Boxing Mythology Part 1

Any given conversation about boxing - whether it be amongst casual fans or experts - is bound to contain some myth squeezed in between the opinion and fact. Some of the crap is easily disposable, while other nuggets refuse to remain flushed.

Here are a few that keep popping back up.

Myth: Compubox stats mean something

Bernard was accurate, but not THAT accurate. And Echols didn't land anywhere near 58% of his punches.

I don't have a problem with Compubox stats when they're used in moderation. At the very least, they give a semi-decent gauge on how many punches the fighters are throwing.

But I have a huge problem with them being used as a clutch, like how Jim Lampley tends to use them during the HBO broadcasts. After virtually every round of a fight, not only does Lampley recite the compubox stats from the previous round, he recites them as if they were extracted from the bible. As if they were an authoritative source that tells you everything you need to know about what's going on in the fight. If that's the case, why is Harold Lederman (HBO's unofficial judge) even there?


Those who think Oscar was robbed in his rematch with Mosley love to reference the punch stats.

I can write a book on why Compubox sucks. But I'm far too lazy, so here are the cliff notes:

1) They don't measure the quality of a punch. They register a 'power punch' as being anything that isn't a jab, by anyone. So, say fly-swatting Chris Byrd is fighting soul-dehabilitating Sam Peter and he lands 85 slaps with his power hand compared to 46 near-decapitating haymakers from Peter. It's obvious to everyone watching who's doing the most damage, but guess who's winning according to Jim Lampley's bible?

Right.

2) The overall fight totals are often misleading. Example: fighter A spanks fighter B for 9 rounds. Fighter B spanks fighter A even worse for the last 3 rounds. Because of the work he did in those last 3 rounds, the Compubox fight totals are slanted towards fighter B. But he still lost 9 rounds to 3. Obviously.

But let there be some controversy generated by fighter B's fans on who really won the fight. You'd be surprised at how often the Compubox stats are repeated in these type arguments as if they mean anything.

3) They're just not accurate. And really, how can they be? Humans are the ones inputting the punches into a computer, humans make mistakes, and whether a punch lands or not is often completely subjective. Does a punch that caught half-glove, half-face count as a landed blow? Granted, shots landed against guys like Arturo Gatti are pretty easy to detect, but what about the Winky Wrights of the game? The Compubox statisticians would be working almost completely in a gray area because damn near all of the shots thrown at Wright's head are at least partially blocked.

But don't take my word for it. Pick a random fight and do your own punch count for a few rounds. I'm willing to bet that it won't look like Compubox's.


Myth: Anyone can get knocked out at any time

Tommy Hearns managed to buzz Marvin Hagler. For half a second.


I'm sure you've heard this one. You're in the middle of explaining why your favorite fighter is going to blast out his overmatched foe when someone chimes in about how anyone can get 'caught'. How anyone can get knocked out. If he's unoriginal enough, he might even talk about how that's what makes boxing exciting.

Sorry. There's a thousand reasons why boxing is exciting, but that ain't one.

It's true that most fighters can be knocked out by anyone with good power and decent skills. But some dudes are pretty much unknockoutable. That's just fact. You can't convince me that Marvin Hagler, who had arguably the greatest chin in boxing history, could have gotten stopped by some journeyman with a good left hook. You can't convince me that Danny Garcia could have gotten lucky and turned the 'lights out' on James Toney. Or that Andrew Council could've taken out Bernard Hopkins with the "right punch".

I failed algebra, but it goes something like this:
All-time defense + iffy chin = can be caught and KO'd (Roy Jones)
All-time chin + iffy defense = can be caught enough times to be stopped (Wayne McCullough)
All-time chin + all-time defense = not gonna happen. At least not in their prime (Whitaker, Hagler, Toney, Hopkins, ect.)


More boxing mythology to come...