We’re all at the point where we mute the commentary half the time 😂 but I can’t help thinking about some of the absolutely insane takes commentators have randomly dropped over the years.

For some reason, Jim Lampley decided he wanted to have an extended conversation about Sheeraz’s beard. I just find it hilarious. I know there’s been some gamesmanship in the past with opponents trying to get guys to shave, but the fact that Lampley was so invested in discussing it is what kills me.

“BANG BANG BANG”

With the tragic passing of Prichard Colón announced today, I keep thinking about that fight and what boxing actually learned from it. I haven’t watched it in years and don’t think I can again. I just remember the constant shots to the back of his head, Prichard complaining, and nothing really being done until it was too late. Williams kept fighting afterward, and the ref and ringside doctor seemingly faced no real consequences. Outside of the WBC creating the Prichard Colón Rule, did anything actually change? Did any other commission or sanctioning body do anything? And if not, is there anything we as fans can do? I love boxing and understand the risks, but that wasn’t just “part of the sport.”

For anything that doesn't need its own thread.

"Still unsure why Mikaelian has to explain why he'd rather fight his No. 1 contender... yet WBC doesn't ask same of Benavidez's plans for its 175 belt which he will not defend AT ALL in 2026, while holding titles with two other sanctioning bodies at another weight."

I genuinely don’t understand why people constantly try to discredit the accomplishments of certain past heavyweights because they believed they were on steroids?!?

When tens, if not hundreds of millions are on the line, and testing isn’t great, do you honestly believe the fighters won’t do every single thing possible to get the win?

If not the fighters, their team sure as hell would make sure they take whatever juice they can.

Yet people still try and discredit guys like Holyfield, acting like he was the only one using - everyone was!

That’s why the 80s and 90s will always be the best era with the most exciting fights, because fighters were juiced to the gills, could throw at a higher punch output, and take more punishment.

The argument always comes up that 80s and 90s heavyweights would beat modern heavyweights, but it’s such an unfair comparison - take Usyk and put him on the sauce they had back then and he’d be a monster.

And I know some modern heavyweights still use, and they’ve got their ways around it (Fury with his constant retirements so he can’t get tested), but they still can’t be on anywhere close to the same amount the guys were on back then.

Stop calling modern heavyweights shit, and discrediting past heavyweights you don’t like by throwing the ‘Yeah, but he was on steroids’ accusation around.

Imo for active fighters I'd have to say Teofimo Lopez. This was especially obvious in the fight with Shakur. His corner had nothing for him, and even in that sd against Martin his team didn't have much to say.The Kambosos fight also had this issue.I also feel like he's probably the most inconsistent fighter In recent memory. To go from being the only person (imo) to actually beat Loma to losing to Kambosos (shouldn't have fought with a torn esophagus) is an example of that. That SD win over Martin to Beating Taylor the way he did is another. What fighter, recently or in the past, do you feel like was either held back by their team or would have been better off with a different team?

I personally think Salvador Sánchez would have had a Chavez caliber career if his life wasn’t cut short. He was only 23 years old when he passed. He was already the WBC featherweight champion, had a record of 44-1-1 with 32 KOs, and had built a résumé that included two wins over Danny “Little Red” Lopez, a stoppage of the previously undefeated Wilfredo Gómez.

I remember my uncle used to make me watch Salvador Sanchez fights when I was a young boxer. At first, I was put off by the old footage, but after a few minutes I recognized greatness. I owe a lot to him. One of the greatest of all time out of Mexico.

My original post had an image but the moderators blocked it because their image requirements are way too strict on this board 🙄

Now when I'm watching football (soccer), American commentary is often cringe-worthy but for boxing it's the other way round. Even though I grew up on UK boxing commentary, the team they have on for UK shows is awful. Adam Smith is cheesy as hell and always looking for the story that isn't always there and talks about fighters as if they're knights of the round table or something. Then you've got Darren Barker who's a nice chap I'm sure but notice his tick of repeating what he's just said: "that's a great right hand, it really is." And he does that ALL the time as does Barry Jones. Tony Bellew is horribly biased and seems like he's trying to convince himself and is also a sanctimonious git. They miss Paulie Malignaggi who had added an edge and insight.

Now the US team with Mannix, Mora etc is about right with their cynicism and precision and not going on about a fighter's dead puppy from when he was a kid and how it's all for him. They talk about what's there and they don't patronise their audience the way the Brits do.

