[The Daywalker]

I had to post this, as i went to check the daily baseball stats, the headline at ESPN.com was



Wow. Roy Jones got his ass whooped by Antonio Tarver.

Wow.

[SweetLisaLisa]

I knew that guy had a glass jaw.

[The Daywalker]

He's quick as hell, a showboat dancer, but damn he got rocked.

[Jordan23]

Damn I didn't think he'd loose again.

I think he's a talker and before this match, was able to back up all that talk.

[Shaolin]

Originally posted by eruvue I knew that guy had a glass jaw.

Nah, I think if any fighter got hit with a shot like that they would've gotten knocked out too.

I think finally getting his ass kicked will make Jones better. He's been dominating his competition for so long that he lost his edge and motivation. Now he has something to prove and something to shoot for. Jones-Tarver III should be one helluva fight if they ever get one done. If Jones loses that one he should just hang them up.

And did anyone see the Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao fight? God damn! It's been the fight of the year, so far. My boy, Pacquiao (a fellow Filipino), knocked Marquez out three times in the first and I thought for sure he was going to win. Unfortunately, he didn't do that much after the first round and the fight ended in a draw. Although, I felt he did enough to win the fight. My boy wants a rematch, but I heard Marquez wants no piece of him. Chicken *****!

[The Daywalker]

Originally posted by Shaolin Nah, I think if any fighter got hit with a shot like that they would've gotten knocked out too.

Yeah, I think Roy can handle it, but Tarver just caught him.

[Shaolin]

Do you love trash talking? Well, check out the pre-fight press conference between Tito Trinidad and Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga is just hilarious and just rips Tito and even takes a shot at De La Hoya and Roy Jones. I just LOVE boxing press conferences. You hear some of the best lines there.



Click here and scroll down to New Video Tito vs Mayorga Press Showdown.

Best line from Mayorga:

"And after I knock out Tito, I'm going to challenge Oscar again. And the offer still stands, that I'll send him a pair of balls wherever he's at, that way he'll sign the contract."

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Comedy! I never really like the "Golden Boy." It'd be nice to see his ass get whooped.

[deeprising]

well i can talk about roys jones for hours lol.pleaseeeee the fight had to be a set up thats the first time roy got knock down in his whole career.plus come on if u noticed he fall down and was crawling under the ropes so he could take some more time to get up and he got up and he was fine.plus he allready beat that guy and roy beat every divison there is he be a fing heavyweight champion for god sakes lol hes still the best that fight was fake there going to have another fight for more money that was the whole deal don king was smileing like he new something lol please.and the first fight counts not the second one. like with joe frazier he beat classus clay and knock him done.roys the best

[The Daywalker]

Originally posted by Shaolin Do you love trash talking?

"I will invite you to Puerto Rico after the fight, cuz you won't know where you are at" Trinidad haha. I like Tito, he's my favorite boxer. I hope he whoops this chumps ass.

And Roy got popped, he's not a guy to take a dive for anything.

[deeprising]

i hope roy jones will fight mike tyson or lennix lewis he will crush them lol

[Shaolin]

Roy Jones versus Mike Tyson would be a good fight. However, a Roy Jones versus Lennox Lewis fight would be murderous for Roy. Lewis is 6'5", while Jones is 5'11". There's no way I can see Roy lasting long against the bigger Lewis. Just look at what happened to Tyson (who's the same size as Jones) when he finally fought Lewis; he got his ass handed to him! Jones needs to show that he can beat Tarver before he goes up against some of the big boys of the heavyweight division.

BTW, there's no way I see Jones throwing that last fight. Jones is too proud a man to take a dive. And why would he want to tarnish his record and his legacy for more money? It just doesn't make sense. He just got caught with a good punch. The same way Hasim Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis with one good punch.

[Shaolin]

double post

[Jordan23]

Bumping this thread up since I'm excited for the De La Hoya vs Mayweather fight coming up this weekend on Cinco de Mayo! (May 5th) There's been alot of trash talking going on, mainly on Floyd's part especially since his dad was Oscar's former trainer....so it should be a hell of a match!






De La Hoya, the best of our generation

The anointing of the greatest fighter of our generation is not as harrowing as stepping through the ropes, but it is, in itself, a dangerous business. One of the beauties of boxing is that it is not statistic-saturated, leaving the barn door wide open for a wide divergence of passionate opinions on the matter. In some eras, the title has been relatively clear: Joe Louis in the late 1930s through early '40s, Sugar Ray Robinson in the '50s, Muhammad Ali in the late '60s and '70s, and Sugar Ray Leonard through the '80s.

The post-Leonard era has been a bit murkier. A few fighters have emerged through the fog and shown brightly under the big lights -- Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Lennox Lewis -- but thrones are made for one, and none has yet ascended high enough.

Until now. On Saturday, when Oscar De La Hoya comes out of his corner at the MGM Grand for his 43rd professional fight, he will have solidified his case as being the greatest fighter of our generation.

The assertion will not be an easy one for fans and pundits to digest.

"It's a real tough one to answer," confirms venerable trainer Emanuel Stewart. If it were a legal matter, the most savvy of legal minds would have his work cut out for him. De La Hoya is by no means a runaway winner, but more like a thoroughbred who has edged out his fellow steeds by a nose at the wire.

Since there are no batting averages or shooting percentages by which to gauge, the argument hinges around the definition of greatness as applied to its practitioners. Greatness does not mean the most gifted, the most skilled, the most popular, the toughest, the bravest, nor the biggest attraction. They are all elements of greatness, factors to be considered.

"We each have our criteria for greatness," Showtime commentator Steve Albert says. "Some are obvious and some are intangible."

