi Garcia

neezar:
Willie willie don collect 5 from Spain already

Chelsea and badluck sha

Those Argentine defenders should be publicly flogged. Sharp guy Romero saw the embarrassment coming and ran the phuck out of dodge.

Jemi7:
Abeg who among dem sabi pass burna? Those artists are what I call the easy way out artists, most of them have their songs written for them, and when they write their own songs, they don't work or put effort, they just say the next thing that comes to mind, they are lazy writers, all of them, recycling and repeating old lines, making same beats, same style, same rhythm. I don't call that talent

You won't know how gifted and intelligent burna is until you listen to his tracks with an open mind, see how he turned that Stupid skales' song into a banger, Non of wizkid, eazi, davido or runtown's song can be compared to Burna boy's Chase, Deja Vu or heaven's gate, someone who is all about contents and not beat would know this, if I lay down all of wizkid, eazi, tekno, runtown and davido's lyrics for you, you'd be ashamed

Lol Burna is their daddy and it's not even close. Go and listen to his song with Sauti Sol and pree the versatility

Based on the kind of noise we hype as music it's easy to see why Nigeria is the way it is

jonsnow92:
On the Contrary, Cooper would be No. 3 on the list of the toughest fighters Alli ever faced..Infact I think Alli called him the toughest he ever faced after their first fight,Yes Alli was fooling around and quite inexperienced but still nothing takes away the fact that Cooper gave Alli his first ever knock down and one of 4 knockdowns Alli ever got in his long career.
As for Foreman, Before his self decided Hiatus, He lacked Stamina and really didn't have basic Counter punching Skills, He was also very Lethargic also and it wasn't exposed because he was mostly dominating all the fighters he fought before Alli and never went the distance..i think he never went beyond 2 rounds before the rumble in the Jungle and Alli exposed it all..Thats why i think if A.J faces an unorthodox,talented,natural fighter like Fury, he'll find it really hard..Not Wilder,A.J would chew this Wilder every day till Sunday and twice on Sunday self.

Of course he could say that after his first fight. He was barely 22, no disrespect to Cooper but I'd rank the likes of Frazier , Norton and Foreman as tougher fights for him

Lol we never really got to know how good Foreman's stamina was did we? His fight with Lyle showed that maybe his stamina was not as bad as advertised. I wouldn't use the loss to Ali to say Foreman was exposed since Jimmy Young and Ron Lyle are the only guys that didn't look like idiots against Big George. You would need a chin made of titanium and insane ring craft to pull off what Ali did. Two of Ali's biggest rivals George beat them like a stepfather. That says a

Fury would be a big problem for AJ to be honest

raumdeuter:
Kevin trapp has been disappointing

Unless Loew is just playing possum I'm quite surprised Trapp started that second half. Infact I'm surprised he got a call up at all despite roasting all season at PSG behind a keeper I don't even know what country he is from

raumdeuter:
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2018/3/25/17161366/karl-heinz-rummenigge-disappointed-50-1-rule-dfl-bayern-munich-deutsche-football-ligas-st-pauli-fc

Rummenigge disappointed that other German teams did not support abolishing the 50+1 rule

Funny we are not the ones that even need the rule abolished. Ohhh well we might win the next 5 Bundesliga titles at this rate

tobianthony:
Omo see MMA fans ohhh ...I've been looking for fellow guys too .

Wow .

Middleweight ...hmmm.

Did you hear Darren till is scheduled to fight Wonderboy at UFC London ?

Will send you a PM . We need to relate . Do you play the game on ps4 ?

The middleweight provides the best fights IMO. I just like the heavyweight division for the brutality

I heard of the Till fight. Who is your pick? I don't really follow the Welterweight division plus I'm still salty Georges St Pierre had to drop his belt. His fight with Bisping was epic
.

DevdanSanguine:
The 76ers are a top ten defensive team in the NBA. Look to me like they have the firepower to go off at any given time, especially in the playoffs. Just a few weeks to go so I guess you'll see for yourself. Did I tell you I am known as "the octopus" because my predictions are always correct?

They are actually 13th.

They likely won't meet Boston in the first round anyway unless they finished 7th so this argument is not really a useful one..

Let's wait and see. Time will tell if you are an Octopus or Colin Cowherd who predicted the Sixers would not win 40 games

DevdanSanguine:
But you said there was too much money in it for GGG to pull out of the fight even if canelo were doping.

