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How does Spong measure up?

2K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  MLS 
#1 ·
With his seeming emergence into the K-1 circuit Spong is bound to fight the big boys and a lot of what is going to determine Spong's success is if he can keep his speed as he puts weight on and so far he has managed to do that. Here is how I think some of the fights would go for Spong right now.

vs Remy Bonjasky - This is the fight I really want to see because these guys fight very similar. I would give the edge to Remy in defense and kicks and give Spong the edge in boxing. I would also give Spong the edge in putting strikes together because Remy's boxing while improved just isn't as good. As of right now, I would pick Remy on points but a very competitive fight.

vs Badr Hari - Interesting fight, Hari is a bad dude that can put any fighter to sleep when he connects. Has good boxing and good kicks, defense leaves a lot to be desired and he doesn't have a great chin but he has got some crazy recovery ability. Spong would use the same tactics that Remy has used against Hari and may catch Hari coming in but I would have to pick Hari by points as of now.

vs Peter Aerts - Aerts takes this and may stop Spong. Tyrone has a tendency to take some leg kicks instead of checking them and that's not good against Peter. Spong would need to move a lot to try and tire Peter out and then go after him.

vs Errol Zimmerman - You know, I would take Spong over Errol right now. I love Errol, love watching him fight but with the skill set Spong has I could see him taking this on points. Errol doesn't have the best gas tank and when he gets tired them hands drop and Spong can and will take advantage of this. He has to just survive the early storm from Errol and I think he could take a late TKO but more likely win on points.

vs Ewerton Teixeira - Another fight I feel Tyrone could win now. Ewerton surprised the shit out of me with how improved his boxing got between his fights with Musashi and Errol. With that said, Spong is better everywhere and would probably take this on points.

vs Gökhan Saki - Well we shall see how this fight goes in a month but I am taking Spong on points here. Spong just needs to worry about Saki's kicks and keep moving so he can take advantage of his reach and boxing advantage.

vs Ruslan Karaev - Karaev is an explosive guy and can put you on your ass. To me Karaev is a lesser version of Hari, offensively he is pretty damn good but not as good as Hari, his defense is like Hari's but a little worse, and his chin isn't great like Hari's but Hari can recover better. Spong takes this on a late TKO.

vs Jerome Le Banner - This could go a lot like JLB/Remy with the difference being Spong could offer JLB more in the way of his boxing. But at this point I think Jerome is just to damn big and knows how to deal with fighters like Spong for Spong to win. Jerome on points.

vs Semmy Schilt - Semmy is just way to big right now for Tyrone, Semmy by TKO.

vs Melvin Manhoef - The fight I really don't want to see but this goes pretty much like the fight with Errol where Spong needs to survive the early onslaught and wait for Melvin to get tired. But Melvin has a great chance of stopping Spong because of how explosive he is.
 
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#5 ·
Hari and Errol where you disagree?
 
#3 ·
I'd give my opinion but I'd just be making things up lol.

I do really like Spong the guy seems really well rounded and I like watching him a lot.

Can't wait to see how he really stacks up at the top level.

Who knows maybe Ruslan and Gokhan have a war and we see him fight for the HW title against Melvin later this month.
 
#4 ·
Very good write up MLS. I won't put much input because I don't know about k-1 all that much, but those are some really, really tough fights for Spong. But that's the difference between fighters and great fighters, their ability to come out on top no matter the circumstances. And the kid just might have what it takes to make a huge impact.
 
#6 ·
Shit alright, I forgot to give me thoughts.

Since you're write-up is pretty solid, I'll just list what I disagree with.

vs Remy Bonjasky - This is the fight I really want to see because these guys fight very similar. I would give the edge to Remy in defense and kicks and give Spong the edge in boxing. I would also give Spong the edge in putting strikes together because Remy's boxing while improved just isn't as good. As of right now, I would pick Remy on points but a very competitive fight
You should also mention Remy's leg kicks, which will really give Spong shitfits

vs Badr Hari - Interesting fight, Hari is a bad dude that can put any fighter to sleep when he connects. Has good boxing and good kicks, defense leaves a lot to be desired and he doesn't have a great chin but he has got some crazy recovery ability. Spong would use the same tactics that Remy has used against Hari and may catch Hari coming in but I would have to pick Hari by points as of now
This is sort of true, but I for some reason still see Hari taking it. It's a serious toss-up but I just have Hari ahead currently. I'll give my final verdict after Saki/Spong
vs Peter Aerts - Aerts takes this and may stop Spong. Tyrone has a tendency to take some leg kicks instead of checking them and that's not good against Peter. Spong would need to move a lot to try and tire Peter out and then go after him.
You know, I just can't see Aerts really stopping anyone these days, especially at the caliber of Spong. I think he can be overwhelmed easily by Spong the same way he was overwhelmed by Hari. He's just too slow these days. But I'd love to see how Aerts looks in his next match to give a final verdict.

vs Ewerton Teixeira - Another fight I feel Tyrone could win now. Ewerton surprised the shit out of me with how improved his boxing got between his fights with Musashi and Errol. With that said, Spong is better everywhere and would probably take this on points.
Spong IS better everywhere, and Teix doesn't handle well with faster fighters who can close the distance. Teix's boxing has improved, but he still doesn't like getting hit in the head. A good, tight boxer will always beat him.

vs Gökhan Saki - Well we shall see how this fight goes in a month but I am taking Spong on points here. Spong just needs to worry about Saki's kicks and keep moving so he can take advantage of his reach and boxing advantage.
Saki can get careless sometimes with his flashiness, and I could see Spong catching him with a quick one. But then again, I can see Saki catching Spong with one of those quick ones as well. But we'll see soon

vs Jerome Le Banner - This could go a lot like JLB/Remy with the difference being Spong could offer JLB more in the way of his boxing. But at this point I think Jerome is just to damn big and knows how to deal with fighters like Spong for Spong to win. Jerome on points.
That's very true, but the question is CAN he. He's become very much like Aerts in that his body just isn't what it used to be. And a faster kid will almost always beat him (certainly not easily though) But as always, all Jerome has to do is connect.

