What would be boxing's single most biggest loss?

Possibly. But the same reasoning could be applied to any quest for superlatives, in boxing or any other endeavour.

And yet folks on here make ranking tables all the time.



To the thread topic, Ali.

And the reasons are almost self-evident, in and out of the ring.

 

Tom O'Rourke. He basically integrated pro boxing, giving us two of our first black champs in George Dixon and Joe Walcott.

 

John L. Sullivan. Muhammad Ali is not even close.

 

I'll go with Muhammad Ali.:good

 

Lennox Lewis...

 

I believe that was Floyd Patterson.

 

Agree completely, and I never would have thought of it until you mentioned it. switching all boxing coverage to cable networks and pay per view circuits might have made more money for the fighters, promotors, networks, etc. But in the long run, it killed the game by steadily losing the interest of more and more fans as the years went by and fewer fights were available to the masses... There's an old saying, " never kill the goose that lays the golden eggs." and unfortunately, boxing did just this....

 

Nobhead.

 

This.

Without Sullivan, there's no guarantee that Queensberry Rules professional boxing ever gains the following that it did. It might have ended up a popular amateur sport whose professional bareknuckle equivalent had died out. Kinda like amateur/"professional" wrestling.

 

Bingo. Without Ali it may have not become as popular, but without Sullivan it might have not existed at all as a sport.

 

yeah that is a good call, but what about the Marquis of Queensbury?