100 Greatest Punchers

I was going through Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Puncher's List on About.com, thinking it wasn't that bad. Then I started reading some of the responses and was floored. Here's the list:

1. Joe Louis
2. Sam Langford
3. Jimmy Wilde
4. Archie Moore
5. Sandy Saddler
6. Stanley Ketchell
7. Jack Dempsey
8. Bob Fitzsimmons
9. George Foreman
10. Earnie Shavers
11. Sugar Ray Robinson
12. Ruben Olivares
13. Wilfredo Gomez
14. Rocky Marciano
15. Sonny Liston
16. Mike Tyson
17. Bob Foster
18. Thomas Hearns
19. Khaosai Galaxy
20. Alexis Arguello
21. Carlos Zarate
22. Max Baer
23. Rocky Graziano
24. Matthew Saad Muhammad
25. Julian Jackson
26. Danny Lopez
27. Gerald McClellan
28. Roberto Duran
29. Rodrigo Valdez
30. Felix Trinidad
31. Pipino Cuevas
32. Jim Jefferies
33. Lennox Lewis
34. Bennie Briscoe
35. Marvin Hagler
36. Edwin Rosario
37. Tommy Ryan
38. John Mugabi
39. Joe Frazier
40. Carlos Monzon
41. Tony Zale
42. Michael Spinks
43. Joe Gans
44. Elmer Ray
45. George Godfrey
46. Naseem Hamed
47. Alfonso Zamora
48. David Tua
49. Cleveland Williams
50. Julio Cesar Chavez
51. Tiger Jack Fox
52. Joe Walcott
53. Gerry Cooney
54. Al (Bummy) Davis
55. Max Schmeling
56. Florentino Fernandez
57. Henry Armstrong
58. Bob Satterfield
59. Al Hostak
60. Jesus Pimentel
61. Eugene (Cyclone) Hart
62. Lew Jenkins
63. Harry Wills
64. Tom Sharkey
65. Terry McGovern
66. Jersey Joe Walcott
67. Kostya Tszyu
68. Leotis Martin
69. Buddy Baer
70. Donovan (Razor) Ruddock
71. Jose Luis Ramirez
72. Tommy Gomez
73. Jose Napoles
74. Kid McCoy
75. Antonio Esparragoza
76. Ricardo Moreno
77. Evander Holyfield
78. Ike Williams
79. Luis Firpo
80. Ricardo Lopez
81. Humberto Gonzalez
82. Bobby Chacon
83. Jock McAvoy
84. Eduardo Lausse
85. Eder Jofre
86. Charley Burley
87. Mike McCallum
88. Salvador Sanchez
89. Roy Jones Jr.
90. Rodolfo Gonzalez
91. Nigel Benn
92. (Irish) Bob Murphy
93. Paul Berlenbach
94. Battling Torres
95. Chalky Wright
96. George (K.O.) Chaney
97. Andy Ganigan
98. Fred Fulton
99. Ingemar Johansson
100. Charley White

Source: Ring Magazine (2003)

Here are some of the responses:

ALI, Tyson, Foreman
Ali needs to be in there SOMEWHERE to be a credible list. Tyson nearly took peoples heads off, and Foreman.....better than 9th. I think there needs to be a do over here.
—Guest holzschuh

Stupid list
Tito Trinidad is a bigger puncher than Lennox Lewis? I think you are mentally sick if you really think so ....
—Guest James "Lights Out" Toney

Sandy Saddler over George Foreman and Rocky Marciano? Naseem Hamed over David Tua? Henry Armstrong over Ingemar Johansson? Where is Jack Johnson??? All these from the Bible of Boxing?

This list proves to me that Ring magazine is to boxing as as Rolling Stone is to music. This list combined with the 50 of all time. Tyson is absolutely in the top five and I cannot even find the guy ranked on Ring magazines #2 Greatest Boxers of all time in this list, which is Ali. Who would be in the top ten if not the top 5. Did they have someone pick names out of a hat for this?
—sgdirtbag

Tyson should be in the top 3, if not #1. His combinations were punishing. His speed,power and accuracy is unmatched.
—Guest marty

So what's wrong with these commenters? Hey guys: nobody making the list thought that a featherweight could hit harder than a heavyweight (Saddler over Foreman) only that, within his division, he was a greater puncher.

Regarding Tyson, he was awesome when he came up, but these commenters forget: Tyson wasn't the only one who KOed people. Tyson, in my mind, has trouble breaking into the TOP 10, but I would drop Marciano below Tyson.

I have issues with the list, who doesn't have issues with lists, but over all it wasn't that bad.

Adamek v Arreola, recap

Excellent heavyweight fight.

8-4 (8-3-1) Adamek

Adamek fought a great fight, very disciplined. Excellent
Arreola fought with heart, much better stamina than he looks like. Again, he needs to loose 10 pounds. The question is "did Arreola hurt his hands."

