The Most Intelligent Boxer

[Bombardier]

Most Intellectual - Gene Tunney

2nd place- Ali

Good picks, though I might put Ali as number one. Still, Tunney sometimes does not get enough credit for his wins over Dempsey. People focus on Dempsey's time off, the long count, etc. People forget that Tunney studied Dempsey's style and determined the best ways to beat him.

I'd put Rocky Marciano and Larry Holmes high on the list as well if we're talking about all-time fighters. I could listen to Holmes talk about boxing all day, and the clips from Rocky's old show are terrific.

[FibreOptic]

james toney may be smart but i just dont get what he is sayin

Sometimes, I can't understand the babble that comes out of James Toney's mouth.

[Chups]

Marco Antonio Barrera = boxing smarts + lawyer.

[FibreOptic]

Good picks, though I might put Ali as number one. Still, Tunney sometimes does not get enough credit for his wins over Dempsey. People focus on Dempsey's time off, the long count, etc. People forget that Tunney studied Dempsey's style and determined the best ways to beat him.

I'd put Rocky Marciano and Larry Holmes high on the list as well if we're talking about all-time fighters. I could listen to Holmes talk about boxing all day, and the clips from Rocky's old show are terrific.

Didn't Ali fail his military test and graduate at the bottom of his class? He even once said "I said I was the greatest, I didn't say I was the smartest."

[FibreOptic]

Marco Antonio Barrera = boxing smarts + lawyer.

MAB is a lawyer? I never knew that.

[BiggestBoxingFanEver]

Pictures of boxers with books are few and far between....

[pinaldino]

MAB is a lawyer? I never knew that.

yes that's one of the so called reasons of rivalry between him and el terrible , who comes from a poor background...

[Bombardier]

Didn't Ali fail his military test and graduate at the bottom of his class? He even once said "I said I was the greatest, I didn't say I was the smartest."

Ali may not have had school smarts but there's no denying his brilliance in and outside the ring. His ring smarts are well documented, with perhaps the most notable display of brilliant strategy coming against Foreman. Outside the ring he has proven to be a master showman and an amazing speaker, as was able to build himself up into a world figure as much with his mouth and with his fists.

Not everyone is smart the same way. I probably wouldn't ask, say, Nelson Mandela to solve complex quantum physics problems, for example, but he's still a brilliant man.

[Pno]

2 interesting suggestions..

Lennox Lewis - smart for retiring when he did.

Tommy Morrison - smart for teaching the children about promiscuous lifestyles and AIDS, once he was infected.

[Floydmayweather]

I would have to say Ali he was the best and playing mind games and winning his fight before it happened. He is also sharp outside of the ring.