Last Night's Heavyweight Fight - Spoiler

[lilmalice]

Did any one else see last night's HBO fight? If not, I highly recommend catching it on reply today.

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Chris Byrd, the IBF Heavyweight Champion and #1 ranked man in the division, took on Wlad Klitschko, former WBO Champ and #5 ranked heavyweight, in a highly anticipated rematch last night. The fight played out almost identical to the original fight with Klitschko dominating and sending Byrd to the canvas twice. However, this time around, Byrd could not weather the storm and was forced to stop after the second knockdown in the 7th round. Referee Wayne Kelly halted the bout as Byrd arose from the canvas on wobbly legs and revealed his damaged left eye which resembled a bloody hole. With this win, Klitschko becomes a two-time heavyweight champion, and joins a newly formed alliance of Ex-Soviet fighters that seem to be dominated boxing at the moment.

===

When Byrd got up from that second knockdown, I truly thought his left eye had been knocked out. Here is a pic below….

[bsfins]

Yeah,I hate to admit I'm a fan of both the Klitschko bros.(I watch every heavywieght fight I can)

I watched this fight yesterday when it was live at like 4p.m. in the afternoon.It kind of caught me by surprise,I was gonna wait till 9 to see it.

Personally I thought the Post fight was the best part of the brodcast.Jim Lampley,kept cutting in on Larry Merchant....Larry would just start to ask a question,Jim would say" Let me ask one.Excuse  me Larry." Then someone would walk in front of the camera,or bump them from behind...It looked like a SNL skit.....

[jtex316]

I saw it live.  Klitscho destroyed this guy.

[lilmalice]

Yeah,I hate to admit I'm a fan of both the Klitschko bros.(I watch every heavywieght fight I can)

I watched this fight yesterday when it was live at like 4p.m. in the afternoon.It kind of caught me by surprise,I was gonna wait till 9 to see it.

Personally I thought the Post fight was the best part of the brodcast.Jim Lampley,kept cutting in on Larry Merchant....Larry would just start to ask a question,Jim would say" Let me ask one.Excuse  me Larry." Then someone would walk in front of the camera,or bump them from behind...It looked like a SNL skit.....

I thought Larry Merchant was on the verge of smashing the mic over Jim Lampley's head. And, whenever Larry was talking, Jim was just staring into space with a big smile on his face. I was like... wtf? There was also a shot of Chris Byrd's son picking his nose during the interviews.

[Denver_Bronco]

I thought the golden rule was to never bet on the white guy ?

[jtex316]

I thought the golden rule was to never bet on the white guy ?

This isn't some Tommy Morrison type white guy.  This guy is the shit.

[Denver_Bronco]

This isn't some Tommy Morrison type white guy.  This guy is the shit.

I am curious how this guy is considered the shit to you. Because he beat a guy that isn't even a legitimate heavyweight ? Byrd is a friggen' middleweight. 

[Phishfan]

Unfortunately I fell asleep during the third round. I spent the whole day roofing and was worn out. I could see already at that point that Byrd was not able to win unless he made a serious turnaround.

[lilmalice]

I am curious how this guy is considered the shit to you. Because he beat a guy that isn't even a legitimate heavyweight ? Byrd is a friggen' middleweight. 

Actually, within 5 months and 3 fights as a professional, Byrd moved to the heavywieght division. He had two fights around 170 and one at 195. At the age of 23, he was finally filling out as a heavyweight. Never did he fight at 160 (middleweight), so you are wrong. Amateurs tend to stay as lean and light as possible, and their younger bodies allow them to do this. In the pros, however, fighters tend to fill out, gain weight, and move up to the higher divisions. As a professional, Byrd was an natural heavyweight.

Furthermore, yes, Byrd did fight in the middleweight division as an amateur. However, all boxers fight their amateur careers at much lighter weights as already mentioned. Wlad started his pro career 20 lbs lighter than he is now, and was fighting 40 lbs lighter as an amateur.

Jack Dempsey was outwieghed by 58 lbs when he destroyed Jess Willard to win the World Heavyweight Title. Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, and so many other greats were always smaller than their oppenents. Marciano started hi career at 170 while Patterson was 165. In fact, all these guys were actually the same height or shorter than Byrd. Even Joe Louis had his first fight at 180!!!