I love Chris "look at me I look like Shrek."

Adamek v Arreola. prediction

I hear people say: "The heavyweight division really needs an exciting slug fest more than any other division."

If it becomes a slugfest I can't see Adamek winning. K hit Arreola with some good shots and he kept on coming. Adamek can easily out point Arreola though if he concentrates on winning rounds versus trying for the KO.

So, what's my prediction? This is tough. OK. I see Adamek doing a Billy Conn on Arreola, gets over-confident, gets into a slugfest and gets KTFO.

On the other hand, he might box the entire night and win 9-3.

Truly, I'm up in the air on this fight. Adamek was a quality light heavy but not a Roy Jones. I'm not so sure he can keep Arrela off of him, or stay away from him for 12 rounds.

Here's the prediction. A victory of Arreola.

Arturo Gatti would have been 38 today.

The video clip says it all. Arturo Gatti fighter of the year in

1996 (should have been)
1997
1998
2002
2003

John Ruiz v David Haye

Haye should win this rather easily. The Ruiz who fought Holyfield 10 years would have been a real test for Haye. And after all, if Haye is to take on the Klitschkos he would have to be a modern day Holyfield. As it stands, the present day version of Ruiz should not be too much competition for Haye.

Bernard Hopkins v Roy Jones Jr.

Bernard is a throwback to the Old Mongoose. It seems as if he is only getting better, but he should retire. Win Lose or Draw I hope this is his last fight.

Roy Jones is way past his prime and should have retired after his loss to Glen Johnson five years ago; and definitely after losing to Tarver for a second time. And what was he doing still fighting Calzaghe 2 years ago; and getting KOed by Danny Green last year.

Roy, one of the reasons I loved you, is that you said that you wanted to leave this game with your money and health in tact. You were great but you can't beat Father Time.

Hopkins is going to win. Jones will give it his all and I think it will go the distance. But I'm not happy about this fight. Both need to retire.

Klitschko v Chambers, Prediction

Is Eddie fast enough to slip Wlad's jabs, can he get inside, and if he does can he hurt Wlad? I don't think so. I think this could be a very entertaining fight though. But I think that Wlad is disciplined enough, that the moment Chambers starts opening up, he'll thread through some rights.

It would be nice if this was a good fight. However it ends up I don't want this to be another jabfest.

Jose Luis Castillo, may he stay in retirement

It's said that Castillo is broke and he needed the payday. If true then I'm happy he had one last fight. Castillo had some great wars with Diego Corrales and nearly (some say he did) beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. In a way it's a shame he kept fighting after the Ricky Hatton fight; that would have been the fight to go out on.

The time has come for Castillo to retire. A fighter of his caliber should not stay in the game after being beaten by a journeyman, all he can do now is get hurt.

Here's to the memories.
Jose Luis Castillo (60-10-1)

Pacquiao - Clottey, in the press

I rarely read the NYTimes, especially for sports, but I did read the story on the Pacquiao-Clottey fight. There was a good section but also a terrible one [quoted below].

Clottey managed to slow the pace through the middle rounds, but Pacquiao continued to attack, landing combinations. Through six rounds, Pacquiao appeared ahead, with the outcome still very much in doubt.

Relentless From Start, Pacquiao Retains Title by Greg Bishop
3/14/2010 [The print version, quoted above, is different from the on-line version. ]

By the 6th round I was thinking the fight was about over. Manny was throwing a shut-out with Clottey never showing the ability to land more than one punch at a time. By the end of the 6th round it looked like Clottey would need a KO to win.

Pacquiao v Clottey

Several things caught my attention during this fight. One, I was struck again at how poor the commentary was. There was a point, when I was already sick of the nonsense, when they were saying that Clottey wasn't an A+ fighter, that he was really an A- fighter; and I was yelling at the screen that to bad we didn't have A quality commentators. Guys, it wasn't Pac's power; it was his speed that won the fight. Notice when Kellerman was interviewing Clottey he said much the same thing. It was Pacquiao's speed.

The second thing that got me was that EVERY black man in the bar I went to was rooting for Clottey; they all were jumping at every jab and counter that landed in the first three rounds. The hispanics seemed to be split between Pacquiao and Clottey with the majority going for Pacquiao. The whites were also split, with most going for Pacquiao.

There were way over 100 people there. I would say close to 300 people with the split being about 1/3 black; a little more than 1/3 hispanic; a little less than a 1/3 white and a smattering of non-of-the-above (arab, south & east Asian). My sample was pretty good. As I was walking around and talking with people during the prelims. I got to speak to a fairly large percentage of the people there.

Mendoza's Treatise on Boxing

Daniel Mendoza (1764-1836), "The Father of Scientific Boxing."

