Is Rick Rypien, pound-for-pound, the best fighter in the NHL?

[CalderSchmalder]

Oh how I love internet arguments.

 

[Flapjack*]

Good on you. You can set up an arbitrary piece of evidence that everybody knows doesn't exist and say that because nobody can show you that it does, you win the argument. You're a master debater.

Then anybody trying to argue "weight class" in the NHL are unrealistic when it comes to trying to lach onto something that just doesnt exisit, wouldnt you say?

Sure, I'll give you that one. Weight classes don't exist in hockey. Hockey isn't a combat sport, but it doesn't matter. Weight classes have nothing to do with "pound for pound" rankings. Weight is important; weight class is not.

But, by saying somebody is "pound for pound" the best fighter in the NHL when he hasnt fought, or runs from certain fighters who have a weight advantage totally refutes anyones claim to being the best "p4p" fighter in the NHL, dont you think?

Saying that Rypien is the best pound for pound fighter in the NHL doesn't mean that he can beat Boogaard in a fight.

He cant and couldnt. So right there, he isnt. If you actually take somebody who weighs LESS than Patrick Kane srsly as a fighter, then its nothing more than homeristic fanboi bromantic tydings.

Boogaard has nine inches and nearly ninety pounds on him;

Thats not his fault, nor, in the discussion for p4p fighter, his problem, if you think about it.

Rypien would be beaten so badly he'd be picking his teeth out of his **** the next day. That's not an excuse; that's common sense. What it does mean is that if Rick Rypien were the same size as Derek Boogaard or Derek Boogaard were the same size as Rick Rypien, Rypien would have a good chance to win that fight. With all physical aspects being equal, Rick Rypien might very well win because of his technical and mental ability. He fights like a boxer.

No he doesnt, he fights like a hockey player. He uses standard defensive techniques anybody who has taken self defense classes would use in a regular fight. Boxers do not clutch and grab at an opponent, Rypien HAS to. Rypien might have a boxing back ground but until boxers ice down the ring and lace up skates there isnt anything to compare either. And many of the end of the bench guys like Rypien, have some sort of training in striking and defense, Boogy included. Mike Peluso, a goons goon, had boxing training, did he fight like a boxer? Kocur knew how to throw all his weight into each and every bomb he threw and had very heavy hands, he still would have been easily beaten by a well trained boxer.

Pound for pound is a measure of relative ability. In that sense, you're right: It's an "invisible tiara" and it's nothing that can be proven with stats. What you're not right about is thinking of pound for pound as an absolute quality and that Rypien not fighting the known heavies somehow makes him a less capable fighter.

Because he WONT fight proven heavies? How can anybody be taken srsly as p4p the best fighter in the NHL if between picking and choosing lesser skiled figters he doesnt actually fight those who are, you know, REAL fighters?

Rypien got sonned by Neil.
By Eager
And by Prust. All of them tough guys, and all of them would be torched by a Laraque or Boogy. Koci even, grantie head himself, would drop Rypien. If Rypien didnt pick so gingerly, maybe then he could be considered p4p, but he doesnt, and would never take on somebody who actually knows how to fight in the NHL. If Rypien is picking punching bags and players who arent considered fighters, how can anybody actually claim he is p4p best anything? Because he beats up scrubs and blocks their punches with a high elbow guard? Thats great, really. But, if he did that against a NHL fighter, a real NHL fighter who knows how to fight, its easily defused. So again, it proves that to be considered p4p the best, you gotta actually fight real good fighters, and those weigh a little bit more than Rypien, who many here said weighs less than Patrick Kane.

Thats reality, like it or not. And until that happens, nobody can say Rypien is pound for pound anything in the NHL. And I highly doubt you will see Rypien try a proven heavy, so that ends the arguement right there.Its not his fault, either. I just dont think he would be that stupid.

 

[TheFinalWord]

Thats reality, like it or not. And until that happens, nobody can say Rypien is pound for pound anything in the NHL. And I highly doubt you will see Rypien try a proven heavy, so that ends the arguement right there.Its not his fault, either. I just dont think he would be that stupid.

Actually, people can say whatever they want and have opinions on whatever they want. People choose to say/believe he is the toughest P4P fighter in the NHL. Good for them. Why worry so much about it? If it is because the Vancouver fans are so annoying when it comes to Rypien, then I would probably agree with you.

But other than that, who really cares? It's only opinions.

