Boxing

[Harryflashman]

I get what you mean, totally agree too. He seemed to put a lot of pressure on himself to be the perfect fighter for the fans and not lose. The pressure on him, was the most intense seen for a British fighter in the 33 years of watching boxing. That played a major part in his downfall in the ring too. The pressure to fight the best, he tried too, others didn’t want it.

People don’t like him but if it wasn’t for him, Boxing wouldn’t be in the position it is now. What he did for British boxing, was incredible. He raised the profile of boxing to heights in this country it hasn’t seen.

He doesn’t get the credit of respect he deserves from boxing fans, cos once he’s out the sport. You’ll see a big decline unless have a fighter with his marketable presence again.

Was never as good as he was billed and then subsequently never as bad as his critics claimed . Despite the criticism of his choice opponents and stories of bottling wilder he also fought the contenders around him .

As you say huge for the sport and although I wasn’t keen on it he introduced and interested completely new swaths of people to the game .

 

[widnesblue]

They don't give Olympic golds away to just anyone.
He got unlucky a generational turned up in Usyk.
He was woefully unprepared for ruiz.
Think there is a lot of mistrust around the fury bout that couldn't get made.
Lewis was the last top tier champion, prime Lenny vs Usyk would be top draw. Holyfield Usyk good as well, very different fighter, could do cruiser and HW each.

The problem is, they do give Olympic golds out to anyone, especially in Boxing. You could argue he lost that fight in the final too.

Usyk style wise, was always gonna be a nightmare for Joshua. No shame in losing to him.

If it wasn’t for Joshua, the wouldn’t have been an appetite for heavyweight boxing outside of the Fury vs Wilder match. Joshua came along and gave the division a massive spark for the first time in a long time. Especially in the UK. Fury couldn’t even sell out small venues in the UK prior to the Klitschko fight, couldn’t even sell the MEN arena out in the rematch either. The pressure on Joshua was massive compared to anyone else.

It’s always easy to compare Lewis to an ATG but he’s got loses to McCall and Rahman. He should have lost the rematch to Holyfield too. Would he have beat Usyk? Who knows but he a great fight. Usyk would beat Holyfield imo. Be a great match up that, be such a great fight.

 

[Harryflashman]

The problem is, they do give Olympic golds out to anyone, especially in Boxing. You could argue he lost that fight in the final too.

Usyk style wise, was always gonna be a nightmare for Joshua. No shame in losing to him.

If it wasn’t for Joshua, the wouldn’t have been an appetite for heavyweight boxing outside of the Fury vs Wilder match. Joshua came along and gave the division a massive spark for the first time in a long time. Especially in the UK. Fury couldn’t even sell out small venues in the UK prior to the Klitschko fight, couldn’t even sell the MEN arena out in the rematch either. The pressure on Joshua was massive compared to anyone else.

It’s always easy to compare Lewis to an ATG but he’s got loses to McCall and Rahman. He should have lost the rematch to Holyfield too. Would he have beat Usyk? Who knows but he a great fight. Usyk would beat Holyfield imo. Be a great match up that, be such a great fight.

Looking back those tickets sales for Fury vs klitschoko rematch were mad , you’re right tho It wasn’t long after AJ was filling stadiums .

 

[widnesblue]

Was never as good as he was billed and then subsequently never as bad as his critics claimed . Despite the criticism of his choice opponents and stories of bottling wilder he also fought the contenders around him .

As you say huge for the sport and although I wasn’t keen on it he introduced and interested completely new swaths of people to the game .

Summed up perfectly. Was he over hyped and had a major machine around him? Yeah absolutely. Was he rushed to quickly? Imo yes. Is he bad as made out? No. I’d he a top 50 heavyweight of the last 100 years? Possibly.

AJ vs Wilder was massive at the time, both bottled it. Both used each others names to raise each others profiles, Joshua was a bigger name in the US compared to Wilder too. It’s a shame it never happened. Both at fault and missed out on massive opportunities.

Unfortunately those casuals Joshua brought to the sport also allowed the likes of Crawford, Usyk, Lomachenko, Golovkin and the likes to fight in the UK. Also we got so many great fight nights. Also the likes of Bellew, Froch, Brook, DeGale, Groves an type of fighters came along and put British boxing on the world stage and the place to Box. Great times to be a British boxing fan, hopefully makes a comeback.

 

[widnesblue]

Looking back those tickets sales for Fury vs klitschoko rematch were mad , you’re right tho It wasn’t long after AJ was filling stadiums .

Joshua was selling out stadiums fighting the likes of Carlos Takem, although he was a late replacement. He made it the norm in the UK and the likes of Fury benefitted off that.

A lot of fighters have came out and said Joshua helped get bigger purses for fighters, that’s all that matters in the end.

 

[Gilbert..]

I’ve got a pretty strong stomach due to work, and I can testify to the video being pretty darn unpleasant.

Someone sent me a link on whatsapp earlier and watched it not knowing what was coming. Gruesome. Seeing that and considering he was in the same motor its unbelievable seeing him sitting up conscious in the back seat.

 

[Harryflashman]

Joshua was selling out stadiums fighting the likes of Carlos Takem, although he was a late replacement. He made it the norm in the UK and the likes of Fury benefitted off that.

A lot of fighters have came out and said Joshua helped get bigger purses for fighters, that’s all that matters in the end.

I was there for a fair few of them and you’re not wrong , also just a large amount of totally non usual boxing crowd and I’m not sure they’re coming Back anytime soon .

 

[PhilM]

Someone sent me a link on whatsapp earlier and watched it not knowing what was coming. Gruesome. Seeing that and considering he was in the same motor its unbelievable seeing him sitting up conscious in the back seat.

Statistically, you're right times more likely to suffer fatal injuries in a crash if you're not wearing a seat belt, and the rear reduces the risk by 25%+ too.

The front of the car appears to have been completely crushed, and if they weren't wearing their belts...

 

[Bryan+]

A tragic example of how life can be so cruel.

 

[DualityNSNO]

Statistically, you're right times more likely to suffer fatal injuries in a crash if you're not wearing a seat belt, and the rear reduces the risk by 25%+ too.

The front of the car appears to have been completely crushed, and if they weren't wearing their belts...

I read that if it was a local car it's not impossible that it was an already crashed car that was rebuilt and made "road legal" (we do the same thing to cars around our parts, very unsafe obviously).

Now, judging by the, uh, damage, they were probably going waaaaaaay faster anyway, but still...

 

[toffeemeister77]

Just finished watching "Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen" on Netflix. Really enjoyed it, kind of a new world to me as I haven't watched any boxing since the late 90s.

Anyway have watched a few podcasts since with Eddie Hearn when he talked about the Tony Bellew fight at Goodison Park.

It's back from 2019 but mentions going into the Goodison Park board room to discuss the fight:-