Greatest Irish-American Fighter ever

[The Great John L]

Putting John L Sullivan on a par with Thomas Jefferson is a start.

That sounds perfectly logical to me.

[drunkenpiper36]

Gerry Cooney.


EDIT: I don't know

[Tomasino]

Gerry Cooney.


EDIT: I don't know

Much about boxing...

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Gerry Cooney.


EDIT: I don't know

Much about boxing...

LOL

[drunkenpiper36]

Gerry Cooney.


EDIT: I don't know

Much about boxing...

Ah. The voice of credibility....

[L.A. kidd]

im amazed, and puzzled. I never saw the name of the greatest fighter pound for pound
that ever lived. BILLY CONN. some say sugar ray robinson was the greatest pound for
pound. no way. did robinson ever fight heavyweights? that kid from Pittsburgh was the
greatest irish fighter in history.

[HomicideHenry]

im amazed, and puzzled. I never saw the name of the greatest fighter pound for pound
that ever lived. BILLY CONN. some say sugar ray robinson was the greatest pound for
pound. no way. did robinson ever fight heavyweights? that kid from Pittsburgh was the
greatest irish fighter in history.

I would of mentioned Conn... but in my view, it all depends on your view of what an Irish-American is. Far as I know of Conn was a multi-generation American of Irish descent. Not the same thing in my mind.

[L.A. kidd]

homicide, are you suggesting that in order to qualify for this thread, you have
to be born in Ireland? as I understand it both of conns grandparents were born in Ireland.
making him a full blown Irishman. as irish as gene tunney.

[HomicideHenry]

homicide, are you suggesting that in order to qualify for this thread, you have
to be born in Ireland? as I understand it both of conns grandparents were born in Ireland.
making him a full blown Irishman. as irish as gene tunney.

In my view, as long as it was someone's parents or grandparents, then you could identify as being an Irish-American. Any more than that, you're just an American of Irish descent. I mean hell, I am part Scotch-Irish-German-Gypsy-Native but do I claim to be a Scottish-American, Irish-American, German-American, etc. Hell no. Why? Because its so far removed that I have not a clue what it even means to be any of those things--- outside of the "Americanized" version, which usually involves beer, sausages and kraut, etc.

It reminds me of the 1980s... when talks of Coetzee/Holmes were in the air... and a reporter asked Coetzee how he felt about fighting an "African-American" (because Coetzee was from South Africa) and he wisely said: "The only African-American in that ring will be me," because lets face it the last slaves bought/sold out of Africa were in the 1860s. Factor in Genealogical societies, etc. the bare facts shows that less than 1/5th of blacks in America, actually come from African descent. So it is a rather liberal, if not ignorant, statement to call someone an African-American just because they are black.