BoxRec

We all have biases and try as we must, it is impossible or almost impossible to prevent our biases from affecting our judgement. With that being said who are your favorite boxers and why?

!) Muhammad Ali. Sports is entertainment as well as competition and the great ones can do both

2) Ray Robinson- He was fun to watch. He was so graceful in the ring.

3) Ray Leonard- We are about the same age so I got to watch his career as it unfurled. Great showman and fighter.

4) George Foreman- The way he wrecked a great fighter like Frazier and a near great fighter like Norton is impressive. He also seems like a nice man.

5) Lennox Lewis- I like the way he carries himself. As a boxer he wasn't always the most exciting but his right hand could break somebody's face.,

I suspect if I lived in Jack Johnson's era he would have been one of my faves too.

1) George Foreman

Power. Absolute power. Awe-inspiring stuff on film, at any age (particularly when young, though). He coupled this with a brilliant life & career story, & the fairytale return. The first fight I ever watched in my life was his knockout of Moorer, live, at age ten. I was instantly hooked on both him & the sport at large.

2) Oscar De La Hoya

The man had it all (to varying degrees) at one point. Power, killer instinct, finishing ability, speed, footwork, movement, & counter-punching. He's also struck me as a decent human being, something he is perenially accused of not being. There's something wrong with you as a fight fan, IMO, if you can't at least bring yourself to respect someone who makes an addiction out of fighting the best his sport has to offer. De La Hoya did this without fail, & in an age when it was supremely unfashionable, no less.

3) Alexis Arguello

He was before my time, but he was such a superb fighter --- you wonder how guys don't lose perspective & humility when they're this good. He was so proficient in the ring, & equally classy & dignified outside of it. Pin-point puncher with a brutal blow for everyone he fought, but not a bad word for any of them.

4) Pernell Whitaker

Easy to hate for most, but I was ceaselessly impressed by his abilities. He wasn't just a cut-above defensive expert, as in the case of Mayweather, he had moves I've never seen anyone really pull, & he could make the strangest, sometimes most-dangerous things work against almost anyone. It amused me to see the agony of frustration etched on the faces of both his opponents, & the haters. Never lost a fight in his prime, & only legitimately was beaten three times, IMO --- two against future HOFers, & all three when he was plainly past his best.

5) Joe Frazier

From the Rocky school of inspiration against the odds, & overcoming adversity. There's a charm to this diamond in the rough. That hardened edge which was so extreme, it was rare even in a sport as tough as ours. There just wasn't any quit in this man, a special kind of drive which only a few have --- the likes of Hagler, or Chavez. He just kept coming forward, I don't know how a human being can do that in fights like New York City, Kingston, & Manila, but I have all the respect in the world for it.

My current fave would be Juan Manuel Marquez, followed narrowly by his brother (it's funny, because I outright didn't like Juan Manuel initially, but I've always been an admirer of Raffy's).

I like The Golden Boy too. He is from East Los Angeles which is predominately Mexican and impoverished. He has donated millions to his community. As a plus my fiancee saw him at Beverly Center.

I also like Manny Pacquiao. If I didn't my fiancee from the Philippines would be unhappy.

Archie Moore, the quintessential professional fighter in my humble opinion.

It is truly hard for me to say that any boxers are my favorites because my favorites seem to change so much. I will just list who I enjoy watching right now:

Simon Brown- A tough pressure fighter with a big left hook, I enjoyed his wars with Trice, Blocker and Bell.

Freddie Pendelton- The way I think best describes him is well-rounded, he could box and mix it up on the inside, I enjoyed his fights with Rafael Ruelas and Tracy Spann as well as his devestating KO of Roger Mayweather.

Roger Mayweather- He fights like a minature version of Tommy Hearns and his big right hand has produced some great KO's like his wins over Carlton Sparrows, Sammy Serrano and Kenny Baysmore. His fight with Harold Brazier and his second fight with Chavez were good as well.

Veeraphol Sahaprom- He is a real complete fighter, good defense, speed, power in both hands and knows how to put his punches together. I liked watching him show all of his skills against Joe Tatsuyoshi and his wars with Hasegawa and Noshiaka as well as his one round punch-out with Nana Konadu.

Edwin Rosario- An aggresive boxer with a huge punch the guy is just fun to watch, had great fights with Ramirez, Camacho and Howard Davis Jr. he has to be one of the most exciting fighters of the 80's.

