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The goat, 1942
- Thread starter D 1 Wrestler
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Greb doesn’t look like that.
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That's a great pic.
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Yeah that was meant as a joke. I didn’t think you had me placing him in all time lists. It was meant as a joke.
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Greb was obviously a great fighter, no denying that. I just think a lot of us find it funny that some people's favorite fighter, or one of their favorite fighters, is a guy they have never even seen fight.
It's like telling ppl your favorite book is a book you've never actually read, but heard it was great from others who actually did read it.
I don't think ppl are hating on the guy or his hardcore fans, just busting balls. He obviously had talent and guts for days, and I respect him as well as most boxing fans do.
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Wasn't sure if there was a running gag there that I was missing out on. That tends to happen with me (like the joke a couple years back about shifting...finally caught on to that one...)
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Perhaps, or it could be like looking back on a historical figure that you appreciated. No one watched Alexander the Great march across the Gedrosian Desert, but it's a feat that can be appreciated for its near impossility. No one has met or heard Abraham Lincoln to know that his speech ("Four score and seven years ago..." is engaging, forward-thinking, and well-developed)
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I see your point, and like I said obviously Greb was a great fighter, there's no disputing that. What I'm talking about is when huge fans of Greb say he's their favorite or one of their favorites. Fine that's okay, but I find it somewhat ironic that a boxing fan's favorite fighter is someone they've never seen fight before. I can read the Gettysburg Address word for word, however I can't watch Harry Greb rd by rd, let alone fight by fight, let alone even highlight's of the man in the ring. How can I have a favorite fighter who I've never seen fight before? It doesn't make sense to me.
I can read the Declaration of Independence or Emancipation Proclamation verbatim, it is what it is, on paper exactly how it was when it was written years upon years ago. I can read about a fight, sure, but I feel like a pugilistic performance needs to be visualized to qualify how much I enjoy the fighter in question. I don't need to hear Abe's voice, however I feel like I need to see Harry's fights to call him one of my favorites.
As mentioned, he was a great, no doubt, his accomplishments are impressive to say the least. Everyone agrees he was a bad ass, BUT to have him as your favorite? I don't get it.
Greatness and favorites are two separate things. I love Lucas Matthysse, he's one of my favorites, but to say he's one of the atg's is crazy. The opposite goes for Greb, yeah his record is great, but is he one of my favorites? No. Can I watch his style? No. Can I see him go to war with Tunney however many times? No. Can I see him at all? No.
I can say Greb is great based on what he did in the sport, what I can't bring myself to say is that he's a favorite of mine, b/c I haven't seen him in the ring, few if any ppl alive can say they did. Saying my favorite fighter is a guy I've never seen do his job before is a bit much for me. That's all, I don't get it, not when it comes to boxing.
No disrespect meant to you, or any other big Greb fans, just my opinion. I've read your posts, you're obv an intelligent fan when it comes to this sport. At the end of the day it's not that big of a deal, but for me, wen it comes to boxing, I would never say one of my favorite boxers is a guy I've never seen box. I will give them their due credit for accomplishments, but I can't say a Boxer is my favorite when I've never seen the man fight before. I'll say it one more time, Greb was obv great, and a true warrior. I respect him as such.
/rant
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Le goat?
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You see your closing remarks you made about him being " great, and a true warrior," are, among other things, why I appreciate his historical importance to the sweet science. And that's a big part of how I evaluate everyone in the sport. They are each a thread woven into the fabric of the game. I can't neglect a talent like that in my overall appreciation. I am willing/able to make the distiction between fighters I have seen on film and fighters I haven't. If poeple don't want to do that, I respect that. I know people won't want to reconcile what they can't see with a sport that you see about instead of reading about, but I am comfortable doing that. The very fact that you don't agree but don't judge is the same way I feel. Each to their own.
*thumbs up
