Greatest Boxer Ever?

[riggi]

I dont know that much about boxing although i love watching it and boxing myself. Ive been to see Audley Harrison get knocked out a few years ago and been to watch Prizefighter last year. Just wondering who you lot think is a league above the rest? Mohammed Ali? Mike Tyson? Sugar Ray Robinson? etc...

 

[riggi]

Watching some good stuff on youtube about Sugar Ray Robinson. He was abit before my time you see....

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[Cicada]

Joe Louis

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Certainly, in my lifetime, Ali.

Rocky Marciano would be up there too, never defeated. 49/49 and 43 were KOs.

 

[Jody]

Ali ranked SRR as the greatest.

 

[riggi]

There was a brilliant documentry on More 4 sometime ago called Thrilla in Manila. It showed Ali to be a bully, and was quite eye opening about the champ. Joe Frazier is clearly still haunted by Ali's harsh words, quite sad really.

 

[haxman]

Of those not named above, Lennox, Eubank, Sugar Ray Leonard, The Prince. They were all pretty amazing in their respective weights and times.

Hamed? Are you serious? He wasn't in the same league as any of the others. At genuine top world level he got shown up for the sham that he was.

Boxing is my 2nd favourite sport.

There are so many greats down the years and so many great rivalries.

Recent ones - Mayweather - unbeaten and seemingly getting better with age.

Pacquiao - if he's drug free, he's a phenomenon.

Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera - if you've never seen their first fight, watch it. The best fight I've ever seen live.

Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward - Both raw as hell, not very skillful but they had 3 great wars, again worth downloading and watching.

Eubank, Benn, Michael Watson - the golden era of British middleweight boxing imo.

And Hearns, Hagler, Leonard, and Roberto Duran, they had some great battles too.

I'm not old enough to remember Ali or Frazier or Foreman, but have seen a lot of their fights, and they were all brilliant too. It's really hard to call the greatest, Ali definitely is up there, Tyson would have been if he'd not lost the run of himself.

 

[dontcallme]

It's such a hard thing to judge. Many say Sugar Ray Robinson but this is partly because he was a great artist, in-ring innovator and entertainer. The skill and speed he had was breath-taking and he won the world titles at many different weights. I think it was around his 41st fight that he lost to Lamotta and I think Mayweather Jr is now 41-0.

Ali was obviously great and untouchable before getting the belt stripped and despite the losses very impressive to beat many of the guys he did after his comeback.

Joe Louis is obviously way before my time but still holds the record for longest reigning heavyweight champ of all time.

With so many different weights, different eras and different views on what is required to be the greatest I think it is impossible to pick just one. I have to go with what Tyson said and say the best you can hope for is to be considered to be among the greats, no one has a true claim.

Robinson, Ali and Louis are certainly among the top candidates.

 

[riggi]

Also, does anyone know of any boxing events that are coming up? I might be going to the Circus Tavern to watch a mate from school fight.

 

[riggi]

Does anyone think Khan has what it takes?

 

[TheChosenOne]

Tyson for the explosiveness and brute power but M.Ali for guile and finesse, plus his great pre-fight one-liners and jive talking. He fought a lot when I was a kid but back in them days we didn't have too much tv and the US fights were only on the radio in the middle of the night.

 

[haxman]

Does anyone think Khan has what it takes?

Yep - the Briedis Prescott defeat was the eye opener he needed. He was believing his own hype, then got his arse handed to him in 50 something seconds by a nobody. He's got no chin - you can't do much about that except work on defence, but if you can't take a punch you will get caught every now and again.

But he's got everything else, power, speed, accuracy and a really great trainer in Freddie Roach. He'll do ok.

 

[dontcallme]

Does anyone think Khan has what it takes?

To be among the top British boxers but unlikely to be among the greatest fo all time. Possible I guess.

 

[riggi]

Yep - the Briedis Prescott defeat was the eye opener he needed. He was believing his own hype, then got his arse handed to him. He's got no chin - you can't do much about that except work on defence, but if you can't take a punch you will get caught every now and again.

But he's got everything else, power, speed, accuracy and a really great trainer in Freddie Roach. He'll do ok.

Thats what i thought mate.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Thinking on there was a richness in the 70's and 80's for British boxers - Jim Watt, John Conteh and Alan Minter to name a few - all proper scrapper who took batterings along the way. I saw quite a few fight cards back then in the early 80's - a lot of ABA stuff at the old Wembley Arena. Frank Bruno must have only been 18 or 19 when I first saw him in the flesh - Not actually fighting but happened to be at one Wembley boxing night, he walked past me and "phew" What a presence ! Just an immense physique.

 

[riggi]

Noo, no one looks in this part of the forum :lol:.

 

[riggi]

Thinking on the was a richness in the 70's and 80's for British boxers - Jim Watt, John Conteh and Alan Minter to name a few - all proper scrapper who took batterings along the way. I saw quite a few fight cards back then in the early 80's - a lot of ABA stuff at the old Wembley Arena. Frank Bruno must have only been 18 or 19 when I first saw him in the flesh - Not actually fighting but happened to be at one Wembley boxing night, he walked past me and "phew" What a presence ! Just an immense physique.

My mum saw him jogging at the end of our road once :lol:.

Im gunna look up some of these fighters on youtube :up:.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Thinking on there was a richness in the 70's and 80's for British boxers - Jim Watt, John Conteh and Alan Minter to name a few - all proper scrapper who took batterings along the way. I saw quite a few fight cards back then in the early 80's - a lot of ABA stuff at the old Wembley Arena. Frank Bruno must have only been 18 or 19 when I first saw him in the flesh - Not actually fighting but happened to be at one Wembley boxing night, he walked past me and "phew" What a presence ! Just an immense physique.

Alan Minter once worked as a warehouseman in a brief job I had in Edmonton when I was in my teens. Nice guy, just beginning his pro career at the time.

 

[fieryjack]

There was a brilliant documentry on More 4 sometime ago called Thrilla in Manila. It showed Ali to be a bully, and was quite eye opening about the champ. Joe Frazier is clearly still haunted by Ali's harsh words, quite sad really.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118147/
Have a look at this film, even got James Brown on it. And a supporting cast of flares.

 

[riggi]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118147/
Have a look at this film, even got James Brown on it. And a supporting cast of flares.

Saw that yearsss ago, pretty good from what i remember. I love Ali with Will Smith, great film.