For me, not in any order:

* Mike Tyson - Awesome fighter in his youth. Superb offensive moves, great footwork. Genuinely a supremely skilled man/boy. Lost his way, however those early electrifying years will always stay with me. A humble man, at his core. Tends to get alot of stick and flamed, but boy could this guy fight!!!

* Chris Eubank - Not the most skilled, although not lacking in this department and a good puncher. He brought drama, controversy and spotlight to the sport, here in the UK. 'Take your beating like a man, if that's what your getting'. Tough, tough, courageous fighter.

* Ray Leonard - Special fighter, for me. I always respect guys, above all else, who have great hearts. His heart and will was amazing. Blinding speed, combinations and charisma. Legendary fighter, who took on the best.

* Oscar De La Hoya - Gutsy fighter will great skills. Fearless and fought a who's who in boxing. Never ducked anyone and that counts for alot. A true nice guy, despite the envy he attracts.

* Muhammed Ali - Yeah, for the same reasons as most people remember. He had the most heart of any fighter I have ever seen. Outspoken, brash, cocky and confident. Fought EVERYONE, regardless. Great, great fighter. A legend, but a better man.

There are so many to list....

Jack Dempsey is one of my top all-time favorites for many reasons. Here was a guy who literally came from the bottom to the top, fighting in bars for sandwiches, to knocking Jess Willard all over the ring. He was rarely in a dull fight, and he was bigger than Babe Ruth and Red Grange; rarely in sports history has a HW champion been held to such high regard. Named the greatest fighter of the first half of the 20th century, and also voted as being in the greatest fight first half of the 20th century. Marciano, Frazier, and Tyson all came from the mold of Dempsey, yet even those legends come up short to the mystique of Dempsey. Like Muhammad Ali, he also was both the most hated and beloved in all sports.

George Foreman. Rarely does a fighter re-invent himself and be arguably better than the first incarnation. In his youth he was a weapon of mass destruction, no HW outside of Ali was able to thwart him. In his comeback, he was more saavy and smart, and became the most beloved HW of the 1990's. Him winning the title at 45 is legendary. I grew up watching Foreman's comeback in 1987 to its end in 1997, and never once was he in a dull fight.

Evander Holyfield. I met him when I was 7 years old when I won a contest to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger, Holyfield and MC Hammer. The greatest Cruiserweight champion of all time, and imho he should be recognized as a FIVE-TIME heavyweight champion. To be still active at 47 and giving performances men half his age cant muster is phenomenal.

There is really so many fighters, and so many reasons, but for now thats my list...

tyson - excitement value and you didnt know if the opponant would fold or not
RJJ - just oozed skill, i enjoyed his chicken dances
Sugar ray robinson - his movement as a welter was a thing to behold
archie moore - solid guy who could land a big punch and turn a fight around
jack johnson - beat up most people he fought and did so well and never complained whilst in teh ring
kid gavilan - how solid is his head he was an all time great
tommy hearns - you never knew if he would land a big punch or not to win
george foreman - huge Ko's
evander holyfield - amazing heart

In no order:

--Jack Dempsey, "The Manassa Mauler," "The Tiger Man," "Jack the Giant-Killer"

--Danny "Little Red" Lopez

--Miracle Matthew (Franklin) Saad Muhammad

--Carlos Palomino

--Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest," "The Louisville Lip"

--Sam Langford, "The Boston Terror"

--Dick Tiger

--Gene Fullmer

--Alexis Arguello, "The Explosive Thin Man"

--Ezzard Charles, "The Cincinnati Cobra," "The Cincinnati Flash"

--Harry Greb, "The Pittsburgh Windmill"

1. Marvin Hagler
2. Roberto Duran
3. Wilfredo Gomez
4. Pernell Whitaker
5. Feliz Trinidad even with his faults at least he was one fighter that was willing to fight anyone at any weight class without hesitation.
6. Alexis Arguello what explosive fighter
7. Erik Morales
8. Marco Antonia Barrera
9. Roy Jones Jr.
10. Bobby Chacon what a brave fighter he was
11. Hector Camacho pre Rosario fight
12. Alfredo Escalera used to love his entrances
13. Diego Corrales


Of the one’s that I have seen on film
1. Joe Louis
2. Carlos Ortiz I think very under-rated by many but his record says otherwise.
3. Jose Napoles
4. Eder Jofre

Roy Jones Jr-a boxer who will be remembered as one of the greats, pure class.
Steve Collins-the man who got me into boxing, living Irish legend
Micky Ward-Not the best boxer by any means but had heart and courage in abundance.
Arturo Gatti-same as Ward, never gave up.
Marco Antonio Barrera- true warrior
Bernard Hopkins-the Middleweight version
Prince Naseem-oozed raw talent, stuff you couldn't teach in a gym.
Meldrick Taylor-what could have been if he had of held on a few more seconds, another raw talent.

