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I always felt like we use this distinction to mark the archetype more than the fighter per se: On the one hand we have Robinson, who could do everything... he was well ordered, methodical, had natural gifts... Robinson was the consumation of what a pure boxing machine should be, when all the technology and talent came together... he was boxing's Apollo, the sun cometh out everyday, it goes back the same time... It sustains the systems that sustain human beings.
Yet some people feel the honor should go to, or at least be shared, by Hank Armstrong. Armstrong was relentless, a battering ram that pressed the talent out of opponents, a disorderly mess of bobbing head, punches at all angles, with no let up. No great innovation, no great speed, just pure unrelenting force applied consistently. Armstrong was our Dionysus... a disordered mess of pure bad intentions and fight, and woe to who had the keys to drive Dionysus home!
To me these two fighters best represent these two themes that make boxing a hybrid, not simply a sport. When we look at the ascent of a great fighter... there is always the challenge of the Brute Gilgamesh meets in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In that tale, Gilgamesh eventually embraces the brutish world of Enkidu, and realizes the human condition... Boxing is made complete the same way when a technical marvel like Jones, meets a sudden right hand that reminds one... there is another aspect of the game here... likewise for the brute, the Tyson, who is tamed by technical steps, followed through with perfection.
So Charles? Great fighter, def ATG. But there is a reason why the GOAT and the fighter usually credited with being either an alternative GOAT, or, even better... are such a stark contrast. And no matter how great a fighter is, he cannot be both: Apollonain, and Dionysian.
Yet some people feel the honor should go to, or at least be shared, by Hank Armstrong. Armstrong was relentless, a battering ram that pressed the talent out of opponents, a disorderly mess of bobbing head, punches at all angles, with no let up. No great innovation, no great speed, just pure unrelenting force applied consistently. Armstrong was our Dionysus... a disordered mess of pure bad intentions and fight, and woe to who had the keys to drive Dionysus home!
To me these two fighters best represent these two themes that make boxing a hybrid, not simply a sport. When we look at the ascent of a great fighter... there is always the challenge of the Brute Gilgamesh meets in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In that tale, Gilgamesh eventually embraces the brutish world of Enkidu, and realizes the human condition... Boxing is made complete the same way when a technical marvel like Jones, meets a sudden right hand that reminds one... there is another aspect of the game here... likewise for the brute, the Tyson, who is tamed by technical steps, followed through with perfection.
So Charles? Great fighter, def ATG. But there is a reason why the GOAT and the fighter usually credited with being either an alternative GOAT, or, even better... are such a stark contrast. And no matter how great a fighter is, he cannot be both: Apollonain, and Dionysian.
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