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HARRISON AND GUINN PITCH A NO HITTER By Oleg Bershadsky |
The fight between Audley Harrison and Dominick
Guinn was set to be a career defining moment for
both fighters, a last chance to save a decaying
career. Both men are regarded as underachievers with
great physical attributes and skill, but possessing
a weak mentality. It was hoped that after this fight
one of these boxers would step up and show the
desire and the mental toughness necessary to once
again be considered a serious threat in the
heavyweight division. In the end, this fight turned
out to be more of a psychological battle than a
physical one. From the
onset of the fight it was evident that the boxer who
would best control his nerves would have an
advantage. The whole fight proved to be a jittery
affair with both men preferring to hold or pose
rather than fight. Audley Harrison did little except
paw with his jab while only rarely throwing the
straight left hand. His offense during the fight was
almost completely nonexistent, putting in question
his mental toughness and the desire to win. Guinn
was not that much better but unlike Harrison he was
a little more consistent offensively and largely
controlled the pace of the fight. The
offensive output for either fighter was flat out
embarrassing and most of all unprofessional. To me
this fight was more about being a real professional
than just someone who comes to get a pay day.
Neither boxer gave it his all in a fight that looked
worse than most sparring sessions. The plain refusal
to throw punches undermined the entire sport of
boxing and I believe further discredited the two
fighters. Win or lose it is the job of every boxer
to give it his all and at least try to mount some
kind of an offense. The final
result of the bout was Guinn by unanimous decision
(98-92, 97-93, 97-93). It seems
that the heavyweight division is set for a long
period of uncertainty. Every fight of consequence
ends in either more controversy or somehow raises
more questions as to the dominance of the boxers
involved. So for now I have given up hope of finding
that one dominant heavyweight who can truly stand on
top of the division. Instead my wish is for more
competitive fights that can bring back some of the
respect the heavyweight division has lost.
4-14-2006
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