Naaah man. Don't even start with that. Ward won that fight and he doubled down when he took him out in the second or are you going to claim premature stoppage on that as well? LOL

Golovkin has the power but when it comes to boxing skills ward is on another planet compared to him. That's where the true disparity lies.

I'm still trying to understand your angle. Are you saying GGG shouldn't call out a cheater? Your man should never have cheated. Period

Lol even Ward knows he didn't win the first fight. Obviously he won the second one.

Golovkin does not have the power advantage over Ward. He's almost 3 inches smaller, shorter reach. Ward is a super middleweight in a Cruiserweight/Light Heavyweight's body

DevdanSanguine:
See? I guess he doesn't want to go ahead regardless of whether canelo is doping or not like you claimed.

Ward picked kovalev apart, he will do the same to triple G and he knows it.

This has nothing to do with GGG so its on Clenbuterelo to stop juicing. Lol E say like I 'claimed' as if juices were not found in his system. Do I work with VADA?

Ward robbed Kovalev in the first fight. Boxing is not Math though but I'd favor Ward just because of the sheer size disparity

lolawilliams:
Thanks to Nairaland for exposing me ooo. Thanks baby

Hehehe were you trying to get me arrested? You're a top babe. Hope you have an awesome year doll

MitrikDenholm:
Grimy but lack proper offensive talent especially without Kyrie. Philly has the offensive talent plus length at every position. They're one free agent away from becoming a force but I know they'll surprise some people this year. If I were them, I'd be going after Paul George or trying to use the resources they have to try to go after kawhi and depending on how things pan out for the warriors (it won't end well, mark me), maybe even klay Thompson.

That lack of talent would show against the Raptors, Cavs, Houston and Golden State but not a young inconsistent team like Philly who despite their length aren't really a good defensive team. Ohh the future is very bright for Philly nobody disputes that but they would definitely endure growing pains, even Golden State did

Now if Boston's players keeps dropping like flies then of course Philly become favorites

lolawilliams:
Good God almighty. See as Nairaland expose me . Thanks Decale

Happy birthday young woman, Can't believe you're just 22. Lol

MitrikDenholm:
Well he ran his mouth and now the fight is in "Jeopardy". He said people are trying to pretend as if it's not happening, meaning he doesn't want them to and wants the authorities to take action meaning maybe he doesn't want the fight after all.

GGG doesn't have a record of ducking? Excuse me? Ward? Lara? Or are you a GGG zealot?

When a guy trying to take your head off is caught doping I think you have a right to air your opinion out. There would be no problems if Clenbuterelo had just stayed clean. He broke the rules and the fight potentially being off is a consequence of that.

This is on Canelo not GGG. Do not twist the narrative.

Lol it's not ducking if you simply can't agree on terms. This is boxing not a street fight you know. GGG was not the one hiding behind a bum shoulder and other stories that touch when GGG wanted a fight in 2014. Lara is small fry with guys like Canelo and Cotto on the table.

Back to GGG vs Ward. I wouldn't put money on GGG winning that fight but I disagree he was ducking

airmark:
Whyte impressed me and he would have taken that daddy out earlier. His hooks and jabs looked sharper and his defence wasn't bad but I don't see him eating the bombs from wilder to counter. It's 60-40 to Wilder.

As regards ducking, I don't think AJ is the one doing that. Hearn is the one being cautious not to rush things for his cash cow. His dad, Barry openly said AJ should take his time before facing Deontay. While Wilder has turned to youtube warrior and refused to send offers to make the fight happen, AJ must be working on his defence and stamina.

No matter how you look at it, it's a risky fight for both sides.

Whyte impressed me but I don't honestly think he can beat Wilder. Maybe he makes it to the latter rounds at best. Wilder's jabs are even better and I doubt he can cope with Deontay's quickness and hand speed.

Boxing at the end of the day is about making as much greenery as possible. Hearn is trying to milk the cash cow as much as possible. Deontay needs the fight more than AJ does so he should be the one willing to bend over backwards to make it happen. Even if he's offered a 35% purse he ought to take it because he's the smaller draw

Stamina would always be an issue for this generation of heavyweights because they are too phuckin big. Parker is like 6'2 and still looks like a midget besides AJ. Even Deontay's stamina is suspect. The good thing is they always get a second wind late in fights and that's why a good training camp is key.

