'1970s' Ali post got me watching some clips of my favorite fighter. Who's yours?
thisistheshow
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in Sports Talk
Not looking to debate rank, etc. Just rehash memories. Plus these threads often teach me something new.
My all-time favorite is Marvelous Marvin Hagler. My Dad really liked him, and boxing in general. My father died when I was 5 in 1981. I continued watching Hagler and boxing as I grew up, but after I married and started my family I lost touch with the current crop of fighters. That was twenty years ago.
When I went back and researched as I got older, I realized that Hagler was truly an all-time great. Every six months or so I will go down the you tube rabbit hole for whatever reason ( yesterday it was @1970s thread) and watch his highlights and the highlights of others.
Who is your favorite, and why? 
https://youtu.be/aZ5sHHfIcFI0
Comments
Of course my favorite fighter is Joe Louis. The great Brown Bomber. Heavyweight champion for years and years and years.
Joe Frazier
Edited to change video
I acknowledge Muhammad Ali as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
That being said, Joe Frazier had more class in his pinky finger than Ali had in his entire body.
Ali. Didn't like his mouth when I was younger. Now I realize it was just an act to get into his opponents head.
Great boxer with a beautiful, graceful style.
Hearns. Home town guy. Paid $35 to see him fight hagler on closed circuit. It was a brawl for the ages.
Joe Banzai is right, Ali used his mouth to get into his opponents head. More often than not, he backed his words up in the ring. Boxing will never be what it used to be.
Some people consider Rd 1 of this fight to be the greatest round ever. For those who have never seen it, enjoy.......
https://youtu.be/3PPhyBUsxaA
@Coinstartled You mentioning the Hearns/Hagler fight is one of the things I love about this forum - led me to rewatch something amazing. Well worth you $35.
What. A. Brawl!
Ray Leonard wasn't the most powerful, or biggest fighter, but once you were in the ring with him, he was a nightmare to deal with. I still get chills watching him torment Marvin Hagler. There is a great book about his fight with Hagler entitled "Sorcery at Caesers" written by Steve Marantz.
I don't disagree with that. Frankly, most people at the time understood the "act" while Ali was actively fighting.
However, Ali was an outspoken, highly supportive member of the Nation of Islam, a group for which Louis Farrakhan is currently the leader.
I do acknowledge Ali's boxing skills. However Ali as a person, i simply cannot like anyone associated with a group lead by Louis Farrakhan.
To the best of my knowledge, Ali never disavowed himself from the Nation of Islam.
Farrakhan's hate for others goes way beyond politics, and that hate is unacceptable to me.
Ali thru his promotion and support of the Nation of Islam, associated himself with that hate. That is a cold hard fact. Doesn't matter to me whatever else Ali did such as carrying the Olympic torch, doing some charity events, being friends with Billy Crystal, etc.
Anyone wishing to whitewash that Nation of Islam "blemish" from Ali's life, and admire him for the rest of it, well then that's their prerogative. I realize there are many out there who do precisely that.
It might be a bit early, but I think I can say this for sure..
Roberto Duran. The only boxer to beat Sugar Ray in his prime. And he would've beaten him again if he wouldn't had partied and stayed in shape.
He was before my time, but Marciano was the greatest heavyweight ever pound for pound. Guy was a beast.
IT CAN'T BE A TRUE PLAYOFF UNLESS THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONS ARE INCLUDED
Ali......because he was the best boxer ever. I won't get in to the muslim thing. I want to stay here.
