Are boxing fans clueless about the sport?

By melo - 04/04/2014 - Comments

By Daven: Yesterday I completed a very ambitious article which outlined my top 15 P4P fighters of all time. Instead of garnering serious discourse and appreciation, I had to read ridiculous comments on the whole about how I was disrespecting the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Roy Jones Jr, yet at the beginning of my article I clearly stated that active fighters were not considered for the list due the fact their legacies are not yet completed. How ignorant can people actually be to say I ignored Floyd when I addressed the issue as bluntly as possible?

There is a small chance Floyd could fight Manny Pacquiao. If this fight was to materialize the result would serve to define his career as well as Manny’s regardless of what they may publicly suggest. Thus the result of this potential fight would render wins over the likes of Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto as small fry in comparison. Moreover, if Mayweather were to lose, which is possible as he isn’t a supernatural being, then I can guarantee nobody would be saying he should be cited as an all-time great.

Unlike many fans, I am actually aware of fighters from the nineteenth and early twentieth century etc. You shouldn’t insult one for being knowledgeable about the sport.

Some users even accused me of discriminating against various ethnic groups. Let’s go through my list to see if this stands up: my top 3 were all African American, so how I can be called a white supremacist is beyond reason, I had one Mexican fighter in there, something which is rare in the lists that I’ve seen; so don’t call me anti-Hispanic. I also had Roberto Duran, who’s from Panama, and I had a Jewish fighter in my list in the form of Barney Ross (many fans don’t even know who he is, let alone the weight or era he fought). I included several White Americans of European origin in my list, and I also had an Asian fighter in Pancho Villa; so why are people whining about bias? If anything, I’ve been unfair to my own people; that’s to say British fighters, yet nobody whined about that and believe me. My country has produced plenty of magnificent fighters over the years

Overall I do appreciate the comments of the minority who may disagree with my list but at least they appreciate the quality and analysis provided. I’m always open to suggestions especially on this subject, Bob Fitzsimmons was the best one I noticed. A difference of opinion is perfectly allowable considering the subjective nature of the topic, but why do some of you resort to issuing derogatory remarks? There was once a time when boxing fans were the most educated in the world, now I fear this is no longer the case. There is more to boxing than Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson; I know their lifestyles appeal to many people, but remember this sport is centuries years old. So go and educate yourselves instead of watching Mike and Floyd talk thrash on YouTube.



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