In mentioning two good fighters who were not so good as champions, first, there is … read more
It is unfortunate that the only perception and memory most boxing fans have of Jess … read more
By Ken Hissner: There have been two heavyweight title fights that finished by stoppage that … read more
By Allan Fox: Former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson was officially pardoned on Thursday afternoon by President Donald Trump for his 1913 conviction for violating the Mann Act. Sylvester Stallone, the actor famous for his ‘Rocky’ movies, is said to have contacted Trump to urge him to pardon the late Johnson.
By Gav Duthie: If as expected we miss out on the biggest fight of the current era between Floyd Mayweather Jr 46-0 (26) and Manny Pacquiao 56-5-2 (38) a part of my love of boxing will die.
Since the conception of the sport there have been so many great fight nights but there is always one fight in a generation that defines the era. I decided to have a look at the biggest bouts by decade in over 100 years of boxing history to convey what we are missing out on if Mayweather and Pacquiao never meet.
Pound for Pound
The concept of pound for pound was created to compare boxers through the weight divisions. It isn’t very often two of the best p4p fighters actually occupy the same division. When it happens and they do fight it can define a generation. These aren’t always the best spectacles but they still live long in the memory.
By Tony Crooks: There are many ingredients to make the ultimate heavyweight champion. There are a number of factors that are needed, firstly, a good chin, and you also need good boxing skills, durability, heart, endurance, hand speed, good defence and physical attributes and a killer instinct.
So how do you create the ultimate heavyweight champion of the world? Let us start with a good chin, if you can’t take a punch and you will take one at one time or another; you are on an uphill struggle. In my book, Oliver McCall had the best chin in history; there are others like Marian Wilson, Larry Holmes, Joe Bugner and Vitali Klitschko and of course the great Ali, but McCall gets my vote.
By Daniel Echevarria: John Arthur (Jack) Johnson nick named the “Galveston Giant” was the very first African American “Heavyweight” champion from 1908 to 1915. It has been noted by Ken Burns an American film director and Producer that for more than thirteen years Jack Johnson was the most Famous and the most notorious African American on earth.
By John F. McKenna (McJack): Finally a “White Hope” was found who was a legitimate threat to Jack Johnson’s reign as Heavyweight Champion. Jess Willard, a rugged, confident, hard working cowboy from Kansas, who had started his boxing career just six years prior, challenged Johnson for the title. Big Jess at 6’6”, 245 lbs had nowhere near Johnson’s skill as a fighter. What he did possess was a great deal of strength and stamina. The fight between Jack Johnson and Jess Willard was scheduled for 45 rounds and was held on April 5, 1915 (Johnson vs Willard – YouTube) in Havana, Cuba.
By John F. McKenna (McJack): Johnson won the World Heavyweight Colored Championship in 1903, but his shot at the World Heavyweight Championship was still five years away. With over fifty fights under his belt, Johnson began in earnest to pursue the big prize. Finally in 1908 Johnson, after years of following Heavyweight Champion Tommy Burns halfway around the world, caught up to him in Sydney, Australia.
By John F. McKenna (McJack): John Arthur (Jack) Johnson, AKA “The Galveston Giant”, AKA“Lil Artha” was one of those larger than life Heavyweight Champions who comes along once in a generation. Johnson was born on March 31, 1878 in Galveston, Texas. He was the son of former slaves Henry and Tina Johnson who worked at blue collar jobs to provide for their six children. Young Jack dropped out of school after five or six years of education to get a job as a dock worker in Galveston and as a youth he began to exhibit an interest in boxing.