Please Participate--All-Time Light Heavyweight Poll (POLL CLOSED)

:rofl
I've gotta say, that is a very ****in funny line.

But come on, Sweet Pea, and the rest of us rank Charles very high, mostly number one, and he never won the 175 pound title either.

Mate you're off your head.

 

Best post I've read in a long time.

 

I tend to agree with you, for what it's worth.

 

This might be the most passion the light heavy division ever inspired.

 

Blah blah blah. How can you rate Langford #1 at LHW when he never won a title at any weight class he fought at, and achieved less at LHW than Charles? That's all I'm interested in knowing, but of course you had to get off topic and go on another of your PMS rants. Stop bitching. You just owned yourself, now own up and shut the **** up. You old bald ass ******.

 

If there is a better ownage than this on ESB, I'd like to see it.

Too funny.

 

And if there is a post-ownage tantrum better than this I'd like to see it too. :good

 

Damn..this Boppa zoo dude just got his ho card pulled.

 

I wanted to mention a guy who is forgotten. He deserves the spot, IMO. I realize it's subjective, but he did have great carreer, and was considered a top 10 all-timer years ago.

 

I was thinking old time champs who don't get enough recognition anymore. I did not put him on my list, but John Henry Lewis was great fighter, had to retire due to losing eyesight. Promoters and Joe Jouis helpe dhim out at end of career with shot at heavy title, Jouis ko'd him in one, but guy was going blind already. Not that he was going to beat Joe Louis anyway, but in prime he would have made fight of it.

 

It's a reach because none of this ever went into a record book, but to be fair to the other guy there, Langford did recieve scattered support from the sports writers of the time and even a minor governing body as the light heavyweight champion of the world, with the earliest mentions of that that I've seen in early 1909 (Feb 14th, Times Dispatch).

A few quick examples;


"There was little disagreement today among the experts as to the justification of Sam Langford's claim to the light heavyweight championship." - wire report Sept 5th, 1911 (Lincoln Evening News)


"The light heavyweight title rightfully belongs to Langford. Sam has defeated every man of his weight in the world. Jack O'Brien was the last challenger that Sammy sent to slumber." - wire report Dec 4th, 1911


"French governing body recently made up an approved list of world's champions. It runs: flyweight: Sid Smith; bantamweight: Johnny Coulon; featherweight: Johnny Kilbane; lightweight: Ad Wolgast; welterweight: Dixie Kid; middleweight: Billy Papke; light heavyweight: Sam Langford; heavyweight: Jack Johnson.

I find no objections to this list except where it mentions Dixie Kid and Billy Papke." - Wash Post, July 12th, 1912 and later (July 21st) in the Atlanta Constitution


This one here referencing the French governing body was the group, led by Victor Breyer, Paul Brosseau, etc., that were the founding members of the original International Boxing Union. If you check the NY Times archives for an article on Oct 29th, 1913, you'll also see that these people still considered Langford as the light heavyweight title holder in their view.

He also had fights advertised as being for the light heavyweight championship by some reports;

"Los Angeles, Feb 28 - "Fighting" Jim Flynn has opened his training camp at Jack Doyle's Vernon street resort in preparation for his forty-five-round battle with Sam Langford for the light heavyweight championship, an event slated by the Pacific Athletic club to be held in Vernon arena on March 17." - wire report Mar 1st, 1910, Salt Lake Herald


I've also seen at least one more report that that fight was for the light heavyweight, but I'll have to do some extra searching to track it down. He also had fights tentatively scheduled against Ketchel in Apr of 1909, as well as in the fall that the papers were writing about as being for the light heavyweight title.


"Joe Jeannette and Sam Langford have been matched for a ten-round bout at Madison Square Garden Sept 5th for the title of Light Heavyweight Champion of the world and a purse of $10,000." - wire report printed in Wash Post, Indianapolis Post, Daily Northwestern, etc., Aug 28th, 1911


There's a number of other references from the time pertaining to Langford's claim (or given to him) to the light heavyweight title, but these were the ones I remembered off hand and could be found in quick time. Again, it's a stretch, but...*shrugs*. Just adding a little something to the mix.

 

same here:smoke

 

I think you missed the point.

 

1. Ezzard Charles
2. Archie Moore
3. Micheal Spinks
4. Tommy Loughran
5. Bob Foster
6. Harold Johnson
7. Gene Tunney
8. Billy Conn
9. Jimmy Bivens
10. Maxie Rosenbloom

(No active fighters at the weight are rated, so no RJJ.

Just missing the cut: Saad Muhammad, Victor Galindez, Lloyd Marshall, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Eddie Mustapha Muhammad, John Henry Lewis, Jack Dillon.)

 

You people are really disappointing me.

I thought I would draw some serious rancor for Henry Maske. I knew I should have gone with Saul Montana.