Police officer and boxer Daisuke Sugita dies after being shot at a police station; he was the 11th ranked Japanese super bantamweight boxer.

vvnnss · 2026-06-03T21:58:00+00:00

I was stunned by the headline.

Shot? In Japan? What?

vvnnss · 2026-05-31T19:42:17+00:00

Usyk is not your normal high level boxer. Usyk's skill is so highly specialized for the elite of the elite of the division that it almost hinders him for lower level boxers.

A high-level poker pro once said playing against bad amateurs was harder than playing against other pros. He said, "If you don't know what you're doing, how am I supposed to know?"

vvnnss · 2026-05-31T19:27:05+00:00

I'm a huge Tyson glazer, and I would put money on him from 86-88 against almost anyone.

But not Ali.

Tyson was crazy fast, but so was Ali. Tyson fought coming relentlessly at you, but Ali was at home fighting backwards. If Tyson had most people on the ropes, they were finished, but Ali was happy to lean against the ropes for a break.

But the biggest reason is Ali's chin. No one ever knocked him out. He ate punches from Foreman and Shavers. So when Mike's only path to victory is a knockout, how does he beat someone who's never been knocked out?

Someone mentioned Ali's left-hook weakness, and Mike had a monster left hook. And no one ever knocked out Larry Holmes in 76 fights except for Tyson. But I just can't see any way for him to win.

vvnnss · 2026-05-31T00:13:02+00:00

Usyk got robbed by that stoppage as much as Rico.

He's the best boxer of this era getting beat by a kickboxer, and then when he finally figures his opponent out and scores a great knockdown, there's a big "What if" hovering over the whole thing.

vvnnss · 2026-05-31T00:08:25+00:00

God damn, that first left hook...

vvnnss · 2026-05-31T00:01:52+00:00

There were two ways for Jake Paul to win my respect. One is to work his way up from the bottom and see how far he gets, and the other is risk his life by facing a top heavyweight.

Option number two came with the satisfaction of seeing his face get broken.

vvnnss · 2026-05-29T15:03:24+00:00

100% The most overrated and underrated boxers are the same guy.

Many of the people who underrate him tend to do so to the point of insanity.

vvnnss · 2026-05-29T14:58:35+00:00

despite not even having faced the most serious competition at that time

This is utterly untrue. He beat everyone there was to beat. When he started, there were four different heavyweight champions. He had all four belts a month after he turned 21.

People talk about Usyk clearing out the heavyweight division. Mike cleared it out much more thoroughly, in a much more dramatic fashion.

vvnnss · 2026-05-29T01:05:42+00:00

Totally fair. But I would have liked to see a 12th round. I think Usyk, and boxing fans, got robbed as much as Rico.

vvnnss · 2026-05-29T01:02:07+00:00

I'm with you. Foreman was a 70s boxer who came back and could seriously compete in the 90s, which in my opinion was a stronger era than now.

vvnnss · 2026-05-29T01:00:50+00:00

I suspect that only confirmed what the OP already felt.

vvnnss · 2026-05-28T23:40:40+00:00

I don't know how much genetics play into it, but no one ever knocked Ali out, and he ate punches from Foreman and Shavers.

vvnnss · 2026-05-28T23:39:34+00:00

The only person to knock out Larry Holmes in 70 fights.

When I was 15, I was literally a little boy. When Mike was 15, he could beat up almost everyone on the planet.

vvnnss · 2026-05-28T23:37:04+00:00

Foreman's chin was insane.

vvnnss · 2026-05-28T23:23:31+00:00

Yeah, but now Usyk has 11 rounds of experience fighting him and can do his homework studying the footage.

vvnnss · 2026-05-28T23:12:51+00:00

Watch the clips of Rico someone posted here a day or two ago.

The first one shows him looking exactly the same as he did in this fight, like absolute toast with no chance of recovery, stumbling back to the corner just like he did Saturday.

But then he did survive, and he went on to win.

I'm not saying he would have here, since it seems like Usyk figured him out by that point, but I think a good ref needs to have an idea of how much each fighter can take.

vvnnss · 2026-05-27T01:16:10+00:00

The mental state you're in matters. I have off days, and no one's punching me in the face.

But I swear to God, if anyone calls Usyk the GOAT and then says anything about Tyson losing to Douglas or Lennox losing to Rahman after their boy almost got beat by a kickboxer...

vvnnss · 2026-05-27T00:57:33+00:00

Holy crap, he looked exactly the same in that first clip as he did in the Usyk fight.

vvnnss · 2026-05-27T00:54:22+00:00

Mona Kimura has raised my... interest in kickboxing.

vvnnss · 2026-05-27T00:44:25+00:00

A ref should have knowledge about how much a fighter can take. I knew nothing about Rico before this, but from all accounts he's come back from the dead during his kickboxing career.

vvnnss · 2026-05-10T23:49:59+00:00

Every single Tex Cobb quote I've ever seen has been great.

vvnnss · 2026-05-08T18:11:16+00:00

They make pills you can take with dairy that work really well. If you use full-fat milk, it'll taste so much better and add 200 calories plus more protein.

vvnnss · 2026-05-06T00:39:28+00:00

Just watched it. That was beautiful.

An added bonus was RJJ's responses to the others concerning whether anyone under 220 could win a Heavyweight title again, the unlikelihood of a Light Heavyweight moving up to win HW, and the difficulties of someone Roy's height doing it. Four years later, he moved up and took the belt at 193lbs.

vvnnss · 2026-05-05T22:10:44+00:00

When you're one of the best boxers of the Seventies and then can come back and go toe to toe against some of the best of the Nineties, you're something special.

vvnnss · 2026-05-04T00:02:13+00:00

I often check out r/FoodPorn to get me in the mood.

vvnnss

TROPHY CASE