SOME THOUGHTS ON DAN RAFAEL.

first i think overall he does a good job on reporting boxing.yes its been said if he didnt work for espn or usa today he would not have a inside tract.of course not because he would be a fan just like us.
he has good knowledge of todays fighters.just todays i feel.he makes good sence when he reports about a fight in a video or analizing a potential matchup.his fight predictions are decent..
ok thats his good points.with that being said its getting to the point i cannot stand this insensitive sob..1.he controls fully what and who appears on his chat and the questions.yes due to internet idiots im sure there are ones that are outright foolish.my problem is that he prints some questions some that have merit or thoughts opposite of his and he outright insults that person or says your banned.he has little reguard many times for others feelings.
yes hes right on the wbc or wba etc etc but just about every boxing writer shares the same thoughts.he not unique..2.he actualy thinks hes funny but with insults.dwayne ford the judge who made a horrible call is a on going victom for many weeks now with his warpted insulting sence of humor.3. yes he shows hate for fighters and carries it out.david haye is an example with months of his toe jokes etc etc.yes you can write a article about his performance and that phoney excuse and end it there.anything further is nonsence or hate.
being morbidly obese im sure deep down inside he has a sensitivity about his weight.almost all grossly overweight folks do..how would he like it if dwyane ford had a collum and said fat dan in his famous barbaques actualy has to host two.one for his 100 guests the other exclusivly for fat dan..or say fat dans on a diet.hes down to 100 twinkess for desert and now at a starving 20 000 calories a day..
his total bullshit on ahhh the love child is so overdone its vomit time.
dwyane ford could right that dans ego is much bigger then his belly.thats how huge it is.
look im reasonably sure when dan gets with other boxing writers hes friendly and respectfull of them and they have some legit fun..why cant he show that to folks in his chat instead of insulting folks calling them idiots etc etc.he controls the questions so when he does that insulting its for one reason.HE ENJOYS IT.enough of the every ending insults ok.

I am only 35 yrs old. I know many of the fighters before my time, but not as well as some other people on here.

So:

Is Arturo Gatti the greatest ACTION FIGHTER in the history of the sport?

Fat Dan said that yesterday. If you disagree please name some action fighters you would place above gatti.

action plus quality.theres a huge differnce but still for action ill take henry armstrong harry greb.fritzie zivic .ray boom boom mancini.im sure there were countless of club fighters like gatti and ward and thats exactly what they were and 100 light years from a hall of fame. beau jack in his day had action wars and not against club fighters.
not to change the subject but what are folks thoughts on dan r..we can also talk about his comments on gatti or a casamayer who he says is a lol hall of famer ..guys like him surely will delute the hall with mediocrity and the hall already has its share of that.
but please blend in your personal thoughts on this guy.mine is that hes a insensitive insulting sob.

Personally, Aaron Pryor was the most exciting fighter I ever saw, and he was a world class champion for any age.

Gatti, (God Bless His Soul) was an exciting fighter for sure, however he was a club fighter. He could not compete with world beaters like Pac or Floyd. I had great respect for his heart and a helluva time watching his fights, but the truth is the truth. He never met a punch he didn't like.

For my taste, the most exciting fight is one in which both fighters are dishing out punishment, however those two are the only ones who could take the others punches. For example, if Ali or Frazier put on other fighters what they put on each other, the fighter in question would've taken a ten count. The same can be said of the two fights between Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello.

What makes a super fight a super fight is that both fighters appear to be unbeatable. This was never the case with Gatti or Micky Ward, but they were a lot of fun to watch.

I like him more than most do. I don't quite understand why so many people attack him for his weight. I know in your post, dmar, you were doing it as an example of how easy it would be to attack him but many act like he shouldn't be able to write about boxing because he hasn't boxed and is out of shape. I think that view is lunacy because I think very few sports writers ever did anything in the sport they are covering. With that being said, his jokes are played out and he does insult the vast majority of people with differing views. Those are 2 very poor qualities in a writer that is trying to be funny and more accessible to the fans.

I am loathe to conform to a mindset that any single athlete can be considered the one & only of anything. To say Gatti was the greatest action fighter ever is impossible, because we don't get to see fighters from other eras. Now, I will say that he was the greatest action fighter of the last 20 years. Hell, Tyson was the greatest action fighter of his respective era. Now dmar, the fighters you mentioned, Armstrong, Greb & Zivic, were also great action fighters, but how would any of the contemporary fans know that? It's impossible.
When it comes to Fat Dan, I'll say this. He is the typical non-athlete that wanted to be close to the real athletes. I know a ton of guys like him. Now that he's in a position of power, it is apparent that is has gone to his head. When I listen to him, I don't hear anything that could be considered ground breaking or original. His news is the same news I can hear from any boxing analyst, hell, most of us have as much insight as he does. I don't really put much stock in the guy, so I don't really listen to him anymore.

