Ian Freeman: Best ever?

[Redneck]

When Bruno first fought Tyson he was in his prime. He had to get hypnosis treatment to get the courage to get in the same ring as Tyson. He got the shit knocked out of him.

The Brits had a lot of "they nearly beat the American champ" fighters.

Henry Cooper had Ali in trouble in their first fight but Ali went on to win. In the rematch Ali creamed him.

Joe Bugner went the distance with both Ali & Frazier.

In the words of Bill Clinton, Close but no cigar.

[realitycheck33]

I'm as American as they come but I have nothing but great things to say about England. I'm trying to figure out how this original thread deteriorated into a Yank vs. Brit spitting contest.

And, unfortunately I agree with the dire prognostication of a powerful China dealing with us in the coming years.

[edro]

8524679130

[realitycheck33]

Sino-US relations may worsen as George W. Bush won't pander to them as the Clinton administration did.

As far as England, I've always wanted to travel there. A country with a great history. And as far as technological inventions, both England and the US have contributed much, however, our academic standards have crumbled and Western Europe, Japan continue to kick our behinds in the classroom.

If I ever make it to England, I'm sure I'll stick out. Just look for a tall, tourist looking guy with a big union Jack t-shirt on. haha

[realitycheck33]

And getting back to the original point of this thread, I've never had the opportunity to see Ian fight. I've heard he has a lot of talent and is very tough and has a seminar video out I am thinking about getting. Has anyone seen this video and give any opinions/review of it?

[sabrutat]

Reality, I hear nothing but great things about Ian's seminar/tapes.
His autobiography is also great, his book will be looked upon as an NHB classic in the years
to come

Redneck, the truth is that Boxing's fancy rules protect pretty boy Americans like Ali and Frazier.
If toughness was the only pre-requisite, us British would always be champions.


Cheers

Stef

[realitycheck33]

Thanks, I will definitely plan on getting his seminar tape then. Anybody have any opinions on Geoff Thompson's tapes? I'm interested in a good tape on headbutts and the English are notoriously good at them!

[whodashoe]

sabrutat, if bruno was still young it might have been a different story against tyson eh? ummmm....yeh sure! He was average at best. England loves a loser like him. He's better at making tomato ketchup commercials and appearing in pantomine than boxing in my opinion

[Newbie]

Aloha From Hell

"As for WWII. When jews were being massacred in Poland Britain was the only country to stand up and fight."

No, actually France, Belgium, Holland and probably a few others tried to fight as well except got there asses kicked and Britian had to run home and hide. Ever read about Dunkirk?

"Hundreds of thousands of brits died during the first years of the war while the U.S. maintained its isolationist policy."

That's right, and they would have continued dying if Japan hadn't bombed Pearl Harbor and Hitler hadn't invaded Russia.

Did you know that Winston Churchill wrote in his diary that he "slept the sleep of the thankful and saved" the night he heard about Japan bombing Pearl Harbor?

[Pancrase]

Tea anyone?

That's right! Also, did you guys see the movie Tea with Mussolini? There is a scene where the captured British ladies are listening to the radio when they announce the Pearl Harbor invation and they all thank God when the U.S. gets involved.
Hey, my girl friend made me watch it, OK!

[bobby_steeles]

tea with mussolini?! LOL!

[Aloha From Hell]

Jezus, the yanks were late to both world wars. They remind me of the player that comes on to field 5 minutes from time and then claims the victory for himself. The fact is the U.S. didn't give a damn about the slaughter of innocent Jews in Poland. Britain did and it got involved on principal. Britain could have sat back and fortified against invasion, instead they put everything on the line and paid a huge price fighting against an evil enemy with a vastly superior war machine. Meanwhile the U.S. sat back and counted its money. When Europe was lost Britain did retreat at Dunkirk, this was the correct strategy. The next battle was in the skies over Britain. Outnumbered 3 to 1 brave RAF pilots flying spitfires and hurricanes outlfew the Nazis and devastated the Luftwaffe. During this period, families sent their children to the country to avoid the Nazi blitz bombing. Men and Women worked 80 hours a week and survived on tiny amounts of food. British Scientists invented Radar to give early warning of Nazi bombers, Frank Whittle perfected his invention- the jet engine, which would have been used had the war lasted past 45. And British Computer Scientists broke the Enigma Code, a code thought to be impossible to crack. (aside- remember that movie last year about the capture of the enigma machine by a U.S. submarine? - it was actually a British Battleship- more U.S. revisionist history).

After years of misery in Europe, during which, Churchill warned the U.S. of the threat from Japan, the U.S. finally woke up and smelled the coffee after Pearl Harbor. The U.S. became involved because it was unavoidable, not because it was the right thing to do. In the end the U.S. defeated Japan in one of the most cowardly acts in History- the wiping out of hundreds of thousands of innocents by nuclear blasts. Japanese children are still dealing with the after effects. Way to go! Vapourize those women & children!

[Ronin]

The British fire-bombing of Dresden had a similar effect, as did the German holocaust.

No one got out of that conflict unscathed or untainted.

Our generation is lucky to have missed it.

[Korendir]

The Facts

First, apologies for continuing this thread which is off topic, but I feel obligated to make some corrections.

"The fact is the U.S. didn't give a damn about the slaughter of innocent Jews in Poland. Britain did and it got involved on principal."

The facts of the German concentration camps weren't discovered until much much later... when the Allied troops had advanced to those locations, ie. there was nothing known of the Holocaust when Britain jumped in the fray. And Spielberg took some liberties in Saving Pvt Ryan

Britain wasn't without its moral flaws either. Chamberlain was instrumental in the treaty designed to appease Germany and avoid war at all costs ("Peace in Our Time" he said). Well, not at all costs, but at the cost of The Sudetenland, resulting in the invasion and occupation of Czechloslovakia. And Austria, which wasn't really in any treaty, but Chamberlain and the rest of Europe turned a blind eye to Hitler's occupation of it to avoid conflict. Poland turned out to be the straw that broke the camels back for France and Britain (India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand followed suit). Britain was compelled to war by their participation with France in the ultimadum demanding Germany withdraw from Poland.

I'm not saying the US was right to sit out as long as they did, but there was nothing compelling them to stick their noses in Europes squabbles.

And as Ronin said, no one got out of that conflict unscathed or untainted.

I think we can all agree that no one performed ideally and if we had to do it all over again, it'd be different.

I hope no one feels flamed, but I think anyone claiming that any of the participants in WWII did so on pure moral grounds has been misled. It's as naive as thinking that the US helping Kuwait was purely a moral decision.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...

"Jezus, the yanks were late to both world wars. They remind me of the player that comes on to field 5 minutes from time and then claims the victory for himself. "

A fair enough claim when the home team is losing 21-3 before he walks onto the field. Of course, anyone claiming victory is deceiving themselves.

There are no winners in war.

Mike

[Aloha From Hell]

Re: The Facts

Originally posted by Korendir
The facts of the German concentration camps weren't discovered until much much later... when the Allied troops had advanced to those locations, ie. there was nothing known of the Holocaust when Britain jumped in the fray. And Spielberg took some liberties in Saving Pvt Ryan

Complete and utter RUBBISH!. Documents released under the British Secrecy Act showed that British & American Intelligence knew in detail what was going on in the Death Camps. Think about it- do you really think M16 could have missed the slaughter of millions? It may not have been public knowledge, however, the American Government was well aware of the grisly details. If the foreign intelligence agencies had missed that one if would have been a major blunder. Are you guys really so naive?