A fine page I found written about the history of heavyweight boxing, boxers and the best of the current millennium.
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The 10 best heavyweight boxers of the Millennium
By: Muhammad Naveed Ahmed and Steve Connolly
Muhammad Ali, the division's first three-time champ lost three peak years due to his religious beliefs, but still managed to beat every relevant heavyweight during the greatest era for heavyweight talent ever seen: the '60s and the '70s
It is always filled with interest: A discussion between a group of boxing fans and critics, commentators and trainers, managers, referees and judges, trying to line up the best boxers of all time (especially pugilists of the heavyweight division). The debates the British boxing critic and columnist Steve Connolly and I have been involved in always include prizefighters of three generations.
The first generation starts in the mythical age of the blind yet poetic storyteller/historian of Homer, who is famous for writing The Iliad and The Odyssey featuring mainly the Trojan battle that was fought for 10 year for 'Helen of Troy'. It was a period in the annals of time when the Greeks were regarded as the most superior breed of human beings.
The best and most well known pugilist of that age is known as 'Ajax' the Greek, who is described by Homer as a puncher of class and skills who never got tired. Ajax, as claimed in the myth-cum-history, it is said, always prevailed against his opponents who happened to be crude and raw and proving to be 'easy' contenders to match up with Ajax's abilities.The only 'opponent of class' who clashed against Ajax, as described by Homer, happens to be Paris, the lover of Troy's Helen and the youngest and most beautiful wife of the Trojan King Priam.
Paris also happens to be the second main player of that tragic mythical/historical 10-year-old epic battle of that time.
According to versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey, translated differently by different writers, Paris is said to have challenged the unbeaten and 'huge' Ajax for a fight. While Ajax laughed at the idea and tried to calm his challenger with a pat on the back, Paris is said to have scoffed at him and humiliated him by describing him as a coward, who had fought and beaten only cowards.
Never accustomed to such taunting, Ajax now 'had' to accept Paris' challenge there and then in the court of King Priam. Ajax, however, it is described again tried to make peace by saying that Paris either apologise and take back his words or get ready to fight him without much ado. Paris, who was prepared to do anything for his beloved Helen, agreed to Ajax's acceptance of his challenge right there instead of making peace.
However, it is said that Paris also fixed a condition that if he beat Ajax then his beloved Helen would be allowed to go away with him without any other scuffle or further fighting. His idea appears to have caused roars and roars of uncontrollable laughter in the court. But King Priam and Ajax accepted it and thus the first chronicled boxing clash was fought.
Ajax was quick and agile with both his fists packing heavy power. Even Paris, it has been said, was young and lethal while punching willing to do anything he could to 'win' his beloved as well as prevent a full scale battle between the Greeks and the Trojans. They fought bare-knuckled but another boxing gladiator was chosen and accepted by both the boxers as the referee and judge of the fight. King Priam, meanwhile, was to be the final authority in proclaiming the winner. The rules set forth, both the men were made to shake hands, so that it -- the clash -- was meant to be a sport and not a 'contest to the death'.
Ajax smiled at Paris and asked him to charge. Paris was cautious and did not accept the 'dare'. However, he (being as tall as Ajax) threw the first two punches on the arms of Ajax, giving the Greek the impression that he was dead serious to box it out with him. Ajax let Paris pound him and after some blows "feigned" as if he was about to fall.
Paris felt as if Ajax was really hurt and that now he (Paris) could deliver the final blows and finish the contest. Being 'fooled' the young Paris rushed in swinging both his fists wildly. Ajax, as described by one translator, "ducked and landed only two blows, one hitting the right temple of Paris and the other digging deeply into his mid-section." Paris, as described, "doubled over and as Ajax watched him fell on the ground gasping for breath." However, he managed to rise and got up with the intention of continuing the fight when another right landed on "the chin of Paris and he fell again, unconscious and beaten."
Ajax, being as sportive as allowed by the rules, took Paris in his arms and handed him over to his supporters and friends, affirming the fact with the dialogue that "Nobody beats Ajax".
That prehistoric bout is the first 'boxing' match as described by the Greeks. When their empire fell, the Romans made the 'combat sport' a 'bloodthirsty duel' to be fought for their visual pleasure in the arenas of the Coliseum in Rome, the ruins of which still stand as mute witnesses of the barbarism of the Romans as compared against the aesthetic valour of the Greeks.
The Greeks were 'sportive' even in 'boxing and wrestling' while the Romans were "sadists" even in 'sportive brawls'. The Greek civilisation is famous for allowing the flourishing of arts, sports and culture while the Roman era is notorious for its "bloodthirstiness and cunning." The monuments of both stand even today as proofs of their different ideologies.
