As I’ve stated many times on this website, I started watching boxing in January of 1977. In my 43 years of watching boxing, the single greatest fighter I’ve ever seen was Roy Jones. Between 1993 and 2003, Roy was the closest thing to a perfect fighter that ever lived. Incredible speed, reflexes and punching power,…
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Since its inception, boxing has always been a haven for the downtrodden. Andre Ward is one of the greatest examples of a young man who overcame severe hardship as an adolescent to not only become one of the five greatest fighters of his generation, but also one of the class acts of the sports world…
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In the history of professional boxing, there are only three southpaws definitively greater than Joe Calzaghe: Marvin Hagler, Pernell Whitaker and Manny Pacquiao. Calzaghe is also one of the few world champions in boxing history to retire undefeated. Add this to his incredible 22-0 record in Super Middleweight World title fights and this firmly places…
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There haven’t been too many fighters in the history of boxing who combined ability, charisma and a personal story greater than James “Lights Out” Toney. Toney was one of the nation’s top high school quarterbacks in the mid-1980s while attending Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While starring on his high school football squad,…
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Historically, the 168-pound Super Middleweight division, although only 36 years old, has seen many of the greatest fighters of the last 30 years compete at a high level. It is the perfect division for boxers too big for Middleweight and too small for Light Heavyweight. That being said, four of the top five fighters who…
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As I pointed out in my last article on Willie Pep, Joseph “Sandy” Saddler was the original tall and lanky fighter with explosive power. Before there were Alexis Arguello, Thomas Hearns or Bob Foster, there was Saddler who paved the way for such a fighter. At 5’9” and 126 pounds, Saddler dwarfed his opponents in…
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Boxing’s holy trinity of defensive masters include Floyd Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker and the second greatest Featherweight of all-time, Willie Pep. Pep was the first boxer who mesmerized audiences with his defensive acumen. There have always been claims that Pep once won a round without landing a single punch because he made his opponent miss badly….
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For over 20 years, I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out boxing’s equivalent to Christopher Wallace. The Notorious B.I.G. had the greatest less-than-five-year-run in hip hop history. His albums Ready to Die and Life After Death were lyrical masterpieces released between 1994 and 1997. His death, right before Life After Death was released, tragically…
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There is an old axiom in boxing that an above average boxer becomes substantially better once he wins a world title. Eusebio Pedroza was a perfect example of this, as he wasn’t considered anything special when he won the WBA Featherweight Title on April 15, 1978. He would hold that title for seven years, successfully…
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Robert Silva’s fifth greatest featherweight of all-time is George Dixon. A few months ago, I wrote about the first great African-American boxing and sports star, Joe Gans. The first such boxer of African descent preceded Gans by a decade; Canadian-born George Dixon. At the tender age of 19, Dixon traveled to London and won the…
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