Seeing faces pounded in vs high-level boxing.

[Shake]

In its most extreme example, this would be a back-alley brawl to the death versus olympic points-based boxing.

But as we regularly encounter it it's more like Witherspoon vs Holmes versus Gatti-Ward.

Do you enjoy seeing fighters take damage? Or do you prefer to see the nuances of a match that you pretty much know won't be a knockout?

Or do you only like matches that have a combination of both?

[PH|LLA]

I've come to realise that I'll take Hopkins - Wright over Pavlik - Miranda any day of the week

[Shake]

My personal opinion is that I don't really like seeing boxers take damage. I don't enjoy seeing Gatti-Ward, nor do I enjoy watching Mike Tyson or George Foreman knocking out fighter after fighter in a highlight reel. I actually feel a little queezy when I saw Gatti and Ward will themselves through all that punishment. In my opinion, they gave a little too much.

I enjoy pure boxing matches more, where a subtle decision by any of the two boxers to fight differently can result in a change-up. These are often uneventful as far as punches landed go, but I get some enjoyment out of wondering why it is uneventful. Does one fighter have control of the match? Why isn't his opponent rallying then? Often enough, the seems of a wily plan and execution become visible.

Best of all, of course, is a boxing-match where the threat of a knockout is palpable but skills are still utilized -- Hearns vs Leonard is a good example.

[MancMexican]

If all boxing matches were blood and guts Gatti/Ward then I would get bored of them.

In the same way if all fights were sweet science technical bouts I would also get bored.

Also, if they were all exciting then amazingly i would also get bored.

Its the fact that in boxing there are so many intangibles that affect the fight that makes it so dramatic. A fight on paper that sounds great can turn out to be a snoozefest and vice versa. One punch can change a fight. You just never know what its going to be like.

And that you never really know and anything can happen... i would have bet my house that Pavlick was done when he went down... makes it such a great sport

I love a good war as a preference but the fact that they dont come along all that often keeps them entertaining

[PH|LLA]

I like seeing skill basically. It was a pleasure for me to watch Hatton beat Castillo, KT beat Judah, Hopkins beat Tito, etc. even though those fighters were overmatched, it allowed the elite to display their superiority

[MancMexican]

As a side note I also think there is a line after which I dont want to see a boxer take anymore damage... I felt bad for Lacy from round 9 onwards for example

There was a fight at the weekend that made me cringe... was it the Berto fight? that I wanted to smack the ref because he let the guy go on when it should have been stopped

I never want to see someone be truly hurt

[Shake]

Sometimes I'm amazed though. Chico coming back against Castillo had my hair stand on end. It was scary.

[MancMexican]

Sometimes I'm amazed though. Chico coming back against Castillo had my hair stand on end. It was scary.

One of the most incredible moments in boxing.

[Marnoff]

I've come to realise that I'll take Hopkins - Wright over Pavlik - Miranda any day of the week

Agreed.

As for the Olympic example, that I would disagree with. Amateur boxing is purely about scoring points, so people get to hit and run and win with meaningless shots. That I don't necessarily enjoy so much. I love a pure boxing match within the professional ranks though.

[gutto]

I dont mind which as long as its done well. I love to see a good tear up as long as its not that messey shit got to be a good infighting batle but also love to see a good tecnical boxer at work. If theres a great come back at the end of it even better but I dont like to see a long drawn out one sided fight were a boxer is just taking punishment and has no chance at all but that type of fighter has all the respect in the world from me.

[FlatNose]

I love a good scientific boxing match, but I love the adreniline rush of a vicious crazy Gatti or Corrales type slugfest.As a poster before me noted, if the brawls happened all the time, they wouldn't be so special.But when they do on occasion, its very special.A good example is Hagler -Hearns.The undercard was entirely ordinary, almost boring.Then when Marvelous Marv exploded, so did my head.You can go through a whole lifetime trying to get that feeling again watching a fight.

[Rollo]

If you only want to see blood, you can watch that UFC-stuff - boring as hell!

I´ll prefer quality boxing over sheer brutality, any time.

[SteveO]

It really depends. I like seeing a good fight. Boxer v. puncher fights are good too.

I do love a good defensive fighter (Toney, Pep, etc) who can befuddle their opponents and make them miss by the smallest and largest of margins.

[nervousxtian]

There's a place for sloppy D- level walkout bout brawls, they entertain in a different way.

The best fights are where the outcome is always in doubt, fought at a high level, between evenly (or close) matched fighters, with something on the line (be it a title, a title shot, or redemption).

[The Whaler]

There's a place for sloppy D- level walkout bout brawls, they entertain in a different way.

The best fights are where the outcome is always in doubt, fought at a high level, between evenly (or close) matched fighters, with something on the line (be it a title, a title shot, or redemption).

Exactly. That's why Bergeron's fights are always so boring. You already know the outcome.

[Marnoff]

As a side note I also think there is a line after which I dont want to see a boxer take anymore damage... I felt bad for Lacy from round 9 onwards for example

There was a fight at the weekend that made me cringe... was it the Berto fight? that I wanted to smack the ref because he let the guy go on when it should have been stopped

I never want to see someone be truly hurt

That's like Mayweather vs. Gatti for me. I wanted the fight to just end, as it was clear Gatti could do absolutely nothing. I've only watched that fight once.