Why I like this game

Lee · 10-25-2004, 08:53 PM

Because sometimes, as in real life the underdog rises to the top.

I just simmed the Bob Fitzsimmons/Frank Childs HBA heavyweight Title fight. Fitzsimmons came in dry and Childs jumped on him, making him miss and scoring with well timed counters. In a back and forth fight, this scenario played out time and again every time it seemed Fitz might take control. Finally in the 14th Childs dropped a tiring Fitzsimmons, who barely made it up at 8, and hung on for the rest of the round. In the 15th Fitz's, weary and hanging on went for the KO and caught Frank cold, Childs climbed up at 4 and after taking all Fitz had left for the next minute, stormed back to land several good shots at the end of the round. I truly had no clue who would win this one and of course it was a split decision......Going to the winner and new HBA Champion Frank Childs!!!!

Then the game crashed as I forgot to save a default Title belt for the HBA!!! The results were not saved so I had to redo the Fight. This time Fitz was focused, and battered Childs winning all but one round and finally forcing the Referee to stop the slaughter in the 12th, as Childs was swollen around both Eyes and defenseless as Fitz poured on the abuse. So officially Fitz retains his Title, unfortunately for Childs who fought out of his head the first time.

That is what makes this game great, despite a decisive edge in CF, the condition check, that had Fitz not warmed up properly, coupled with the randomness of the game, enabled Childs to pull out the shocker in the first bout. Things fell more in line with what you would expect the second time, only in a more extreme way than would usually happen as Fitz was just lights out for this bout and could do no wrong. almost like he "knew" what had happened the first time and was pissed about it

The true reality probably see's a closer fight with Fitz usually winning via decision or late round stoppage.

These occasional gems that defy the odds makers will continue to keep my interest in this and all successive builds of this game, because you never know when they will occur.

wildhawke11 · 10-25-2004, 09:43 PM

Lee
Ruby Red Fitz was a tremendous fighter, he is in fact regarded as one of the very best ranking alongside Sam Langford, Ray Robinson etc etc.
I have seen many expert historians regard him as among the Top Ten all time best P4P.
Now the game has been patched it really is a great simulation of pro boxing, and one that Jim, Tom, and Andrea's who have worked so hard on this game can indeed be proud of, regardless of what the future holds.

jas80s · 10-25-2004, 11:56 PM

Lee,

That is a cool story. I once had Ross Purity beat Wlad (he did beat him in RL I believe.......eerie). I thought it was so cool that it was even possible. Of course, now that wouldn't be much of an upset I guess, but at the time........well, you know. There wouldn't be much sense in running universes if there weren't the occasional upset. That kind of possibility only makes the game more fun, IMO.

Jeff

Jim_Kidd · 10-26-2004, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

Because sometimes, as in real life the underdog rises to the top.

I just simmed the Bob Fitzsimmons/Frank Childs HBA heavyweight Title fight. Fitzsimmons came in dry and Childs jumped on him, making him miss and scoring with well timed counters. In a back and forth fight, this scenario played out time and again every time it seemed Fitz might take control. Finally in the 14th Childs dropped a tiring Fitzsimmons, who barely made it up at 8, and hung on for the rest of the round. In the 15th Fitz's, weary and hanging on went for the KO and caught Frank cold, Childs climbed up at 4 and after taking all Fitz had left for the next minute, stormed back to land several good shots at the end of the round. I truly had no clue who would win this one and of course it was a split decision......Going to the winner and new HBA Champion Frank Childs!!!!

Then the game crashed as I forgot to save a default Title belt for the HBA!!! The results were not saved so I had to redo the Fight. This time Fitz was focused, and battered Childs winning all but one round and finally forcing the Referee to stop the slaughter in the 12th, as Childs was swollen around both Eyes and defenseless as Fitz poured on the abuse. So officially Fitz retains his Title, unfortunately for Childs who fought out of his head the first time.

That is what makes this game great, despite a decisive edge in CF, the condition check, that had Fitz not warmed up properly, coupled with the randomness of the game, enabled Childs to pull out the shocker in the first bout. Things fell more in line with what you would expect the second time, only in a more extreme way than would usually happen as Fitz was just lights out for this bout and could do no wrong. almost like he "knew" what had happened the first time and was pissed about it

The true reality probably see's a closer fight with Fitz usually winning via decision or late round stoppage.

These occasional gems that defy the odds makers will continue to keep my interest in this and all successive builds of this game, because you never know when they will occur.

I've been playing this game (in all its various editions) since 1982. And you're right, just like the sport, it can turn out to be (as Larry Merchant likes to say) the "theater of the unexpected."

Here a link to a great article on Bob Fitzsimmons. Although many of today's writers prefer to view the "old-timers" as not being as quick or as athletic as today's fighters... it's quite possible they were just plain - better fighters.

http://members.tripod.com/coxscorner/fitz.html

Jim

maxx · 10-26-2004, 04:16 AM

My biggest non-cut/injury upset ever within the various generations of Title Bout was Mel Turnbow icing Joe Frazier in the second round back in the late 70's. Ever since then, whenever I've started the next TB incarnation that's always been my first fight. I'm not sure Mel's even managed to make it past the second round in the last 25 years. But on that one day he was golden.

djday45 · 10-26-2004, 04:43 AM

Thats a great story Lee, I have used both Fitz and Childs a lot so know exactly where your coming from.

My biggest upset so far in my Pyramid replay was Dick Tiger getting stopped by Gene Fullmer for the undisputed Middleweight Championship.
I was convinced Tiger would easily out box him but boy was I wrong.
With guys like Tiger, Papp, Giardello and Robinson still in the hunt for his title Fullmer is gonna have a hard time being champ for long but boy whoever takes it off him is gonna have to fight his heart out.

rgds
Dean

Lee · 10-26-2004, 02:22 PM

I know what you mean about Fullmer, I grew up in Utah and he is still an Icon there, met him once at a PAL tournament when I was a teen, nice guy and definitely old School. He had very limited talent but a ton of heart.

