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Caesar's wife was accused of adultery. She was found to be truely innocent and Ceasar himself believed her. Then he divorced her. Asked why, he answered the above.
So how many HW Champions, when it comes to being accused of ducking can be said to be as pure as Caesar's wife? That is, never even accused.
Who where the true fighting champions? (No ducks.)
Sullivan: I believe he was; accusations about the color line pale (no pun intended) when mentioning Peter Jackson. Jackson hadn't battle his way into inevitably just yet.
Corbett: Does suffers from not fighting Peter Jackson. The fight was viable and Jackson had, by Corbett, earned a shot at the title. This was a color line duck.
Fitzsimmons: For a guy who fought damn near everybody, when HW Champion he was a disappointment. At the very least, a rematch with Corbett seemed proper. Otherwise he spent way too much time sitting on the title.
Jeffries: There seems enough talk that Johnson was ready for him in 1905 so it looks like another color line miss.
Burns: Fought everbody he could, so no ducks IMO.
Johnson: While the issue is contentious as hell, at least around here, I'm going to say he paradoxically drew the color line, so it's another color line miss.
Willard: It's difficult to assess. He ran into the war but was also always more interested in making side show $. More in the Fitzsimmons group. Maybe no ducks but not a fighting champ.
Dempsey: Harry Wills!
Tunney: Hard to judge when he retired so quickly but I think Sharkey had earned a shot. Is there such a thing as a 'retirement duck' if one stays retired?
Schmeling: I see no ducks on his record.
Sharkey: No ducks on his record.
Carnera: No ducks on his record.
Baer: No ducks on his record
Granted with some of these guys there was no one to duck; can't call them fighting champions no one could hold onto the title long enough.
Braddock: Has to be accused of ducking Schmeling.
Louis: No ducks on his record with 25 (26) defenses. The definitive fighting champ. You got to believe that his people Blackburn/Jacobs really believed in him.
Charles: No ducks I guess, just a bunch of Walcott fights. Can't say he was a fighting champion but you can't say he wasn't. Just too much Walcott.
Walcott: Short reign but went right to the guy at the top, Marciano. So no ducks.
Marciano: A fighting champion or do we say he ducked Valdez? (Remember Ceasar's wife must be above reproach.)
Patterson: Almost called a ducker but he eventually stood up to Liston, so in the end a fighting champion with no ducks.
Johansson: Who cares!
Liston: No ducks! Maybe didn't fight often enough.
Clay: Wanted to be a true fighting champion and at least as Clay he was. No ducks.
Frazier: No ducks I can think of.
Foreman I: No ducks.
Ali: Looks like he ducked both the Foreman rematch and the Norton rematch that was pending between the Leon Spinks fights.
Holmes: No ducks.
Spinks:
Tyson:
Douglas: No ducks. Taking Holyfield was probably the right thing to do next.
Holyfield:
Bowe:
Holyfield:
Moorer: Could have given Holyfield a rematch and probably would have. We'll never know.
Foreman II:
Lewis:
Klitschko:
Fury:
So how many HW Champions, when it comes to being accused of ducking can be said to be as pure as Caesar's wife? That is, never even accused.
Who where the true fighting champions? (No ducks.)
Sullivan: I believe he was; accusations about the color line pale (no pun intended) when mentioning Peter Jackson. Jackson hadn't battle his way into inevitably just yet.
Corbett: Does suffers from not fighting Peter Jackson. The fight was viable and Jackson had, by Corbett, earned a shot at the title. This was a color line duck.
Fitzsimmons: For a guy who fought damn near everybody, when HW Champion he was a disappointment. At the very least, a rematch with Corbett seemed proper. Otherwise he spent way too much time sitting on the title.
Jeffries: There seems enough talk that Johnson was ready for him in 1905 so it looks like another color line miss.
Burns: Fought everbody he could, so no ducks IMO.
Johnson: While the issue is contentious as hell, at least around here, I'm going to say he paradoxically drew the color line, so it's another color line miss.
Willard: It's difficult to assess. He ran into the war but was also always more interested in making side show $. More in the Fitzsimmons group. Maybe no ducks but not a fighting champ.
Dempsey: Harry Wills!
Tunney: Hard to judge when he retired so quickly but I think Sharkey had earned a shot. Is there such a thing as a 'retirement duck' if one stays retired?
Schmeling: I see no ducks on his record.
Sharkey: No ducks on his record.
Carnera: No ducks on his record.
Baer: No ducks on his record
Granted with some of these guys there was no one to duck; can't call them fighting champions no one could hold onto the title long enough.
Braddock: Has to be accused of ducking Schmeling.
Louis: No ducks on his record with 25 (26) defenses. The definitive fighting champ. You got to believe that his people Blackburn/Jacobs really believed in him.
Charles: No ducks I guess, just a bunch of Walcott fights. Can't say he was a fighting champion but you can't say he wasn't. Just too much Walcott.
Walcott: Short reign but went right to the guy at the top, Marciano. So no ducks.
Marciano: A fighting champion or do we say he ducked Valdez? (Remember Ceasar's wife must be above reproach.)
Patterson: Almost called a ducker but he eventually stood up to Liston, so in the end a fighting champion with no ducks.
Johansson: Who cares!
Liston: No ducks! Maybe didn't fight often enough.
Clay: Wanted to be a true fighting champion and at least as Clay he was. No ducks.
Frazier: No ducks I can think of.
Foreman I: No ducks.
Ali: Looks like he ducked both the Foreman rematch and the Norton rematch that was pending between the Leon Spinks fights.
Holmes: No ducks.
Spinks:
Tyson:
Douglas: No ducks. Taking Holyfield was probably the right thing to do next.
Holyfield:
Bowe:
Holyfield:
Moorer: Could have given Holyfield a rematch and probably would have. We'll never know.
Foreman II:
Lewis:
Klitschko:
Fury:
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