Which Fighter Always Came Across As A Decent Guy?

Maxie Baer. What fun he’d be if he was around fighting today. He was also a proud, doting Dad which I give him high marks for. Max Jr always spoke highly of Papa Baer and snaps of them together seem to tell the story.

 

I'd say the vast MAJORITY of serious boxers/serious martial artist
are disciplined, descent, and respectable men /women.
Even the ones most have never heard of.
Very few disappoint with their behavior in public.
For every Jeff Simms there's literally thousands of
others that walk by you everyday and you wouldn't
hear a peep from them unless their backs were against
the wall and had no choice.

 

Out of the 36 or something that i met:
Macho Camacho was the best, then Sugar Ray Leonard then Roberto Duran then Ken Norton, then Pedro Montanez.

Those five are in a class by themselves.

Then Phillip Holiday, Wilfred Benitez, Wifredo Gomez, Fernando Vargas, Sean O Grady, Willie Jorrin, Laura Serrano, Christy Martin, Julian Solis, Ossie Ocasio, Victor Callejas, Samuel Serrano, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Robert Garcia, Mike tyson, Carlos Palomino, Muhammad Ali, Shane Mosley, Acelino Freitas, Kostya Tszyu, Joan Guzman, Sharmba Mitchell, Edwin Rosario, Roy Jones Jr. and Michael Carbajal were all very nice.

James Toney, Evander Holyfield, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Oscar De La Hoya, Pernell Whitaker and Jorge Castro were aloof. Not bad guys. Just a bit aloof.

Alberto Mercado and Juan Carazo were super nice too but in their case it was a bit different since i was their gym-mate They saw me as a little (sister).

 

Most of Ali’s insults toward Frazier were said in interview settings or at a podium in public before the press. I’m not aware of Ali calling him up privately and calling him an Uncle Tom or saying it when they were in an elevator with no one around. His apology, likewise, was made to the press (the New York Times, the most prestigious newspaper in the world). So to me that’s whatever.

I also don’t see what the big deal about ‘Frazier spoke out on his behalf’ means. Ali for all his antics and name-calling also always said how great a fighter Joe was (yet nobody brings that up). You’re entitled, of course, to feel any way you want about it (as was Joe), but to me that doesn’t mean he can’t say things about Joe to hype their fights (he always did that, even against nobodies like Chuck Wepner) and saying what he felt about Joe being ‘the establishment champion’ or whatnot … I don’t see how ‘Fighter A said something in support of Fighter B once, so Fighter B must now be deferential and respectful and only praise Fighter A when building up their upcoming fight.’ It’s down to hyping a fight, and Ali moved tickets like nobody ever. Joe certainly wasn’t colorful enough to do it.

I think Ali — who was much more of a philosopher and thinker than most boxers ever, with complex thoughts and opinions that he liked to express — understood symbolism intuitively in ways other boxers (and athletes of the day) did not. He understood he had a platform and made himself a symbol for Black freedom and rights. He won a gold medal for his country and came back and wasn’t allowed to eat at the same lunch counter as white people in his own hometown — imagine what that feels like. He didn’t accept it, like Joe and Floyd and others did. To him, they were supporting that establishment by not using their power and pulpit as heavyweight champion to try to change it. So he called them out on it — he understood that to the white power structure, they WERE the establishment champions and was speaking to the symbol of ‘go along to get along, don’t make waves even when they’re turning fire hoses on your brothers and sisters and lynching people and so forth’ that they represented.

Was Ali cruel at times? Absolutely. Did he probe the opponent psychologically to find weak spots or things he could exploit? Yes, he did, without question. He was also a heavyweight fighter hyping himself up (imagine having the minerals to say ‘I’m going to make Joe Frazier and George Foreman even madder at me and more determined to try to rip me limb from limb’ before getting in the ring with them) and hyping the fight up — the FIGHT. They weren’t playing checkers in the public square.

Joe beat his ass for it one time and took him to the doorstep of death in Manila for it. Frankly, the ill will behind the scenes brought out the best in both of them and made for two of the most memorable, storied and celebrated fights of all time. If they just shook hands and said ‘good luck, may the best man win’ I doubt we’d have gotten the same nor would it have generated the kind of money it did.

Ali was a master of trash-talking before trash-talking was even a thing. It rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, whereas today most people would just grin and say ‘he’s really good at trash-talking.’

 

Some very good points here--(Ali did say that Joe was the greatest fighter next to him after Manila--only fair to mention this!) And yes, Ali did have a disdain for anyone that didn't challenge the establishment--especially after being unjustly stripped of his title and exiled from the sport for 3 and 1/2 years. That definitely HAD to fuel a LOT of the venom--can't deny that at all!!

Ahhh yes.....ALWAYS two sides to a story LOL!! (I still think Ali did Joe dirty but you make some very good food for thought points!!)

 

One of the MOST FAMOUS moments in Ali's career is him arguing with Terrell in front of Howard Cosell and calling him an Uncle Tom...

 

I agree 100% with Quincy he was a real nice guy. He had his WBC Middleweight title really stolen from him by Keith Holmes who was managed by Karl King Don's stepson& the referee. Many guys in the Texas area were nice guys Gene Mad Dog Hatcher, Paulie Ayala, Dave Gorman himself too. They made you feel more like a friend than even Ike Ibeabuchi was not the monster some try to paint him as. Curtis Cokes in Dallas too real; nice guys

 

Did you ever meet Sammy McCarthy Mike?

 

Julian Jackson always came off as a decent guy.

 

Hi Buddy.
Did I ever, he was one of the most interesting men I have ever met, not just in boxing, but in life, his telling of his upbringing, early days, and then onto his boxing career was spellbinding, met him several times and each time he had a new story to unveil, it was no surprise to find him humble, polite, and self deprecating, praising his opponents, whilst underplaying his own quite considerable achievements, a very nice man, of course he fell off the wagon , but he sounded truly repentant and was ashamed about his undoings, like I have said, of all the sportsmen give me boxers any day of the week.
Thanks for reaching out, we would like more from you.
stay safe mate, chat soon.

 

Yes Mike, I was lucky enough to meet him a few times, always a pleasure. He was a lovely man, always smiling.

 

Evander which according to Manny Steward is a bit of an act ... he claimed Holyfield was the most arrogant, competitive and braggadocious of any fighter claiming he was the best at everything , all the time ..