| |
BGonline.org Forums
*OT*: biggest sports star of the whole world, not only USA
Posted By: Jake Jacobs In Response To: *OT*: biggest sports star of the whole world, not only USA (leobueno)
Date: Wednesday, 4 June 2014, at 5:50 a.m.
Ali is the most recognized, and is undoubtedly one of the best boxers ever. But that part of the equation is still open to debate.
A friend who is very knowledgeable ranks Joe Louis ahead of Ali because he had the most successful title defenses. That may or may not be the best way to assess things, but it is transparent. And like Ali, Louis fought stiff competition.
There is a strong case to be made for Sugar Ray Robinson being the best. He won in several classes, fought jillions of fights, and fought many great fighters.
Then there is Sam Langford. He was a heavyweight who as a kid nearly won the lightweight crown from the great Joe Gans! (He won the fight, but weighed 140, four pounds heavier than the champ, two pounds over the limit.) In his prime he was about 169 cm and weighed 180 (82 kg). When he fought Jack Johnson he was only twenty, and was outweighed by about 20 kg, to say nothing of the difference in height and reach. That was in 1906, and Johnson refused to fight him again because he knew Langford. Ring veterans were convinced that he would have had an easy time with Dempsey, and would have beaten Louis. He fought a stupefying number of times - over 600 fights, I think. The last ten years he was old, fat, and blind, completely blind in one eye, and losing sight in the other. And he was giving up considerable weight and height and reach most fights, but still managed a winning record in decline.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.