He caught Patterson and stopped him, and was able to get Cooper while Sir H was coming off stoppage losses. He only had 26 fights and was nearly crippled by Patterson in returns. Someone please school me on why he is a HOF'er?
Firstly, it is the "Hall of Fame", not the "Hall of Merit"! When Time Magazine were criticised for appointing Joseph Stalin as "man of the year", they coldly replied that it was not meant to be a compliment!
Yeah, I never really got that one either. Then again, every lineal Heavyweight champ up until Leon made it in regardless of how "great" they were. Except Marvin Hart.
Corbett had something around 19 fights and only won 11. Jeffries was a rank amateur his entire career and ended up with 23 fights. Both have been enshrined.
The first 'Scandanavian' World Champion. Extremely popular in Sweden, as well as Europe. Successful businessman, and generally an excellent citizen. Had the looks, and was considered the 'First Playboy Heavyweight Champion'. Got out of the business, before he got his brains 'scrambled', and did not lend to temptation to come back for 'super big' $$$ versus; * Floyd Patterson IV * Sonny Liston * Cassius Clay 1959 Sports Illustrated 'Sportsman of the Year' [url] This content is protected [/url]
Yeah I guess that W over Patterson was a big win for European boxing. But first Playboy Champ? That would be Johnson and Max Baer :yep
First playboy world champion? Bull****. Ingo was commonly photod in domestic bliss with his sexy as hell wife. Anyone ever hear of Sullivan, Dempsey, Baer, Jack Johnson? Johannson couldnt compete with those guys in reality or public perception of being a playboy. Also, he did NOT get out of the business before his brains got scrambled. He very famously suffered from pretty severe pugilistica dementia in his final years, much like Patterson and many other fighters.