Performance that surprised you the most?

Afternoon chaps

What performance has been the most surprising to you as a boxing fan? It can be good, bad or indifferent, a complete change of tactics from their usual style with a fighter showing you something you never knew they had...anything.

To get the ball rolling, I'll go with Carl Froch against Arthur Abraham. Whilst we knew that Carl had an excellent amateur career, and therefore clearly had good boxing fundamentals, it has been a rarity throughout his professional career that he has displayed such skills - relying rather on his power and chin to provide exciting fights. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when he boxed behind the jab in the Abraham fight, not getting dragged into a war and dominating the fight against a dangerous puncher from the outside. In all honesty I didn't think Carl had it in him to do that against King Arthur, and whilst I didn't know if he would lose or not, I fully expected him to have some real scares along the way. As it turned out, he barely shipped a punch, and it had me asking the question as to why he hadn't resorted to these tactics more often, as he nailed that particular gameplan with aplomb.

So, which fighter has surprised you the most in a particular fight?

Cheers

I was thinking more that you have witnessed with your own eyes, but you're totally right, nobody would have expected those tactics from Ali.

Macklin v Sturm was one for me. The Irishman had been pretty poor in his last fight and I didnt give him much chance. He suprised me and nearly got the nod

i didnt think groves had it in him to beat degale, i thought he was more talented and hit harder, but all credit george he had the perfect game plan, in and out all night, good work rate and showed real heart to get the (correct) decision.

Honey curry.

Recently Burns Martinez. I thought Burns was gonna get splattered.

Dirrell's impromptu rolling around and generally acting like a girl in the Abraham fight.

Morales against Maidana was one that surprised me. Thought Maidana would have wiped Erik out in a few rounds. Didn't expect Judah to quit so easily against khan

Mayweather surprised me a little against Mosley, too. After being tagged and in trouble in round 2 I believed he would move and pot-shot on a safety first basis for the rest of the fight in order to pick up rounds.

What he did however was quite the opposite, taking the fight to Shane in a far more aggressive manner than we have been used to seeing from Floyd in recent years.

Reborn-DeeMcK-Reborn wrote:Morales against Maidana was one that surprised me. Thought Maidana would have wiped Erik out in a few rounds. Didn't expect Judah to quit so easily against khan

Tell me about it, I was jumping up off my seat every time Erik landed a punch! He far exceeded my expectations in that fight, and I would have been over the moon if he got the decision.

There have been a few in recent years. I never anticipated Pacquiao being able to take a dig from a genuine Welterweight puncher such as Cotto over and over again, so have to confess that I was astounded at the quality of his performance and the manner of it in that bout. Burns-Martinez would be up there, and I also never thought Groves was capable of such a disciplined and water-tight performance as the one which he produced to beat DeGale.

Haye Vs Klitschko. For some reason i got it into my head that Haye would try and win.

I accept that Wlad is very good at what he does but in the lead up to the fight Haye agreed that he had to be aggressive and increase his work rate and yet he danced around attempting to potshot throwing less than twenty punches a round. Where was his masterplan?!

Bernard Hopkins performance against Pavlik surprised me a lot I didn't expect him to win never mind win so easily.

Although the scale of the fight was in no way comparable to the majority of the fights mentioned above i thought John Mcdermott's performance in the first fury fight was surprising.I expected Fury to be too big, too strong and too fit for big fat John but his ability to outjab Fury while giving away close to ten inches in reach was surprising. However, what was more surprising was that Fury felt he deserved the decision.

also mccdermots 1st round KO of the big african guy was impressive

Olubamiwo was a disaster waiting to happen. his build was not suited to boxing and he was too arrogant in thinking that he could just walk through any opponent. The most surprising thing was his lack of durability; Trainers always say that building leg and neck muscle improves a fighters ability to take a punch and Olubamiwo had more than his fair share in both.

mcdermmonts build isnt exactly suited to boxing either

88Chris05 wrote:There have been a few in recent years. I never anticipated Pacquiao being able to take a dig from a genuine Welterweight puncher such as Cotto over and over again, so have to confess that I was astounded at the quality of his performance and the manner of it in that bout. Burns-Martinez would be up there, and I also never thought Groves was capable of such a disciplined and water-tight performance as the one which he produced to beat DeGale.

Chris. Bit surprised re your pac, cotto comments. The first few rounds were competitive, and pac shipped a few punches yes... but a few rounds where he took a few shots is hardly a genuine test of his durabilty at welter for me. It's not like he weathered a major storm... and cotto was a punchbag from round 4 as i remember it.

Pavlik vs Hopkins.

Really thought the old man was done after the Calzaghe defeat and was expecting Pavlik to walk him down and overwhelm him for a mid to late stoppage.
Never expected him to put on such a masterful performance similar in domination to JC's win over Lacy. That win for JC of Bernie just get better and better the longer he fights on.

Eubank vs Benn I

Maybe due to me not knowing too much about Eubank at the time, i just expected Benn to streamroll right though him. Remember it being a cracker of a fight, with Eubank somehow managing to stop him in the 9th.

Alexander vs Bradley - Surprised by how little guts Alexander showed for it.

Harrison against Haye for me. Even I was surprised how bad he was!