Frank wrote:Personally, Aaron Pryor was the most exciting fighter I ever saw, and he was a world class champion for any age.

Gatti, (God Bless His Soul) was an exciting fighter for sure, however he was a club fighter. He could not compete with world beaters like Pac or Floyd. I had great respect for his heart and a helluva time watching his fights, but the truth is the truth. He never met a punch he didn't like.

For my taste, the most exciting fight is one in which both fighters are dishing out punishment, however those two are the only ones who could take the others punches. For example, if Ali or Frazier put on other fighters what they put on each other, the fighter in question would've taken a ten count. The same can be said of the two fights between Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello.

What makes a super fight a super fight is that both fighters appear to be unbeatable. This was never the case with Gatti or Micky Ward, but they were a lot of fun to watch.

Is Cotto a club fighter? Hatton, De la Hoya? All were defeated by both Pac & Mayweather. I'm not saying that Gatti is in their league, but to call him a club fighter is ludicrous. He won 2 world titles with his "C" fighting ability & defended them. He KO'd undefeated champions. Sure, he didn't have world class boxing ability, but he had his own style that was rugged & he made the most of it. To me, Gatti was an over achiever in his career.

UBeeg9cats wrote:I like him more than most do. I don't quite understand why so many people attack him for his weight. I know in your post, dmar, you were doing it as an example of how easy it would be to attack him but many act like he shouldn't be able to write about boxing because he hasn't boxed and is out of shape. I think that view is lunacy because I think very few sports writers ever did anything in the sport they are covering. With that being said, his jokes are played out and he does insult the vast majority of people with differing views. Those are 2 very poor qualities in a writer that is trying to be funny and more accessible to the fans.

I go back to this on all things Mr. Dan Rafael: he is a prick. He says things online that would get someone smacked or punched if said to someone's face.

I try to show respect for people and I don't like conflict, but if someone ever spoke to me in the fashion he addresses people online, he would be in deep shit. A polite warning and if he didn't immediately apologize of his own volition, I would go after him.

as for his weight, I think it is an easy target. People are flawed. If you want to attack someone for saying something stupid or ignorant, it is fair game for people to attack you for your flaws.

Hes not a nice person, plain and simple.

i feel like he wants to be a skip bayless type of guy but he cant. nobody likes skip bayless but we all still listen to his ridiculous opinions. the only reason i follow fat dan on twitter is because he gets his sources pretty quickly so i can get information quicker than if i just looked on a website.

I just wish he would do a 'Pizza the Hut' and eat himself to death.

But seriously...he irritates me more often than not. He's like 99% of the people that work for ESPN, or most other major media outlets, he's got an agenda.

He is favorably biased towards some fighters, and he is unrelenting in his criticism of others. He would just crucify John Ruiz for his ugly, holding, hugging, and mauling style...but he would praise Ricky Hatton for fighting the exact same way.

He has thrown so many softballs at, and has rarely criticized fighters like Bum Jr and Canelo for their soft, HBO manipulated schedules. It just seems like he doesn't want to piss anybody off, just so he can keep his press pass, and perks to the Vegas buffets.

But I've rarely paid attention to his crappy chat, or what he has to say for a few years now. So it just is what it is...

final thought on Mr. Rafael.

What kind of sports fans do I not like very much. The ones who only seem to like stellar teams.

Rafael went to college in New York state.

He is a Yankees fan (not the Mets).
He is a Giants fan (not the lowlier Jets).
He is a duke blue devils fan for college basketball.

And when these teams win he likes to say arrogant shit on twitter putting it in the face of Red Sox fans, or UNC basketball fans, etc...., but if they stink and someone just points that out politely he gets all bent out of shape and says nasty things.

I know these things because i still go to the chats and follow him on twitter. Not because I like him or think he is a very good boxing writer, but he gets information that others don't by virtue of working for the behemoth.

captainanddew wrote:final thought on Mr. Rafael.

What kind of sports fans do I not like very much. The ones who only seem to like stellar teams.

Rafael went to college in New York state.

He is a Yankees fan (not the Mets).
He is a Giants fan (not the lowlier Jets).
He is a duke blue devils fan for college basketball.

And when these teams win he likes to say arrogant shit on twitter putting it in the face of Red Sox fans, or UNC basketball fans, etc...., but if they stink and someone just points that out politely he gets all bent out of shape and says nasty things.

I know these things because i still go to the chats and follow him on twitter. Not because I like him or think he is a very good boxing writer, but he gets information that others don't by virtue of working for the behemoth.

i know that he loves the yankees and although i hate baseball, i hate the yankees because they are what is wrong with sports. if he is affiliated with NY then i can understand yankees and the giants at least but if he is a duke fan then he is definitely a bandwagon fan which i absolutely hate.