2021 Worlds: Taylor vs. Yazdani

[gimpeltf 2,045]

4 hours ago, lu_alum said:

Robinson's final bout was in 1965.

Leonard's first professional bout was in 1977.

Only a 12-year gap, but I get your point.

And first bout to first bout was 37 years.

[Billyhoyle 2,472]

The Sidakov vs peak Burroughs argument could go either way. Both were equally accomplished at the same age. It’s basically a coin flip at this point and trying to claim one is definitively better is just arguing for the sake of arguing.

For Taylor vs Sidakov, I partly lean toward Sidakov because of his dominance, but I end up going with Taylor because I don’t think anyone in 74 kg (other than Sidakov) is near the class of Yazdani. Taylor absolutely destroyed everyone other than Yaz. 

[Le duke 395]

The Sidakov vs peak Burroughs argument could go either way. Both were equally accomplished at the same age. It’s basically a coin flip at this point and trying to claim one is definitively better is just arguing for the sake of arguing.
For Taylor vs Sidakov, I partly lean toward Sidakov because of his dominance, but I end up going with Taylor because I don’t think anyone in 74 kg (other than Sidakov) is near the class of Yazdani. Taylor absolutely destroyed everyone other than Yaz. 

Yeah, I think the 86kg field was relatively poor.

Amine won a bronze medal.

Whereas the two guys who won a bronze at 74kg have both beaten Burroughs.


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[BigTimeFan 1,141]

On 8/20/2021 at 9:37 PM, headshuck said:

I dunno, if he keeps losing to Taylor is he the greatest?

Let’s celebrate Taylor as the greatest!

He’s The Greatest. Not the greatest. 

[Housebuye 2,419]

13 hours ago, Uwwdoc said:

Agreed. He was an absolute gentleman on the mat considering he went from gold medalist to silver in a painful 17 seconds, and he was equally class at the medal ceremony.

I think the pressure and expectation Hassan was under to bring home gold was absolutely immense in a way that most won't have felt, including other athletes like Taylor himself. Hassan is the star of Iranian wrestling in Iran, and had to an extent transcended the sport in that country from a star power point of view, the vast majority that support him are not massively knowledgeable about wrestling from a technical view point. There are a lot of "casuals". So we are talking of millions who expected almost without thought that Hassan would get revenge on Taylor, make it look easy and the gold medal was definitive. Also the fact that he was regarded as the favourite for gold in the entire Iran FS & GR team, he definitely felt a lot of pressure going into the mat, so for him to let gold slip with less than 20 seconds after spending the best part of 3 and a bit years trying to deliver for his nation then I will forgive him for screaming loudly and kicking a chair.

What is interesting to note is however is that if anything his popularity has gone up even further in Iran, there has been an outcry of sympathy and support and he received a heros welcome more than any of the 3 olympic gold medalists for Iran. Will this motivate him and put him at ease to be able to get 1 in the books against Taylor? Only time will tell.

Your insights are always interesting 

[jp157 481]

15 hours ago, Uwwdoc said:

Agreed. He was an absolute gentleman on the mat considering he went from gold medalist to silver in a painful 17 seconds, and he was equally class at the medal ceremony.

I think the pressure and expectation Hassan was under to bring home gold was absolutely immense in a way that most won't have felt, including other athletes like Taylor himself. Hassan is the star of Iranian wrestling in Iran, and had to an extent transcended the sport in that country from a star power point of view, the vast majority that support him are not massively knowledgeable about wrestling from a technical view point. There are a lot of "casuals". So we are talking of millions who expected almost without thought that Hassan would get revenge on Taylor, make it look easy and the gold medal was definitive. Also the fact that he was regarded as the favourite for gold in the entire Iran FS & GR team, he definitely felt a lot of pressure going into the mat, so for him to let gold slip with less than 20 seconds after spending the best part of 3 and a bit years trying to deliver for his nation then I will forgive him for screaming loudly and kicking a chair.

What is interesting to note is however is that if anything his popularity has gone up even further in Iran, there has been an outcry of sympathy and support and he received a heros welcome more than any of the 3 olympic gold medalists for Iran. Will this motivate him and put him at ease to be able to get 1 in the books against Taylor? Only time will tell.

Agree. I also think the US vs. Iran dynamic absolutely played a factor as well

[Katie 1,076]

On 8/21/2021 at 9:27 AM, nhs67 said:

Did you see his implosion after his Oly-loss?

I did not, nor do I think it’s anyone’s business if he had an emotional moment off the mat after a crushing, high-profile loss.

On the mat he represented himself well.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Katie

[nhs67 1,984]

24 minutes ago, Katie said:

I did not, nor do I think it’s anyone’s business if he had an emotional moment off the mat after a crushing, high-profile loss.

On the mat he represented himself well.

Okay, Karen.

I mean Katie.

Whichever.

[irani 820]

https://twitter.com/FloWrestling/status/732329857216962560?s=20

[headshuck 2,587]

The way The Greatest gave up that last TD in short time without running makes me scratch my head.

[window12 45]

Who is Russia sending to the Worlds for the 86 Kg? Just wondering about the seeding.....