Now, closing in the gap of bare-knuckled boxers and champions, the most well known name happens to be that of John L. Sullivan regarded by many as the 'father of boxing. However, in reality, we (the puritans of the sport) accept Ajax the Greek as its real and legitimate 'father'. Ajax is said to have fought more than 500 challengers from all parts of the world.
The detailed list of his opponents is not given anywhere but they say that it included men from all sections of society (slaves, captive and trained gladiators, giant and well-built prisoners and court nobles who liked the 'manly' sport. Boxing and wrestling owe much to the Greeks if they are regarded as 'combative sports'.
So it was till the closing years of the 19th century when a challenger called James J. Corbett and made famous as 'Gentleman Jim' challenged Sullivan to a contest that would not end till one of them could bear no more and is stopped by the referee from continuing further. Sullivan accepted the challenge. But, he resisted the idea of 'boxing with gloves' as compared with 'boxing without gloves'.
He was the bare-knuckle champion who had knocked out more than 200 challengers. At the same time he was also a stern 'anti-glove' supporter. After much efforts that meant consoling Sullivan that "gloves would protect the knuckles from being fractured and would also prove to be more hurting than just bare fists."
They fought and Corbett, being young and clever, managed to box and retreat, rather than stand in the centre of the ring and slug it out as a "toe-to-toe brawl" -- something to which the older Sullivan was accustomed with. Corbett was not hit by any of Sullivan's lethal punches just because he was quick on his feet and reflexes and agile and alert with his punches and defence.
As the fight progressed boxing fans were watching Sullivan being humbled into submission for the first and only time in his life. Corbett was successful in beating him and having the honour of being hailed as the first "Gloved fists" heavyweight boxing champion. His prowess as a boxer has been enacted neatly by the late Errol Flynn in the movie "Gentleman Jim".
According to Corbett's own description of the bout he happens to be the first prizefighter who used footwork and speed to outwit and outbox the much experienced and harder hitting Sullivan. It is therefore, somewhat surprising when boxing experts who used to watch Ali train and fight right from his early years commented on his "dancing and shuffling" and "hands-held-low" style as unorthodox and "unsafe" and "of little use" against sluggers like Henry Cooper and Sonny Liston.
Ali, in my opinion, must have seen "Gentleman Jim" at some stage in his life because what Corbett introduced as 'unique' were perfected as 'style, grace and class' by not only Ali but also by Sugar Ray Robinson, the best among the professional middleweight champions of the world. "Footwork and circling around", emphasises Corbett. "keeps the opponent confused all the time and provides many opportunities to the one who shuffles and moves around i.e. dances, to hit and stay out of harm's reach."
This style has always been difficult to practice so there have been only "five" world champions who did it thoroughly and made it work effectively to their advantage. The first is Corbett. The others are Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Larry Holmes.
All these boxers relied on this style to score points and win against stronger and hard-hitting challengers. However, it is Ali and only Ali who makes the style a treat to watch. While Robinson, Leonard, Corbett and Holmes did it when they felt they were in a 'danger zone', Ali did it with the agility, grace and finesse of a ballet dancer. Ali used the ring to its full advantage and dancing and shuffling were not just his 'style of fighting' but were also part of his 'clowning act'.
The only other man who 'perfected' this fighting style was the inimitable martial artist known to all of us as (late) Bruce Lee. "Bruce," his wife Linda says "loved to dazzle" all those who watched him practice with his footwork and punching speed."
And Bruce Lee, as described by his Chinese teachers like Danny Inosanto (the Nun-Chaku expert), learnt a lot about speed and reflexes, punching and counter-punching and 'shuffling and dancing' from Muhammad Ali. Bruce, it is said, loved to watch the bouts of both Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.
He shows how 'masterly' he too can 'dance around his foe' in the movie "The Way of the Dragon". His last fight against Chuck Norris (Seven-time World Karate Champion) shows how Lee, after being knocked down thrice by Norris in the beginning, resorts to 'dancing, ducking and circling' around Norris, making him throw his best kicks and punches into thin air. The punching speed of Lee is also as beautiful to watch as Ali's. And 'Kung-Fu' pronounced 'Gung-foo' is nothing but 'Chinese boxing'.
As Ali happened to be the perfectionist of this style of boxing, he is ranked by almost every boxing expert, trainer, analyst and even opponents as the 'Top No. 1' in the ranking of the 10 best ever boxers. Columnists and author of books Hugh McNaughton describes Ali as "incomparable and inimitable from the years 1960-67 and the 'greatest' boxer ever born". He is joined by other writers like Norman Mailer, Robert Lipsyte, Chuck Saunders, Jeff Rogers, Thomas Hauser and George Plimpton as 'the greatest' ever seen in the ring from 1960-67 -- when he was stripped off all his titles and not allowed to box anywhere in the world.
