Which great fighters fought there way up from ABSOLUTE poverty?

Well, Duran of course. He was taken under the wing of a pied-piper named Chaflan, who recruited young buys to shine shoes and sell papers in the streets for a few coins every day. As a young kid trying to stake some turf to sell papes, Duran often had to take on bigger kids to help his chances of remaining on a certain corner.


I've also told of the heatbreaking story of Matthew Saad Muhammad, who of course originated as Matthew Franklin. Franklin wasn't his given name.......

He was about three years old when his mother told his older brother to take young Matthew out and "lose" him. His brother went out with him for a walk, deep into the streets of Philadelphia, and when he determined he'd taken him out far enough, took off running. Little Matthew tried to keep up, but he was a toddler, and couldn't hope to catch his brother. The police took the crying child in when they found him wandering the streets, and tried to get some information from him. He couldn't give a last name to their satisfaction, and of course didn't know the address of his home, so he was given the name "Franklin" because that's the name of the street where the cops picked him up.

He was put into an orphanage from there.


The idea that he focused his rage from that in the ring isn't beyond understanding.

 

kostya tszyu from communist russia living in a one room apartment in which they shared a bathroom and kitchen with another family... until he became one of the country's best amatuers

 

Pacquiao didn't have it easy i think. Edison Mirandas tale was horrible too.

 

wow...i cant believe I had never heard that story.

The worst ones ive heard were ouma, miranda, and argullo. (not arguello)...not atgs though.

 

Dempsey was a hobo, so that would be close to the bottom in terms of poverty.

That story of Matthew Saad Muhammad is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard......

 

Dempsey, Duran.
Liston.

Probably lots of fighters from the early eras. Early black fighters cant have had much.

The western world has had welfare "safety net" for many decades now, and the old Eastern Bloc communist countries had something similar, so most stories of absolute poverty come from earlier eras or from the undeveloped world.

 

Jack Johnson had a good family but he was sleeping in doorways when he started taking on contenders such as Haines and Childs.

It is a prety tough entry into world level boxing.

 

Ray Robinson.
I feel that being brought up poor and living in segregated America, is what made him the best...very vicious in the ring...with those surroundings, he problably feared to fail in boxing, or he would be written off. That's what you call motivation!

 

Floyd Patterson was very poor growing up, and it attributes to the insecurity he'd have later in life.

Used to have to wear his moms shirts to school, I believe.

 

Yeah, moments after losing the title to Liston he was being interviewed and said "He can be a great champion if he's just given the chance".

 

Beau Jack was a shoe shine boy and then became involved in battle royals (basically six black men blind folded beating each other until there was a winner) he then began boxing although after he retired from the sport he went back to shining shoes since he lost all his money.