RingSide Report

World News, Social Issues, Politics, Entertainment and Sports

How Would British Heavyweights Frank Bruno, Herbie Hide, and John L. Gardner have Done in Today’s Division? Part II

hide headerBy Roy “Sharpshooter” Bennett

British heavyweight boxing is currently enjoying a renewed surge of interest both at home and abroad. The emergence of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Dillian Whyte has certainly given the domestic scene a huge shot in the arm. And at the time of writing Fury, 24-0, 18 KO’s, was waiting to hear the new date for his chance to face world champion Wladimir Klitschko after their original date was postponed when Klitschko suffered an injury in training.

Joshua, 14-0, 14 KO’s, and Whyte, 16-0, 13 KO’s, are scheduled to meet on December 12th, 2015, to determine who becomes the new British & Commonwealth heavyweight champion and eventually follows in Fury’s footsteps to a world title opportunity down the road. But whether any of them can match or surpass the professional achievements of their predecessors, Frank Bruno and Herbie Hide, both of whom bagged versions of the ‘world’ title, and John L. Gardener who won domestic, Commonwealth and European honors, remains to be seen. Read on to find out how three of the top British heavyweights from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, would have done today.

Herbie Hide

49-4, 43 KO’s

Norwich, England

At 6 feet 2″ and weighing around 200 lbs for most of his career Hide was really a blown up cruiserweight masquerading as a modern heavyweight. He was fleet of foot and had fast hands coupled with decent punching ability. He relied on sharp reflexes to land his artillery and was awkward with it. To me he never really had the look of a composed fighter who was comfortable in the ring, often looking panicked in exchanges, scuttling away as quickly as possible. Nonetheless he managed to leverage his unique style into a WBO title win over the American Michael Bentt in 1994.

Hide’s first 10 opponents had a combined record of 77-103-8. Only 3 had winning records prior to facing him. To be fair Hide stopped all 10 opponents within the scheduled distances but one has to wonder if anything worthwhile was gained for the fighter beyond building confidence. While confidence is important you also want your boxer to be able to develop different facets of his game on the way up. Quick blow out wins against low level opposition accomplish no such thing. Fast forward to his last 4 fights before his title shot against Bentt and we see his opponents in those 4 contests had a combined record of: 146-52-3. But wait. American heavyweight Jerry Halstead accounted for 78 of those wins alone, more than a few of whom came against opponents with losing records. The writing was on the wall for anyone willing to open their eyes to see it. Hide was always going to struggle to move into the top class.

Alexander Povetkin

29-1, 21 KO’s

Kursk, Russia

Povetkin reminds me of a tank rolling down hill. That inexorable forward moving force that crushes anything in its path. He is aggressive, fights well on the inside, throws short hooks and uppercuts with power and accuracy and has a solid chin and good power in both hands. Did I mention he’s also tough? Then again what Russian isn’t? Anyone who saw his fight with Carlos Takam in 2014 could not doubt Povetkin as being a dangerous proposition for any heavyweight not named Klitschko – Wladimir being the only one to have beaten the Russian to date.

Povetkin’s first 10 opponents had a combined record of: 134-54-9. In contrast to Hide’s first ten opponents 7 of Povetkin’s first 10 foes brought winning records to the argument prior to facing him. The Russian stopped 8 of these 10 boxers inside schedule. The 4 boxers he faced prior to his first shot at the vacant WBA title had combined stats of: 82-15-3. Three of these became knock out victims. The facts are clear. Povetkin has fought the better quality opposition from the get go and as a result he’s learned more on the job because of it.

Conclusion

Herbie Hide is out of his league in this match up. His management have done him no favors bringing him along in the manner previously described. Hide pecks away with the jab and tries his best to retain distance by scampering along the ropes out of harms way as Povetkin attempts to close distance. Hide’s attempts at throwing the odd wild hook in the hope of catching the Russian with something big are easily blocked by Povetkin’s arms and shoulders as he trudges forward. With increasing forward momentum Potvetkin begins to close the distance and starts banging to the body to take Hide’s legs away, and punching up and down in combination. Forced to engage Hide begins to ship too much punishment. As Hide tries to clinch a big right uppercut snaps his head back and a sweeping left hook sends him crashing to the canvas in the 4th round. Lights out. From Russia with love.

Read Part I: How Would British Heavyweights Frank Bruno, Herbie Hide, and John L. Gardner have Done in Today’s Division? 

[si-contact-form form=’2′]

Leave a Reply