I started thinking about this when I had a discussion with my cousin about the lack of great heavyweight boxers. I argued that alot of guys that could make great boxers are playing other sports like basketball and football. Even though that's probably not true, It did make both of us think about other athletes that would make great boxers. Here is a list of guys I think if they grew up around the sport would make great pro-boxers
Allen Iverson 6-0 165-thats his walk around weight and he could easily drop to 147 or 140. He has ridiculously long arms and the quickest hands I have ever seen. He also has great footwork and stamina to go with his speed.
Chad Johnson 6-0 192- I could see him at middleweight and while he is very quick...the entertainment value from his press conferences alone would make him a star.
Charles Oakley 6-9 250-This dude was a beast in the NBA. Everyone was shook of his handskill (charles barkley said he would pop sh!t to everyone exept oakley). He was the Mike tyson of the NBA. He went around terrorizing other players around the league similar to the way suge knight bullies rappers in the music industry.
georges laraque HW 6-3 253 Hockey guy that loves to fight. He actually trains with boxers in the offseason.
donald brashear HW 6-2 220- the most feared guy in Hockey. Loves to fight and actually started off as a boxer until he realized how good he was at hockey.
Lebron James, he's 6'8" 250 lb with that athletic ability. That's amazing. He's a beast.
It's really hard to say though. Boxing is so different. Who knows what would happen once they got hit.
Hockey players would be good I would imagine. It takes great coordination to play that sport, and they are very tough.
Chad Johnson 6-0 192- I could see him at middleweight and while he is very quick...the entertainment value from his press conferences alone would make him a star.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/madthevillain/ChadJohnson.jpg
http://www.braggingrightscorner.com/williamsbeltwbo060708.jpg
Oh yeah, Rafa Nadal. Number 1 Tennis player in the world. You laugh, but check the guy out. Perfect mentality for fighting, highly tough and very athletic.
Except his left bicep is about 30% bigger than his right. All you'd have to do is stay away from his left, lol.
Jonu Lomu...........
yeah I said him, you couldnt even run away from him. too big, too fast.
But thinking about it, going by his passing in rugby he doesnt have great hands!
Isreal Falou - Melbourne Storm Rugby League player
Sonny Bill Williams former Cantabury Bulldogs RL player.
Both could have been great boxers.
Isreal is a beast, he's only about 20 isnt he?
Sonny Bill, dunno about a boxer, but overrated as a rugby player.
Just waiting for Bo Jackson to introduce his Fat grilling machine to us.
I know he deals with food so we'll see.
BO Quote:
"I'd like to share my past with you. Coming up, I was known as the little nappy-headed kid on the corner. In third grade I was so bad, I'd bully the sixth-graders." ~Bo Jackson
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1115225/index.htm
Some of the names mentioned already are great athletes but boxing is something different: "You can't try boxing; boxing is not a game like baseball, basketball or tennis. You have to have your mind made up to do whatever its going to take to be good." ~Tommy Hearns.
{HBO: Ring Life}
I've always thought Bo Jackson.
I'm not sure with some of the others, especially NBA guys.
Still a Big Guy even today:
http://switchfly.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/bo_knows.jpg
Roy Keane. Probably would get DQd in the first rd for 1000 illegal blows, but he'd be the one to walk out of the ring.
Eric Cantona. Balls of steel. Jumped into the crowd of 30,000 opposition fans to kick and punch the shit out of a fan who said something about his mum.
Duncan Ferguson. 6 months in jail for beating the shit out of 2 thieves who broke into his house.
Jonah Lomu. May God have mercy on whoever got in the ring with him. He'd scare the shit out of Tyson.
Paul O'Connell. about 6ft 8" of pure muscle, and a never say die attitude who will do anything to come out on top
Lebron is so athletically gifted he would have succeeded at any sport he chose.
If Bob Sapp focused on boxing from the start as opposed to football...then he would have been a monster at heavyweight.
Barry Sanders would have danced circles around Floyd or Whitaker or any other twinkle toed defensive boxer you could think of.