The Gods of War

Langford? I"m afraid that Langford's prime was before 1920, so he isn't included.

A major critique I have with so many of the typical rankings is that they include boxing before the Walker Law went into effect and legalized it, organized it, and modernized it. Gans, Fitzsimmon's, and Langford's era was inherently different from the modern era. Throwing them altogether just confuses things.

Someday, it would be a good idea to do "The Gods of War II: The Greatest Boxers of the Pioneer Era."

 

Basketball and golf have the same goals too, my friend... "put the ball in the hole."

Boxing 25 rounds with no neutral corner rule and no judges is essentially a different sport.

Perhaps the third installment could be "The Gods of War III: The Greatest Boxers of the Bare Knuckle Era."

 

If I were to box you for 15 rounds, there would be differences in how I trained and how I fought than if I boxed you for 25 rounds. You may beat me over 15 but my endurance may kick in to allow me to beat you over 25. Throw in the wrestling allowances and it gets even more complicated....

These things matter, which is why guys like Duo are so adamant about 15 rounds as opposed to 12... many decisions would go the other way had 12 been 15. Jack Johnson would have lost many more decisions today than he did back then because of his clutching and stalling techniques...

 

That's what I'm going for. The story of Ezzard is a story of dignity and greatness. It is very easy to make such a story hokie or cheesy, so, I am happy to know that it works.

I'm trying to project a factual account that reads like a story, and that reflects the personality -the presence if you will- of the man and fighter.
I won't tell you how long each one of these freakin things took.

 

I don't see it as a neat cut-off, not even a little. It's just the best that I could come up, knowing what I know. Comparing Bob Fitzsimmons with Ezzard Charles "as if" just doesn't make sense to me. Comparing Bob Fitzsimmons to Joe Gans does. Comparing Ezzard Charles to Bob Foster does.

 

Thanks fellas.