"He is the greatest boxer" say trainers Angelo Dundee and the late Cus D'Amato. Even Eddie Futch, the manager of Joe Frazier and one-time sparring partner of Joe Louis says that "the Ali we saw from 1960 to 1967 was no doubt the greatest boxer we have seen or shall ever see."
Joe Louis, who is regarded by some as 'the greatest' boxer, better than Ali, himself disclaimed this statement in the last years of his life, working at Caesars' Palace in Las Vegas. He has been shown in the TV programme "This is Your Life Muhammad Ali" in 1978, stating that "Ali used to claim that he is the best heavyweight of us all and he has also proved it by beating seemingly unbeatable fighters like Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Joe Frazier." He is not the only one who said this.
In the same programme we have Sugar Ray Robinson also come and proclaim that "Ali is really the greatest boxer of all time... he is better than me because I was a middleweight and he was a heavyweight. I might have inspired him in his early days but now he inspires me... not just as a boxer but as a great human being too."
Rocky Marciano also paid glowing tributes to Ali, commenting that "this kid is unorthodox but he will also be unbeatable. Nobody will be able to defeat him except he himself... and that will only be if he gets out of shape or remains inactive or non-serious in training."
This was the undefeated Rocky, airing his views in a radio interview, after watching Ali pummel Sonny Liston (twice), Henry Cooper (twice), Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell, Zora Folley and the German Carl Mildenberger. Going further, Rocky stated that "He (Ali) has a heart like me, an iron will like me and both these traits will make him look better than I or Louis ever were in the years to come, because his style is totally different yet deadly effective."
Even Archie Moore, the first man who offered to train Ali, when he turned professional and also the only boxer to have floored Rocky Marciano (even though he was beaten to a pulp in those four rounds he fought against Ali in 1964) also states in the book 'King of the World' by Pulitzer Prize winning writer David Remnick that "once I watched Clay (Ali) jog and shuffle, dance and jab and once I saw those two hands throwing flurries and combinations with the speed I have never seen, I told myself that here is a fighter who could have whooped Joe Louis and Marciano.
I mean Clay was simply super-fast, a heavyweight who looked lighter than a lightweight... I thought perhaps George Foreman could take him out but even there he showed his unique adaptability and his ease in changing tactics thus beating Foreman...which, at that time looked nothing short of a miracle."
So, in the list that Steve Connolly and I compiled, Ali is No. 1, right at the top and that is where he belongs to be. Here is our analysis of the top 10 heavyweight boxing champions of the period that begins with James J. Corbett:
1.
MUHAMMAD ALI: 56-5 (37)... the division's first three-time champ lost three peak years due to his religious beliefs, but still managed to beat every relevant heavyweight during the greatest era for heavyweight talent ever seen: the '60s and the '70s. It means he competed in more competitive -- and legendary -- fights than any other fighter in history did. Authored two of the more memorable upsets in history as well against Liston and Foreman, and his ability to absorb the hardest head punches (round 15 in Frazier I) and body punches (early rounds with Foreman) was almost as impressive as his talent to avoid them. Arguably the most famous athlete of the second half of the 20th century, he struggled at times against lesser opponents (Doug Jones, Henry Cooper, Ken Norton and Leon Spinks). Jones apart, they all got rematches and lost again. Ali, already ill (suffering from the early signs 'Parkinson Syndrome'), also committed 'the greatest' blunder of his life by trying to launch a third 'return to the ring' in 1980-81. He tried but was beaten by Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. Another of Ali's drawbacks was his non-serious attitude towards training and preparing himself against his challengers, relying more on his 'overconfidence in his talents' and 'instinctive skills'. These happen to be the foremost reasons if one ponders on the 'Why and Buts' of all his losses.
2.
JOE LOUIS: 68-3 (54)... considered by many experts to be the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, he was champion from 1937 to 1948 (the longest unbroken reign in boxing history -- in any division) and his 25 title defenses also remain the most number of consecutive defenses ever made. Four-time Ring Magazine 'Fighter of the Year', Louis was a national icon who fought under immense pressure when he took on Scheming in the rematch. And he delivered. Blessed with quick hands and power, if not the best chin, he was probably the best-trained fighter of all time. Quality of opposition not the best among his all time peers (hence 'Bums of the Month'). But he would have shone in any era.
3.
JACK JOHNSON: 68-10-10 (40)... dominated the division for nearly eight years (1908-15) and fought in a time most of us could not fathom. White America threatened and despised this superior fighter. The first black heavyweight champion is a legitimate historical figure, one of the most influential fighters in history. Pioneered the fighting style Muhammad Ali perfected. Indeed, even 'The greatest' boxer (Ali) ranks Johnson no lower than three himself. His biggest 'weakness' was the quality of opposition, which, as a whole, was worse than Louis's or Ali's.
