Why interest in boxing started to fade again

[Piston]

K, I'm a fan of English breakfast (can't imagine a more protein packed meal!), English beers (wonderful - always taste fresh!), Rugby (great sport)....but cricket...well, that's almost as good as good ole baseball.

Mashed peas and chips - not bad, but not quite as good as mashed potatoes & gravy.

Shawn of the Dead - thumbs up.
Bridgette Jones's Diary - thumbs down (chick flick).

Hehe I have to agree with you on cricket there Tom, some people think it's great and that's cool, but I can't think of anything more tedious...'cept maybe American football (there's a reason why cheerleader's exist!) :P.

As for Bridgette Jones' diary, that was about as British as the movie National Treasure. The 1/2 woman 1/2 stick insect Renee Zellweger was from Texas for crying out loud. :P Have to agree on the thumbs down though.

Glad to hear about the beers! Americans have something of a reputation of being weak drinkers in Europe (You have budweiser and *shudder* Coor's Light to thank for that!) prove us wrong!

[Piston]

Piston,
Since Uke has been making a habit out of attacking me in other threads, I'll step in and answer your question. Uke apparently feels a need to lump everyone he doesn't like in the same category as the worst example he can find within the group. In other words, all Christians are apparently just as bad as Hitler and the Spanish Inquisition, the Jews are to blame for all the killing in the Middle East (even the Muslim on Muslim killing between tribes, although he's never really tied that together...), and apparently, all Englishmen are Austin Powers.

Please don't blame him. Not all us Yanks think that way, and I suspect he's been off his medication for a little too long. Honestly - have you read the thread about Religious Differences?

There's some seriously enlightening insights into Uke's mind...

I haven't seen it yet Mike but you have piqued my interest. I don't have to worry about the "Englishman" stereotype cuz I'm Welsh, and there's no widely established stereotype for Welsh people.... yet.

[Tom Yum]

Glad to hear about the beers! Americans have something of a reputation of being weak drinkers in Europe (You have budweiser and *shudder* Coor's Light to thank for that!) prove us wrong!

That's it! Fly me in first thing in the morning!!

And by the way Lord Kelvin was wrong; Wright were right!

[Piston]

You drink Newcastle Brown Ale?

[Piston]

My main drink is Guiness, love the stuff....tell your friend he may enjoy a nice Boddington's, if he doesn't already, quite similar to a Guiness. If I'm not drinking Guiness I can be found with a Carling maybe, or a double Southern Comfort with a dash of lime and lemonade, sounds very sweet I know, and it is! I'm trying to get into whisky, my dad and a couple of his mates bought a brewing keg about 14 years ago and now its matured into an utterly unique whisky, he sent me a few bottles of the stuff and I'm trying to develop a taste for it :P. There's a great Czech beer I like called Budwar, its the stuff that Budweiser takes its name from. I also enjoy Nastro Azzuro or a Peroni, and occaisionally double vodka and red bull.

Also I'm shocked that Americans even know what Newcastle Brown is, let alone drink it! Props to you for such adventurous taste Mike.

[Tom Yum]

Also I'm shocked that Americans even know what Newcastle Brown is, let alone drink it! Props to you for such adventurous taste Mike.

Never assume...

Guiness is pretty good, New Castle too but I prefer more continental European beers from Germany, Holland and Belgium - Le Trappe, Duvel, Grolsch, Belgian Wit, Warsteiner (Eine Konigin unter den bieren! )

[Britt]

There's a great Czech beer I like called Budwar, its the stuff that Budweiser takes its name from.

I lived in the Czech Republic for a couple of years after college, Budvar was my favorite out of many wonderful beers. Great stuff. We started getting it in the States under the name "Czechvar" a while back, but it's not quite the same after it's been on the boat for a few months. It's still good, though.

[Guest]

Since the boxing topic was completely dead, I feel a hijacking coming on!

Love the stuff. I can't drink the "barley pop" beers that are typical of frat boys here in the States. I like darker beers (Ambers or darker), unless it's a scorching summer day. Then I like a near-frozen San Miguel or Corona (both were served often on my Honeymoon, so I have great memories to go with them).

But I have in my fridge, right this minute:

• 2 bottles of Corona
• 4 Bottles of "In Heat Wheat" - a microbrew from a local brewery
• 2 bottles of Newcastle brown
• 3 bottles of Guinness (it's my Buddy Scott's favorite)

Tucked into my little bar, I have:

• a jug of Dead Guy Ale (another microbrew that only comes out around Halloween)
• a six-pack of Blackened Voodoo (a great Louisiana micro that I fell in love with in about 1999)
• A bottle of Woodford Reserve Bourbon
• A bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey
• A bottle of Aberlour Scotch
• A bottle of rotgut, plastic bottle Vodka for mixing (I don't usually do clear liquor)
• A bottle of equally rotgut gin, also for mixing because I don't drink the stuff much
• A swizzle of Bombay Sapphire that's been there for about three years
• A bottle of Cuervo Gold (once or twice a year only...I had a bad experience)
• A bottle of Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum
• A bottle of Pyrat Rum
• Two bottles of '97 Barros Port (I love Port. My favorite drink)
• A bottle of Warre's Warrior port (I drink this because the Barros is pricey, and this stuff is a great tasting porto for the price)
• A bottle of Lustau Light Manzanilla Sherry (it's really dry, and I don't need to worry about the stuffy, high-brow etiquette of a decanter)
• A bottle of Spanish Rioja called Faustino I that I brought home from a trip last year. It's a wonderful Gran Reserva that goes with anything, but great with a cigar
• And various and sundry mixing concoctions.

