Remember that scene in Rocky where they tie strings to his ankles to help with balance?
I have several questions starting with how this guy can look so lethal in practice videos and come out and look like he had glue on the bottom of his shoes. I also have to ask how it is possible (even at 58) to not have the ability to provide any sort of burst of energy for even a 20-30 second time period. It seemed like he exhausted himself by the simple task of moving in close enough to throw one punch and then fall back. I think people were taking bets on whether he would make it back to his seat at the end of each round. How is it possible for a rather robust 27-year-old man with any boxing training to seemingly not be able to hit someone who literally was not moving. Yeah, Tyson bobbed and weaved just a little bit, but not with any real energy or unpredictability.
You have to wonder if this was ever a real fight or if this was little more than a large con by two people who were and probably will be again friends.
The other two title fights were real wars, like how I remember old school boxing. I don't recall the last time I watched boxing that didn't involve Tyson Fury, but this almost makes me want to follow it again. I say almost, because I thought the interview after the Taylor/Serrano fight was inappropriate and unprofessional. It sounded more like a WWF interview with all the allegations of dirty fighting and attacks on someone who is considered one of the best female boxers in history. It took away from what was two great fights, albeit with two controversial endings. Boxing has always had issues with scoring, and I am sure these two fights did nothing to squelch that.
I my humble opinion Barrios should have beaten Ramos. While both fighters had knockdowns, the champion Barrios simply out boxed Ramos for a large portion of the fight. He was bigger, busier, landed more solid blows, and deserved to win.
The woman's title fight was apparently more controversial, but this was a clash of styles. Serrano was the smaller fighter who obviously likes to come forward and bully people. She simply fought another fighter in Taylor who was physically stronger and wasn't going to be bullied. It was also traditional vs southpaw and became an awkward affair where they kept just running into each other because neither wanted to move back. Because Serrano fights upright whereas Taylor fights in more of a crouch Serrano gets the worst of it when the head clash. The idea that those were intentional was not played out when you watched the slow-motion replay. On the clash that opened the cut, it was Serrano (not Taylor) who actually initiated the contact, albeit unintentionally. Taylor was not as busy but had quicker hands and when she did throw down, she landed flush in combinations. Serrano probably landed more shots, but many of those were partially blocked or more glancing. If I were Serrano's trainer, I would complain less about head butts and work a little more on defense. That being said, I get the feeling that Taylor might be the only woman alive who can give Serrano a fun for her money. At the end of the day, I see nothing crazy about the fact that there might have been six rounds that went Taylor's way. Again, this is boxing and judges like certain styles and look for certain things. It's not always the more popular fighter that catches the judge's eye.
All in all, I am glad there were preliminary fights. Because I would have not wanted to just tune in for the main event, which was a flop in my opinion. I would have much rather seen something at least partially violent like boxing generally is. Even if that meant the sentimental choice Mike Tyson would have had to have kissed the canvas. At least we would have witnessed a real fight.
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