Sept. 26: The best heavyweight of all time
I used to consider myself really in-the-know when it came to boxing.
Actually, I didn't know anything about boxing. I still don't. I like it
but I have no idea how to analyze it. Boxing aficionados refer to it as
"the sweet science." That means that boxing is much more than pummeling
the other guy until he falls down. It's not just about brute strength.
It's about stamina, finesse, concentration and intelligence.
-
When I was a teenager, I learned about Rocky Marciano. I even went to the library and checked out this book:
It's the first biography I ever read. I liked Rocky as a fighter and as a person. The cat was so collected that he could actually sleep just before it was time to enter the ring. He was a hard puncher, maybe one of the hardest in the history of the sport, but when he knocked someone out, he felt so bad that he wanted to apologize.
Much has been made of the Rock's undefeated record. He left the sport with 49 wins (43 by way of knockout) and no losses. No other heavyweight champ has ever left the game undefeated.
So whenever anyone asked me who I thought the best heavyweight of all time was, I always said Rocky.
-
In 1990, I started taking acting lessons from a retired boxing trainer. The guy was a total idiot when it came to acting but he knew a lot about boxing. I asked him who he considered the best heavyweight. He said it was Joe Louis. When I pointed out that Rocky had beaten Joe Louis, he waved his hand at me.
"Joe Louis was well past his prime when he fought Rocky," he said. "The guy was almost 40, Steve. Give me a break."
Years later, another boxing enthusiast pointed out to me that almost all of Rocky's opponents were over 35. One of them said that even on his best day, Rocky would have been soundly beaten by Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Mike Tyson.
"That doesn't surprise me," I said. "I don't think anyone in history could stand up to those six guys at once."
My friend told me that I wasn't being funny.
-
The latter conversation was sparked by a DVD I'd just received in the mail. The DVD was called The Superfight and it claimed to be a re-enactment of what would have happened had Ali and Marciano met while in their respective primes.
Apparently, a computer had predicted that Marciano would win. And win he did in the 1969 production.
When I used the DVD as evidence of Marciano's superiority, my friend laughed at me.
-
I'm a sentimental sort and I guess I have a soft spot for the Rock. But ask me who the best heavyweight is and I'll tell you to ask someone who knows what they're talking about.
-
When I was a teenager, I learned about Rocky Marciano. I even went to the library and checked out this book:
It's the first biography I ever read. I liked Rocky as a fighter and as a person. The cat was so collected that he could actually sleep just before it was time to enter the ring. He was a hard puncher, maybe one of the hardest in the history of the sport, but when he knocked someone out, he felt so bad that he wanted to apologize.
Much has been made of the Rock's undefeated record. He left the sport with 49 wins (43 by way of knockout) and no losses. No other heavyweight champ has ever left the game undefeated.
So whenever anyone asked me who I thought the best heavyweight of all time was, I always said Rocky.
-
In 1990, I started taking acting lessons from a retired boxing trainer. The guy was a total idiot when it came to acting but he knew a lot about boxing. I asked him who he considered the best heavyweight. He said it was Joe Louis. When I pointed out that Rocky had beaten Joe Louis, he waved his hand at me.
"Joe Louis was well past his prime when he fought Rocky," he said. "The guy was almost 40, Steve. Give me a break."
Years later, another boxing enthusiast pointed out to me that almost all of Rocky's opponents were over 35. One of them said that even on his best day, Rocky would have been soundly beaten by Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Mike Tyson.
"That doesn't surprise me," I said. "I don't think anyone in history could stand up to those six guys at once."
My friend told me that I wasn't being funny.
-
The latter conversation was sparked by a DVD I'd just received in the mail. The DVD was called The Superfight and it claimed to be a re-enactment of what would have happened had Ali and Marciano met while in their respective primes.
Apparently, a computer had predicted that Marciano would win. And win he did in the 1969 production.
When I used the DVD as evidence of Marciano's superiority, my friend laughed at me.
-
I'm a sentimental sort and I guess I have a soft spot for the Rock. But ask me who the best heavyweight is and I'll tell you to ask someone who knows what they're talking about.
Comments
Post a Comment