Boxers who have self enhanced their "legacy" in retirement

All boxers are cocky ...Self belief is something a boxer needs to have ...how do explain how a fighter can train hard for a fight ....get his ass kicked ...and then say to himself “ I wanna fight that same guy again “

 

With that being said ...Steve Collins looked ordinary to me ... and none of his losses are controversial

 

Have you ever read In This Corner? Boxers are often extremely biased and lacking in objectivity when looking back on their own careers (especially their losses), so Collins is not alone in that respect.

Collins was good, not one of the greats. He did push Mike McCallum very close. His loss to Johnson was close too. He could have nicked either, but they weren't robberies. He really caught Eubank and especially Benn right at the end of their careers.

 

Do you think there's anything Golota can do in retirement to enhance the legacy of his pro career?

 

I agree with the general sentiment of others who have posted, in that boxers appear to be the most commonly afflicted sportspeople with self-aggrandizement issues.

Collins does stand out a tad for me, though - I must say. I seem to recall Collins always going on about how RJJ ducked him and that he knew that he would have won that fight, had it come to fruition.

It seemed as odd then as it does today. I also have a vague memory of the awkward politeness that went on throughout that Super Middleweight Special show (Thank the lord for Chris Eubank Sr, playing the role of elder statesman).

Another SMW, who has done what he can to boost his place in history, post-retirement, is Carl Froch, having recently placed himself as the number-3 of all time in that division - not surprisingly, ahead of Calzaghe. I don't begrudge Froch getting his due credit and he has a good argument for top-10, but his obsession with Calzaghe (however jovial he appears to make it, these days) spans more than a decade and a half - and even years into his retirement.

 

No

 

I found the Tommy Loughran interview especially cringe-worthy... and Don Jordan's story possibly the weirdest think I've ever read!

 

I also enjoyed Joey Giardello and Gene Fullmer giving a vastly different account of the same fight!

 

And how about Mickey Walker's detailed description of his street fight with Greb, after their world title fight? Even though we today know, this never happened!

 

Collins was a strong tough guy,a warrior without much in the way of skills .He never faced the best of his own era and beat past their sell by dates of the best Brits he did meet , who in turn also avoided the top Yanks. The best two Americans he did face beat him ,and one of them McCallum,schooled him.

 

Jim Corbett and Gene Tunney are two of the worst offenders.

 

If you listen to George Chuvalo he never legitimately lost a fight. He even reckons the Foreman fight was stopped prematurely and he had him where he wanted him.

 

The way Tunney "bigged up" Dempsey was embarrassing!

 

Mayweather in 2009 when Pacquiao could have ended him.