It's a 50/50 fight but I like AJ's odds

DevdanSanguine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ezAvUASTzg

A40

I'm always ahead of the curve. People are sleeping on these guys. They are very capable of pulling off an upset. If they go up against the Celtics, my money is on them.

We shall see. The Celtics are a grimy ass team that don't rely on any one player to survive. Philly is mostly a young and finesse team without any notable experience at this level. This usually doesn't end well for the latter

DevdanSanguine:
If GGG wanted the fight that bad he should have shut his gob and remained diplomatic rather than go on the rant he went on which may have actually triggered this suspension. Now if indeed they're taking the issue seriously then it's out of his hands regardless of whether he wants to fight or not. I still maintain its all a pantomime to appease the purists.

Shut your gob against a guy trying to gain an unfair advantage against you in a sport like Boxing? Are you hearing yourself at all? GGG had been nothing but respectful towards Canelo but that flies out the window in these type of circumstances


It's pretty clear GGG wants the fight. He has no record of ducking anybody but expecting him to keep mute when his opponent was caught using is unreasonable. Like you I believe the fight would hold

afrodoc2:
First of all i have not said Wilder will beat AJ but i feel AJ needs to be careful and it would be easier for Wilder to adjust to AJ's style which is regular than for AJ to adjust to Wilder's which is irregular. That being said quality of boxing, punching power and ability to take a punch usually decides the fight.

Also remember that 2 of Ali's toughest opponents Henry Cooper and Norton were famous for their unorthodox styles and that was one of the reasons (especially in the case of Cooper) that Ali struggled against them and was more comfortable with boxers of equal or arguably better quality. A boxer would almost always prefer to meet the style he has seen many times before than a style he has never seen or seen just a couple of times.
Unpolished does not mean low quality it just means your style is a bit all over the place. Foreman especially in his first coming had an unpolished style but was still able to wreak havoc.

P.S Norton and Foreman did not have similar styles in the 70's. Norton was more of a pressure fighter like Frazier and his defence was unique, Foreman was a pondering slugger throwing slow but poisonous bombs and he didnt really have any defence cos he rarely needed it.

Lastly while both AJ and Wilder both have enormous punching power it is Wilder that has the greater single punch KO ability.

Deontay's style makes him remarkably vulnerable to any fighter with even remotely decent counter-punching ability. As far as AJ I'm more worried about a fit Tyson Fury than Deontay. Not saying Deontay can't beat AJ but I'm saying based on what I've seen from both fighters.

Naah I won't necessarily include Cooper in the list of guys that gave Ali tough time. Where you put Smoking Joe and George Foreman?

I don't mean unpolished means lack of quality. However when you meet an evenly matched fighter that can match your best attributes and neutralize them then that's when the lack of polish would show. Ali vs Foreman is a good example! Ali won that match with sheer ring craft knowing fully well he couldn't match Foreman punch for punch over the duration of the fight, it's why Tyson despite his devastating KO ability couldn't beat Holyfield and was ducking from Lennox till he wound up in the bing because at some point power won't be enough..

Foreman was a methodical fighter with arguably the heaviest fists in the division. It's why he could retire and still comeback to knock down guys half his age. Only Ali with his superior ring craft managed to make him look bad. I don't agree he was ponderous at all

As for Wilder and AJ well you're typically going to need a combination of blows to take down anybody so I think this is why I think they are at best tied. What I think Wilder has is slightly more speed and not power over AJ

DevdanSanguine:
I speak facts. People tend to confuse the two.

Saw the headlines yesterday and I laughed. It's all a charade, they're trying to play tough cause they will look shady if they sit back and do nothing but we all know it will hold. Like I said, personally I don't even care about the fight anymore but too many people do.

There's nothing factual about Curry being soft. Just the usual myth and urban legend.

If Tyson could get a suspension then Canelo is small fry. The threat is genuine but I still think even GGG would want the fight to hold. Too much money is on the line

CuteRedd:
I HAVE MISSED YALL. THANKS FOR ALL THE SHOUTOUT, TRYING TO CHECK ON ME AND HOLDING DOWN THE FORT #MIZZZBEEE

Look what the cat dragged in!!!!!! Welcome Back!!!!! We all missed you

olabode89:
I get your point boss! But heavyweight boxing needs a big fight ASAP. Hopefully AJ V Wilder can be made in December. The good thing about boxing unlike MMA derailing a hype train does not have a significant effect on upcoming fights.

