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In regards to Benny Leonard, I don’t understand how you guys can judge a fighter based on grainy, black and white highlight videos and just certain “rounds” or 1 or 2 full fights. When I see all the footage I can see of Benny Leonard, I see nothing special. Also in his career, from 1910s to 1930s or so, there was the same competition over and over again: White men. All I see is a bunch of dudes who fight exactly like Ben Askren. It’s like Ben Askren vs Ben Askren, with an occasional Jake Paul thrown in there, who crushes the Ben Askren’s of that time.
I understand that giving props to the pioneers of American boxing, back when it was mostly White men, shows a fan in good light. But man, if you don’t actually know a guy’s career, or you have not watched the majority of his fight…it’s okay to just say you don’t know. It’s okay to not mention them or give them any props.
A big issue with some people is that they are ashamed of not knowing, so they follow. Like man, I don’t know how good Benny Leonard was, I can’t tell from limited footage, and I can’t tell from biased journalism, and I can’t tell without their being ample, diverse competition like now. Benny Leonard never had to cross paths with a Armstrong, Duran, Whitaker, Mayweather, Pacquiao, SRL, Lomachenko, etc. Idk how he could be placed as a top 10 when his competition were all mostly white men.
It’s like naming Jerry West as better than Magic Johnson (no one in their right mind would do this) because West has like almost 10k points on Magic. Not taking into account that Magic Johnson’s Lakers had to face much stiffer, diverse opposition. West’s opponents were mostly other White men. In boxing, opposition doesn’t matter. Does he have 100-200 fights, limited footage and came from an era of mostly White boxers? Okay, he is a top 10 boxer of all time. His fellow White journalists, reporters, and historians say so. Must be true.
I understand that giving props to the pioneers of American boxing, back when it was mostly White men, shows a fan in good light. But man, if you don’t actually know a guy’s career, or you have not watched the majority of his fight…it’s okay to just say you don’t know. It’s okay to not mention them or give them any props.
A big issue with some people is that they are ashamed of not knowing, so they follow. Like man, I don’t know how good Benny Leonard was, I can’t tell from limited footage, and I can’t tell from biased journalism, and I can’t tell without their being ample, diverse competition like now. Benny Leonard never had to cross paths with a Armstrong, Duran, Whitaker, Mayweather, Pacquiao, SRL, Lomachenko, etc. Idk how he could be placed as a top 10 when his competition were all mostly white men.
It’s like naming Jerry West as better than Magic Johnson (no one in their right mind would do this) because West has like almost 10k points on Magic. Not taking into account that Magic Johnson’s Lakers had to face much stiffer, diverse opposition. West’s opponents were mostly other White men. In boxing, opposition doesn’t matter. Does he have 100-200 fights, limited footage and came from an era of mostly White boxers? Okay, he is a top 10 boxer of all time. His fellow White journalists, reporters, and historians say so. Must be true.
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