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OT: OT: 5 Favorite Boxers? The ones you wanted to watch every fight

ClifSpliffy

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growing up in a boxing culture family, man I got stories. as a kid, I was taught to box, cuz dad was taught to box, cuz grandad was taught to box, cuz great grandad was taught to box... the hooks go back to ww1, at least. I was never 'technically educated' (didn't care much about that)to form a legit opinion on who is better - I just liked certain personalities and styles. a couple/tree boxing stories. first, the manassa mauler. in the 1930s, two kids get on a train in Bridgeport, meeting for the first time, to go to school in Chicago. one is George Gunther, who subsequently became the longest serving legislator in the history of Connecticut, and one of us. instant best pals for life. they get a job in a hydrotherapy, 'shvitz bath' kinda place. 1930s Chicago, Capone, the whole scene. one day, some suits drag a wasted guy into the spa. they say 'youse gotta fix him up. he has a dinner tonite and can't even talk now.' the two run him thru a series of showers, steam, massage, etc. Dempsey comes back to life. on the way out he says thanks, then gives each of them a gold $20 coin (like a bazillion dollars at that time). next? ali. hearing the story a million times about how they sat around the radio listening to cassius clock liston in maine, I was tuned into muhammed. spring 1991, we go to AC to see foreman v holyfield, the one where some knuckleheads threw firecrackers during the fight. fights over, the crowd slowly rolls out of the arena, people standing around talking. cuz says 'hold up, there's ali! I gotta go meet him.' freaking scene outta a movie. cuz walks up a grand flight of stairs with muhammed at the top. we're watching. he shakes his hand, says a word or two, and comes back down. were all excited 'what's he like? what's he like?' cuz says 'he's gone. ain't nothing there. fried green tomatos.' sad. great dude. iron mike, late 90s, I think. we've been AC people also since ww1. staying at the Claridge (the "Connecticut casino') I was allowed to bring a friend along for that trip. we go out for a stroll, and end up at Caesars. walking into the newpaper/notions store, my bud gets excited, and whispers 'there Tyson!' by himself, and just buying some stuff, I fly up on him to say hi (I always liked that guy, he really knew how to clock his opponent), and reach out to shake his hand. now mr Tyson is not tall, and seeing him one could wonder 'how is this guy so tough?' the way my bud tells the tale, my face turned color. standing a good half foot taller than him, my hand disappeared in his. whoa. 'sir, yes. sir! nice to meet you!' lol. having seen almost none of the big names fight, except for that holyfield/foreman one, I can't really say who is better, but as far as the 'show,' I always liked the power of foreman and tyson, the skill of louis and dempsey, and all things ali. I hear that holmes was a moose, too. what's a 'bayone bleeder?' lol. the folks lived a life where that 'golden gloves' thing in ny was something like religion. I only got to watch bowery boys movies to get a taste.
 
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Doctor Hoop

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The robbery of Roy Jones Jr. in the Olympics was one of the most egregious decisions I've ever witnessed. Soured me totally on Olympic boxing. He was the best boxer I've seen since the younger Ali. Not the most power, not the most devastating puncher. Just the best.

Roy Jones Jr.
Muhammed Ali
Thomas Hearns
Evander Holyfield
Leonard - Duran - Hagler - Whittaker - Tyson --- dealer's choice
 

CL82

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1. Haines boxer briefs - Nothing fancy here, but like the combination of the longer legs plus the support and comfort of a brief makes this an easy choice for number 1. This is my go to boxer.

2. Land's End Broadcloth Boxer - a more traditional boxer, still comfortable but the lack of support drops them to number 2. I tend to go to these for more formal occasions. I have no idea why.

.... or were you talking about something else...

