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Not much of an argument from me, though I would have probably ranked Duran over SRL.
Pondering an all-time Top 10
By Kevin Iole
Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 1:00 pm EDT
I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s idolizing Muhammad Ali. And as much as it pains me to say this, "The Greatest" wasn't really the greatest.
The best boxer of all-time is Sugar Ray Robinson.
Robinson has wins over Hall of Fame members Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Carmen Basilio, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer and Fritzie Zivic.
It's a no-brainer to choose Robinson No. 1.
I've toyed with an all-time top 10 over the last few days, since I received so many requests from readers to do so.
My biggest problem is what to do with Rocky Marciano, the only man to retire as an unbeaten heavyweight champion.
When I was a teenager, my father and I would get into furious debates about Marciano, who weighed about 188 pounds at his peak. I insisted he could never handle a large and quick athlete like Muhammad Ali.
My father would get incensed at this, so much so I thought he'd foam at the mouth. And in my 20 years or so of writing boxing, I've seen that reaction from many other highly passionate Marciano supporters.
Right now, I'm thinking of Marciano as 10th on my all-time top 10.
Though this isn't a final list, I'm thinking of going with something like this as my choice for the 10 best fighters ever:
1. Sugar Ray Robinson
2. Henry Armstrong
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Joe Louis
5. Sugar Ray Leonard
6. Roberto Duran
7. Jack Dempsey
8. Benny Leonard
9. Julio Cesar Chavez
10. Rocky Marciano
I'm curious what you think of my placement of Marciano? I especially want to hear from those who actually saw him fight live. I've read so many stories about his legendary power, but I'd like to hear from those of you who may have been there.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts on Marciano's place in history as well as any of my tentative choices for my all-time top 10.
Pondering an all-time Top 10
By Kevin Iole
Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 1:00 pm EDT
I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s idolizing Muhammad Ali. And as much as it pains me to say this, "The Greatest" wasn't really the greatest.
The best boxer of all-time is Sugar Ray Robinson.
Robinson has wins over Hall of Fame members Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Carmen Basilio, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer and Fritzie Zivic.
It's a no-brainer to choose Robinson No. 1.
I've toyed with an all-time top 10 over the last few days, since I received so many requests from readers to do so.
My biggest problem is what to do with Rocky Marciano, the only man to retire as an unbeaten heavyweight champion.
When I was a teenager, my father and I would get into furious debates about Marciano, who weighed about 188 pounds at his peak. I insisted he could never handle a large and quick athlete like Muhammad Ali.
My father would get incensed at this, so much so I thought he'd foam at the mouth. And in my 20 years or so of writing boxing, I've seen that reaction from many other highly passionate Marciano supporters.
Right now, I'm thinking of Marciano as 10th on my all-time top 10.
Though this isn't a final list, I'm thinking of going with something like this as my choice for the 10 best fighters ever:
1. Sugar Ray Robinson
2. Henry Armstrong
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Joe Louis
5. Sugar Ray Leonard
6. Roberto Duran
7. Jack Dempsey
8. Benny Leonard
9. Julio Cesar Chavez
10. Rocky Marciano
I'm curious what you think of my placement of Marciano? I especially want to hear from those who actually saw him fight live. I've read so many stories about his legendary power, but I'd like to hear from those of you who may have been there.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts on Marciano's place in history as well as any of my tentative choices for my all-time top 10.
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