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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