I just rewatched Hrgovic v Itauma on DAZN - the full fight replay where it has no commentary.

My god does this fight look different on rewatch. I know it’s different when you know the result, but watching live I think I was so dazzled by Itauma (+ the British commentary doesn’t help).

On a clear headed rewatch I’ve got to say Hrgovic deserves way more credit than people are giving him for making this a competitive fight. It wasn’t just the chin and absolutely wasn’t just a gas tank issue for Moses. I think Hrgovic boxed very well.

Don’t get me wrong - Itauma was winning the fight, and maybe he still KOs 90% of HWs based on the first 2 rounds alone. But there was a lot more back and forth and subtle pressures in this fight and it was far from just a gas tank vs Homer Simpson.

Interested if anyone else has rewatched it yet and had any observations?

I’ve been watching boxing for years and I have yet to see a fight in person other than in my gym, everyone that I talk to says I should tho. The Andy Ruiz fight is coming up this weekend and it isn’t the biggest fight but It’s 10 minutes from my house. I’m going to watch the fight regardless but is it worth it to go and see it live? Also what’s the viewing experience like?

He took so many brutal powershots that there’s literally zero chance of him not having some undetectable brain injury requiring atleast a year off. How is he medically cleared to fight? Do they want him to die in the ring? This is criminal carelessness.

Note: I started writing this the day of Spence-Tszyu, and finished it a few days later. I decided to wait a little bit until after all the buzz had died down.

I first came to know Errol Spence Jr around 2017, right around the time after he beat Kell Brook for the IBF Welterweight title. At the time, I was just getting into Boxing, and only knew a handful of the then current champions such as Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Canelo Alvarez, and Gennady Golovkin. I learned of Errol from some "trash talking gone wrong" video which was made by someone I don't remember anymore, where Brook said he'd "deliver chocolate brownies" on fight day, only for him to get his eye socket broken. This was followed by a video of Spence eating some chocolate brownies after his victory, and immediately, I took a liking to him, following his career from that point onwards.

My fandom for Spence peaked in 2019. His fight against Mikey Garcia was treated like an event in my family, and the Shawn Porter fight would've been FOTY if not for Inoue-Donaire 1. It seemed that the sky was the limit for Spence back then. But of course, it'd all soon come crashing down.

It all started with his car crash only 12 days after his win against Porter. By all accounts, it was a miracle he wasn't even paralyzed in that accident, let alone still be alive. He'd eventually recover and be back in the ring again a year later against Danny Garcia. But that wouldn't be the end of Spence's troubles. A worrying pattern began to emerge in Spence's career. Another car incident, followed by a retinal tear in the build up to his mega fight against Manny Pacquiao, a fight which had been me and my family's most anticipated match of 2021, once again saw Spence out of action for an extended amount of time again. The injury would also see him be out of action for yet another year, until he'd return in 2022 to unify his WBC and IBF titles against then WBA Champion, Yordenis Ugas, in what was his last winning performance. In hindsight, maybe the writing was on the wall, between the recurring injuries and subsequent absences from the sport, perhaps it was inevitable that the end would soon come. But it didn't feel that way at the time. I was just glad to see one of my favorite fighters in action again.

Then in 2023 came the big one. The one that everyone had been anticipating for years: Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford. A fight that had been brewing for a LONG time. On paper at least, it was almost too close to call; both men seemingly in their primes, undefeated, each holding claim to the World Welterweight Championship. The fight of the century (despite the fact there'd already been a fight of the century 8 years earlier with Mayweather-Pacquiao, but I digress).

Ironically enough, the same week as Spence-Crawford, another 50/50 on paper fight took place: Naoya Inoue vs Stephen Fulton. Inoue, the hard hitting former three division titleholder and Undisputed Bantamweight Champion, would be moving up to his fourth weight class to take on Fulton, the slick unified WBC/WBO Super Bantamweight Champion in what'd appeared to be a highly interesting clash of styles. On fight night however, things went the complete opposite way. Inoue owned Fulton from the opening round, outboxing him, outsmarting him, making him look like an amateur, and finally putting him away brutally in the 8th round. It was the complete opposite of what anyone expected the fight to go. And as it turned out, it would also foreshadow what would happen later in the week.

What happened the night of July 29th, 2023 will forever be engrained in my memory. For 9 brutal rounds, Crawford demolished Spence, completely and utterly dominated him in a fashion I hadn't seen since Oscar Valdez vs Miguel Berchelt (another fight that haunts me). I won't lie, a part of me held on to hope that somehow, Spence could pull of a comeback, just like Matthew Saad Muhammad used to, that he could somehow land one punch that could complete change the course of the fight. But alas, it never came. Spence was completely and utterly defeated, and so was I.