Rocky Marciano - Retired the undefeated champ. His professional record is 49 - 0 and of those 49 wins 43 were by knockout. In my opinion he is greatest of all time, but he is typically ranked in the top 5. If you have some time watch some of his fights. He was an incredibly powerful and durable fighter, notwithstanding the fact that he had the shortest reach of any champion. Watch the devastating shot the jaw he throws to take the title against Jersey Joe Walcott. Here's the set up. Walcott described Marciano as a puncher not a boxer before the fight and said he would not have much trouble with him. Walcott backed that up in the first round when knocked Marciano to the canvas. Late in the fight and well ahead on points Walcott had given up trying to knock the smaller Marciano out and was just staying away from him.


Walcott is out before he hits the ground. Just a devastating shot and one of many. Even Ali said he wasn't sure if he could have beaten him

Joe Frasier - You can argue that Ali won 1 more head to head, but I was rooting for Frasier at the time. I wasn't a fan of Ali's braggadocio, although I've come to appreciate it. Frasier was another powerful puncher with a reach disadvantage. Marciano used a unique shuffling/lunging style that both protected him and gave him his enormous power, Frasier just plodded forward into his opponent's punches absorbing multiple shots to give one back. He should have been a easy mark for the faster and smarter (in a boxing IQ sense) Ali. Yet their fights against each other are probably the best of all time. Well worth finding and watching. The damage they did to each other is stunning, almost Rocky movie-like. Neither were quite the same afterwards.

Muhammad Ali - He was a brilliant fighter. Although he is mostly remembered for his footwork and lightening like jab ("float like a butterfly, sting like a bee") he could land incredible shots. He just picked his moments to release them. As noted above, the Ali/Frasier super fights are probably the best matches of all time. Ali took an incredible beating in them and still had the courage to hang in there and punish Frasier. Ali probably threw 3 punches to every one of Frasier's. He could consistently reinvent himself because of his incredible speed and agility and intelligence. He's definitely one of the greatest of all time.

Sugar Ray Leonard - I prefer heavyweights but Leonard should be on everyone's list. He fought in 5 weight classes and won championships in the 3 and two Olympic golds. He is the epitome of a boxer, slipping punches and counter punching. A real pleasure to watch. He beat the best of the his time including Benitez and Duran. He lost to Duran in the first fight by decision. The rematch was the famous "no mas" fight. Making your opponent and rival quit is something out of a movie. Another very intelligent boxer.

Ray Boom Boom Mancini - Mancini was a lightweight who had caught the public's eye. His lighting quick combinations made him a very tough figher. He probably is best known for his fight against a Korean fighter Duk Koo Kim which ended in a TKO with Kim falling in a coma immediately after the fight and dying a few days later. Mancini was never the same after that. It reminds me a bit of the John Wayne movie The Quiet Man. I always felt for the guy.

Tie Ernie Shavers/George Foreman - I like these guys but not for their boxing necessarily. Foreman was a bully as a fighter when he was young. He won a gold medal and was a part of what I consider the golden years of boxing. He was a straight ahead powerful fighter who had won a gold medal. He took the title from Frazier, his size and reach being too much for Frazier to overcome. Ali ended up punking him in the Thrilla in Manila, using his "rope-a-dope" technique to save energy and cause Foreman to punch himself out. But his comeback years after retirement to take the championship was surprising and entertaining. His personality is hysterical so it earns a place on my list.

Shavers was a tough straight ahead fighter as well. He earns a spot because he was the original guy slated for the Mr. T role in Rocky III. Shavers tells the story of how Stallone wanted Shavers to throw a full power punch at him because he felt like all his training had made him fit enough to take it. Shavers kept refusing but finally threw a mid speed punch to Stallone's mid-section. Stallone went down like a ton a bricks and actually started crying. He said he never felt anything like it. It cost Shavers the role but earned him a piece of my number 5 spot.
 
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Arturo Gatti... 1-5. There isn't a fighter in the world I would want to watch fight more than Gatti.

Gatti was absolutely electrifying to the point you could get your target heart rate as a viewer after the first twenty seconds of the first round 90% of the time. You were on the edge-of-the-seat an hour before the fight started. In my opinion one of the most exhilarating boxers of all time.