De La Hoya possesses many attributes of the obvious variety: An extremely effective jab. A potent left hook. Enough power to have put a short end to 30 of his 38 victories. A stalwart chin. Better-than-average hand speed. A fine technician.

"On nights when Oscar had it all together," says Albert, "he was unstoppable."

This is not to say De La Hoya possessed the finest of any of those qualities. Lewis had a more pernicious jab. Chavez's head was arguably made of granite. Whitaker might have been the purest craftsman in the history of the sport.

"The most talented?" says Stewart. "Easy. Roy Jones Jr."

But in De La Hoya's case, it is more the intangibles than his physical attributes that earn him the title of greatest.

"One of my criteria is how fighters respond when something doesn't go well," Showtime color analyst Steve Farhood says. "Rebounding from a loss, for example, or trouble during a fight."

De La Hoya rebounded from a controversial loss to Felix Trinidad, not by fighting stiffs but by facing pound-for-pound candidate Shane Mosley a mere nine months later. Recovering from trouble? One need look no further than De La Hoya's 1999 bout with Ike Quartey. His undefeated Ghanaian challenger provided a more than ample challenge, and going into the 12th round, De La Hoya's then-unblemished record was on the precipice.

"That was Oscar's defining fight," Stewart says. "He let it all out. He was going to win convincingly or get knocked out."

De La Hoya unleashed a maelstrom that brought Quartey to his knees and preserved perfection.

Another criterion for greatness is one's quality of opposition. A fighter simply needs to fight other great fighters. Or many good fighters. Preferably both. It's a cruel twist of circumstance, however, as a fighter's legacy can be tarnished by a dearth of other talent in his era.

"Rocky Marciano was punished by history, circumstance," says boxing historian Bert Sugar.

Such seems the case for Jones and Hopkins as well. Not so with De La Hoya. His laundry list of quality opponents includes Oba Carr, Chavez, Genaro Hernandez, Hopkins, Ricardo Mayorga, Shane Mosley (twice), Quartey, Rafael Ruelas, Whitaker, Trinidad and Fernando Vargas.

Most impressively, however, has been De La Hoya's eagerness to fight all comers.

"He's never met a challenge he didn't like," says Sugar.

A man who's generated $492 million pay-per-view dollars could easily face mediocrity in lieu of legitimate contenders. But not De La Hoya.

"Forget the pretty-boy looks," Stewart says. "Oscar takes all risks, even if he's an underdog. He's willing to step up to any competition and will [take a] chance when others won't."

It's a particularly noble quality since, unlike speed and power, such a characteristic is not imbued by nature. The willingness to test oneself is a product of the man himself. If a fighter wishes to knock out all of his opponents, but doesn't have the punch, he cannot. But opponents can be sought. Perilous bouts can be made. A man can constantly test himself.

Most fighters do not. And if there was ever a fighter who didn't need to take on a challenge, it's De La Hoya, who could not only retire to Tuscany but probably purchase the entire region. Yet he has chosen to face the dangerous task of taking on the pound-for-pound finest fighter on the planet.

Dissenters, of course, are as vocal as Sophocles' Greek chorus.

"I like Oscar enormously," says Showtime color commentator Al Bernstein, who cites Whitaker as deserving the honor. "He's without a doubt the most important fighter of the past 25 years, but not the greatest."

The Whitaker bandwagon is supported by Sugar, Farhood and HBO analyst Max Kellerman. Farhood leans toward Chavez. Stewart intimates that it could be Lewis, his former pupil. None deny that the 34-year-old De La Hoya should be on the short list of candidates, but questions linger. Did he fulfill his potential? Did he rise appropriately to his challengers? Did he make a definitive statement for greatness?

"Oscar's always looking for the biggest fight, and he's a treasure," Kellerman says. "But his signature performances have come against less-than-great opposition, like Mayorga and Vargas."

Victorious wars waged against a plethora of top opponents apparently do not compensate for a smattering of losses: a 1999 travesty against Trinidad; a split decision at the hands of then pound-for-pound candidate Mosley in 2000; a questionable decision in their 2003 rematch; and a KO against a Goliath-sized Hopkins.

De La Hoya's flaws are notable, but the other candidates' shortcomings are slightly more conspicuous. For all of his inimitable raw talent, Jones not only had a cardboard jaw but exhibited a shocking lack of heart in his rubber match with Antonio Tarver. An unprepared Lewis was force-fed the canvas not once but twice against garden-variety opposition. Chavez's determination was inspiring, but he was little more than an indefatigable plow horse. Whitaker comes closest to earning the "greatest" title if not for two slights: his lack of punching power (only 17 KOs in 46 bouts) made for much less-than-sizzling excitement; and in 1997, De La Hoya beat (an albeit aging) Sweet Pea for the WBC title.

Yet the outcome of "The Fight of the Century," as deemed by historian Sugar, might change the tune of many a naysayer. Mayweather is unquestionably a great fighter at the apex of his career, precisely the victory that has eluded (the Trinidad decision aside) De La Hoya.

"If he beats Mayweather," Farhood says. "It answers many questions."

Victory or loss, however, De La Hoya still deserves, more than any of his contemporaries, the appellation of the greatest of our generation. Greatness is not something you have, explains Kellerman, but something you must achieve. De La Hoya will do just that in early May. By slipping through the ropes for what might be the biggest fight in boxing history, De La Hoya has proven that despite both winning and losing, he is earning much more than an astronomical paycheck -- he's earning a seat on the throne.


- espn.com

[General Maximus]

I hope Mayweather whoops his ass.

[Jordan23]

Of course you had to be going for the other guy!

Nah I want De La Hoya to represent.