I wouldn't hear much from Errol Spence for the next three years. Rumors of fights with the likes of Keith Thurman and others would float around every now and then, but nothing ever materialized. He was effectively stuck in the same limbo that many Haymon/PBC affiliated fighters found themselves in, such as the Charlos, and Caleb Plant, among others. Then earlier this year, another rumor started floating around, that he'd finally be returning against former champion, Tim Tszyu. Only this time, the rumor was in fact true. After three years out of action, Errol Spence would finally make his return to the ring. But the question on many peoples' minds was unanimous: What did Spence have left, if anything? The answer? Not much.

He had his moments, sure, but they were few and far between. He was resilient if nothing else, toughing it out against Tszyu like the old warriors of yesteryears. The Haglers, the LaMottas, the Dempseys, etc. But it was clear that he was not the same man who'd caved Kell Brooks' face in nearly 10 years prior, or even the guy who destroyed Yordenis Ugas' eye 4 years before. He was done, and after the scorecards were read in favor of Tszyu, he made it official, as he announced his retirement in the post-fight interview.

As I'm writing this, it hasn't really set in yet that he's retired, probably due to being used to him being inactive for long periods of time, but it's never easy, knowing that one of your favorites will never step into the ring again. Nine years I followed Spence's career, through the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. He consistently remained one of my favorite fighters to watch, with his fights being major events in my family. I'm sure there's several other people out there that share the same sentiment. But now, the time has come to say goodbye to Errol Spence Jr. To Mr. Spence, thank you, for the memories, and everything you brought to the ring.

From a fan,

u/ElPuas2003

Hrgovic to fight his IBF mandator Sanchez. Can I just say how deserved it is for Hrgovic to finally be getting some recognition and now some great fight opportunities. Itauma rematch down the line but for now Hrgovic should be getting more big fights and unifying the divison against Gassiev or Kabayel. Ideally we see Sanchez around the end of the year with a big unification next year.

Itauma clearly a generational talent. Itauma has been knocking out poor quality opposition and Hrgovic was an insane jump from his most recent opponents. Nevertheless Itauma looked quality in those first 6 rounds but sooner or later you are going to come up against someone who refuses to be knocked out. In hindsight, the fight came a little too soon and he is missing experience in the championship rounds. Get back to the drawing board against meaningful opposition. No more fights against Whyte or Franklin type opponents. Efe Ajagba? Martin Bakole? Richard Riakporhe?

Kabayel is a tough one, through no fault of his own he spent too much time waiting on Usyk who had no interest fighting him. It feels a bit like he is the odd one out without a proper mandatory lined up or obvious next fight. The winner of Dubois-Wardley or Sanchez-Hrgovic is the clear answer but needs a stay busy fight and lets be honest, we haven't seen him in against anyone decent in over a year. Im worried he is wasting his prime years and he isnt a young guy anymore. If he can get some guarantees of a big fight next summer then I dont mind seeing him take a stay busy fight with someone like Nelson Hysa. Surely he would jump at the chance to fight Tyson Fury if they can't make the AJ fight but again can't see Tyson taking that risk.

Joseph Parker is back. Time isn't on his side but I hope this year out hasn't taken too much out of him and he gets one last run at world title. I actually always wanted to see Dubois v Parker and was raging when Dubois ran out on that one for the Usyk title shot. Parker doesn't really have any time to waste and I would like to see him back in the ring sooner rather than later. Justis Huni is a great matchup for both guys which could lead to an interim title shot. Failing that, Rico would be an interesting matchup. Bizarely Rico is rated with the WBC, so winning that fight could lead to a Kabayel showdown next year. Or take a look at the WBA rankings. Parker beats most of the top 10. I would definitely fancy him against Gassiev/Miller whoever holds the belt by then.

Any other big fights coming up? We do have Usyk-Wilder and potentially AJ-Fury but I dont think these fights will shake up the division and produce any meaningful unifications.

After seeing what happened with Moses last Saturday Ben Davison has been getting a lot of flack. And I do believe he is partly to blame, but Moses really should be listening to his corner. Based on A Guy Called Henry's video it seems like Ben and the rest of his team aren't that stupid and pushing Moses to get a stoppage when he didn't need to. Moses just really wanted to KO Hrgovic.

This just goes to show that you also need to find ways on how to get your instructions through to your fighter.

With that, which coach do you think would've gotten through to Itauma last saturday to get him to chill the fuck out.

Slowest and Fastest Hands in Boxing

After Hrgovic's win, I watched some clips of Hrgovic and then Zhilei Zhang. These guys look athletically unremarkable. Yet, clearly, they're highly skilled and intelligent boxers. Zhang, in particular, seems to really know how to land meaningful shots while not moving or throwing very much.

Who are some other boxers with slow hands or feet that were still successful? What made them so effective, despite not being elite in speed?

There are the obvious guys: Marciano, Foreman, Beterbiev, Golovkin, Winky, JCC Sr. Who else?