Or does what you do outside the ring have a bearing. e.g. Ali in a positive way or tyson in a negative way. Is Ali ranked so high by many people only because of his ability and achievements within the squared circle?
ray robinson was a sorry piece of crap from the stories that are told but he's usually regarded as the best. ali was in so many big fights and is arguable the most famous athlete of all-time. he's ranked so high because of who he beat and how big the events were.
Me too until I found out about Louis losing tens of thousands in golf bets on himself. Geese, at some point ya think he would have known he couldn't swing a club any better then the rest of us. Like the poster said Robinson was not a great guy out of the ring including his wife beating but it had zero influence on his atg standing. Ali was known for cheating on his wifes and then left one for another he had taken up with but again these have no bearing on their ring greatness. Liston was ostracized to some degree while he was the champion because of his history of being a criminal and labor goon and Nat Fleisher would have done anything legal to get him out of the sport but it didn't change the view of his standing over all his career.
charles barkley, once said im not your role model. never has a more apt statement, has ever been made!