Larry Holmes - A great fighter with possibly the greatest jab. He had all of the tools and I would pick him head to head against almost any heavyweight.

Michael Spinx - A bit goofy at times but definitely an all time great. I rank him the number 1 lightheavyweight of all time.

Joe Louis - Not only a great man inside the ring but a great man outside the ring. He did so much for other people that at the end of the day there was no money left for him. Exciting fighter and a dynamite puncher.

James Toney - One of the most skilled fighters I've ever seen and definitely old school. I still consider him a legend others may believe that he ate his way out of greatness.

Ray Robinson - Gotta love him he was the greatest, he could do it all. I could watch him fight all day long.

I'll add on to my list...


John L. Sullivan. Just reading about this man, its almost hard for me to imagine that at one time such a figure ever even existed on the earth. The man is almost on par with legends such as John Henry and Paul Bunyan. The first to ever truly challenge the world and his country, being the first to travel America and lay down to any man willing $1,000 if they could so much as last 4 rounds with him. Transcended the fight game from a bare knuckle, illegal, looked down upon sport, into main stream business. Truly was a man of two eras, as his last bout was in a time of new invention, for telegraph wires and operators were there for the first time in history at ringside, when he lost the crown to Corbett. The worlds first true star attraction in sports.

Harry Greb. For a man who seldom gets a mention, its a damn shame, for probably no other man in history averaged at least one fight a week like Greb. From middleweight to heavyweight, he took on all comers and it was all fair game to him. The first to defeat Tunney and arguably decisoned him twice more but didnt get the decision. Fought more top flight contenders over the longest period of time, than any other fighter in history. IMHO, he's the most consistant fighter that ever lived, as well as the greatest middleweight of all time. Oh and did I mention he fought the last ten years of his career half blind and STILL gave the best middleweights, light heavyweights and heavyweights hell?

Roberto Duran. I only saw the 1980's and 90's and 2000 version of Duran in action, but even still, he gave the likes of Moore, Barkley, Pazienza and several others hell. It was either Foreman, Tyson, or Duran being watched in my house growing up, and thats all there was to it. The greatest lightweight of all time, possibly the most ferocious fighter of modern times, his skill and determination was such that he succeeded for decades at several weights. He finally retired at the age of 50, but even then he still wanted to teach the young guys a lesson. Never seen a fighter like him since, and I probaly never will.

Meldrick Taylor, Ray leonard, Hector Camacho, Evander Holyfield

Rocky Marciano. A heavyweight who was considered too old, too small, too crude, to make it to the divisions top. Overcame all these obstacles and more with a work ethic that has no comparison. His work rate was unmatched, averaging 80 punches a round often going over a hundred. Dominated his era, retired undefeated with one of the highest kayo rates in the sports history, 43 kayos out of 49. Arguably the biggest heart of all the heavyweight champions. Only knock against him is that the era he thrived in was weak, no matter, he is a top 10 heavyweight by any measure; no lower than 10 and no higher than 3.

Gerry Cooney. Still unfairly viewed as 'The Great White Hope'. IMO, Cooney could have defeated most heavyweight contenders in any era. His lone three losses came to HOF greats Holmes, Spinks and Foreman. Had he been properly managed, matched better, to have been more prepared, he could have become a worlds champion. His nickname suited the man, he truly was a gentleman. One of my favorites to watch.

Mike Tyson. The man WAS the sport in the 1980's, and even when he was broken down and no longer an echo of his former self, still carried huge ppv numbers on his back. A terrific combination of speed, defense, and power---could have been the greatest of all time, had personal problems outside the ring effected him (imo at least). Many old timers cite Louis losing to Marciano and Ali losing to Holmes as their sad moments, mine came three fold: Tyson being destroyed by Lewis, his knee giving out to Williams, and couldnt do a thing with an over-sized Irishman named McBride.

Jersey Joe Walcott - "slickster", great boxer and fighter...
Ezzard Charles - 1st class, pure class the way fighters should be!
Lloyd Marshall - cagey and slick just like Jersey Joe... should've been a World Champion!!!

