Anthony Smith is chasing the Dragon

i think he was doing OK against khalil for the first round, and some of the next round at least. looks like he got tired IMO. i think with no USADA, there's still a chance. but when you're commentating, doing podcasts, that's time away from training, cardio, technique, etc. you can't have a hand in four and expect more.
 
Trabaho said:
Yeah it´s a play on that terminology. You can use terms from all fields to get the point accross in something unrelated. It describes it here.
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<RomeroSalute>

I see that, was not sure if others would.

Yeah man, I think a break would be a smart move. Maybe try some no-USADA benefits too. As others have said, also some kind of reset of his mindset too. Maybe go bow-hunting with Joe or something.
 
Man, Smith vs Reyes would be one of the saddest fights at LHW to make right now.
 
I don´t know if it´s me, but his muscles looked small. It isn´t bodybuilding, but he did not look ripped. Like Sean Strickland doesn´t stand a chance at BB comps, but his recent pics look prime. Like everything tense and tight. How do we call it tisk tts or what was it. Anthony looks small and weak. Like he doesn´t have the S&C of elite LHWs. I know sounds weird. Some guys don´t look the part but are really athletic. But Anthony looks as average athletically as he is. Maybe someone feels what I´m saying here. Like no abs, small pecs, doesn´t look like tense. There´s the look guys have when they are focused and trained to the max. Not neccesary big muscles, but low fat and just like you can see the hard work and explosivness.
 
Van Daz said:
He's still only 35 & we could see him fight, but he has lost his mojo. He's only gonna cop more damage in the ring. Hell, he has a commentating role of sorts, so that should give him some $$ & without getting CTE. Some fighters (like T Ferg & BJ was the same) just don't know when to tap. Can't blame them if they've done that all of their lives & still have the drive.

Bottom line is that I wouldn't mind seeing him fight, but don't want to see him mushed through the cage like a spud.

He can still speak better than Tito, but that's not saying much I guess:)
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He might only be 35 but he's had nearly 60 pro fights, that's nearly double the number Khabib had, he's finished as a top athlete.
 
Thesnake101 said:
Man, Smith vs Reyes would be one of the saddest fights at LHW to make right now.
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That´s the point, 1 wins. Fair fight for both. Both well known guys. Maybe Reyes wins his next fight then it´s ok to match them up. Poor Reyes, getting robbed vs the Goat, then getting dmeolished by 4 different guys. Never seen that before. Imagine being better then Jon Jones the Ryan Span cassually jab one shots you for your 4th KO loss streak.

Actually would feel bad for Reyes. That man needs to win. Anthony is still mean, I think Reyes needs someone else now. At least a 2 win streak. How is his next opponent, some 4 ranked Dagestanian or who is that. For some Reason I think Reyes comes back with at least some wins. 4 losses is a lot. 5 is so bad.
 
Trabaho said:
"Maybe I just need to take it one at a time and just face whatever challenge is in front of me and stop—not that I’m looking past people or looking too far ahead—but everything I have wrapped into this fighting thing is about the title. Maybe when I stop being so concerned about the title, maybe I can fully focus on what’s in front of me.”

Lost 3/4 recently. Has 11 T(ko) losses.

He visibly doesn´t look as fit and atheltic anymore. Hasn´t got that explosion and pop anymore. Plenty injuries.

I think he should fight easy competition and if he wins gradually increase the level. At this point looks like he will be used as a springboard. He got the name and is still ranked. And he is deluded enough to go for big match ups. Now delusion is a good thing, that´s why he´s the Lionheart and made a good career for himself. But at one point the sings are ignored. Even before this fight losing 2/3 and talking about having a title shot soon. Khalil outpowered and outpeaked him there hard. Even the Ryan Span win was lucky, he edged out 2 rounds, the third barely. He wasn´t far from getting finished there. If it was Pride rules Ryan easily gets the decision, as they score the whole contest. 2 years earlier he walked trough Ryan Spann.

I think his body isn´t as fit and explosive anymore. These recent performances are a far cry from his best work since the Shogun and Gustafson fights. Where he looked elite.

Both Walker and Rountree were too athletic for him. 35 is ok for LHW, but the damage acumulated after 56 fights. He hurt his legs both in the Rakic and Ankalev fights. His last 5 losses were very one sided, he wasn´t competitive in them.