Here, for your reading pleasure, are a few lines from Daniel Mendoza's book.

Parry the blows of your adversary's right hand with your left, and those of his left hand with your right.
This rule ought never to be disregarded, except when you see a safe opportunity of catching a blow of his right hand if aimed at the face on your right, and striking him in the loins with your left; or of stopping his left-arm stroke on your left, and directing your right fist to his kidneys.

If your adversary aims all round blows,
Which is generally the case with a man ignorant of Boxing, you should strike straight forward, as a direct line reached its target sooner than one which is circular.

If he gives way, or is staggered by a severe blow,
You should not be anxious to recover your guard and stand on the defensive, as this will only be giving him time to recollect himself, but take advantage of his momentary confusion and follow up the blow.

If you are long-armed,
You will have an advantage over your antagonist, as your guard will keep him at a distance, and your blows, by reaching further, will be struck with more force.

If short-armed,
Your superiority over your antagonist will consist in close fighting. You must endeavour to get within the compass of his arms, and aim straight blows, which will reach him before he can strike at you, and if he does strike at you, his fists will go over your shoulder.

If your adversary is ignorant of Boxing,
He will generally strike round blows, or plunge head-forward. If he strikes round blows in an awkward, slovenly manner, content yourself with aiming at his face and stomach, in a straight forward direction. If he strikes them quickly, stand chiefly on the defensive, stopping his blows, and throwing in the return whenever you find it convenient. And when you perceive him winded, hit as fast as possible, and follow up your blows. If he butts, or plunges at you head-long, you may either strike straight forwards and catch his face on your fist; or turn round on your left heel, and let him fly over your thigh; or jump on one side, and strike him with one hand as he advances, and the other as he passes by.

Pacquiao - To become an All-Time Great

Just read an article which said that Antonio Margarito was calling out Pacquiao, saying that he would be willing to fight in the Philippines, and it got me to thinking what would be necessary for Pacquiao to become an ATG.

He needs to do only one thing, and that is to clean-out the welterweight division. Beat Clottey, Berto, Margarito, Shane Mosely and Floyd Mayweather. Should he do so I would definately place him as a TOP 10 all-time fighter. I don't think he needs to get another belt in another weightclass such as going after Yuri Foreman for a Light Middleweight belt.
Cleaning out the welterweight division would be more than enough -- especially taking on and beating Mayweather.

Can Pacquiao beat Mayweather? I don't know.

Clottey v Pacquiao - Prediction

I like Clottey. I like the man; I like the fighter. However, outside of being a bigger man, I don't think he has what it takes to beat Pacquiao. If he can pressure Pac; if he has enough power to keep Pac from coming in he has a chance. However I don't see that. He has the athleticism to keep Pacquiao at bay for the first few rounds, but except for the early going I don't give him much of a chance to win any rounds.

Pacquiao by UD or a TKO in the late rounds.

The "It" Factor

There was an excellent article by Lee Groves The “It” Factor and How It Fits Pacquiao-Clottey It describes well the Cus D'Amato concept that, above all, boxing tests a man's will. My one criticism of the article is that, at times, it seems to confuse fame outside the ring with what it takes to prevail inside the ring.

He couldn’t have become what he is, however, without first having It at his disposal during combat. Pacquiao’s immense physical tools are amplified by an inborn thirst for confrontation that pushes him into realms normal humans can’t – or are not willing to – experience.

At the same time, he pushes his opponents – even those who also possess a greater measure of valor than most – past the breaking point in terms of pain tolerance and willingness to press onward. It is one thing to break the will of an ordinary man, but another to do the same thing to a fellow athlete – one that is also intimately familiar with the intricacies of waging battle with another athlete.

Pacquiao showed that ferocity in the foul-filled war with Nedal Hussein nearly 10 years ago, where it would have been easy to succumb to frustration Hussein’s resistance and tactics would normally engender.

He demonstrated It by overcoming an early deficit in his second fight with Erik Morales to post a spectacular 10th round TKO that vaulted him toward the pound-for-pound stratosphere.

He even showed It in fights where he didn’t win – the first Morales fight in which he fought many rounds blinded by blood as well as holding off a surging Juan Manuel Marquez in their initial encounter that resulted in a draw.

...

When sizing up the fight, one can’t ignore that there’s a difference – however slight – between fighters who are merely very good and those who achieve true greatness. That crucial It factor separates boxing’s wheat and chaff and when it came time for Clottey to rise up and stamp himself as a genuine great he showed he didn’t have It.

His first failed opportunity came in December 2006 in Atlantic City against then-WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito.

In the first four rounds Clottey’s piercing jabs and accurate hooks scored often and his high guard made life difficult for the defending champ. He landed the harder, snappier blows while the notoriously slow-starting Margarito maintained a prodigious, but largely ineffective, work rate.