 

[FruityPants3*]

The fact thats it a built in excuse to anybody proclaiming Rypien some great hockey fighter when everybody in the league, including obviously, Patrick Kane, out weighs him, is.

The next time Rypien gets beaten down, like he did against Neil, Prust, Eager, etc, Rypien fans are quick to tell anybody who will listen how whomever his tormentor that game was, had 50 pounds on him. It makes Rypien more of a novelty than an actual, feared fighter.

Does he have guts, or is he stupid? He obviously wont fight true heavys like Laraque, Boogy, so theres no possible way he is in any contentionm for the invisible"p4p" tiara.

P4P means you fight everybody, not pick your spots.

Translation: "I have no idea what P4P means"

So GSP or Anderson Silva aren't P4P contenders because they wouldn't fight Lesnar or Fedor? Riiiiiight. Your argument about weight classes only gives more weight to the case for Rypien. He isn't protected like Silva and GSP by weight restrictions.

Of course, it's quite obvious when you say "beaten down" that you really have no intention but to troll, because unless you are legally blind, you can't actually think that.

He cant and couldnt. So right there, he isnt. If you actually take somebody who weighs LESS than Patrick Kane srsly as a fighter, then its nothing more than homeristic fanboi bromantic tydings.

Bahahaahaha

 

[Flapjack*]

Translation: "I have no idea what P4P means"

So long as you are admitting right there ^^ that you dont know what P4P means, then anybody and everybody will respond to your comments with kids gloves on.

So GSP or Anderson Silva aren't P4P contenders because they wouldn't fight Lesnar or Fedor? Riiiiiight.

MMA fighting and hockey fights are two different things and its laughable somebody would try and compare the two. Silva is p4p the best fighter in MMA and has fought at different weight classes proving he is. He has also gone on record saying he would love to fight Mir, a heavy, so right there, you fail.

But its funny and cute even that trying to compare Rypien, somebody who weighs less than Patrick Kane laugh who is only staying in the NHL for his willingness to fight in hockey games to professional fighters who have trained themselves for decades on how to defend themselves and hurt others is laughable, to say the least.

Your argument about weight classes only gives more weight to the case for Rypien. He isn't protected like Silva and GSP by weight restrictions.

But he is allowed to pick and choose himself who he will fight, and when the best fighters weight 50 plus pounds more than Rypien, he isnt facing the quality NHL fighters, but a lesser skilled quantity. He is running from the Laraques and Boogys, and getting sonned completely off the ice by mid level fighters such as Neil, Eager, and Prust.

With the laughable MMA comparison, if Silva was fighting scrubs every other fight, would he still get the best p4p tag? Nope.

Of course, it's quite obvious when you say "beaten down" that you really have no intention but to troll, because unless you are legally blind, you can't actually think that.



Bahahaahaha

Calling it like I see it is my opinion.
Rypien was beaten down by Neil, Eager, and Prust. And the funny thing is, in a p4p arguement, the only people offering up excuses for him are his fanbois, and for any p4p arguement, there should be no need for an excuse. Rypien fans have a novels worth of pre-written excuses for the guy after each and every failure he has, which I have noticed have become alot more regularly lately. Rypien fans restricted him from the get go and then mother hen him when he fails, as in lately the Neil fight. He was beaten, easily, then the excuses started flying and the spinning.

Doesnt work that way, well, not for p4p the best fighter in the NHL.

 

[FruityPants3*]

It's cool, hip and edgy that you like to use the word sonned, but if you weren't being completely disingenous, you would recognize he didn't lose any of those fights badly. Most recently, Neil was a slight victory at best, and anyone without a complete bias will recognize that.

The problem is you are in the wrong thread. You want to have an argument about who is the toughest, most feared, badass fighter in the league. Well, that thread should have absolutely no mention of Rypien. He isn't in that category. He belongs in this thread, which is a discussion of P4P, aka, all things being equal (weight), who is the best fighter? You simply seem to have no respect for people who weigh less than 200 lbs, as if they are somehow automatically bad fighters, and technique and skill means nothing.

You can laugh all you want about the MMA or boxing comparisons, because, conveniently, they break apart your "argument," but unfortunately, they are the ONLY relevant ones to a discussion about fighting. You can make a legitimate argument for Boogard being the best P4P fighter, but people will always point to his huge weight advantage. Just like Brock doesn't get mentioned, but GSP, Silva and Fedor do. And since Silva walks around 220lbs, your dismissive comment about Mir is also absurd.

