If you could take one athlete in any sport from the age of 9, to have the best chance of growing up to win the Heavyweight title, actually has a chance to be good, who would it be?
My first thought was taking a NFL football player, possibly the athletic freaks, like BO JACKSON :D
The guy has similar genes to Tyson, if not a little better...at 6'1, 222lbs by the time he entered college was incredible, he was a freak of nature:
It was said that he never lifted weights when he was young...when he went to college his coach told him to bench press...Bo didn't want to because he never lifted weights, nor did he care to...anyway, Bo had to, and he supposedly put up something like 375lbs the first time he lifted...after that of course, he didn't care to lift anymore...I think he didn't lift again until he got injured and tried to make his comeback.
I think he would have a good chance to have a great chin, great power, great speed, etc.
Many things to discuss about Bo, but I will let you guys pick.
Wilt actually challenged Ali to a fight. When Ali offered to let him have the entire purse just to have the chance to shut Wilt up, Chamberlain stopped talking about it. Obviously Ali would have killed him if Wilt's first fight was against Ali. I wonder though if a tremendous athlete like Wilt with his size could have become a great boxer.
SHit just think if TO was bread to be a boxer i think he would be a destroyer, with his cut and build and im sure great stamnia and speed he would be a force
** Jabber was not a fighter. He had to sucker punch Kent Benson to gain advantage over him. Keep in mind there are hundreds of thousands of athletes with enough physical talent to become heavy champ, but precious few with a fighter's chin, attitude, and instinct to fight.
Wilt would scatter today's NBA players with just his presence on the court. He was a very intimidating person and one of the strongest athletes ever. I've heard stories he could grab 2 normal sized men by the coat collars and pull them both a foot off the ground. They busted the mold when they made him.
....He was also very gentle and went out of his way not to be known as a bully though. If he was going to dunk and a guy got his arm in the way he would ease up. He always maintained that he didn't want to be perceived as someone who would bully others with his size and strength. By all accounts he was a very likeable guy as well. He got laid because of who he was as a professional athlete high profile guy, but most of those chicks wanted to fuck him because they liked him, and also because he had a 13 inch cock. :eek:
Correct^
Wilt Chimberlain. And Kareem Abdul Jabbar would be my other pick.
** Jabber was not a fighter. He had to sucker punch Kent Benson to gain advantage over him. Keep in mind there are hundreds of thousands of athletes with enough physical talent to become heavy champ, but precious few with a fighter's chin, attitude, and instinct to fight.
Wilt would scatter today's NBA players with just his presence on the court. He was a very intimidating person and one of the strongest athletes ever. I've heard stories he could grab 2 normal sized men by the coat collars and pull them both a foot off the ground. They busted the mold when they made him.
shaq might make a good fighter...huge but athletic
shaq from basketball, but i like ronnie lottwith a few more pounds in his day at hvy - remember when he got 1/2 his finger or something removede so he could play in the super bowl?
Bo Jackson and Jim Brown both come to mind.
What about a guy like Troy Polamalu? He is very strong and very explosive.
I'm skeptical about a lot of defensive linemen, keep in mind you have to go 12 rounds in boxing, it takes a lot of endurance. I've seen videotapes of Bob Sapp and that guy is very slow and there are a lot of heavyweights who can beat him.
Bo Jackson could have been world class in just about any sport. That Bo knows commercial was not just hype. Based on the way he bench pressed Brian Bosworth into the endzone on MNF, it is completely reasonable to believe that he benched 375 without training.
another one i'd believe to be a good fighter would be pittsburgh's joey porter. he's a manchild #1, and he's just very physically strong and tough.
http://media3.steelers.com/MediaContent/2005/01/31/07/04_NE2_Porter01_50435.jpg
i just have a sneaking suspicion that he'd know how to fight.
Wilt Chamberlain and Ali were within a whisker of signing to fight in the mid 60s. Cus D'amato had taken Chamberlain under his wing and was training him in private. Unlike most basketball pros, Chamberlain was a real athlete, also being an all-state highjumper and 400 meter man in Kansas besides a BBphenom.
Ali's people didn't want him fighting Wilt, and Wilt had some of his friends telling him not to do it. Lotsa stories floating around about why they didn't sign, but the contracts were all ready and they were in the same building, and I think it boiled down to Wilt thinking Ali was getting to much money and his ego boiled over.
It would've been interesting because Ali would have nobody to train with to prepare for Wilt, but Wilt could find a few fast handed or fleetfooted heavies to simulate Ali and more importantly, D'Amato had developed a special strategy, and needless to say he wasn't having Wilt bob and weave!
TOT
Wilt Ali
260 215 lbs
7-2 6-3 height
94 82 reach
16 est 12.5 fist
That's one of my points with BO...if you look at his past, when he was younger he was a "bad ass"...killed pigs with rocks...plus, like George Foreman, he went around beating up people to get their money because "I was hungry, I needed money for food"
Eddie George: 6'3, 235lbs of muscle...earned every yard...went to military school...From Philly :D
Who knows though...have to agree with some posts...you never know until the person is in a fight how they are going to react.
I think the only barometer besides athletic ability is just overall toughness and playing through adversity. Pick the toughest S.O.B.'s out there, put em in a ring with the right training....and they've got a great chance to kick some ass.
Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, Mark McGwuire, Barry Bonds, Brett Farve, Eddie George, and more.
Eddie George: 6'3, 235lbs of muscle...earned every yard...went to military school...From Philly :D
Who knows though...have to agree with some posts...you never know until the person is in a fight how they are going to react.
I think you're missing my point here. He CHOSE to be a boxer coz he knew he couldn't continue into the NFL after the injury. Bo couldn't either after he screwed up his leg.
I missed that, my fault :D
Still doesn't mean he had the ability once he got there to stay there...Even if you play college, there is a huge difference from college to Pro.
Bo did at least try to continue to play Pro baseball, but the hip injury was to much...the guy has a fake hip, that is toughness
Grant is still not Bo :D
20y ago
Pick a athlete in history that might have been able to be Heavyweight Champion | BoxingScene Community