Who is your personal favourite boxer of all time and why...

Has to be ali, he is the reason why I took a liking into boxing in the first place

 

One of my all time fave fights is Duran V Barkley - so many had written him off since Hearns crushed him in 2 and the year before Barkley haglers half brother robbie simms - a journeyman gave Duran allsorts of trouble on the way to a lacklustre points win ,

Then he turned in a masterclass against the very dangerous Barkley - it capped off his greatness IMO.

 

Hopkins is an inspiration, defeating the top LHW in the division to claim a world title at 46. Still reckon the 1st match up was the best. A knock down and point deduction early on, before he slowly and deliberately took Pascal apart for the last 8 rounds. Next stop Chad Dawson.

Respect for.....James Toney. Begin's his career as a light, bucaneering MW, athletically moving around the ring. Cue a few years down the line....the dude spends half his caeer at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Draws in world title fights, split decisions against some of the top heavies in the division. Nearly 80 fights, only 7 defeats and never been stopped. Laughs at heavyweight punches.

Lot of boxers emerged from very deprived backgrounds, some of the fighters from 'third world' nations have the greatest stories, Manny Pacquiao, Roberto Duran, Kassim Ouma, Ismael Laguna etc.

 

"Iron" Mike Tyson

the definition of a cerebral boxer

you were beat when you signed to fight him. when he had you shook, the fight was easy

small, compact , fast, powerful = killer

 

Jack Johnson

Watch his documentary, Unforgivable Blackness.

 

Willie "The Worm" Monroe! No one is even in a close 2nd place!

My Pop-Pop took me to see Eugene "Cyclone" Hart vs Monroe in 74. He was a big Hart fan, and being young I did not know either. Being ornery I naturally chose the opposite guy, just to irritate him. Watching Monroe outbox the hard hitting Hart, was the begining of my love for boxing and Monroe was the catalyst! Shortly afterwards I watched him dismantle a game but faded Stanley "Kitten" Hayward and I just knew he was going to be the greatest boxer ever!!!! Untill he lost a close decision to Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts in a close fight that I felt Monroe won (My youth and favoritism could very well bias this memory!).

he started building his name back up and a year later beat a young and feared Marvin Hagler, in a clinic (remains the only fight Hagler ever felt he lost!). His name was on the rise, and it was only a matter of time untill he got a title shot, and proved to the rest of the world what I already knew...Willie "The Worm" was the greatest MW EVER!!!!!!

Then 5 months later he was derailed by David Love...of all of the upsets in boxing history none stunned me more than this one! Afterwards he was not the same boxer...He showed flashes of it a year later against Hagler in a rematch....but he could never quite get set, as Hagler had made some great adjustments from their first encounter. The Worm was game but ultimately stopped in the 12th..from this point on he was a mere shell of his former self!

I know 99% of boxing fans either don't know Monroe at all or only for his fights with Hagler...and that is OK (although it's a shame)! In my mind Monroe will always be the best...And with memories of him beating Hagler I keep my extremely biased opinion that on his best night he would beat any MW ever H2H!!!!!

 

Frank Bruno, the loveable oaf was instrumental in getting me ionto boxing. I remember always seeing him on the news. I remember the feel he was being thrown to the wolves when he had to defend against tyson.

 

Chavez, SRL, Big George, Barrera, Pac, Mike are the guys I root for.

 

Tommy Hearns, because he was an absolute destroyer, and win or lose he always put up a good show.

Sugar Ray Leonard for his amazing talent and boxing ability, he really was so well rounded as a fighter it's ridiculous.

Lennox Lewis also, he had a fantastic skill set for a man his size, and really made me a hardcore fan of the sport.

 

Riddick Bowe got me into boxing when I was a kid. I then fell out of boxing when my parents quit subscribing to HBO. I can remember HBO hyping Lennox Lewis vs RJJ around this time. When I got back into boxing after I got home from the war, Margarito was my guy. Jermain Taylor was up there pretty high. So was Gatti. I'm not very good at picking guys with long runs I suppose. But then again, if you abandon your fighter just because he loses.... Thats whats happening now I think. It explains the influx of *****s and *******s.

 

its a tough pick for me when it comes to active fighters...active and competetive that is