By Jason Thompson
It just keeps getting better. The latest reveal of the Fight Night Round 4 (FNR4) boxing roster has taken me from excited to… downright giddy. Would I pay $100 for this game? Yep. $200? Probably. I can admit this because I have been assured that regular video game pricing will be applied for FNR4. (If they only released four or five FNR4 games and eBay-ed them I would go broke). Anybody that knows me knows that this release would be my favorite. Kelly Pavlik is my favorite boxer and I was very worried he would not be in the game. I am worrying no more. Will “raczilla” Kinsler and I have spent hours arguing over who is better, Pavlik or his favorite Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor. Raczilla refuses to acknowledge history (PAVLIK IS 2-0 VERSUS TAYLOR WILL!) but now, with the newest roster reveal, we both know we will settle this debate where it needs to be settled… in FNR4. BRING IT WILL!
What do I think of the latest five boxers that will be in FNR4? Glad you asked.
Roy Jones, Jr.: Before Roy Jones, Jr. I had never heard of the title “best pound for pound boxer”. Junior was so good they actually invented a title for him! Junior was, and may still be, the closest thing to a video game athlete in boxing. Power? Check. Lightning speed? Check. Showmanship? BIG check. Do yourself a favor and go to www.youtube.com right now and type his name in. Now I hope you know what I mean. He is “Mr. Unstoppable”. The Fight Night series would not be the same without him.
Sergio “The Snake” Mora: Also known as the “Latin Snake” I can say that, in all honesty, this guy is one of the coolest dudes in the game. He is brutally honest when you talk to him about boxing and one of the funniest guys to be around. The fight game is better for him in it. When we hosted the FNR4 community day he took a very real and honest interest in the Fight Night community and offered the FNR4 design team tremendously valuable insight into making FNR4. It was no surprise that he named Roberto Duran his favorite boxer of all time when I asked him because, as he said, Duran had that toughness you see so often in Mexican fighters. He is tough. He works very hard. He knows the game. Now, his is “In the Game” and this is a HUGE add. He was the best in Ray Leonard’s “The Contender” and on June 27th he faces Kelly Pavlik. He is an underdog in that fight but Mora has always been the underdog. Something tells me that the Pavlik fight will be the best fight of 2009.
Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik: Pavlik fights with a style that I for one find VERY entertaining. He’s tough and can pop his opponent with every shot in the book. His defense is a relentless offense. He throws shots in bunches and works inside and out with equal proficiency. Did he stumble against Bernard Hopkins? Yes. But he was going up in weight and I think fighting at 160 which is clearly his natural and most effective weight. He brings it every minute of every round.
Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Paz: Paz won title belts at lightweight, junior middleweight and super middleweight. He was a very likeable boxer who had power and undeniable toughness in the ring. He was dominated by Roy Jones, Jr. but did beat Roberto Duran. Paz is one of those guys you are going to fight as in FNR4 especially with the ability to work “inside” because the Pazmanian Devil was very strong.
Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor: Taylor has always been a visibly talented fighter. He beat Bernard Hopkins in 2005 and that win really put Taylor in the map as an exceptional boxer. He has a long reach and does put on a great show. He obviously struggled against Pavlik losing both fights (I really hope you are reading this raczilla) and had a draw against Winky Wright but showed in every fight rarely seen flashes of power and quickness. He is only 30 and I for one think he is the type of fighter that can dominate in FNR4.
I think the newest five boxers in FNR4 add a lot of dimension and excitement to FNR4. What do you think?