NoCalMike Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Anyone else see this fight on HBO? Round 7 KO. Vitali dropped him once before in round 5 I belive, and then bloodied and battered Byrd in the 7th. Byrd wobbled to his feet, ref saw his face covered in crimson, and called the fight. This was probably the most dominating performance in the heavyweight division between two "top heavyweights" we have seen in awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 It should have been stopped earlier... Byrd was never in this fight and was being subjected to vicious jabs that were certainly rattling the brains in his skill. I was suprised how articulate Byrd was after the fight.... after having his spine shook consistently for 7 rounds. Boxing is a joke.... when they get the corruption out of it I'll watch regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Anyone else see this fight on HBO? Round 7 KO. Vitali dropped him once before in round 5 I belive, and then bloodied and battered Byrd in the 7th. Byrd wobbled to his feet, ref saw his face covered in crimson, and called the fight.This was probably the most dominating performance in the heavyweight division between two "top heavyweights" we have seen in awhile. I'm pissed I had to miss it. Have to check for the replays. Thanks for the heads up, good fights are hard to come by anymore. Also, I thought Vitaly ran for Governor of the Ukraine or something and retired? Just checked. He did, it was Wladimir not Vitali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjcdaman Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 It should have been stopped earlier... Byrd was never in this fight and was being subjected to vicious jabs that were certainly rattling the brains in his skill. I was suprised how articulate Byrd was after the fight.... after having his spine shook consistently for 7 rounds. Boxing is a joke.... when they get the corruption out of it I'll watch regularly. I have to disagree. This is a championship fight with Byrd's belt on the line. No way should it have been stopped earlier. The ref stopped it at the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I'm pissed I had to miss it. Have to check for the replays. Thanks for the heads up, good fights are hard to come by anymore. Also, I thought Vitaly ran for Governor of the Ukraine or something and retired? Just checked. He did, it was Wladimir not Vitali. It wasn't a good fight, Wladimir dominated from the beginning. I have to admit that I have been skeptacle of Wladimir in the past for obvious reasons, but this was, by far, his best fight and with the heavyweight division being as weak as it is, he could dominate for a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsD Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I enjoyed the fight, I was rooting for Byrd though and it was tough to watch him get dominated like that. That big Russian's height was just too much for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 It wasn't a good fight, Wladimir dominated from the beginning. I have to admit that I have been skeptacle of Wladimir in the past for obvious reasons, but this was, by far, his best fight and with the heavyweight division being as weak as it is, he could dominate for a couple of years. I guess I'll have to watch anyway now to see what I think. Although with both of these fighters in mind, I would probably think you're right. Wlad is so freakin huge and kinda slow that I really never figured he would be able to fight a technically sound smaller, faster guy. Plus his chin has been exposed. Didn't Byrd hit him with anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bofluid Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 The fight was not stopped earlier because Wlad has had very serious stamina issues throughout his career. I'm sure Chris and his corner felt that if he could survive those rounds he could string something together. Not too likely though, since Byrd has not knocked anyone out since 2002, and a KO was the only way he was winning the fight. Byrd needs to strongly consider stepping away for a couple of reasons. One, now that he's no longer a title holder he will struggle to get fights against quality opposition. Two, he's looked plain awful in his last two fights. Late last year Davarryl Williamson came close to "beating" Byrd in one of the worst fights I've ever witnessed. It's obvious he's not the same fighter he once was. Byrd is a class act when he's not throwing his religion in the face of others. I love how after the fight Wlad said he wants to unify the titles. One way to see interest rise in the sport is to have a unified Heavyweight champion. Who knows where he goes from here, but I would love to see a bout between he and Lyakhovich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I have to disagree. This is a championship fight with Byrd's belt on the line. No way should it have been stopped earlier. The ref stopped it at the right time. I agree with CSkin. There was a stretch there where Byrd was taking power-shot after power-shot to the head, wasn't able to protect himself at all, and wasn't punching back. Whether the guy's title is on the line or not is irrelevant - the standard for stopping a fight is the same. That ref blew it. Byrd could have been seriously injured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Fight should definately have been stopped earlier. When you can't defend yourself and you are no longer fighting back - it's time to call the fight. This fight shows just how pathetic the heavy weight division in boxing really is. Did Byrd look like a champion? Not to me. Looked like a past his prime has been getting beat around the ring by the next big thing...of 5 years ago. Until the really fix this sport UFC is where the good stuff is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Fight should definately have been stopped earlier. When you can't defend yourself and you are no longer fighting back - it's time to call the fight. This fight shows just how pathetic the heavy weight division in boxing really is. Did Byrd look like a champion? Not to me. Looked like a past his prime has been getting beat around the ring by the next big thing...of 5 years ago. Until the really fix this sport UFC is where the good stuff is. I think this fight showed a couple of things....size DOES matter - Klitscko (sp?) was able to keep Byrd off him just by extending his jab continuously - Byrd really couldn't reach him without lunging (which of course took steam off his already marginally powerful punches). The