Name the greatest boxer in the history of the sport ?
19 August 2008, 08:47 AM
#31
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Ali of course..
With mentions for Leonard, Hagler, Duran & Frasier. And at a stretch Lewis.
I don;t think we will ever see an era in boxing like we had in the 70's/80's again. We were spoiled with a wealth of taleant and far less politics.
With mentions for Leonard, Hagler, Duran & Frasier. And at a stretch Lewis.
I don;t think we will ever see an era in boxing like we had in the 70's/80's again. We were spoiled with a wealth of taleant and far less politics.
19 August 2008, 01:12 PM
#35
Best fight/heart for me was Calzaghe when he beat that fella with basically one arm (Evans Ahira)... fecking awesome! Also longest reigning champion currently!
I think the term best is hard to say probably Ali but on the Lewis front he may have lost twice but then beat them both in rematches one of only a couple of fighters to do that I was told by the time they retired.
I think the term best is hard to say probably Ali but on the Lewis front he may have lost twice but then beat them both in rematches one of only a couple of fighters to do that I was told by the time they retired.
Last edited by PantsUK; 19 August 2008 at 01:16 PM.
19 August 2008, 01:24 PM
#36
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Ali for me was not the greatest ( far from it) he just had a big mouth and was overated.
Tyson on his way up was devestating and was a fantastic enigma.
Ray Robinson was fantastic but then so is Floyd mayweather evenly.
its a tough one isnt it.
But then how can you forget Ray Leonard and Hagler.
frank Bruno isnt anywhere in there TBH
Tyson on his way up was devestating and was a fantastic enigma.
Ray Robinson was fantastic but then so is Floyd mayweather evenly.
its a tough one isnt it.
But then how can you forget Ray Leonard and Hagler.
frank Bruno isnt anywhere in there TBH
19 August 2008, 01:26 PM
#37
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I really wanted to speak to him but I'm sure he's sick to death of strangers asking for a chat, autographs etc.
Not telling you why I was in that department though
I was accompanied by my care worker so wasn't breaking my probation terms.BTW, I think Evander Holyfield, pound for pound, takes some beating!!!!!
Last edited by coolangatta; 19 August 2008 at 01:49 PM.
19 August 2008, 03:15 PM
#38
Pontificating
Whilst we are name dropping, I met Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1989 in Rio, a nice guy but suprisingly shorter than I expected, met him in a strip club, classy 
19 August 2008, 03:58 PM
#40
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Ali for me was not the greatest ( far from it) he just had a big mouth and was overated.
Tyson on his way up was devestating and was a fantastic enigma.
Ray Robinson was fantastic but then so is Floyd mayweather evenly.
its a tough one isnt it.
But then how can you forget Ray Leonard and Hagler.
frank Bruno isnt anywhere in there TBH
Tyson on his way up was devestating and was a fantastic enigma.
Ray Robinson was fantastic but then so is Floyd mayweather evenly.
its a tough one isnt it.
But then how can you forget Ray Leonard and Hagler.
frank Bruno isnt anywhere in there TBH
He beat the best around at the time, he made boxing the sport it is today (maybe not a good thing in some ways), he was sent to jail as the world champ and came back after 3 years to fight the then world champ foreman who at the time was akin to Tyson in his pomp. People thought Ali would be killed that night such was Foreman the favourite. If you watch the rumble in the jungle and see the way Ali beats him with not only the physical side of boxing but also the mental side of it I doubt you will find may experts who will disagree it was up there with any momentous moment in sport you wish to mention.
Yes Ali had the mouth but he sure backed it up! Boxing without Ali in it's history books just doesn''t bear thinking about.
19 August 2008, 05:12 PM
#43
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The puffy, leftie, sandal-wearing Guardian reader is correct!
19 August 2008, 05:24 PM
#45
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Anderson Silva. I would truly like to see a boxing match between a pro boxer and someone like Silva but using UFC 4-6oz gloves. Now that would be interesting
Simon
Simon
19 August 2008, 10:23 PM
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I watched on tv the first Eubank / Benn fight, in which Eubank won.
and have to say, Eubank was bloody amazing, and it was a good fight,
The rematch was on the other hand, appalling.
FB against Tyson, whilst we all really knew Tyson was at that time
unstoppable, we all wanted Frank to do it, and give him his due, he slowed
Mike a few times with if i recall "a kick like a f*cking mule"
Mart
and have to say, Eubank was bloody amazing, and it was a good fight,
The rematch was on the other hand, appalling.
FB against Tyson, whilst we all really knew Tyson was at that time
unstoppable, we all wanted Frank to do it, and give him his due, he slowed
Mike a few times with if i recall "a kick like a f*cking mule"
Mart
20 August 2008, 09:14 AM
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I forgot to mention Larry Holmes. WHo without doubt is one of the greatest. This is a man who went 49 fights undefeated, in an era with Ali, Frasier, Norton, etc. The fact that he effectively retired Ali, meant that he was never forgiven, nor given his due.
20 August 2008, 09:50 AM
#51
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I think Tyson changed the sport at Heavyweight level. There had been plenty of lumbering old fatties making a nice living out of doing very little until he came along. Suddenly they were faced with a brutal young animal, who just seemed to enjoy hitting people as often and as hard as possible, which quite rightly scared the hell out of them and intimidated them before they even stepped into the ring. It was almost as if he was a monster that had been created in a laboratory by a mad scientist with sticking-up hair (someone like Don King for example!).