I love these threads -

B-Hop's over Pavlik - I thought he was done, like completely after Calzaghe which I think is strange as I had him winning the fight, but it just seemed like was it, and against a tough big puncher in Pavlik I thought it was game over for him... Boy was I wrong!

Manny's over Cotto - No doubt Manny is an incredible fighter, but I didn't think that he'd be able to beat a genuine WelterWeight the WAY he went, he was just too incredible. One of the most incredible performances.

Mayweather's over Mosley and Marquez - Figured he might have slowed down a bit... But he was just so fast and the boxing technique was just simply mesmerising... I'm thinking he'll be just as good over Ortiz.

Hatton's over Tszyu - Never thought he had it in him. He was simply fantastic that night. Deserved the accolades he got that night.

Ortiz over Berto- I bought into the Berto hype, I really thought he was really could bve great (And still could) but Ortiz showed him to be slightly limited and never backed down. Fantastic fight one in which Ortiz answered so many answers about heart and commitment.

Khan over Maidana - I NEVER thought Khan would be able to fight it rough and come back. Never figured he could take such a beating and show the heart and fire in which he did.

Groves over Degale - Althoguh I was one of the few people that actually backed Groves, I actually didn't think he woudl be abel to fight off the back foot in the style that he did and actually show his boxing abilities. I figured he would excert pressure and push Degale into uncomfortable zones in which Degale hasn't been pushed before, but the tactics and the execution was fantastic.

Got loads more I'll think of and I'm sure Windy in his 156 years of watching boxing must have many!!

Taylor against Chavez despite the fact he lost the fight has to be 11 of the finest rounds of pure boxing i've ever seen.

eddyfightfan wrote:mcdermmonts build isnt exactly suited to boxing either

What is NOT a good build?

Benn v McClellan was a big surprise. Everyone was saying that Benn was too war torn and McClellan would starch him early and nearly did. Incredible heart by Benn in a fight that was to end pretty nastily.

Fat, I guess?

Fury surprised me against Chisora, thought Derek would have too much for him and be that bit too aggressive.

To be fair though Dereck came in so fat that after he was gassed after a couple of flurries Tyson would have been better bending over and farting on him, might have toppled him over.

The only thing that surprised me about the Fury Chisora fight, is that people in such poor condition could believe they're ready for a world title shot!

Going back a few years, and before my time, one of the biggest surprises in boxing has to be Tysons first defeat to Douglas. Tyson was something crazy like 50-1 favourite going into that fight! It should have been a walk over for him.

More recently however, it's always a surprise for me to see how Amir Khan has progressed as a boxer. A few years back, he was a hyper active kid throwing wild punches non-stop, just rushing in for the K.O - since Preston, he's been a different fighter all together. The result against Judah for me wasn't a surprise, but, how Khan has changed his game the past few years and progressed to the heights he has, is definitely a surprise. I didn't expect him to be this good.

The performance that surprised me was Frankie Randell v Chavezin the first fight. The way he fought that night as an underdog and in his first title fight was amazing. Never saw it coming.

The Pugilist wrote:The only thing that surprised me about the Fury Chisora fight, is that people in such poor condition could believe they're ready for a world title shot!

Going back a few years, and before my time, one of the biggest surprises in boxing has to be Tysons first defeat to Douglas. Tyson was something crazy like 50-1 favourite going into that fight! It should have been a walk over for him.

More recently however, it's always a surprise for me to see how Amir Khan has progressed as a boxer. A few years back, he was a hyper active kid throwing wild punches non-stop, just rushing in for the K.O - since Preston, he's been a different fighter all together. The result against Judah for me wasn't a surprise, but, how Khan has changed his game the past few years and progressed to the heights he has, is definitely a surprise. I didn't expect him to be this good.

What did he do in Preston then?

I am with Ghosty on Taylor v JCC. Incredible performance against a guy I thought would systematically break him down and stop him before the end. Oh, wait a minute, that's what happened. Seriously though, I watched the end of that fight with such a heavy heart, I was desperate for Meldrick to hold on after that showing, despite being a massive JCC fan.

Lewis v Ruddock is another one for me. I rated Lewis, but didn't see anyone standing there and destroying Razor in quite that manner. Maybe the Tyson fights had taken too much out of Ruddock, but it still ranks as a surprise for me. It was also the very first boxing show I attended as well so holds a special place in my heart!

Think he may have meant Prescott, Tino

Fists of Fury wrote:Think he may have meant Prescott, Tino

I know Fists. I was, in fact, attempting a joke.

My humour is just so subtle and intellectual that you have to be of a very special mind to understand it......or just "special".

Anyway, good thread, but you need to drum up some more business for your girlball fantasy league. We need a few more people to join.

My bad, Prescott, sorry.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:Think he may have meant Prescott, Tino

I know Fists. I was, in fact, attempting a joke.

My humour is just so subtle and intellectual that you have to be of a very special mind to understand it......or just "special".

Anyway, good thread, but you need to drum up some more business for your girlball fantasy league. We need a few more people to join.

I know you were, Tino, I was merely being a spoil sport.

There have been some good responses to this thread, and goes to show that we as boxing fans have been well and truly surprised on more than just a few occasions, despite what we may have thought beforehand.

To be fair to Khan so many people wrote him off after "Preston" Most people felt he would have no chance at World Level without having a decent chin, clearly Ariza and Roach must have done something hella good to get it to a decent level.