BoxRec

I have read that the late great Jim Thorpe, who was an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a pro baseball and pro football player, once sparred with Max Baer and the champion said that Thorpe, even though he was in his mid to late 30's at the time, could have been a champion, if he chosen boxing to be his sport.

For one, I was wondering if anyone had a picture of this. And secondly, I wanna see what other people's opinions on Jim Thorpe would have been, as a boxer.

I don't buy that any guy who is a good all-round athlete neccessarily can become a good boxer.
We've seen plenty examples of that not being the case in the past. Boxers are an all together different breed it seems.
Like the saying goes: "You play football. You play tennis. You play basketball. You don't play boxing."

-KOKid-

Yep , there are too many other factors that go into being a good fighter. Not the least of which is heart . Look at Marciano. Not exactly a great athlete but a huge will to win .

Only reason he was even a pro boxer was because his baseball career didnt workout . He didnt make the Cubs farm team in a tryout. Thats basicaly what Im refering too. theres no way Rocky was a gifted natural athlete. He did it on hard work and dedication.

It is possible to be a skilled and and agile boxer without being a great natural athlete. Joe Fraizier was the type of fighter who could go fifeteen rounds non stop. But I remember he was on t.v. competing with other athletes from all different sports performing a variety of athletic feats. He finished last, while not showing any paticular apptitude for any other sport. It was a bit of a surprise given his agility in the ring. He was still a young man at the time.

I think Shane Mosley was in one of those things a few years back as well and came in second last. I don't think Muhammad Ali did that well when he did it either.

Swimming, tennis, football - they're sports, a game.
Boxing is fighting. Although it is defined as a sport it is something different althogehter.

A good tennis player or swimmer will make a good boxer look like a fool in their own sport, but it ends there.
A good boxer would completely smash a good tennis player or swimmer in boxing. They would be inflicted injuries upon because they weren't competitive with their opponent. That only happens in combat sports and that's why fighters and athletes are a different breed.

-KOKid-

I seem to recall that DLH and RJJ actually did pretty good when they competed in this type of event. Not top 2 or 3 but competitive. I think it’s pretty much dependant on the individual. Hell, I think there are even some golfers who could perform well in other sports. In fact, does anyone remember that golfer from South Africa that blitzed Wlad?

My comments were'nt meant to demononstrate that a boxer can't be a good all around athlete, but to point out that just because a fighter is strong, phsically fit, a skilled boxer, and can go hard for fifeteen rounds that he is not automatically a great overall athlete.

I have seen ABC Wide World of Sports cross-sports competitions a number of times.

Where athletes from many differnt sports compete in a decathlon style sports event.

I remember seeing Frazier (doesn't know how to swim, but I think won the weight lifting event). Holyfield (Crushed everyone in the 800 meter race). And Lennox Lewis (Took him over a minute just to hop on the mountain bike, let alone actually ride it.

The boxers did not do very well in the all-around events.