There are even bits of trivia introduced. In the round referees Mills Lane and Richard Steele keep the action honest. Hit too many times below the belt and either one will either warn you verbally or make a call to the judges to deduct a point. If you play with the corner cut scenes activated, your cornermen provide positive reinforcement and strategy. In the ring, punches land with realistic sound thuds.
Body shots generate a grunt from the victim.
With more action, the crowd gets into it and cheers lavishly. If you lay off the punches for even a short time, though, the crowds turns against the boxers and starts to boo. I can't believe it. Aside from Madden, every other EA released game has shortchanged PS2 owners. Plenty of options have been removed from the PSX versions of the games on their way to the PS2.