Could Ike Turner have become a Heavyweight Champion ?

[Caractacus]

It always sounded to me like his background (born 1931 in Clarksdale Mississippi) was sort of like Sonny Liston's.
he also looked kind of intimating I think when I use to watch him on TV back in the day
(1960's and 1970's)
suppose he had taken up boxing gloves instead of piano or guitar ?
How good may have he become ?

[Counter-puncher]

It always sounded to me like his background (born 1931 in Clarksdale Mississippi) was sort of like Sonny Liston's.
he also looked kind of intimating I think when I use to watch him on TV back in the day
(1960's and 1970's)
suppose he had taken up boxing gloves instead of piano or guitar ?
How good may have he become ?

Could he swim well?

[punchoutsb]

It always sounded to me like his background (born 1931 in Clarksdale Mississippi) was sort of like Sonny Liston's.
he also looked kind of intimating I think when I use to watch him on TV back in the day
(1960's and 1970's)
suppose he had taken up boxing gloves instead of piano or guitar ?
How good may have he become ?

Could he swim well?

How many points could he score in a single basketball game?

[Kalan]

I'll answer those 3 questions... Not too good... No very well... and about 5 if he ever made a college team.. 3 free-throws out of 4 and an uncontested layup.

[Bodyshot3]

Well he beat the living shite out of Tina.....so maybe he should have tried his hand in the ring and actually taken a few hard punches back from a guy his own size, rather than just being a lousy wife-beater.

Sorry - good/interesting question about his background and all that - but definitely not an Ike fan.

[afcpaul]

He could belt out a tune.........
Have a listen to - across 110 street.

[Counter-puncher]

He could belt out a tune.........
Have a listen to - across 110 street.

I thought that was bobby Womack?

[afcpaul]

He could belt out a tune.........
Have a listen to - across 110 street.

I thought that was bobby Womack?

Arrrrrrrrr. Its been a long day !!!.

[Tuan_Jim]

Ike was a music genius. Had Tina not thrown herself at him she'd still be sweeping floors in Nutbush, rather than living in a Swiss castle.

The double standards are astonishing. Numerous icons have their wife beating antics conveniently ignored while Ike is forever demonised.

[HyacinthusTurnipseed]

Is this just another "Wilt vs Ali" parody thread? If not Ike was all of 5ft 7 and made of pipe cleaners. Looks more like a featherweight to me, certainly not a heavyweight or any where near (compare pictures of Ike stood next to Ed Sullivan and Ed Sullivan next to Muhammad Ali for reference).

Being mean, determined, hard-working, full of self-belief and nasty are all qualities that might have helped him do well if boxing had been something he had chosen to pursue, but who knows? Such an angular, slender face might not hold up to the duress of regular high-level fighting.

As for being a wife beater, it is certainly worthy of severe condemnation and worse, but doesn't adversely affect his in-ring chances of success at all - see SRR, Monzon etc etc.

If you're looking for potential heavyweight champions from the world of 50's / 60's R'n'B the late Otis Redding might be a better bet. Over 6ft and 200lbs and quite good at fighting apparently. A kindly face but he does look like you wouldn't want to end up the wrong side of him.

[Kalan]

Yeah Otis could have made a ring career work... Also a much better singer than Ike.

[BoxBuzz]

Even better than Wilson Pickett. Perhaps the greatest soulful voice of all time.

Not sure you would agree, but he could sing circles around Wilt Chamberlain.

[gilgamesh]

No

He'd have been having to fight men.

[Caractacus]

I remember sometime around 1974-1975 Muhammad Ali seemed to mention that maybe Levi Stubbs (of the 4 Tops may have been a pretty good fighter).

[elmersalsa]

Even better than Wilson Pickett. Perhaps the greatest soulful voice of all time.

Not sure you would agree, but he could sing circles around Wilt Chamberlain.

Wilt was a better singer.

[gilgamesh]

Boy that Wilt Chamberlain sh*t just never gets old.

[elmersalsa]

Boy that Wilt Chamberlain sh*t just never gets old.

Yeah, thanks to some posters.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Boy that Wilt Chamberlain sh*t just never gets old.

Yeah, thanks to some posters.

Like you?

