The Classic Boxing Myth Thread

That Marciano had no defense…or wasn’t good defensively. He was excellent defensively. If ylj look closely on film it becomes very evident he rarely ever gets hit cleanly and almost never with a combo.

also the 50s was NOT a weak era for HWs. You had
Louis, Marciano, Liston, Charles, Walcott, Patterson, Ingo, Archie Moore, Machen, Johnson, Zora, Nino, Baker, Williams, Jackson, Lane, Bivins, Maxim, Cooper, Satterfield, Lastarza and more. Plenty of solid fighters

 

Absolutely designed by the Duvas the same managers Meldrick Taylor had. It was a different situation Whitaker wasn't damaged goods like Taylor was but I'm sure Duva figured the extra weight would be beneficial in a potential matchup with Chavez. Their had been looming for at least 3 or 4 years.
Don't you think if Whitaker had fought Julio at 140 it would of been a meaningful barometer of who the greater fighter was?

 

A couple of friends insist Larry Holmes was "boxing Tysons head off" in round 4 till he got caught

 

I don't think you can know a man from 100 years ago didn't cheat on his wife. Doesn't matter how many books you read, or articles.

 

Agreed, what I was trying to do was sort of debunk the " Myth " that was the thread of that particular post, as to Greb and his womanising , which for decades ( I would imagine ) has been seen as , or taken for granted, as a truism yes ? so with more up to date books/articles that has not seen to be the case, that's all ! anyway, keep well.

 

Noted for future discussions regarding Rocky "Rudy" Marciano.

 

Julio started lighter bc he was a kid when he turned pro.

 

Ali never did push ups

 

Sonny Liston couldn't walk back wards down hills. Fact!




Oh hang on.. Or is that bears??

 

More unsubstantiated (and uncirculated) rumor than myth but there was a prominent boxing writer I met at a fight one time who in casual conversation mentioned to me that he had been working to try to prove Bert Cooper was an illegitimate son of Joe Frazier.

Obviously he was never able to nail that down to write it or it would be common knowledge (within boxing circles), but I’ve been intrigued by the idea ever since.

 

Ferg - totally offbeat but there’s a You Tube vid of a brown bear bounding up a steep hill only to suddenly stop and then begin rolling back down the hill.

The poor basterd had suffered a heart attack and the comments advised that he ultimately died. Very sad. I love the big bears. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer.

 

Mike Tyson was out of his prime at 24 because he did not have Kevin Rooney to hold his hand, wipe his nose for him, and chase away that nasty Robyn Givens and her Kooky mother Ruth Roper. Rooney let that mean Sad Faced Buster Douglas take away his wittle bity title from him wah ! Lol.

 

My favorite all time Boxing Myth is Jack Dempsey vs. Jack Johnson in 1921 Saskatoon! It has EVERYTHING a good boxing myth could ask for!

But, getting back to at least the spirit of the Original Poster's Criteria, here's one, my Djanders Special:

The one blemish on Gene Tunney's record was his loss to Harry Greb. That loss continued to bother Gene after he retired. Recently recovered evidence of a backroom deal, in Sabatini’s Cafe in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, between Gene Tunney and Crime Under Boss (of the Patriarca crime family under Raymond Junior), William Grosso, indicates just how much that blemish bothered Gene. It seems that Grosso was a big boxing fan, especially of Gene Tunney, and, when approached for a face to face meeting with Tunney, jumped at the chance. Tunney offered Grosso an undisclosed, large sum of money, to accomplish a rather strange request. Grosso agreed to do it, and even refused the payment.

It seems that Gene, still festering about that lone loss, wanted every evidence that Harry Greb even existed erased from Boxing History. Using the full power of the families Anastasia and Patriarca, Grosso nearly pulled it off. As we all know, he did manage to have destroyed every Harry Greb boxing film that ever existed. In fact, to this day, many people question if there ever really was a Harry Greb. That loss still shows on Gene's record, however, a fact that haunted him for as long as he lived.

 

The funniest thing about the Dempsey Vs Johnson story is that it was in a series of fantasy fights which included multiple boxers who were dead