Who are boxing's real warriors? - Nigel Collins article

Just flipping through some of the magazines in my collection, and this article from the January 1995 issue of World Boxing was quite interesting reading.

Here are some excerpts:

"...A fighter has to live up to an unwritten set of rules. Let's call it the warrior's code...the warrior's code is as much an attitude as it is a set of rules and regulations. Without the proper demeanour, a fighter is doomed from the start. Warriors for instance, do not consider boxing the manly art of self-defense. It is, as Hagler was fond of pointing out, a search and destroy mission.
Warriors don't jab and move, warriors jab and annihilate...a warrior doesn't always score a knockout and that's okay - as long as he never stops trying."

"Roberto Duran is an excellent example of a fallen warrior. Once he epitomised the breed, a fire-breathing assassin, dripping machismo from every pore of his being.
But when Duran pulled his infamous 'No Mas' quit job in the second Leonard fight, he also surrendered his right to call himself a warrior..."

"For a while it looked like 'Hands Of Stone' might regain his former standing among the brethren. Then, another disgraceful capitulation to Pat Lawlor, plus subsequent griping about the decision in his fight with Vinny Pazienza, forever slammed the clubhouse door on the Panamanian legend."

"No doubt about it, John L. Sullivan, Jim Jeffries, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano were all dyed-in-the-wool members of the warrior tribe."

"Gentleman Jim Corbett, while a ground-breaking stylist, was a runner in the ring and too much of a fop outside it to even be considrered."

"Jack Johnson is another fighter who doesn't really fit the warrior mold...he was a defensive specialist and claimed to have thrown his fight with Jess Willard. Taking a dive is a warrior's greatest transgression."

"Neither Sonny Liston nor Floyd Patterson measure up. Ironically, Patterson, who always had the courage to confront his fears and climb off the floor, may have come closer.
Liston, obviously a vastly superior fighter, turned out to be a bully and a quitter."

"Joe Frazier was a warrior right down to the marrow in his bones..."

"Now, Ali is a sensitive case. While he met every criterion as a man and most as a fighter, 'The Greatest' was not a warrior in the strictest sense of the term.
His objective was not to mangle his opponents, but to mezmerize them. A warrior always goes for the jugular. Ali sometimes went for the funny bone."

"Among the more current crop of heavyweights, Evander Holyfield is the only gild-edged warrior. Riddick Bowe has some of the requirements, but belting an opponent on the floor (Buster Mathis) is cowardly.
Not having enough respect for his craft to enter the ring in top shape also hurts his cause."

"Current fighters, besides Toney, who definitely fall into the warrior category are Gerald McClellan, Simon Brown, Mike McCallum, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Jesse James Leija, Orlando Canizales and 'Chiquita' Gonzalez."

"Others, some of them equally talented, just don't measure up. Among the more notable examples are Virgill Hill, Henry Maske, Michael Nunn, Terry Norris, Chris Eubank, Oba Carr, Ed Hopson, John David Jackson and Reggie Johnson."

Many others are borderline and could go either way...this ambilavent group includes Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Kevin Kelly and Kostya Tszyu."

"Throughout most of his illustrious career, Julio Cesar Chavez was a veritable paragon of warrioresque virtue...Then came the draw with Pernell Whitaker and the decision loss to Frankie Randall. Chavez' sour grapes attitude following his disappointing performances in these fights, was enough to cast doubt on his standing.
And when he backed into a technical victory in the rematch, even his most loyal Mexican supporters were scandalised, and some went so far as to say then man from Culiacan was a quitter."

While I suspect some of the article was written tongue in cheek, some of Collins' observations are interesting to say the least. Thoughts?

 

Who would classic also include as born warriors, both from the past and also from today's scene?

What about the likes of Hearns, Leonard, Saddler, Tunney, Lewis, the Klitschko's etc?

 

Benn is definitely part of the warrior set. Maybe Collins simply forgot about him.

 

Yes, that must be stressed just to clear up any confusion. Don't shoot the messenger.