With all the recent hype over whether Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the current pound-for-pound best boxer, I reminded myself today that neither one of them despite the pair’s impressive accomplishments in the ring is the best pound-for-pound best boxer ever. This is the point where Italian blog readers start screaming the name Rocky Marciano; you are wrong. Marciano admittedly was a beast in the ring, as well as notably the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. But he beat champions that were well past their prime. So quite frankly, Marciano doesn’t even make my top-ten list. Muhammad Ali is also not the best to lace the gloves up, but he is arguably the most recognized iconic sports figure in the world. The only fighter I ever thought had a chance to dethrone the best fighter ever was Mike Tyson; provided he had stayed on course. Unfortunately, personal demons and a prison stint ended what could have been a brilliant and near flawless boxing career. No man in boxing history was as feared by opposing foes as Mike Tyson was up until his first loss to Buster Douglas.
With that said, Sugar Ray Robinson pictured above with a career of 179 wins, 19 losses, 6 draws, 2 no contests, and a 109 KO’s is the best pound-for-pound boxer ever. You can take that to the bank. Neither Manny Pacquiao, nor Floyd Mayweather has accomplished enough to destroy that belief.
No comments:
Post a Comment