I'll add to this list: Jack Johnson was not a modern fighter. On some film, sometimes, he does modern looking things. But he's just as unorthodox as his contemporaries. Nobody notices this, however. The same people who will point out Fitzsimmons's oddities, or Jeffries's, will suddenly get hit with the Jack Johnson Reality Distortion Field when they watch Johnson. His oddball fencing footwork, yanked back telegraphed straight lefts, and flexing get transmogrified into a 200 pound Mayweather who can flawlessly catch any punch with his magical skill of using a glove to block. That is my unpopular opinion.
Smokin' Joe is my #1 and I scored it 8-6 going into the 15th. Eddie Futch should have let him in...could have very well changed history if he pulled off a knockout. Also scored the second fight 7-5 for Joe and think Ali was blessed with his public popularity to be granted the decisions over Norton twice and Young.
Mediocre guys like Chinny Morrison and Deontay Wilder would probably have a field day Jack Johnson and all of his opponents
Still have Archie Moore beating Evander Holyfield. Possibly knocking him out. Evander wasn’t any better then Charles or Patterson or Dempsey career wise. Tis my unpopular opinion.
I had Joe winning also. In my mind he never lost except to Foreman. From 3 thru 12 he beat the hell out of Ali in Manila. My fav fight ever.
Originally I had scored the second Ali - Frazier fight as 7-5 for Ali, the fight being even after 10 rounds. In the final two rounds, Joe chased Ali all over the ring, but I felt that most of the punches that landed were from Ali, so I scored those rounds for him. But recently, I caught the last round of the fight on TV, and saw Joe chasing Ali as I remembered, but landing a lot of good shots as well and I felt that Joe really deserved that round. So that would change my scoring to a 6-6 draw. Some day I'll have to rewatch that second fight and see how I score it now.
Joe was the aggressor for most of the fight. Definitely could see it as a draw as well, though Ali should have been penalized for the excessive clinching which would give Joe the win on points.
I think Mike Tyson would have beaten Evander Holyfield had they met as scheduled in Nov 91. Riddick Bowe would have beaten Lennox Lewis in 93 and Manny Pacquiao would have got the decision over Floyd Mayweather had they met in 2009/10.