Clottey proved in the fight’s opening acts that his working parts were superior. Then the time came to test the internal combustion.

That test came in the fifth when Margarito turned on the jets and forced Clottey to play defense. More importantly, Clottey broke his left hand sometime during the round – a hand he said was injured a couple of weeks earlier in training – and with that a major offensive weapon was removed from the equation.

Discouraged, Clottey dramatically curtailed his output and for that he paid the price. In the ninth he was swept under by a ceaseless torrent of blows, in the 10th he was booed as he rode his bicycle for the entire round and in the 11th and 12th he could not conjure the charge he needed to negate Margarito’s second-half surge.

A normal human would have withdrawn from the contest long before but – fair or not – boxers are held to a higher standard, both by the public and by fellow members of the fraternity. Margarito entered the bout with an ankle injury and revealed afterward that he believed he fractured his right wrist in the fifth round – the same round that Clottey sustained his injury.

Unlike Clottey, Margarito increased his pressure and punched through the pain to the tune of 1,193 punches thrown to Clottey’s 269 from round five onward. On this night, Margarito won a lopsided decision because he had what “It” took to exit the ring a winner.

Manny Pacquiao Training

Ricky Hatton Calls It Quits

If this is true, and he sticks to it, I will be very happy. Ricky has had a good career; he has made a lot of money; all he can do now is get hurt. He peaked with his wins over Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo. His fights against Mayweather and Pacquiao show that he was a good boxer but never can or will be a No. 1 fighter. He has had his memorable fights; time to hang up the gloves. Enjoy your health Ricky; enjoy your life.

Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hauser

A fantastic book full of lengthy quotes from people who knew Muhammad Ali. Even if you don't care about boxing, if you like biographies, you'll like this book.

Drunken Monkey Kung-Fu meets Boxing

I love Emmanuel Augustus' drunken monkey style. I'm sure he lost a lot of fights simply because the judges detested his style and couldn't give him the close rounds. If he more juice in his punch he "coulda been a contenda."


Augustus' BOXING RECORD 38-31

Below is Jackie Chan doing Drunken Monkey Style

James Toney is going into MMA

Wow. A world class boxer, albet long past his prime and not in shape, is going into MMA. If he does even moderately well it will rock the MMA world.

Toney has to respect his opponent, get in shape and learn how to avoid a take down and guard against a sweep. If not he would be world of hurt. And we, the fans, would know nothing more than we do today about how a boxer would do against MMA.

Below is the Kimbo v Mercer fight. The Toney fight could go the same way.

From the Shoulder

My daughter has heard me say "from the shoulder," "from the shoulder" a 1000 times, and she's only 5. Well, when she gets a little bit older I'll show her this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YisGE4HiwMQ

The Medical Aspect of Boxing

There's a good article in the NYTs on concussions. It's primarily about trying to get the College Football and the NFL to accept new standards. In 1928 Dr. Harrison Martland wrote an article on concussions in boxing. Here's a quote from the NYT's article:

The paper is also a terrific reminder of early 20th-century medicine’s down-to-earth approach to research. Martland, the chief medical examiner in Essex County, N.J., began his research by hanging out at boxing matches. He titled the paper “Punch Drunk,” drawing on boxing cant. As he pointed out, boxing fans didn’t hesitate to malign injured boxers, derisively shouting “cuckoo” when obviously brain-damaged fighters shambled into a ring, and referring to those with dementia problems as “slug nutty.”

Martland did autopsies on more than 300 people who had died of head injuries, looking for patterns of brain damage. For his study of boxers, he talked a fight promoter into giving him a list of 23 former fighters he thought could be labeled as definitely punch drunk. Martland was able to track down only 10 of the former athletes, but in those cases, he found the promoter’s diagnosis was on target. Four were in asylums, suffering from dementia. Two had difficulty forming sentences or responding to questions. One was almost blind, two had trouble walking and one had developed symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease.

His colleagues had also begun to realize that a concussive blow to the head could result in injuries that were remarkably slow to heal. An earlier study of repeated concussive blows in more than 100 people warned of possible mental degeneration: “It is no longer possible to say that concussion is essentially a transient state which does not comprise any evidence of structural cerebral injury.”

Martland argued that blows to the head — and the inevitable shaking of the brain that resulted — caused small but cumulative hemorrhages that could lead to scarring called gliosis. Such fibrous scarring is now known to be associated with dementias like Alzheimer’s and diseases like Parkinson’s that affect motor control.

Pull-ups

I think one of the best exercises available are pull-ups. Too often I hear people (or read articles) that say the best way to do pull-ups is to start with the lat pull-down machines or, god-forbid, the pull-up machines.

The best way to get good at anything is to do it. If all you can do is hold on to the pull-up bar then that's where you start. Hold on and do pulses. As you get stronger you will be able to go further. Just keep doing them.