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Go into any bar, tavern, pub, gin mill, saloon, lounge, roadhouse, speak-easy, taproom, watering hole, rathskeller, bistro, canteen, honky tonk or any other place where men gather to imbibe and smoke fat cigars, and invariably the conversation will turn to boxing. And who could beat up whom.
This is especially true if three generations of imbibers or cigar smokers are occupying the same table.
Grandpa: “Joe Louis, good Gawd, now there was a fighter.”
Dad: “No disrespect to the Brown Bomber, Dad, but Ali would have danced circles around him.”
Junior: “I’ve got a Ben Franklin that says Mike Tyson knocks both of ’em out.”
That, essentially, is the idea behind The World’s Greatest Ever Boxer, a Web site that will crown the best fighters of all time in each of boxing’s eight traditional divisions — at least in the eyes of boxing fans around the world.
I’ve got an Andrew Jackson that says the global poll won’t settle anything, although, as they say, it should be interesting.
“Nothing stirs up debates faster than ‘my guy was better than your guy,’” said Boston Globe boxing writer Ron Borges, who was part of a five-person panel that selected the finalists. The other members of the nominations committee were Las Vegas fight commentator Al Bernstein, Muhammad Ali biographer Thomas Hauser, boxing writer Colin Hart of the United Kingdom and Jean-Philippe Lustyk of Eurosport.
Bernstein said there were times during the nomination process where a cut man and end-swell were needed. “The panel had quite a spirited debate on this. I think that’s foreshadowing what’s to come from the public.”
The winners will be announced during a three-day celebration of boxing at Paris Las Vegas Oct. 2-4 that will include a fight card showcasing the skills of the offspring of several of the nominees. The event is being hailed as the Academy Awards of Boxing with the usual trappings, such as a black-tie awards dinner and an exclusive after party. But the public will have plenty of access to the boxers during a welcome reception and official “weigh-in” among other ancillary events such as a film fest, poker tournament and memorabilia show. (For ticket information, call (914) 941-3366).
A percentage of the proceeds of The World’s Greatest Ever Boxer will be turned over to the Retired Boxers Foundation, which assists fighters in their transition from the ring to retirement. To say the RBF provides a valuable service would be putting it mildly — the incidence of former boxers suffering from alcohol and substance abuse, homelessness and pugilistic dementia is off the charts.
“We had trouble finding Joe Frazier, because he was sleeping on the floor of his gym,” said Paul Nicholson, a former rugby player from England and founder of the The World’s Greatest Ever Boxer.
“Having been a rugby player, I know what it is to be hit.”
Nicholson said with boxing having taken a back seat to mixed martial arts in many circles, this will be a chance for the fight game to celebrate more than a history of great fights fought by great fighters that organizations such as the UFC just can’t match.
“In boxing, you’ve got the legends — Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Holmes, Hearns, Duran, Leonard ... these aren’t just big-name athletes, these are global names,” Nicholson said.
But how do you choose between them? Ali or Frazier? Marvin Hagler or Carlos Monzon? Sugar Ray Robinson or Sugar Ray Leonard? Alexis Arguello or Manny Pacquiao?
I’ve got a Ben Franklin (but just one) that says it’s going to be very, very difficult.
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