4.
ROCKY MARCIANO: 49-0 (43)... perhaps the most difficult fighter to rank, the only undefeated heavyweight champion was the greatest overachiever in the division's history and defeated every major contender of his era. Small, even in his generation, Rocky overcame his lack of coordination and skill through intense training, heart, strength and power. He was also cleverer than he looked. Quite simply, Macron beat every opponent placed before him. No fellow heavyweight champion can match that. He retired at the age of 33.
5.
GEORGE FOREMAN: 76-5 (69)... the only heavyweight to be a 'champion' of two distinct eras, Foreman is the oldest man to win (and regain) the heavyweight title (at 46). 'Big George' succeeded at every level in which he competed and was perhaps the hardest punching fighter of all time. Dominated fellow great Joe Frizzier but both title reigns were short. Foreman humbled Joe Frizzier twice, within the distance, and also knocked out Ken Norton in two rounds. Frizzier and Norton happen to be the only two heavyweights of the 1970s who prevailed against Ali even though Muhammad beat them twice in the rematch bouts. Foreman was knocked out by nobody else except Muhammad Ali in the eighth round in the 'Rumble in the Jungle' at Zaire in Kinshasa, Africa in 1974. He was also beaten by another crafty heavyweight Jimmy Young in 1976. Nobody else could defeat him even when he staged a comeback at the age of 46 and won back the heavyweight crown he had lost to Ali from a 25-year-old Michael Moore by knocking him out in the 10th round.
6.
JACK DEMPSEY: 60-6-8 (50)... dominated during boxing's so called 'Golden Age' and was among the biggest draws in sports history (his first match with Tunney drew 120,000; the rematch, 105,000). This tough, fearless slugger emerged from an era that saw boxing as more a fight to the death than a sport. Was not nicknamed 'The Manassa Mauler' for box office purposes.
7.
LARRY HOLMES: 69-6 (44)... Muhammad Ali's sparring partner and the world's heavyweight champ from 1978 to 1985, Holmes defended his title 20 times (second only to the great Joe Louis). 'Ring' magazine's 'Fighter of the Year' in 1982, Larry's telephone pole jab distanced himself from contenders as he was only one win short of matching Marciano's streak of wins without a loss. While dominating in a weak era of heavyweight boxing, 'The Easton Assassin' would have competed in any era.
8.
JOE FRAZIER: 32-4-1 (27)... Possessed perhaps the greatest left hook in boxing history, Frazier slugged his way to an Olympic gold medal and then the heavyweight championship against the top heavies of his era. Was the only man who emerged as a legitimate rival for Muhammad Ali after the latter's forced departure, and defeated the legend in his second 'reign' 1971-1978 in arguably the most famous heavyweight fight in history described by many as 'Superfight-1' and 'The Fight of the Century'. Slowly yet markedly Frazier proved his vulnerability to absorb punishment and hang on in fights against the late Argentine 'Bull of the Pampas' Oscar Bonavena, George Foreman (1972 and 1976) and Muhammad Ali (in their 1974 rematch famous as Superfight-II and in the classic 'Thrilla in Manila' bout in 1975).
9.
EVANDER HOLYFIELD: 38-6-2 (25)... Winner of his first world title in only his 12th pro fight, Holyfield would go on to unify the 'Cruiserweight' Crown and win the undisputed heavyweight title in a reign of quality that still continues today. The second three-time heavyweight champ after Ali, this Olympic medal winner defeated every top heavyweight of his era and secured worldwide respect for upset victories over Riddick Bowe and the so called 'Iron Mike Tyson.'
10.
GENE TUNNEY: The first heavyweight to have retired as the 'undefeated world champion' (the second was Rocky Marciano), Gene Tunney was never regarded as good enough to beat 'The Manassa Mauler' named Jack Dempsey. An avid reader of books and magazines, Tunney stunned everybody by whooping Dempsey in both their clashes. The first bout was a neat demonstration of the purity of his 'scientific boxing' against the 'brutal slugging' of his opponent, which ended up in his taking away the 'Heavyweight Champion of the World Belt' from his much-favoured and much-feared rival. The rematch is controversial because of the 'Long Count' (The referee did not start the knockout counting until Dempsey went to a neutral corner). Still, Tunney was not really "out" as the film and videotape-recording versions (slowing down the action) prove. He was "in his senses" and managed not only to get up and counter the "Mauler" in the coming rounds scoring well and winning a unanimous points' decision. A quiet and sombre person described by those who knew him as a 'perfect gentleman' outside the ring, Tunney did not defend his title against legitimate black contenders and retired early - two years after winning the title. I regard him as an intelligent boxer who, like Ali, shattered the myth of the supposedly 'invincible' Dempsey not once but twice.
