15 Most Exciting Warriors of the Ring

[Anthony342]

Be that as it may, they still fit the criteria of the thread - they were exciting warriors that put butts in the seats. Every fight may not have been a barnburner, but that doesn't mean they don't qualify.

Ali's style was to "float like a butterfly" (dance around) before he "stung like a bee." ("Rumble, young man, rumble, ahhh")

As for Duran, most of his dull fights came after Iran Barkley, way past his prime. He established his legend by being the most exciting fighter ever to come out of Latin America. The holding you mentioned came from the other guy to keep from getting hit, as in "The Brawl in Montreal."

Nah, I found plenty of earlier fights hard to get through in one sitting with Duran, so I usually watched a few rounds at a time. You know, like 5 rounds at a time or 6 or 7 in the longer fights, especially the 15 rounders. And I guess with Ali, I felt there was too much floating and not enough stinging. His fights with Liston, Foreman and Frazier were tough and brilliant though, for the most part. I guess they were too long for me. Even with the older fighters, you get to skip past some rounds on some of those old films. Just my opinion though.

[Anthony342]

Let me see if I get this straight: Are you saying you don't find this exciting solely because it ended within two rounds?

[vbtube]yMGzKcbCYPc[/vbtube]

Well I do. That's what I like about a guy like a Tyson, Liston, Foreman, etc. You can get through their career sets fairly quickly. I like being able to watch 5-10 or more fights of a boxer in one sitting, until they get to the tougher opponents, of course. Then again, I enjoyed watching Larry Holmes and Whitaker and their fights were longer, so I guess it just depends on a certain style or how a guy looks in his fights or how dominant he can be for me. Usually it's the guys that seek and destroy, but sometimes, I like style and defense too.

[Anthony342]

When in the blue hell did Duran ever dance?!

He didn't, Ali did. I didn't like a lot of the Duran fights I watched either though.

[Anthony342]

Meant Graham, yes. And I had him well ahead at the time of the KO. That's my least favorite part of the sport: The fact that a fighter who is being outclassed can end the fight with one well-placed shot.

Just don't consider knockouts exciting. If it were up to me, every fight would go to the judges.

Glad it's not up to you then. I guess that means you also don't like buzzer beating touchdowns, field goals, basketball shots, or walk off home runs or any kind of comeback in sports, because that's what those are and that's what many fans, like myself, find exciting. You make it sound like a guy losing a match should just lose and not be allowed to make a comeback. If a fighter wants to win on points, he has to last the distance and it's his fault if he gets caught and doesn't.

[Anthony342]

Yeah, of course. I'm going to be disappointed that a fight that I thought was going to be good turned out to be a squash match. At least let me see half a fight with competitive action.

Let me ask you this: How do you feel when you watch an NFL game between two hot playoff contenders that you're excited about seeing only to have it degenerate into a 45-0 whitewash?

Poet

That depends on who wins. If the Giants win, I don't care if it's close or a blowout. If it's anyone else, I might want to see a closer game. But if I'm rooting for one team or competitor over another, I just want to see him/them win. If a great fighter is dominating, I can still enjoy the fight because I can enjoy seeing his great skill on display.

[Anthony342]

I take each fight as its own story and accept whatever result (as long as it's reasonable) it brings. My hope is that the fight is entertaining and that I can learn from it. I remember seeing some blowouts on live closed circuit TV (Foreman-Frazier, Hearns-Cuevas, etc.) that were absolutely thrilling. When Andre Ward fights I just can't wait for the fight to be over, and a KO would be a blessing.

Really? I like Ward. Are you saying he's just not exciting, even when he scores a stoppage or is clearly outboxing an opponent?

[jabsRstiff]

SBleeder....

Do you think Ray Leonard won a fight he shouldn't have over a superior fighter in Tommy Hearns? Hearns was outboxing him when Ray landed a single left hook in the 6th that swung the fight in his favor for a couple of rounds...and then did the same in the 13th with a single right hand.

Did Trinidad beat a better fighter in David reid? Tito was losing that fight until the seventh round when a single left hook swung it all in his favor.

I'm sure you don' think that way, but you think Jackson is inferior to Graham because he was able to end the fight, not just swing it his way, with a single punch.

[Cloud]

TS List doesn't even include Evander Holyfield..

[jabsRstiff]

The least exciting type of fighters to me are either slick, tall southpaws or volume punchers.

[The Surgeon]

Really? I like Ward. Are you saying he's just not exciting, even when he scores a stoppage or is clearly outboxing an opponent?

Im big on Ward too, wouldn't brand him exciting but not the Bore people call him either

In General, or at least when talking about casual fans u know the knockout or threat of it is exciting, hence why many (even the more experienced fan) dont bother watching the lighter weight fighters as they believe there is less chance of a KO...

Me i love a high skilled tear up like Duran vs Leonard 1 or Cotto vs Mosley, the ****s exciting and they are excellent fights.

Tyson himself was a dramatic character who everybody knew could end things with one shot and he had those fast hands to deliver exciting combo's, If a guy got chinned in 2 rounds i was satisfied because with guys like that u are on edge the whole fight because u know it could end in a split second, and often did.

Ideally fights would all go like Tito Trinidad vs El Feroz where the fans are treated to a high skilled back and forth matchup that ends in a KO right before the end of the fight!

Tim Bradley vs Paulie Malingaggi would not be exciting. It would pit two world class fighters with high skill against one another and it might even be a good fight i dont know, but there would be very little tension or threat of KO either way so it imo would lack excitement. Fights can be enjoyable without being exciting.