Although I will say, Jerome didn't look bad at all vs. Schilt.
 
#7 ·
Yeah Remy's leg kicks would give him problems, I would see Spong trying to keep him up against the ropes or in the corner (since Remy is as physical as some of the others) as often as he could to help out with this and try and fight in close. Though, then you bring Remy's knees in to the equation.

Yeah I still think Hari takes it right now, to me it's just whether or not it's on points or by stoppage. Hari can ******* pressure you like no other so he could overwhelm Spong and catch him with something.

I can't picture Aerts as anything other than the ass kicker he was back in the day. :(

I think Jerome still could or at least bully Spong around if he gets into some trouble.
 
#10 ·
He is 6'2-6'3 up to 210-215 lbs now, so he is about the same weight as Saki and Karaev and I think Hari is about 225-230 so he isn't to far off from him.
 
#11 ·
vs Remy Bonjasky - This is the fight I really want to see because these guys fight very similar. I would give the edge to Remy in defense and kicks and give Spong the edge in boxing. I would also give Spong the edge in putting strikes together because Remy's boxing while improved just isn't as good. As of right now, I would pick Remy on points but a very competitive fight.
I pretty much agree with you on this one. I do see Spong having trouble with Remy's length though. Even though Spongs boxing is better I see him having trouble finding his range with Remy throwing kicks. I got Remy by points too.

vs Badr Hari - Interesting fight, Hari is a bad dude that can put any fighter to sleep when he connects. Has good boxing and good kicks, defense leaves a lot to be desired and he doesn't have a great chin but he has got some crazy recovery ability. Spong would use the same tactics that Remy has used against Hari and may catch Hari coming in but I would have to pick Hari by points as of now.
I disagree a bit with this one. I would take Hari by KO in this fight. There is always the good chance that Hari starts going wild and then Spong could make him take a nap but I think Spong gets overwhelmed in this fight. No matter who wins I see this fight ending in a KO

vs Peter Aerts - Aerts takes this and may stop Spong. Tyrone has a tendency to take some leg kicks instead of checking them and that's not good against Peter. Spong would need to move a lot to try and tire Peter out and then go after him.
If Aerts can land some nice leg kicks like you said he may be able to slow Spong down enough to stop him but Peter is pretty slow now days:( Since Aerts isn't too good at bullying people I don't think that he'll have much luck using his size for an advantage to overcome his loss of speed/agility. I actually think Spong could take this fight on points.

vs Errol Zimmerman - You know, I would take Spong over Errol right now. I love Errol, love watching him fight but with the skill set Spong has I could see him taking this on points. Errol doesn't have the best gas tank and when he gets tired them hands drop and Spong can and will take advantage of this. He has to just survive the early storm from Errol and I think he could take a late TKO but more likely win on points.
I see this the same as you. Good breakdown

vs Ewerton Teixeira - Another fight I feel Tyrone could win now. Ewerton surprised the shit out of me with how improved his boxing got between his fights with Musashi and Errol. With that said, Spong is better everywhere and would probably take this on points.
Again, I see this the same.

vs Gökhan Saki - Well we shall see how this fight goes in a month but I am taking Spong on points here. Spong just needs to worry about Saki's kicks and keep moving so he can take advantage of his reach and boxing advantage.
I could see it going down like you said but I could also see Saki landing some fresh ass kicks and taking this one. We will see what does down.

vs Ruslan Karaev - Karaev is an explosive guy and can put you on your ass. To me Karaev is a lesser version of Hari, offensively he is pretty damn good but not as good as Hari, his defense is like Hari's but a little worse, and his chin isn't great like Hari's but Hari can recover better. Spong takes this on a late TKO.
I don't see Karaev taking this anyway. He's outmatched in every aspect by Spong. Spong by early KO IMO

vs Jerome Le Banner - This could go a lot like JLB/Remy with the difference being Spong could offer JLB more in the way of his boxing. But at this point I think Jerome is just to damn big and knows how to deal with fighters like Spong for Spong to win. Jerome on points.
JLB is like you said, way too big for Spong and way too powerful. JLB is a great bully and I don't think Spong would be able to use defense like Remy did because of his size disadvantage. I see JLB punishing him too much and pushing him around. JLB is slowing down a bunch like Aerts but he's good at using his size to make up for it. Even though Spong has good boxing I don't see him wanting to trade alot with Jerome. JLB's power is still real and can put anybody down at any time. the more you trade the closer you get to catching one of those.

In the end, I see Spong doing alot of retreating and losing on points if he can avoid the KO.

vs Semmy Schilt - Semmy is just way to big right now for Tyrone, Semmy by TKO.
Schilt all day

vs Melvin Manhoef - The fight I really don't want to see but this goes pretty much like the fight with Errol where Spong needs to survive the early onslaught and wait for Melvin to get tired. But Melvin has a great chance of stopping Spong because of how explosive he is.
This is a bad ass fight. I wont even attempt to break this one down. This is dangerous!
 
#12 ·
We could see some some of these fights quickly.

If Spong makes the final he has the chance to fight Melvin.

If he wins the HW title he will most likely end up defending it against Hari.

Then in May he fights Saki.

Now I know they wanted to bring him along like they did Hari but this could change things up.
 
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