Respect to Anthony but he needs to consider who to fight. Unranked guys or at least low ranked top 15 guys, and guys who are not peaking like Khalil.

Self belief is a great assset to have. But nothing speaks against facing 2 easier fights, which aren´t gonna be easy anyways, instead of being on losses like Wonderboy and mentioning how you´re about to create a title shot opportunity. Win 2 lower ranked or unranked fights then go for the next step. there is no easy 2 fight streak that gives you a shot.

Even Dana slipped up verbally and said he was disapointed Walker didn´t finish him, cause that fight was for Walker to shine. Anthony is going the path of the falling top ranked fighter, who got a name but is declining, now all sort of studs get to make highlights out of him.

Looking at the rankings, Jacoby and Reyes make sense for him.

Respect to Anthony. But take it slow. It isn´t even a problem that he lost some fights, it´s how he didn´t look the old himself. He lost a step.

Not trying to hate or discourage just my 0.2 € .

Maybe he can rejuvenate himself, Glover won the title at 44, that´s 9 years difference. But Anthony just doesn´t look as strong and athletic as others at 205. His phisique tells me the story. Rakic could manhandle him on power.

Probably take 6 months completely off and train hard. Improve training rest diet or whatever. Then go for Reyes or Jacoby.

Or just go for fun fight and see where it takes him. Look for some favorable money fights, which make money. To keep him living his passion. If at some point a title shot comes great. Who expected Strickland to get one.

However try hard trying to contend is a mistake at this point. His body is probably worn out a bit at this point, more then his peers. He needs to recover fully and get as strong as other elite LHWs.

I hope this was sort of thread worthy and someone cares about this topic


- Trabaho
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He shows up a couple times a week on a SiriusXM show, usually with Din Thomas. He's always got good analysis and he's usually got some decent inside info, given his relationships with active fighters. But he always comes back from a loss and talks about it as if it wasn't him, there was just something wrong that he can't put his finger on, he just didn't feel right, or some other ambiguous reason why he didn't get the W. He seems like a really good guy, and intelligent, but there's some disconnect where he just can't take a real look at himself in the mirror. He never says anything specific he can work on, or that the opponent was just better than him. It's kind of frustrating, but I don't know if it's because he refuses to admit he just doesn't have it anymore, or that he's one of those smart people that has a really low self-reflection IQ.
 
cmw43 said:
He might only be 35 but he's had nearly 60 pro fights, that's nearly double the number Khabib had, he's finished as a top athlete.
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60!!! Shit, didn't realise that. Yep, he should quit now. Just fight home intruders:)
 
blaseblase said:
Problem is he's never been as good a fighter as Glover. And Glover won the title because he was in a historically weak light heavyweight division, not because he got better at 42. The Glover who fought Jones was a better fighter than the one who won the title.
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Smith actually looked solid against glover early then faded and got destroyed. He's a solid fighter but I think he needs to hang 'em up. Looks very slow and stiff now.
 
I don't think his problem is taking bad fights, its his strategy in those fights. Against Roundtree his most likely path to victory was to take him down, and I think he only really tried it once. I was confused by that. In my opinion he needs to make takedowns a strength of his and I think he'll be more likely to win these fights. I remember him saying in the podcast or an interview, he considers himself a grappler first. He did do a lot of that at all in his recent fights.

Also, I agree with his physique and conditioning. Its needs to be a lot better than it is. Maybe he got complacent since moving up in weight, not needing to stay as disciplined as he used to.
 
Anthony has slowed down substantially...but that's to be expected. He has a ton of mileage on his body. His time as a top 10 LHW is obviously over. He's at the point where, if he wants to keep fighting, he should be very strategic about the fights he accepts. Other aging fighters who have big names (but declining abilities) make sense. But he clearly shouldn't be fighting anyone who's on the rise. That's simply not where he is in his career. Again, that's okay. He had a great run.
 
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Still don't understand the hate this guy gets. At all.
 
OldBoy91 said:
Still don't understand the hate this guy gets. At all.
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His mentality is to not say the other guy was better, that keeps him alive. That I could beat all those guys mentality, but just didn´t last night. I get it. Most people like to hear a it was not my night other guy was better. I get his mentality of belief in himself.
 
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