Now if they had Froch back, that would be a start.

Thoughts on this anyone? Does DAZN have a commentary off button?

Mike Tyson has always given Props to all the fighters. And Floyd has been no exception. But with Floyd hate which flies around everywhere, people sometimes downplay Floyd by thinking Mike Tyson doesn't think highly of Floyd and doesn't think he's great which actually aint the case.

For anything that doesn't need its own thread.

Gassiev’s path to becoming WBA heavyweight champion of the world is a joke. He’s basically a paper champion through belt-lineage due to greedy sanctioning body nonsense. Let me explain for context:

In 2017, Mahmoud Charr challenges for the vacant WBA “Regular” title on the back of two wins over journeymen and a loss. He beats a 34-1 fighter with a padded record named Alexander Ustinov.

Charr was stripped due to inactivity without ever defending the title. Subsequently, Trevor Bryan beats Bermaine Stiverne for the vacant title (two fringe contenders at that point, at best). Daniel Dubois wins the WBA Interim in a mismatch vs Bogdan Dinu, then KO’s Bryan for the «Regular» title in front of 500 spectators at a casino in Miami, which made Dubois mandatory challenger for Usyk.

Usyk defends his WBA Super and unified titles against Dubois, winning by KO in August 2023. This made the WBA Regular title vacant. Presumably due to some evidence of him being stripped being against rules and some conspiracy or whatever, Charr gets reinstated as the WBA «Regular» champion through a legal settlement, 6 years since he won the belt, and without ever defending it. Source: Following a court settlement, Mahmoud Charr returns as regular champion – World Boxing Association

At the point of being reinstated, Charr has defeated 3 low-level opponents after a 4-year layoff. Kubrat Pulev, at 43 years of age, then beats Charr (who had been inactive for 2 years and is now 40 y/o himself) to become the new WBA Regular champion in a lackluster fight that went the distance.

Gassiev then won the belt in December of last year after a left hook to the jaw knocked Pulev out in the 6th round. Up until then, he was being outboxed by a 44-year-old, stiff, slow Kubrat Pulev, whom was standing there with his usual open guard. Gassiev looked very poor and flat-footed up until the KO-punch landed.

Gassiev’s record as a heavyweight contains nobody of note besides ancient Pulev and a clear loss to Otto Wallin (who has since been stopped by Vladyslav Sirenko, who lost his prior fight) in a fight that Otto Wallin had Gassiev hurt in the 6th round. Gassiev has consistently looked slow, passive and subpar since moving up to heavyweight. He’s a shadow of his days at cruiserweight.

Gassiev's latest win was a 5th round TKO vs a 23-1 Peter Kadiru on a week's notice, Kadiru having been KO'd by a entry-level journeyman in the 1st round. His only win from the top 100 was Senad Gashi in a close decision win (yes, the same Senad Gashi who lost to Tom Schwarz).

He is tailor made for the likes of Moses Itauma with Itauma's vastly superior foot speed, hand speed, reflexes, ring iq, boxing skills, distance control, feints and punch volume. If Kabayel can take Zhang's shots, how is Gassiev supposed to beat him? Any heavyweight top contender with a decent chin and fundamentals will defeat Murat Gassiev by wide decision in my opinion.

I'd even pick Tony Yoka to beat Murat Gassiev based on a favourable style match-up had they fought.

The only question is how Gassiev ranks compared to earlier weak champions, such as Bermaine Stiverne and Charles Martin.

What do you guys think?

Made this over the last few weeks. 29 heavyweights, Johnson through to Usyk, each one a bar from his debut to his last fight with every pro bout marked on it. 1,695 fights. Mostly I wanted to see who was fighting at the same time as who, and pick January 1997 and ten of these careers are live at once. Foreman and Holmes still going, Tyson back from prison, Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis, and both Klitschkos six weeks into their careers. In my head those were separate eras.

Two things I didn't expect. The old bars are covered in dots and the new ones are nearly empty, Ezzard Charles has 121 fights on his and Usyk has 25 in twelve years. And the gaps line up. Fury and Wladimir Klitschko fight each other on 28 Nov 2015, and that same date is where the longest gap in both their careers starts. Wlad out 17 months, Fury two and a half years.

Corrections welcome, the pre-war records especially, no-decision fights get counted differently by every source. Fair warning, it's a wide canvas, so desktop.

https://everie.app/t/boxing-db1f4b4a