Smartest boxer of all time?

As far as business savvy, I’d go Larry Holmes.

(George Foreman cleaned up with the grill deal, but he more or less stumbled into a gold mine there rather than having a business plan and masterminding his way to riches.)

Larry built his dream house in his hometown of Easton, Pa., complete with a boxing glove-shaped pool. Did this pretty early in his title reign. Lived there ever since afaik (until recently at least). Paid for it out of his earnings, never had a house payment. I think it’s a nice home, but he didn’t overspend on a mansion too big for his needs.

Invested in real estate. Built the biggest office building in downtown Easton. Could have rented it out room by room, floor by floor, but he signed iirc a 50-year lease with the U.S. Postal Service to house the town’s main post office. Then other U.S. government entities started renting out other space … turns out, the government likes to congregate and keep its offices close together. Ended up renting out basically the whole building except for a small office for himself on the the top floor.

As Larry explained it, he could have found tenants for each room/space and probably made a little more in rent in theory — but then someone goes out of business, someone falls behind in their rent, someone leaves and that room/space goes empty with no rent until you can find a new tenant. He said ‘the check comes on time, first of every month, never have to call to collect or see why it’s late … and as long as there’s a United States, I never have to worry about it. Just collect the check, no worries.”

His comeback came because he realized this fact that most people do not realize — when you spend capital, it’s gone; when you spend income, it replenishes. Most of those fights on his latter-years comeback tour, he had a property in mind and he’d take the fight, collect the purse, buy another real estate property to rent. Just built himself a nice real estate empire out of his earnings as he went.

(He has since sold the big office building, I read, and at great profit. Turned that money into more real estate investments. Like I think it was Mark Twain said, ‘property is the one thing they’re not making any more of; its value only goes up over time.’)

Larry, at least until recent years, only had one extravagance — he’d buy a new Cadillac every year, trading in the year-old one so he’d only pay out a few thousand each year. Married his childhood sweetheart and has stayed with her his entire life, so he didn’t spend money on divorces or chasing tail. Never had a big entourage on his payroll — I think mainly just his brother Jake, who would do whenever he needed and didn’t fleece Larry for a fortune.

That, to me, shows intelligence and wisdom. He’s lived a smart life. For every Larry Holmes, there’s thousands of guys who made a ton fighting and pissed it all away on stupid stuff that had no value. I knew a contender (he signed with Don King for a time) and went to his apartment once — he spent thousands renovating it, putting in new tile, all kinds of things … and moved out within a year. All that money wasted (you can’t take apartment improvements with you, haha).

So I’ll go with Larry as being the smartest.

 

Very insightful post, enjoyed reading it

 

No he isn't, think he's about 1100 Elo, which is good but Wlad and Vitali have much higher ratings

 

Both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko hold Ph.D. degrees in sports science, earning them their famous boxing nicknames "Dr. Steelhammer" and "Dr. Ironfist" respectively. They both studied at Kyiv University and specialized in sports pedagogy, focusing on training methodologies for young athletes and talent management. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Vitali Klitschko ("Dr. Ironfist")

• Education: Earned his Ph.D. in Sports Science in 2000 from Kyiv University.
• Thesis Focus: His doctoral work focused on talent and sponsorship in sports.
• Academic Background: Also holds a master's degree in social development management from the National Academy of Public Administration. [1, 2, 3]

Wladimir Klitschko ("Dr. Steelhammer")

• Education: Completed his Ph.D. in Sports Science in 2001 (or 2002 per some sources) at Kyiv University.
• Thesis Focus: His dissertation addressed optimal training levels and body development for teenage athletes (aged 14–19). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key Educational & Career Highlights

• Soviet Training: Both trained in the Soviet amateur system at the Brovary Olympic Reserve School.
• Post-Boxing Initiatives: They founded the KLITSCHKO Foundation, which focuses on education and sports projects for youth, including "School of Success".
• Multilingualism: They are known to speak multiple languages, including Ukrainian, Russian, English, and German

 

Outside of those that are academically qualified, you have the socially and emotionally intelligent.

Jack Johnson is a genuine contender on several fronts.

Outside of the traditional intelligence, any fighter who retired as a champion with their health and wealth intact and resisted the urge to come back and potentially ruin their legacies.

 

Smart in what way? Larry Holmes only had a 7th grade education but kept the fortune he made from boxing and is still doing well in his 70's nowadays.

 

People will probably hate me for this. But I consider Barerra to be the most talentless overachiever in boxing history.

I never really saw anything special as far as physical talent with that guy

 

He's always been the practical type and does what is proven to work. That's part of why I love Larry Holmes, peevish and as resentful as he is.

 

What exactly is it about Barrera that you find talentless? An ATG who was 3 weight world champ with wins over Erik Morales (x2), Naseem Hamed, Johnny Tapia, Paulie Ayala, Kevin Kelley, Kennedy McKinney. Guys like Hamed and Tapia were more athletically gifted fighters and Barrera beat them rather easily. If you can't see the skills and talent that he has shown in his fights then I don't know what to tell you.

 

Boxing IQ is what counts inside the ring

Pernel Whitaker had one of the highest. Outside the ring, not so much...

 

That's crazy lol, what makes you say it?

 

Here are some of the most prominent boxers with college degrees:

• Vitali Klitschko: Held a PhD in Sports Science, earning him the nickname "Dr. Ironfist".
• Wladimir Klitschko: Also earned a PhD in Sports Science, known as "Dr. Steelhammer".
• James "Bonecrusher" Smith: The first heavyweight champion to hold a college degree (Bachelor's in Business Administration from Shaw University).
• Laila Ali: Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and was a 4x world champion.
• Juan Diaz: Earned a Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of Houston while reigning as a 3x Lightweight champion.
• Audley Harrison: British Olympic Gold medalist with a Bachelor's in Sport Science from Brunel University.
• Nathan Cleverly: Former LHW Champion with a Bachelor's in Mathematics from Cardiff University.
• DaVarryl Williamson: Earned a Bachelor's in Recreation and a Master’s in Administrative Studies.
• Dominic Breazeale: Graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Northern Colorado.
• Caleb Truax: Earned a Bachelor's in Sociology from the University of Minnesota

 

Hmm? In this millennium I'll go with a surprise....Andre Ward.
Retired undefeated 32-0 and retired at the young age of 33 with
his health, youth and fortune in tact. ...That's pretty smart

 

Whilst I certainly don't hate you for the comment, I find it a highly unusual take.

Barrera was clearly more physically talented than Morales, whilst Morales did a better job at maximising his (lesser physical) talent, and that's just the obvious comparison for starters.

 

Well said. Larry only has a seventh grade education but has common sense.