Sadly he was out of control and ill-advised outside of the ring as well, so he never got to dominate the sport for as long as he should have, which let in a new generation of wannabes to pick up where he left off. IMHO none of them have ever matched Tyson at his young best. His wiki page gives you an idea:
"Fighting frequently in his first two years as a professional, Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights by knockout--16 in the first round" and "at the age of 20 years and 4 months (he) became the youngest heavyweight champion in history"
Sadly he was out of control and ill-advised outside of the ring as well, so he never got to dominate the sport for as long as he should have, which let in a new generation of wannabes to pick up where he left off. IMHO none of them have ever matched Tyson at his young best. His wiki page gives you an idea:
"Fighting frequently in his first two years as a professional, Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights by knockout--16 in the first round" and "at the age of 20 years and 4 months (he) became the youngest heavyweight champion in history"
20 August 2008, 10:00 AM
#52
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I think Tyson changed the sport at Heavyweight level. There had been plenty of lumbering old fatties making a nice living out of doing very little until he came along. Suddenly they were faced with a brutal young animal, who just seemed to enjoy hitting people as often and as hard as possible, which quite rightly scared the hell out of them and intimidated them before they even stepped into the ring. It was almost as if he was a monster that had been created in a laboratory by a mad scientist with sticking-up hair (someone like Don King for example!).
Sadly he was out of control and ill-advised outside of the ring as well, so he never got to dominate the sport for as long as he should have, which let in a new generation of wannabes to pick up where he left off. IMHO none of them have ever matched Tyson at his young best. His wiki page gives you an idea:
"Fighting frequently in his first two years as a professional, Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights by knockout--16 in the first round" and "at the age of 20 years and 4 months (he) became the youngest heavyweight champion in history"
Sadly he was out of control and ill-advised outside of the ring as well, so he never got to dominate the sport for as long as he should have, which let in a new generation of wannabes to pick up where he left off. IMHO none of them have ever matched Tyson at his young best. His wiki page gives you an idea:
"Fighting frequently in his first two years as a professional, Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights by knockout--16 in the first round" and "at the age of 20 years and 4 months (he) became the youngest heavyweight champion in history"
As for being an Animal, Foreman did that, and better, long before Tyson.
Tyson was awesome, no doubt, but like Lennox Lewis, he did it an Era where there were no real world class fighters.
20 August 2008, 10:16 AM
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20 August 2008, 01:54 PM
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20 August 2008, 02:07 PM
#57
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Seeing as Lewis and Holyfield fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship, the "Pound for pound" point is a but redundant.
Of course Holyfield was a very good boxer - But I'm not sure he is in the top 10 heavyweights ever, let alone top ten boxers ever.
20 August 2008, 02:21 PM
#58
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Pound for pound applies when talking about different weigth divisions. Example, Manny Paquero is one of the greatest pound for pound boxers out there, but a Heavyweight would murder him.
Seeing as Lewis and Holyfield fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship, the "Pound for pound" point is a but redundant.
Of course Holyfield was a very good boxer - But I'm not sure he is in the top 10 heavyweights ever, let alone top ten boxers ever.
Seeing as Lewis and Holyfield fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship, the "Pound for pound" point is a but redundant.
Of course Holyfield was a very good boxer - But I'm not sure he is in the top 10 heavyweights ever, let alone top ten boxers ever.
As I said 'pound for pound' he was, and is, one of the best.
Holyfield record;
42 wins (27 KO)
9 losses (2 KO)
2 draws.
And BTW his first fight against Lewis was a draw, according to the judges. Not that I trust their judgement.
Last edited by coolangatta; 20 August 2008 at 02:41 PM.
20 August 2008, 02:26 PM
#59
Ali was good in his earlier guise as Cassius Clay, but he was more a showman than a boxer.
Tyson was nothing more than a thug, I'd rate him at the bottom of my list.
Most of the boxers I've read about so far in this topic have all been relatively recent.
For me, the greatest has to be Joe (The Brown Bomber) Louis. He held his world heavyweight title for 11 years, and successfully defended it 25 times. In 2003, "Ring Magazine" named him No.1 on its 100 greatest punchers of all time list. In 2005, he was named as the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organisation.
Although he had retired from the ring in 1949, he made a comeback in 1951 due to mounting debts to the IRS. He finally retired for good after being defeated in the eighth round by Rocky Marciano. (he'd be 2nd on my list)
Tyson was nothing more than a thug, I'd rate him at the bottom of my list.
Most of the boxers I've read about so far in this topic have all been relatively recent.
For me, the greatest has to be Joe (The Brown Bomber) Louis. He held his world heavyweight title for 11 years, and successfully defended it 25 times. In 2003, "Ring Magazine" named him No.1 on its 100 greatest punchers of all time list. In 2005, he was named as the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organisation.
Although he had retired from the ring in 1949, he made a comeback in 1951 due to mounting debts to the IRS. He finally retired for good after being defeated in the eighth round by Rocky Marciano. (he'd be 2nd on my list)
20 August 2008, 03:14 PM
#60
From what I gather, if they were not on telly they don't get a mention.
Well here's a few names from the past to consider;
James (Gentleman Jim) J. Corbett, who beat John L. Sullivan, and was considered by many to be the father of modern boxing.
A few other names such as Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack Dempsey, Sonny Liston, Rocky Graziano. There's loads more.
Well here's a few names from the past to consider;
James (Gentleman Jim) J. Corbett, who beat John L. Sullivan, and was considered by many to be the father of modern boxing.
A few other names such as Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack Dempsey, Sonny Liston, Rocky Graziano. There's loads more.