Additionally, Chris Byrd was considered the most legitimate heavyweight in the game today. Do you even follow boxing? EVERY major boxing media source had him ranked #1 heavyeight in the world. He has had his belt since 2002 and has defended it 4 times. He had the best resume in the divsion and also held a win over Wlad's brother Vitali. With all this said, Wlad is the only man to utterly dominate Byrd in the fashion he did. And, this is the second time he has done it. This is all probably what makes this win so bad ass. I can explain many if you need further clarity.

[lilmalice]

I thought the golden rule was to never bet on the white guy ?

Well, since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 90's, Soviet fighters, who dominated amatuer boxing for many decades, were finally able to turn pro. It took about ten years, but we are finally seeing professional boxing being handed over to these Eastern Europeans. I mean 3 of the 4 title holders at heavyweight are white Euros. It's all pretty insane for being such a minority in the sport.

Here are some stats:
Out of the 170 top ten ranked boxers throughout every division, over 40 of them are European. Within the 68 titleholders, 18 are from Europe, and, out of the 7 unified champions in the sport, 2 of them are also European. Most importantly, in Ring Magazine’s Top 10 Pound-For-Pound rankings, there are two Europeans ranked #5 and #8 respectively. There are only three Americans ranked within this list.

Oh, we are also seeing a major influx of Asian champions too. It's pretty crazy.

Boxing is currently searching for The Great Black Hope.

[crazy_scar_man]

Well, since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 90's, Soviet fighters, who dominated amatuer boxing for many decades, were finally able to turn pro. It took about ten years, but we are finally seeing professional boxing being handed over to these Eastern Europeans. I mean 3 of the 4 title holders at heavyweight are white Euros. It's all pretty insane for being such a minority in the sport.

Here are some stats:
Out of the 170 top ten ranked boxers throughout every division, over 40 of them are European. Within the 68 titleholders, 18 are from Europe, and, out of the 7 unified champions in the sport, 2 of them are also European. Most importantly, in Ring Magazine’s Top 10 Pound-For-Pound rankings, there are two Europeans ranked #5 and #8 respectively. There are only three Americans ranked within this list.

Oh, we are also seeing a major influx of Asian champions too. It's pretty crazy.

Boxing is currently searching for The Great Black Hope.

Well, I know who to refer to with any boxing questions in the future.

Looks like we have a resident expert on the subject.

[jtex316]

Klitschko "physically disected" Byrd.  I honestly don't think it had anything to do with weight.  He just pounded on this dude, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Klitscho = the shit.

[lilmalice]

Here's a vid of rounds 5-7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2XJjKo6iX8

[Denver_Bronco]

Actually, within 5 months and 3 fights as a professional, Byrd moved to the heavywieght division. He had two fights around 170 and one at 195. At the age of 23, he was finally filling out as a heavyweight. Never did he fight at 160 (middleweight), so you are wrong. Amateurs tend to stay as lean and light as possible, and their younger bodies allow them to do this. In the pros, however, fighters tend to fill out, gain weight, and move up to the higher divisions. As a professional, Byrd was an natural heavyweight.

Furthermore, yes, Byrd did fight in the middleweight division as an amateur. However, all boxers fight their amateur careers at much lighter weights as already mentioned. Wlad started his pro career 20 lbs lighter than he is now, and was fighting 40 lbs lighter as an amateur.

Jack Dempsey was outwieghed by 58 lbs when he destroyed Jess Willard to win the World Heavyweight Title. Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, and so many other greats were always smaller than their oppenents. Marciano started hi career at 170 while Patterson was 165. In fact, all these guys were actually the same height or shorter than Byrd. Even Joe Louis had his first fight at 180!!!

Additionally, Chris Byrd was considered the most legitimate heavyweight in the game today. Do you even follow boxing? EVERY major boxing media source had him ranked #1 heavyeight in the world. He has had his belt since 2002 and has defended it 4 times. He had the best resume in the divsion and also held a win over Wlad's brother Vitali. With all this said, Wlad is the only man to utterly dominate Byrd in the fashion he did. And, this is the second time he has done it. This is all probably what makes this win so bad ass. I can explain many if you need further clarity.

Nice post lilmalice. Thanks for the knowledge.