Your last paragraph illustrates, once again, why you simply don't comprehend P4P. GSP is world class, but you put him in the ring with Lesnar and he gets broken. Does this mean GSP is not a good fighter? Gross weight differentials are not an excuse, they are a fact you simply cannot ignore.

 

[BoHorvatFan]

Rypien is a sideshow, circus act, gong show, etc.

He is a useless hockey player who only cares about his little boxing matches that have nothing to do with the game.


We all get it. When he wins he's the best fighter ever, when he loses it's because he's small.

Im sick of the guy and I hope we can trade him for somebody who can play hockey.

 

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk*]

Rypien is a sideshow, circus act, gong show, etc.

He is a useless hockey player who only cares about his little boxing matches that have nothing to do with the game.


We all get it. When he wins he's the best fighter ever, when he loses it's because he's small.

Im sick of the guy and I hope we can trade him for somebody who can play hockey.

Just because he isnt on the powerplay, doesnt mean he is useless. He hustles, hits, shows defensive awareness, and can fight. It has a purpose, something you post lockout fans probably wouldnt understand.

But hey, if you would prefer to have Miroslav Satan or Ville Leino on your 4th line, then trade him. Preferably to the Flyers, because I would love to see him in the O&B.

 

[Canucks5551]

Rypien is a sideshow, circus act, gong show, etc.

He is a useless hockey player who only cares about his little boxing matches that have nothing to do with the game.


We all get it. When he wins he's the best fighter ever, when he loses it's because he's small.

Im sick of the guy and I hope we can trade him for somebody who can play hockey.

Rypien is a useful energy player. If anyone in our bottom 6 should be dropped it's Hordichuk. His skating and defensive awareness aren't even in Rypien's league.

 

[CanadiensFan1321]

Hes good, but not the very best.

 

[Minirex22*]

He's definetely top 5 that's for sure.

 

[The Overseer*]

sonned

what an idiotic word.

 

[RJC]

neil vs rypien round 2 is a draw imo

 

[BIG]

I guess you could call it a draw, Neil did more damage though.

 

[SilverSeven]

Neil ripped his face up. Had to go to the room with a sore arm though.

 

[HoverCarle*]

Draw, with a slight edge to Neil maybe.

Good long fight

 

[JerkChicken]

Neil ripped his face up. Had to go to the room with a sore arm though.

With his fingernails...


Rypien definitely landed more shots, Neil landed heavier ones.

Great fight regardless. Both of these guys will take a punch to give one - love it!

 

[Canucks LB]

Close fight, arguably could go both ways.

 

[lakings67]

Close fight, arguably could go both ways.

No Way 15 jabs do NOT equal 7+ power punches.even in boxing.Neil crushed him and it would have been way worse if the refs didn't jump in.anyone that states different needs to rewatch it or give up.

 

[kammyBlazer*]

^ either all of you are on crack, or you didn't watch the same fight. Rypien smoked Neil and it wasn't close.

 

[The Expert]

^ either all of you are on crack, or you didn't watch the same fight. Rypien smoked Neil and it wasn't close.

Joke poster?

Draw at best, not hard to give Neil an edge though for the damage he did to Rypien's face.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Lots of polarized opinions...

Entertaining scrap. I'd probably call it a draw, with an admitted homer-edge to Rypien. Yeah he had a cut, but I think he landed more punches.

 

[The Expert]

Lots of polarized opinions...

Entertaining scrap. I'd probably call it a draw, with an admitted homer-edge to Rypien. Yeah he had a cut, but I think he landed more punches.

Punches that did nothing.

No offense to Rypien, he's a quick puncher for sure, but he throws muffins. It showed as the fight wore on, Neil's punches were about twice as strong.

I could see a draw, because Ripper had a good start, but just can't see an edge for him. Neil landed much better punches, and it showed on Rypien's face.

Great fight though, a bit closer than their last one.

 

[Ace of Canucks]

Punches that did nothing.

No offense to Rypien, he's a quick puncher for sure, but he throws muffins. It showed as the fight wore on, Neil's punches were about twice as strong.

I could see a draw, because Ripper had a good start, but just can't see an edge for him. Neil landed much better punches, and it showed on Rypien's face.

Great fight though, a bit closer than their last one.

Cam Janssen's nose would like to disagree.

 

[Garl]

Kocur knew how to throw all his weight into each and every bomb he threw and had very heavy hands, he still would have been easily beaten by a well trained boxer

In a boxing ring? Sure. In a street fight? No way.