[elmersalsa]

Boy that Wilt Chamberlain sh*t just never gets old.

Yeah, thanks to some posters.

Like you?

Not like me. I don't talk about Wilt Chamberlain much. Only if it's NBA basketball. How about you?

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Yeah, thanks to some posters.

Like you?

Not like me. I don't talk about Wilt Chamberlain much. Only if it's NBA basketball. How about you?

I just noticed you talking about him in your previous post.

[Kalan]

Speaking of Wilt Chamberlain... He said he loved music and loved to sing---but not when people were around.. He was shy about his singing voice.. He knew people handed out complements that weren't sincere, especially to guys like him.. He said he only sang in the shower, when he was driving by himself, or working alone -- for his own entertainment and amusement like most "singers".. We all do that.. It's too easy to listen to the world's best singers when you throw parties and stuff.. He had a deep bass singing voice and so it wasn't conducive to singing a lot of popular songs or the music he liked best anyway.. He could sing The Ballad of John Henry... Sixteen Tons... North to Alaska... Sink the Bismarck... and stuff like that, so there wasn't a really great selection for a voice as low as his.

He would've needed 6 months of voice training to sing pro -- and it would've cut into other things he was doing. However he was serious about Boxing Ali

[gilgamesh]

I love how you think it only takes 6 months to become an expert at anything. If that were the case we'd live in a world full of Olympians and Doctors and Movie Stars and Rock Stars who all put in their 6 months, and there'd be no average joe's to be found because everybody would've had 6 months to become truly great at something that would make them a star.

[BoxBuzz]

Boy that Wilt Chamberlain sh*t just never gets old.

stop judging, your stern attitude could have an ill affect on the more delicate flowers of the forum.....

[punchoutsb]

I love how you think it only takes 6 months to become an expert at anything. If that were the case we'd live in a world full of Olympians and Doctors and Movie Stars and Rock Stars who all put in their 6 months, and there'd be no average joe's to be found because everybody would've had 6 months to become truly great at something that would make them a star.

It's amazing how little he shows himself to know about almost anything he talks about. It's like he has no idea what it takes to accomplish even a fraction of the stuff he talks about.

[Kalan]

I love how you think it only takes 6 months to become an expert at anything. If that were the case we'd live in a world full of Olympians and Doctors and Movie Stars and Rock Stars who all put in their 6 months, and there'd be no average joe's to be found because everybody would've had 6 months to become truly great at something that would make them a star.

You're putting all prospects, students, soldiers, and apprentices in the same basket... Some people are quick studies -- some never learn... If you want to be a Navy Seal very badly, chances are you still won't make it.. If you want to be an Olympian very badly it doesn't guarantee you'll make it.

It all depends on how much God given talent you have for a whatever science, art, craft, or skill you're trying to master.. There are natural actors... natural athletes... natural dancers... natural story tellers... natural musicians... natural leaders... natural speakers... natural singers... natural models... natural artists... and natural poets... natural boxers... Some people are not good with plants and gardening but people with green thumbs can make anything grow and flourish.. Have you ever heard of a born fighter?

A elite boxing trainer can teach a kid with outstanding athleticism, a boxer's brain, and tremendous enthusiasm and massive desire to learn, more in a week than a kid who's father wants him to box, but lacks the athleticism, confidence, desire, and raw intelligence for it can learn in a year... If a kid is already an outstanding athlete who's competed at a very high level in other sports---and if he takes to Boxing like a duck to water---his chances of being an outstanding boxer are greatly enhanced.

Take Amir Khan.. He's been a World Champion and ostensibly has a lot of talent for Boxing -- and he has fair talent -- yet he can't pick up on things a boxer needs to learn to be truly elite.. He doesn't move his head well or slip and duck punches with true mastery. He lacks the innate instincts for it.. Errol Spence sees the punches coming, gets under them and counters with techniques he's been taught -- while Khan was hit with loaded shots 5 years ago by Danny Garcia and he's still getting hit because the radar and instincts aren't there.. So just because a kid looks fast and sharp and cuts a good figure in boxing trunks, doesn't tell you about his vision, timing, natural instincts, coolness under fire, raw intelligence, or his facility to improvise in a fraction of a second if he has to.. Like the saying goes. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.