Opinion: We Should Stop Supporting Fights Like The Iranian Hulk vs The Kazakh Titan
The Iranian Hulk vs The Kazakh Titan was a joke.
Now that was painful to watch. The battle between the Iranian Hulk and the Kazakh Titan did not live up to expectations. In fact, it underwhelmed tremendously. In recent years, many different athletes from other sporting events have been trying their hand at boxing. For some, boxing seems pretty straightforward. It’s a fight between two combatants, one hoping to out duel the other. In a way, that’s correct. But when we consider the boxing on display at the highest level, we begin to understand that it’s a whole lot more than that.
Boxing has been dubbed the sweet science for a reason. Anyone off the street could go at it in a emotionally induced slugfest. Heck, it may even be entertaining to a wide group of individuals. But at the end of the day, it will always miss its mark. Why? Because when two amateurs don’t treat the sport with any kind of reverence or respect, what you get is the hap hazardous battle we saw this past weekend.
To put it plainly, the Iranian Hulk did not belong inside the ring this past weekend. It was clear that he didn’t take any kind of training seriously and that he was operating outside of his depth. But at the end of the day, we can’t blame the Iranian Hulk for doing what he did. After all, when you see so many social media celebrities trying their hand at boxing these days, it really isn’t that surprising. Logan Paul, KSI, Jake Paul, all these individuals have been using boxing as a quick money grab. While they may train harder than the Iranian Hulk did for his bout, they still treat boxing as a hobby to show off to their friends and followers.
But not everyone who has been dipping their toes into boxing has been treating it without respect. The battle between Hathor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall showcased that both men took their training seriously. Bjornsson in particular went through the gamut to make sure he was prepared for his bout with his rival. He trained hard. He learned the craft and he did exhibition bouts to get a real feel for competition against actual boxers. When Bjornsson and Hall finally met in the ring it didn’t disappoint. Both men knew the assignment, and both men prepared accordingly. The battle between Bjornsson and Hall ended up being a thrilling bout.
On the other hand, we had the Iranian Hulk versus the Kazakh Titan. It was a truly lackluster display of boxing skills. And that’s putting it gently. Both men, who wing punches at each other until the Iranian Hulk simply couldn’t take anymore, turned his back and essentially gave in. Now there’s no shame in defeat. Plenty of people have tasted defeat in the sport of boxing. But what is egregious is the clear lack of preparation.
Boxing isn’t a game like other sports. In fact it’s barely a game at all. It’s two trained combatants hoping to put more damage on the other and get their hand raised in the process. People have died inside of the boxing ring. It’s not something to be taken lightly. When we have untrained competitors step into the ring and flail their arms hoping to get a knockout, it’s disrespectful to the whole endeavor. You allow people to believe that they can just step into a ring and throw hands and get some more social media likes.
The truth is, the Iranian Hulk did not belong in the ring this past weekend. In fact, it probably explains why the match between him, and Martin Ford never came to fruition. One has to think that if it did, Ford would have possibly demolished the Hulk.
While we can’t blame fans for wanting to tune into matches with big names, what we can demand is that the athletes that do compete in these events should take things seriously. The integrity of the sport isn’t necessarily in danger, but it does leave a black eye on boxing. We should be wanting to see the best of the best, or at least people who take their preparation seriously.
Bottom line, the Iranian hoax should never step foot inside a boxing ring again, unless he takes his training seriously.
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