only way to beat a guy like that is to be physically strong enough to truly get inside and wear him down with body shots and/or try to take him out with uppercuts, or to be able to counterpunch and have a knockout caliber blow. A guy like Tyson in his prime for example. Fighting him from the outside is suicide. The other major problem for Byrd was that, 5 years ago, 90% of those punches would never have connected, because Byrd was so adept at moving to avoid them. He's clearly not able to do that to the same degree now. And although he was able to slip some of the earlier shots, he couldn't slip all of them, and it doesn't take many coming from a guy that strong to bring you down. It was sad to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooka Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 That was a massacre. Byrd was taking some heavy shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 Keep in mind Wladimir is taller, but their reach was the exact same. Byrd went in with a horrible game plan. Instead of his usual stick n move game, he thought he was going to go in there and be stronger then Klitscho. Stupid Plan if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 "Throw in the towel! Thrown in the damn towel!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBleedBurgundy&Gold1369225669 Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Keep in mind Wladimir is taller, but their reach was the exact same. Byrd went in with a horrible game plan. Instead of his usual stick n move game, he thought he was going to go in there and be stronger then Klitscho. Stupid Plan if you ask me. I didn't matter what plan he had. He was over matched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th869 Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Keep in mind Wladimir is taller, but their reach was the exact same. Byrd went in with a horrible game plan. Instead of his usual stick n move game, he thought he was going to go in there and be stronger then Klitscho. Stupid Plan if you ask me. I thought his plan was to stand there and get the $*@t beat out of him. It seemed worked to perfection. :dunce: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UltimateSkins Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 UFC is so much better than boxing, they don't even compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksun247 Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Byrd is definitely not the same boxer he was a few years ago. Even then, Vlad put a beating on him. The current Heavyweight division is pitiful. Vlad is a very good boxer, but his STAMINA & CHIN are suspect. Byrd didn't have what it took to beat him 5 years ago and he sure didn't have it yesterday. Any heavyweight with a little bit of power and semi-decent skill is a threat to Vlad. Byrd has NO POWER. He's just a good (was good) boxer who is undersized to fight these new breed of Heavyweights (240+ lbs). He did what few have done and that's win the Heavyweight championship, even if it's a water down version of the true crown. The heavyweight division in boxing is in dire need of rejuevenation. Would love to see Sergei Liakhovich versus Vlad. He has the size, speed, CHIN and good enough boxing skill to test Vlad. At least that would be a Heavyweight match worthy of watching. Probably won't happen anytime soon due to the politics of boxing, which is a shame. :rant: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander PK Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Just watched the fight on HBO a while ago. Wladimir crushed Byrd. Plain and Simple. The knock down punch in the 5th was staggering to watch, even on replay. I thought the fight was pretty much decided then. Byrd did show a lot of heart, although he was clearly outmatched. He seems like a decent person also. Byrd's wife yelling and screaming on the sideline did start to get on my nerves after a while. Even Larry made the comment, he didn't know who Byrd should be listening to, his wife, or his corner. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Klitschko has cleansed the heavyweight division of the stain that is Chris Byrd...It was a joy to watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadKarma Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Klitschko has cleansed the heavyweight division of the stain that is Chris Byrd...It was a joy to watch! Agreed, Klitschko mopped the floor with him. Byrd was the # 1 ranked contender and looked like he just showed up to get paid. James Toney deserves a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Agreed, Klitschko mopped the floor with him. Byrd was the # 1 ranked contender and looked like he just showed up to get paid. James Toney deserves a shot. James Toney is a BAAAD MAN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadKarma Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 James Toney is a BAAAD MAN! heavyweight boxing is such a joke right now. HEAVYWEIGHT Title Holders WBA : Nicolay Valuev 43-0 (31 KOs) WBC : Hasim Rahman 41-5-2 (33 KOs) IBF : Wladimir Klitschko 46-3 (41 KOs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 heavyweight boxing is such a joke right now.HEAVYWEIGHT Title Holders WBA : Nicolay Valuev 43-0 (31 KOs) WBC : Hasim Rahman 41-5-2 (33 KOs) IBF : Wladimir Klitschko 46-3 (41 KOs) Blame Mike Tyson, Don King, and those that supported their sham. False champions can suck the life out of any sport! See Tampa Bay Lightning/NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bofluid Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 James Toney is one of my favorite figures in all of sports, but what did he do to earn a shot at another belt after his performance versus Rahman? Wlad would wreck Toney as he has the one thing that has bothered Toney throughout his career a stiff, devastating jab. He'd be able to keep JT at bay all night, and not allow him to potshot him. If James came in to the fight in the same shape as he was against Rahman he'd suffer the first knockout of his career. This I'm sure of. Toney has already been promised the winner of Rahman/Maskaev. What I'd love to see him do is take a stay busy fight for the summer so he can at least try to keep his weight under control. JT claims he's lost 18 pounds since the Rahman fight due to illness caused by the hundreds of illegal kidney punches landed by Rahman in their fight. That could be a blessing in disguise as Toney was at his best at 220 for the Holyfield fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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