Jock McAvoy & Bert Gilroy - Britain's greatest middleweights, both Feared and Fearless fighters. Spent much of their careers fighting LHW's & HW's both cheated and denied their place and perfect examples of what fighters are supposed to be - "fight anybody!!!"

Harry Greb - record says it all.
Joe Louis - "the Greatest!"
Ray Robinson - genius
Hector Camacho - beautiful boxer
Greg Haugan - another fighter, "the Prizefighter" like they once were...
James Toney - the real throughback Bernard.
Michael Carbajal - poetry!

its plain I love the Boxer type more than the srapper. And many, many more - Tony Canzoneri, Locche from what I've seen, Tyson should have been the best and on & on & on, too many to mention or forget!

jimglen wrote: And many, many more - Tony Canzoneri, Locche from what I've seen, Tyson should have been the best and on & on & on, too many to mention or forget!

The films I have seen of Locche are just incredible. Here is a balding guy with average Joe physique who does not look like much standing right in front of guys trying to take his head of and he's not even touched.

From since I've been watching boxing (early 80s) my favourite fighter would be Thomas Hearns. He was so exciting.

In history I like to read about Johnson, Dempsey, Greb, Charles, Moore and Saddler.

Believe this or not, it may come to some surprise, that I actually am a fan of Muhammad Ali. In his youth he learned quickly that boxing was an entertainment business and acted like a professional wrestler more so than his contemporaries who were poker faced and didn't talk smack. The most hated figure in sports following his refusal to go into the draft, he became a hero to the youth culture against the 'establishment'. His comeback was successful and became all the more popular following his victory over Foreman, as his prophecy of 'I beat one Liston before, I'll do it again' came true. In the 1970's he also became a more complete fighter, whatever doubts of him posed in the 1960's he proved were tripe, he could take a punch, etc. He was the first man to be HW champion three times; his comeback in 1980 was the saddest event in sports, imho. I also enjoy his version of 'Stand By Me', not too bad. His life story 'The Greatest' was also a good movie, and he is more humble than people originally realize. Rarely in a dull fight, and even the dull ones had HUGE hype and publicity.

My favorite fighters? I got plenty of favorites.

Sugar Ray Leonard
Muhammad Ali
Julio Cesar Chavez
Eusebio Pedroza
James Toney
Bobby Chacon
Kid Gavilan
Pelenchin Caballero
Manny Pacquiao
Riddick Bowe

and of course, my favorite of all of them, the great Roberto Duran....What a fighter he was!!!

Other favorites:

Angel "El Diablo" Manfredy
Diego Corrales
Rodolfo "Gato" Gonzalez...Not the champion, but the contender that lose to Claude Noel for the lightweight crown.

Salvador Sanchez - He displayed the kind of skill that could've put him among the legends. Sadly a car crash ended this.

Wilfredo Gomez - A true warrior and a bomber , the fight with him and Pintor was just beutiful.

Kid Gavilan - Beautiful boxer but was tough as ever as well and was never stopped in 143 fights.

Randall 'Tex' Cobb. Who couldnt like the guy? If it wasnt his toughness that amazed you, it was his one liners. Probably the biggest smart ass I ever seen. Not too bad an actor either, but only in THE CHAMP could Cobb have been a world's champion, well except for maybe the LPR days, they all would have fallen dead before knocking out Cobb. His comeback in the 1990's wasn't too bad either, albeit was against hand picked dead men, makes me wonder though if he had taken the WBO title shot if Tommy Morrison could have knocked out 'the old man'. Also one of the few kick boxers, martial artists, that I know of who made a successful transition into pugilism.

Oh, I have a lot of favourites but off the top of my head I always enjoy watching:
Muhammad Ali
Mike Tyson
George Foreman
Roberto Duran
Chris Eubank
Eamonn McGee
Lennox Lewis
David Haye

Joe Louis, was one highlight knockout reel after another. I had the privelage of talking to my grandfather who sparred with Billy Conn and asked him who he thought was the greatest heavyweight of all time. His answer was Joe Louis. My father was like 'But Louis was flat footed and stalked his opponents!', whereas my grandfather quickly shot back 'From the waist up there was no one who was better!'. What impressed me so much with Louis, was how well he adapted to every man he faced. If he didn't do well in their first meeting, he would absoloutely kill them in the return. He fought every kind of fighter, brawlers, tacticians, speedsters, counter punchers, giants, fat, lean, mean, passive. 25 title defenses and a nearly 12 year reign, maybe my grandfather was right, as he saw them all from WW2 til his death in 1996.