Best Australian Boxer of All Time

You gotta pick the number 1.

I don't know if Kostya is or not australian, boxrec considers him australian, so he is counting. You guys tell me, @Pugguy

We have Fenech of course in the race.
But Fenech is not above Famechon... not to me at least !

I know nothing about Dave Sands, I know his name and reputation.

Jimmy Carruthers ?

I am forgetting a guy from way back in the day, what was his name ? He may be the one. Footage of him are rare or none, I remember it was "a thing"... ****, forgot the guys name, I am just getting back now at this classic boxing discussions, long time away ! I forgot many things...

 

Yeah, KT counts as an Australian fighter. He drank VB. ‘Nuff said!

Otherwise, are you perhaps thinking of Young Griffo?

 

Shout out to Fosters Premium and Lager 24oz!

 

Fenech & Kostya stand out in the modern era and are maybe top of the Aussie list.

Pugguy mentions Griffo, but Les Darcy's better remembered in Australia and would rank higher on the Aussie best. Dead at 21 but had by then a kinda/sorta claim to the middleweight title when he beat George Chip.

Dave Sands should a member of Murderers' Row-International Division. Died in a car crash at 26 in 1952 but had already beaten Bobo Olsen twice by then and apparently LaMotta, Robinson & Graziano wanted nothing to do with him. Robinson said “I’d want a lot of money to fight that guy.”

Guys like Ron Richards, who best Lesnevich and dropped a couple to Moore (Archie spent a lot of time in Australia in the 40s) and Vic Patrick, my dad's favourite, and was huge in this country in the late 40s, were massively popular.

And Lionel Rose, whose peak was short but very sweet, has gotta be on any list.

Apart from that, top of my head, Peter Jackson, Jeff Harding, Famo, Jimmy Carruthers. This Jai Opetaia boy looks the goods.

Very much an inexhaustive list. Random thoughts, lads, a bottle or so deep on a Friday night after work!

 

I’d say Lionel Rose was, I think him beating Fighting Harada is the best scalp this country ever took, I don’t think Fammo beat FH fair. That fight with Rose and FH is one of the best ever that I’ve watched.

 

I don’t think Kostya counts, he’s a Russian who moved here and dropped us when he found a favourable life back home. I say that as a mega fan. Let’s home Tim turns out to be our best.

 

Les Darcy or Peter Jackson

 

Les Darcy ! I was thinking of Les Darcy !

 

I am a fan of Rose, I actially forgot of him, can't believe it. His fight with Rudkin is beautiful.

 

Fair call about Rose-Harada.

Nothing controversial about Fammo- Harada 2 though. Fammo went to Harada’s backyard and set the story right with a big knockout after another nip and tuck fight. A fantastic performance by Fammo!

 

most people will say Darcy, strong, strong case for 3 weight Champion Dave Sands...

but Fred Henneberry and Ron Richards are equally in the mix. After them you can cite the Rose's, Jackson's, Kosta's, Fenech's and probably a host of others, wasn't there a strong fighter in Carrol, was it Billy Carrol, I can't remember,

but just like ANY other Leading - Boxing Nation, there will be Dozen's at TOP Tier!

 

I thought the love for Fenech would be huge. Rose and Famechon seem more liked than him, or more favourably rated than him...

 

Fenech, Rose and Griffo all have decent shouts, imo. Darcy and Tszyu not too far behind.

 

It's between Rose and Fenech in my head but I struggle where to rank Griffo tbf (or haven't given it much thought, rather). Fammo and Carruthers round out the top five. Tszyu might have an argument for the 4th or 5th spot if you consider him an honorary Antipodean. More due to the early retirements of Fammo and Carruthers as much as anything.

They're all a hard to bunch to compare though.

 

I'd pick Fenech after the Golden Era men like Sands, Henneberry & Richards