You are into MMA too, right? Are you eagerly anticipating the Khabib V Tony match up? Khabib's hype train is going to be badly derailed, fans and analyst are sleeping on Tony Ferguson. My money is on Tony to win. Another smart bet is on Thug Rose to finish Joanna for the second time.

The heavyweight has had it's fair share of big fights over the last two or three years. You don't need to set up this fight too soon. Ideally end of this year or early next year would be perfect if they both hold on to their belts.

I'm actually more enthralled by the Middleweight/ Light-Heavyweight/Heavyweight division than the Lightweight of which the likes of McGregor and Nurmagemodov belong to. I'm looking forward to UFC 224 just for Belfort and Lyoto. I also heard Shogun Rua and Glover Teixeira might be going head to head which would be excellent

olabode89:
Robert Helenius didn't come to fight that day, he had an extremely defensive strategy and hardly met The Bodysnatcher at the Centre of the ring. I believe that Whyte can beat Wilder. The problem for Whyte is, can he remain standing after he is swamped by Wilder with those his barrage of unorthodox punches.

Loool e no fit do pass himself. He did a solid job tbh and while he never looked like winning he also wasn't in any trouble of getting knocked out or leaving in an ambulance. He knew his limitations. No crime in that

Wilder/Whyte for me would also be a good fight to gauge Deontay's much vaunted KO power. because it's like people forget AJ is a killer himself, Molina and said Whyte can attest

These guys are still pretty young so I don't see the rush. Let Deontay fight Whyte and AJ fight Miller. If they both come out unscathed they can setup a mega-fight for 2019

DevdanSanguine:
Bogues is a midget, John Stockton is white, Jason Kidd is light skinned. Curry is soft. Facts.

Lol you're just a hater mayne


http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/22889219/canelo-alvarez-temporarily-suspended-nevada-state-athletic-commission

Shyte just got real. Disappointed in your boy! He's failed all boxing fans. Heard HBO have cut down promos on the fight. There's a legit danger it might not hold

aliondo:
Grant combines better with Adams than Melo...The best would be to bench Melo but dont think Donovan has got the balls to bench him.....

Since you guys are not good enough to simply and consistently blow out teams. It would stand to reason that you guys have to get your lineups right from the jump. I'd seriously consider benching Melo and probably cutting down his minutes as well because he is a defensive sieve (Lack of ability and effort) on nights his 3pts don't fall he is pretty much useless as his midrange game has also dropped

Lol Carmelo gon Carmelo. Choking is just embedded in this guy's DNA. Those last two minutes is just his game in summary.

Nihilstjnr:
Them beat the guy like Apollo Creed .

I don't think you understand. The ambulance came to meet man right there in the ring.

how can you come to fight your mate, and leave on stretcher with oxygen mask ffs?

that guy is a disgrace to all Australians.

God no go happy with him corner for not throwing the towel earlier than that. Boxing is a really dangerous game and people need to understand that these guys put their lives on the line every night. I expected much better from Browne though. I don't think he had a proper training camp for that fight

afrodoc2:
Most of those polished boxers do not like to fight unskilled and unscripted fighters. Also styles make fights, that is why Foreman beat Frazier like a bytch, Frazier inflicted life altering damage on Ali, but Ali beat Foreman.

AJ or any other boxer would prefer to fight against a boxer with an orthodox style than you can game plan for rather than an Area Boy in disguise with 1 punch knockout power like Wilder.
AJ is the better boxer but with someone with an unscripted style like Wilder you can be beating him easily but then run into a lucky destiny-altering roundhouse.

Boxing is not mathematics but I think more often than not it's easier for a more polished fighter to make an unpolished one look really bad. Especially when your strengths and punching power are largely similar.

Foreman was Tyson before Tyson. Ali's chin and superior strategy was really what won him that fight. However I would always regret the fact that a rematch never happened because I doubt Ali would have won again. Frazier's style wasn't so different from Foreman but Foreman was just a much more powerful fighter. Remember Foreman also absolutely obliterated Norton, another guy who beat Ali but whose fighting style is close to Foreman's. In fact the more you look at it the more you wonder if Rumble in the jungle was a fluke.

I still feel it would boil down to AJ's ability to take a hit because Deontay is quicker. However AJ has equal if not greater KO power than Deontay. I think a lot of people are forgetting this fact