Ordinarily we have a little more beer on hand for casual drinking, but I just had two days-worth of social get togethers because of my birthday, and the "fridge drinks" are pretty much gone. Ditto with regular bottles of wine. We knocked off two bottles of Washington State Houge Chenin Blanc, a cheap Sauvingnon blanc that we used to cook with, and a bottle of Louis Jadot Beaujolais (I drink the red stuff, my wife likes whites).

There you have it. The entire Brewer bar. I like a lot of mid range wines and whiskeys, high end ports, and low end tequila, gin, and vodka.

What are your preferences?

Brewer by name.....

Mike, I'm over in The States in April for a week or so of training. Can I just blow the training out, come to your house, and put the money behind your bar?!?!?

Thats an awesome collection, so many of my favourites are in there. I've just got back from Madrid and I bought some case of Faustino Gran Reserva 1996. One of them has your name on it my friend...

[Tom Yum]

The Brewa' Bar....damn.

[Tom Yum]

Tis true, Mike.

I'm not much of a drinker, but when I take a drink its either a mixed beverage or beer. The mixed drink of choice is Crown & Coke; crown royal whiskey and coca-cola. I can be coaxed into drinking a capecod (vodka + cranberry) or a margarita.

Beer? Prefer continental european beers. Mostly blonde, wheat, white beers - from time to time, I get into darker ales.

[Guest]

Ain't nothin over till its over Mike, and I'm serious about the Faustino. There's a party waiting to happen right there...

I guess its my Irish blood but I like heavy, potent drinks. Guinness, Real Ales, good Red Wine, Sloe Gin, good Bourbon and Irish Single Malts.

Great thread, looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.

[dogzilla]

Off topic on the off topic still on topic...

Latly i noticed alot of boxers of age 40, is that natural that boxers still box at age 40, or am i just seeing an exception lately?

Im surprized that ppl still box at age 40.


well answer mi this and then go back to beers and chips

[Tom Yum]

Is it natural for boxers to box into their 40's? If they are doing it, it is.
I believe athletes last longer and longer due to better, smarter training methods. Look at the training methods used by runners.

Runners in the 80's for example used incremental distances, pushing for lower times to improve. Rest. Repeat.

In the 90's, weight training and cross training (swimming/cycling) was found to improve run times in addition to track workouts, reducing wear and tear from run workouts while building an aspect of their game - also an increased awareness of nutrition and the body's energy systems helped make their workouts smarter.

Come 2000 and up, in addition to the other stuff, runners now monitor their heart rate and all kinds of suppliments (carb gels) to maximize their workouts.

More important though is the old fashion work ethic and desire to push onesself, I suppose. There are atleast a dozen notable pro-boxers whom are boxing into their 40's.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2977591

[bodhisattva]

Interest in boxing has been like the ebb and flow of the tide over the last century. And now the tide has gone out again.

Why?

I think I know why.

Boxing has always largely been predicated on the heavyweight division. We have had some great fighters and bouts in other divisions, but the heavyweight division has always been looked upon as the division of the champions.

Look at the division though. It has such a lack of talent that its dying. I think the remedy to this should be to create another weight division. A super-heavyweight division for the freaks.

Guys like Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klistchko have no business boxing a guy like Chris Byrd. And that's the real problem. If we had guys that were Tyson's size and smaller(200lbs) then boxing would find more life. We would see the best boxers fighting the best boxers there size. All the giants could face each other for people who enjoy their sloppy fights, while the real heavyweights could face each other.

With the heavyweight division having no limit to how big and tall a guy can be, its created a boring freakshow with mediocre talent.

I think that if they created a limit in the division the matches would be more competitive and exciting to watch. Right now we have an unbalance of size to skill and speed to strength.

Also, boxing might want to use some of their money to build boxing gyms to get some new talent. Kids nationwide play baseball and basketball. There are fields and courts everywhere you go. Its hard to find a good boxing gym. Its even harder to find a proper trainer.

Seems to me that boxing needs to fix those things and it will continue to reign for years to come.

I think boxing was more interesting to a lot of people when a fighter had to fight his way up the ranks before he could challenge number one. Everyone was in their position based on fighting ability - not based on who the knew.

[bodhisattva]

I don't do much drinking either, which is why I have a three year old bottle of gin that no one's finished. I have spent probably close to $500 getting the bar set up, but in all honesty, that money has bought several years' worth of drinking.

I guess I have to face facts. I'm married, and the father of an infant. My partying days (such as they were) are long gone.

Ho hum.

I don't really miss my partying days, you know? They weren't bad days, but they became fairly repetetive.