Bums in boxing vs Elites

[War Room]

I am a bum. I feel like anyone who gets in the ring and tries their damnedest, no matter what happens, regardless of skill level disparity, should not be called a bum.

What about Reggie Strickland though? How about Bruce The Mouse Strauss???

[YoungManRumble]

What about Reggie Strickland though? How about Bruce The Mouse Strauss???

Boxing needs journeymen. Lol never heard of Bruce but it's The mouse? and not The Moose? Quite the name and record indeed.

[BoxingIsGreat]

Did I say "Screw all the bum belts"?

[War Room]

Boxing needs journeymen. Lol never heard of Bruce but it's The mouse? and not The Moose? Quite the name and record indeed.

[BoxingIsGreat]

Boxing needs journeymen. Lol never heard of Bruce but it's The mouse? and not The Moose? Quite the name and record indeed.

I never call journeymen bums. That's a disrespect. Why? Because I knew what I was getting into beforehand. I love some of the fights these lower level guys produce. They are more exciting than the most so-called elites with negative or empty fighting styles. I appreciate those guys. Kudos to the journeymen.

I'll save my bum for the "top" guys.

[Citizen Koba]

I never call journeymen bums. That's a disrespect. Why? Because I knew what I was getting into beforehand. I love some of the fights these lower level guys produce. They are more exciting than the most so-called elites with negative or empty fighting styles. I appreciate those guys. Kudos to the journeymen.

I'll save my bum for the "top" guys.

We each got our own posting style, man, which is why I didn't call you out personally on calling Taylor a bum, I was just using it as an extreme example of just how differently people use the term. I get what you're saying but I think that's kinda the TS's point, when people use the term 'bum' it's pretty much entirely unrelated to anything objective, accomplishments, skill, style - all it really means now is that you just don't like a fighter.

For me personally, it is disrespectful to use the term about any fighter pretty much, but I understand that common usage on here has robbed the term of any significance so it doesn't really bother me seeing other people use it excessively, but I do think it generally lowers the standard of debate and discussion, especially given people mean so many different things by it. All it produces is pointless mud-slinging. As I alluded in my first post on the thread, it'd probably be more useful if you said you think Taylor's a bit of a cunt... at least that's a lot less ambiguous than just 'bum' which can mean almost anything to anyone.

But yeah, from me also Kudos to the gatekeepers, to the journeymen and jobbers and even to the club level guys... those dudes are beating heart of boxing and without 'em we wouldn't have a sport. My way of looking at things none of em deserve to be called a bum

[YoungManRumble]

Hoping you mean you'd be a bum in the boxing ring rather than that you've moved into a cardboard house, man. Been there and it's no fun at all. But the rest of it, I agree. Even when I was young and pretty fit I'd be a gasping mess after a few rounds competitve sparring with kids who took their **** seriously... to get up and do that **** in front of an audience at the very least takes some guts.

Yes of course. A couple of months back I made a heavy bag out of a big marine buoy filled with water and I get gassed out after like 4 rounds still. Gots no cardio.

[BoxingIsGreat]

We each got our own posting style, man, which is why I didn't call you out personally on calling Taylor a bum, I was just using it as an extreme example of just how differently preople use the term. I get what you're saying but I think that's kinda the TS's point, when people use the term 'bum' it's pretty much entirely unrelated to anything objective, accomplishments, skill, style - all it really means now is that you just don't like a fighter.

For me personally, it is disrespectful to use the term about any fighter pretty much, but I understand that common usage on here has robbed the term of any significance so it doesn't really bother me seeing other people use it excessively, but I do think it generally lowers the standard of debate and discussion, especially given people mean so many different things by it. All it produces is pointless mud-slinging. As I alluded in my first post on the thread, it'd probably be more useful if you said you think Taylor's a bit of a cunt... at least that's a lot less ambiguous than just 'bum' which can mean almost anything to anyone.

But yeah, from me also Kudos to the gatekeepers, to the journeymen and jobbers and even to the club level guys... those dudes are beating heart of boxing and without 'em we wouldn't have a sport. My way of looking at things none of em deserve to be called a bum

I got your point. At the same time, for me with Taylor it's not all about calling him just a cunt. That's too easy. I don't like him and he isn't all that boxing wise. I don't see more than below average skills. So he's both a cunt and a bum, I guess, IMO.

[Citizen Koba]

I got your point. At the same time, for me with Taylor it's not all about calling him just a cunt. That's too easy. I don't like him and he isn't all that boxing wise. I don't see more than below average skills. So he's both a cunt and a bum, I guess, IMO.

Below an average of what sample, man? That's beyond absurd unless you mean 'below average for an undisputed champion' or 'below average for a P4Per'. by definition 'below average' skills don't get you to #1 out of 2000 other guys in your weightclass.

And at the end of the day what's the dude actually done that you find so objectionable, even if you think he has got limited skills or you find him boring? I mean you say he's 'overhyped' but yet there really isn't much hype around him... far less than any other undisputed Champ in history. Not every fighter can be Floyd or Sweet Pea or Bud or Loma - they each got to do the best with what they got. Taylor was getting outboxed by Regis for instance, but he gritted it out and found the W, he struggled like hell with Postol's composed and educated jab but dug deep and pulled out the W (and he did deserve the nod although the cards were absurdly wide)... I mean, what is it you expect of a fighter, that he should hang 'em up cos he ain't Roy Jones?

End of the day Taylor's taken on the biggest challenges at his weight far sooner than most other fighters, he's been moved along far faster than most other fighters and to date hasn't really shown any signs of turning down challenges... I mean, cunt or not, isn't that what we're constantly saying fighters should be doing?

I mean yeah, we all got dudes we just don't like, or rub us up the wrong way (Chavez Jrs mine currently, although he ain't even really a boxer any more to my mind) but we should abandon the idea that 'bum' - at least as it's used on boxing forums - expresses anything other than a personal dislike of a fighter (or a dismissal of 'em as an opponent of a fighter we dislike). Just a meaningless throwaway TBH but it still sets the tone that boxers deserve to be disrespected. We go down that road literally any fighter at all could be described as a bum.

I guess these two comments, made within 24 hours of each other illustrate the apparent contradiction - and the TSs point - better than any words of mine possibly could:

I don't care about their economics, but Barrios is a good fighter

Someone like me, who is just a boxing fan, calls Josh Taylor a bum.

So Barrios who has fought no-one and was roundly outboxed by a 7 and 0 prospect only 2 fights ago is 'good' but the undisputed Champion who's beaten half of the top 10 at 140 is a 'bum'. You gotta see how that sounds.

I know you're only trying to disrespect Taylor, but doesn't it occur that you're also implcitly dismissing every other fighter in the division as 'bums' also - including Barrios - which I know ain't your intent?


EDIT: Just to be clear I ain't singling you out here, man (or defending Taylor in particular) loads of dudes use the term. I mean, if folk are calling Joshua or Wilder 'Bums' on the regular then the bar's already been set and why not extend it to Taylor too? It's just that yours was the most recent and possibly egregious example that came to mind.