I have always spent a alot of time studying 19th and early 20th century Boxers, but since this game and the addition of all the user rated fighters I have been spurred to learn even more about the more obscure fighters of that era and it has only added to my enjoyment of the game. Frank Childs, Bob Armstrong, Ed Dunkhorst and Dominic McCaffrey are prime examples. Even fighters like Choynski, Tom Sharkey, Jem Mace and John Heenan who I knew a bit about are more interesting to read about when you see them actually "fight" in your universe.

I love that period of Boxing and am going slow in my HBA universe because I enjoy it so much. Speaking of which look for the HBA to pick up again in 2 weeks as the High school regular Season ends here in Arizona, and unfortunately we won't be making the playoffs this year

10-25-2004, 08:53 PM	#1
Lee Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Scorched Desert Posts: 4,652	Why I like this game Because sometimes, as in real life the underdog rises to the top. I just simmed the Bob Fitzsimmons/Frank Childs HBA heavyweight Title fight. Fitzsimmons came in dry and Childs jumped on him, making him miss and scoring with well timed counters. In a back and forth fight, this scenario played out time and again every time it seemed Fitz might take control. Finally in the 14th Childs dropped a tiring Fitzsimmons, who barely made it up at 8, and hung on for the rest of the round. In the 15th Fitz's, weary and hanging on went for the KO and caught Frank cold, Childs climbed up at 4 and after taking all Fitz had left for the next minute, stormed back to land several good shots at the end of the round. I truly had no clue who would win this one and of course it was a split decision......Going to the winner and new HBA Champion Frank Childs!!!! Then the game crashed as I forgot to save a default Title belt for the HBA!!! The results were not saved so I had to redo the Fight. This time Fitz was focused, and battered Childs winning all but one round and finally forcing the Referee to stop the slaughter in the 12th, as Childs was swollen around both Eyes and defenseless as Fitz poured on the abuse. So officially Fitz retains his Title, unfortunately for Childs who fought out of his head the first time. That is what makes this game great, despite a decisive edge in CF, the condition check, that had Fitz not warmed up properly, coupled with the randomness of the game, enabled Childs to pull out the shocker in the first bout. Things fell more in line with what you would expect the second time, only in a more extreme way than would usually happen as Fitz was just lights out for this bout and could do no wrong. almost like he "knew" what had happened the first time and was pissed about it The true reality probably see's a closer fight with Fitz usually winning via decision or late round stoppage. These occasional gems that defy the odds makers will continue to keep my interest in this and all successive builds of this game, because you never know when they will occur. Last edited by Lee; 10-25-2004 at 08:56 PM.

10-25-2004, 09:43 PM	#2
wildhawke11 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: united kingdom Posts: 1,952	Lee Ruby Red Fitz was a tremendous fighter, he is in fact regarded as one of the very best ranking alongside Sam Langford, Ray Robinson etc etc. I have seen many expert historians regard him as among the Top Ten all time best P4P. Now the game has been patched it really is a great simulation of pro boxing, and one that Jim, Tom, and Andrea's who have worked so hard on this game can indeed be proud of, regardless of what the future holds.

10-25-2004, 11:56 PM	#3
jas80s Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 249	Lee, That is a cool story. I once had Ross Purity beat Wlad (he did beat him in RL I believe.......eerie). I thought it was so cool that it was even possible. Of course, now that wouldn't be much of an upset I guess, but at the time........well, you know. There wouldn't be much sense in running universes if there weren't the occasional upset. That kind of possibility only makes the game more fun, IMO. Jeff

10-26-2004, 04:16 AM	#5
maxx All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 716	My biggest non-cut/injury upset ever within the various generations of Title Bout was Mel Turnbow icing Joe Frazier in the second round back in the late 70's. Ever since then, whenever I've started the next TB incarnation that's always been my first fight. I'm not sure Mel's even managed to make it past the second round in the last 25 years. But on that one day he was golden.

10-26-2004, 04:43 AM	#6
djday45 All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,502	Thats a great story Lee, I have used both Fitz and Childs a lot so know exactly where your coming from. My biggest upset so far in my Pyramid replay was Dick Tiger getting stopped by Gene Fullmer for the undisputed Middleweight Championship. I was convinced Tiger would easily out box him but boy was I wrong. With guys like Tiger, Papp, Giardello and Robinson still in the hunt for his title Fullmer is gonna have a hard time being champ for long but boy whoever takes it off him is gonna have to fight his heart out. rgds Dean

10-26-2004, 02:22 PM	#7
Lee Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Scorched Desert Posts: 4,652	I know what you mean about Fullmer, I grew up in Utah and he is still an Icon there, met him once at a PAL tournament when I was a teen, nice guy and definitely old School. He had very limited talent but a ton of heart. I have always spent a alot of time studying 19th and early 20th century Boxers, but since this game and the addition of all the user rated fighters I have been spurred to learn even more about the more obscure fighters of that era and it has only added to my enjoyment of the game. Frank Childs, Bob Armstrong, Ed Dunkhorst and Dominic McCaffrey are prime examples. Even fighters like Choynski, Tom Sharkey, Jem Mace and John Heenan who I knew a bit about are more interesting to read about when you see them actually "fight" in your universe. I love that period of Boxing and am going slow in my HBA universe because I enjoy it so much. Speaking of which look for the HBA to pick up again in 2 weeks as the High school regular Season ends here in Arizona, and unfortunately we won't be making the playoffs this year