 

ColchVEGAS

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Mike Tyson
Bernard Hopkins
GGG
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Tyson Fury
 

ClifSpliffy

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wasn't there some cuban guy back in the day who many thought was 'all that?' or do I have that wrong? heavyweight?
 
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Teofilo Stevenson? He had multiple Olympic golds. I don't remember if he ever went pro.
He looked like Ali's bigger younger brother.
Former Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson (R), a three-time world amateur boxing champion, greets ...jpeg
 
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They're like 24$ a piece but I got them I think 6/60 a few months ago, so keep an eye put for their frequent sales. Absolutely the best boxers/briefs I have ever owned.
 
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I'm an old fart so most of these were either Wide World of Sports or early HBO:

1. Ali (Boxing's Michael Jordan)
2. Roberto Duran (smaller Mike Tyson)
3. Alexis Arguello (so Masterful)
4. Thomas Hearns (fought Leonard too early)
5. Pernell Whitaker (Crafty as they come)

Honorable mention: Shoutout to Hector Comacho (flashy as hell, but backed it up)

Who you got?

These boxing threads always send me down a rabbit hole. I like your original list from an excitement, skill level and style standpoint that made them so interesting in so many different ways. So while we tend to be USA/Mexico centered here I looked for some South American names and noticed this guy. Still digging but here's a big fight story early in the career of Brazilian legend Eder Jofre.

 

XLCenterFan

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Tyson
Roy Jones Jr.
Klitschko
Macho Comacho
Lennox Lewis

Shout out Winky Wright!
Shout out Willy Pep!
And I own a Foreman Grill.
 
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1. Haines boxer briefs - Nothing fancy here, but like the combination of the longer legs plus the support and comfort of a brief makes this an easy choice for number 1. This is my go to boxer.

2. Land's End Broadcloth Boxer - a more traditional boxer, still comfortable but the lack of support drops them to number 2. I tend to go to these for more formal occasions. I have no idea why.

.... or were you talking about something else...

Rocky Marciano - Retired the undefeated champ. His professional record is 49 - 0 and of those 49 wins 43 were by knockout. In my opinion he is greatest of all time, but he is typically ranked in the top 5. If you have some time watch some of his fights. He was an incredibly powerful and durable fighter, notwithstanding the fact that he had the shortest reach of any champion. Watch the devastating shot the jaw he throws to take the title against Jersey Joe Walcott. Here's the set up. Walcott described Marciano as a puncher not a boxer before the fight and said he would not have much trouble with him. Walcott backed that up in the first round when knocked Marciano to the canvas. Late in the fight and well ahead on points Walcott had given up trying to knock the smaller Marciano out and was just staying away from him.


Walcott is out before he hits the ground. Just a devastating shot and one of many. Even Ali said he wasn't sure if he could have beaten him

Joe Frasier - You can argue that Ali won 1 more head to head, but I was rooting for Frasier at the time. I wasn't a fan of Ali's braggadocio, although I've come to appreciate it. Frasier was another powerful puncher with a reach disadvantage. Marciano used a unique shuffling/lunging style that both protected him and gave him his enormous power, Frasier just plodded forward into his opponent's punches absorbing multiple shots to give one back. He should have been a easy mark for the faster and smarter (in a boxing IQ sense) Ali. Yet their fights against each other are probably the best of all time. Well worth finding and watching. The damage they did to each other is stunning, almost Rocky movie-like. Neither were quite the same afterwards.

Muhammad Ali - He was a brilliant fighter. Although he is mostly remembered for his footwork and lightening like jab ("float like a butterfly, sting like a bee") he could land incredible shots. He just picked his moments to release them. As noted above, the Ali/Frasier super fights are probably the best matches of all time. Ali took an incredible beating in them and still had the courage to hang in there and punish Frasier. Ali probably threw 3 punches to every one of Frasier's. He could consistently reinvent himself because of his incredible speed and agility and intelligence. He's definitely one of the greatest of all time.

