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Not a very competitive fight, but a watchable one nonetheless. Good showing for Vitali. Just showed that a shorter fighter is not gonna have a chance with him unless they can work under & around his jab and get to the body and land some uppercuts.
Now as far as ESPN goes I have two questions:
Why did the scheduled fight time change from 5pm(est) to 7pm(est)?
Why was it switched from ESPN to the Deuce?
Just an observation here: Teddy Atlas (who I respect) should stop comparing the Klitschko brothers to some imagined ideal of what he thinks a heavyweight champ is supposed to be and just accept them for what they are: the two best heavyweights of the late 2000's!
I'm surprised Gomez is still fighting. Klitschko an average fighter looking dominant during a time of the lowest caliber of heavyweights in history. The mechanical Klitschos don't impress me at all.
The fight was boring and sad to watch. Why the hell was this Gomez guy fighting for a heavyweight title? The state of Heavyweight boxing makes me sick and I agree with Atlas 100% - the Clitchkos are NOT what anyones ideal of what the Heavyweight Champ a.k.a. "The Baddest Man On The Planet" is supposed to be. Did you see his terrible "pawing" jab? Larry Holmes would take out BOTH *****chkos in less than 7 rounds on the same night.
That is why the fight was on free TV. Id never thought we'd get to the point of the heavyweight championship being on free TV (one hour delayed at that).
Actually ESPN isn't "free". It would have been better if a title fight was on network TV. The fact that it was tucked away on ESPN Classic or whatever shows boxings current state in the U.S. market. Sad but true. It is what it is. And in the end it may be a good way for Joe Public down at the sports bar to see this fight. Any exposure for boxing right now is only a good thing.
In my opinion, having ALL heavyweight title fights on PPV is one thing that hurt boxing. And anyway, the recession is hitting alot of folks hard and PPV just doesn't make sense for a sport that NEEDS some serious promotion.
Actually ESPN isn't "free". It would have been better if a title fight was on network TV.
I saw the fight live on ESPN 360.com one hour before they showed it on TV. That Cuban guy had NO BUSINESS fighting for a Heavyweight title. Did you see how the local (Clitkcho) promoters made the ring 4 feet smaller than what was originally agreed upon? Only in boxing as Teddy Atlas said will you see something like that.
I saw the fight live on ESPN 360.com one hour before they showed it on TV. That Cuban guy had NO BUSINESS fighting for a Heavyweight title. Did you see how the local (Clitkcho) promoters made the ring 4 feet smaller than what was originally agreed upon? Only in boxing as Teddy Atlas said will you see something like that.
Yeah, the ring size thing was pretty low. Ali and Leonard used to get away with stuff like that too. Manipulating the rules and such. But a larger ring wouldn't have helped Gomez anyway. He was gonna eat that jab all night regardless. I think his problem was that he has bulked up way too much. A naturally lighter guy putting on 30 or 40lbs is gonna slow him down and make his punches less effective most of the time. Plus he's apparently OTH.
Actually ESPN isn't "free". It would have been better if a title fight was on network TV. The fact that it was tucked away on ESPN Classic or whatever shows boxings current state in the U.S. market. Sad but true. It is what it is. And in the end it may be a good way for Joe Public down at the sports bar to see this fight. Any exposure for boxing right now is only a good thing.
In my opinion, having ALL heavyweight title fights on PPV is one thing that hurt boxing. And anyway, the recession is hitting alot of folks hard and PPV just doesn't make sense for a sport that NEEDS some serious promotion.
I agree totally, I can't stand the cage fighting stuff, it's really amateur and no substitue for boxing, but I've missed alot of real boxing history b/c I don't want to pay big bucks to watch it. Watching some of the boxing on Classic shows how much I've missed. I heard those programs are the highest rated on Classic btw, which leads me to believe there is still a massive market for boxing here in the States but too many have been squeezed
It's really too bad because I think it would get good ratings if more had access to big time boxing fights.
I also am convinced that part of the reason it was free in America is b/c the Klitschko's are having a hard time breaking into the American market, this gave them exposure and marketing for future interest in PPV fights. Trust me, there was an alterior motive in putting it on ESPN for "free".
I also agree about them being boooooring fighters. clutch and grab, in a different era they'd be toast.
Who cares? I dont get why everyone loves Klitschko. Hes not that great and the heavyweight competition is weak. This guy is about as exciting as a Pirates vs. Expos game circa 1998.
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Predictable result
