ESPN'S: Top 20 fighters of all time.

I´m a Rocchigiani fan, he was the last outcry of an era where boxing in Germany was connected with the more shadowy persons, the ponders and mob. Respected but disliked by the public. Maske was the complete opposite, the shiny star, the symbol of German reunification and the first big boxing star since Bubi Scholz.
Both are pricks outside the ring but Rocchiginai knows he is and doesn´t even try to hide it. Maske tries to sell himself as a nice person. Never liked him.

Ralf was decent but not as good as his brother. Much more likable person though.

Neither of them is a David Hasselhoff though. I have a idea for a new avatar now. Thanks.

 

Like the sarcasm here.

 

I hope this post is not expected to be taken serious. :shock:

 

Good list but what I can´t get how you can rank Ali and Louis that far apart. I don´t think there is even a hair between them.

 

So, you ignore Louis´ accomplishments and long reign? And sorry but the only fighters Ali beat that were greater - and I don´t know about far - are Foreman and Frazier - to which he lost when both wear closest to their best.

 

Well, I see the difference. IMO the 70s were not so much better than the rest. It get´s overrated due to the triangle of Ali-Frazier-Foreman - just like the 80s imo with the Fab4. I don´t think Ali´s era was tougher than Louis. It looked tougher because Ali struggled more - but he was likely already a bit past it. Don´t get me wrong, the 70s were better than the 30s but not by much. And Ali struggling where Louis dominated evens this out for me. That´s why I rank them equal.

btw. imo Norton is inferior to Schmeling, Sharkey, Baer while Patterson is right on the same level and Liston, well I think I´m alone here with that, is not much above them if at all.

 

If somebody emphasises quality of opposition beaten as opposed to dominance/longevity etc., I think it's quite easy to argue that Ali is clearly superior.

 

I love Ali as a fighter but I dislike him as a person.

I´m not in favour of older fighters, I just think boxing went downhill from the late 70s/early 80s on - with some exceptions. IMO boxing was on it´s best from the mid 20s to the late 70s.

Here are my current favourite fighters:

Than there are other fighters who I like very much like Lavigne, Blackburn, Jeffries, Johnson, Klaus, Dempsey, Walker, Armstrong, Ross, Conn, Ike Williams, Harold Johnson, Archie Moore, Pep, Benvenuti, Bubi Scholz, Barkley, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Virgil Hill, Bernard Hopkins.

Judge for yourself.

Marciano.