Sugar Ray Leonard - I prefer heavyweights but Leonard should be on everyone's list. He fought in 5 weight classes and won championships in the 3 and two Olympic golds. He is the epitome of a boxer, slipping punches and counter punching. A real pleasure to watch. He beat the best of the his time including Benitez and Duran. He lost to Duran in the first fight by decision. The rematch was the famous "no mas" fight. Making your opponent and rival quit is something out of a movie. Another very intelligent boxer.

Ray Boom Boom Mancini - Mancini was a lightweight who had caught the public's eye. His lighting quick combinations made him a very tough figher. He probably is best known for his fight against a Korean fighter Duk Koo Kim which ended in a TKO with Kim falling in a coma immediately after the fight and dying a few days later. Mancini was never the same after that. It reminds me a bit of the John Wayne movie The Quiet Man. I always felt for the guy.

Tie Ernie Shavers/George Foreman - I like these guys but not for their boxing necessarily. Foreman was a bully as a fighter when he was young. He won a gold medal and was a part of what I consider the golden years of boxing. He was a straight ahead powerful fighter who had won a gold medal. He took the title from Frazier, his size and reach being too much for Frazier to overcome. Ali ended up punking him in the Thrilla in Manila, using his "rope-a-dope" technique to save energy and cause Foreman to punch himself out. But his comeback years after retirement to take the championship was surprising and entertaining. His personality is hysterical so it earns a place on my list.

Shavers was a tough straight ahead fighter as well. He earns a spot because he was the original guy slated for the Mr. T role in Rocky III. Shavers tells the story of how Stallone wanted Shavers to throw a full power punch at him because he felt like all his training had made him fit enough to take it. Shavers kept refusing but finally threw a mid speed punch to Stallone's mid-section. Stallone went down like a ton a bricks and actually started crying. He said he never felt anything like it. It cost Shavers the role but earned him a piece of my number 5 spot.

First Mancini Bramble was the last fight I saw. He got cut in the first round. Face was hamburger when they stopped it in the 14th. Took over 70 stiches.
 

XLCenterFan

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The robbery of Roy Jones Jr. in the Olympics was one of the most egregious decisions I've ever witnessed. Soured me totally on Olympic boxing.
Couldn't agree more. Kind of soured me on many sports where the winner is "judged."
 
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These boxing threads always send me down a rabbit hole. I like your original list from an excitement, skill level and style standpoint that made them so interesting in so many different ways. So while we tend to be USA/Mexico centered here I looked for some South American names and noticed this guy. Still digging but here's a big fight story early in the career of Brazilian legend Eder Jofre.

Something about those latino boxers was fascinating to me. Many seemed to come out of poverty, and fought with a sense of streetwise, meaning boxing was their ticket and nothing else. They did not have the luxury of nice TV sets, comfortable beds, nice house and other amenities so many American boxers had. In other words these impoverished men seemed mean, hungry, and courageous. It was all about the fight and not the promotion (more $$).
 
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Pernell -- Hot take, I think Sweet Pea in his prime (as a light welterweight or welterweight) beats prime Mayweather

Tyson -- Guys 50 and older really underrate how scary good he was before the wheels fell off his personal life.
Pacquaio
Big George during the comeback -- wasn't anything special but hard to not root for him.
Leonard
 

Dove

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They're like 24$ a piece but I got them I think 6/60 a few months ago, so keep an eye put for their frequent sales. Absolutely the best boxers/briefs I have ever owned.
I wanted something different. These are great feeling briefs!
 
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You’re only allowed three great women in your lifetime
They come along like the great fighters, once every ten years
Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Lewis
Sometimes you get ‘em all at once
Me? I had my three when I was sixteen
That happens, what are you gonna do?
Maybe she’s your first great one
Thanks a lot, Sonny
I think I’m gonna go for one
Great movie.

 

Chin Diesel

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ESPNnews showing De La Hoya v Chavez followed by De La Hoya v. Whitaker right now.
 

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