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Paul's Boxing Commentary
All-Time Greats (part 1)
Posted: August 9, 2000
For a long time there has been a debate on who is the greatest Heavyweight champion of all time. How will the figthers of today stack up against the greats of the past? Who is better Louis or Ali? Dempsey of Marciano? I think this is a debate that will never be settled, but I will add my opinion into the mix.
Since this is a site decdicated to Evander Holyfield, I will discuss him first. On an all time list he is certainly a fighter that must be considered. He is not overly strong in one particular area such as power, speed or pure boxing ability. As far as his ability is concerned, he is very well rounded. He is above average in many areas but nothing that really stands out. nothing, that is, except for his heart. Just when you think Evander is out of it, he comes back and surprises you. Another factor that puts him up there on the all-time great list is his opponents. He fought most of the top heavyweights of his time and beat all of them, expect Lennox Lewis. Competition is a very important factor when trying to decide who is the best of all time. I think among the all time greats, Holyfield had some pretty decent competition, but is has not been top notch. I think Ali had a lot better competiotion than Holyfield. If you look at Holyfield's competition there are some pretty impressive names among them. Some such as Foreman and holmes were way past their primes though.
Most people only judge a fighter's in-the-ring performance to decide how great a fighter is. I think that how a fighter presents himself outside of the ring is a big factor as well. Holyfield has always kept his name clean outside of the ring. He preaches the Lord and, in my opinion, is a very good role model. He is not perfect though, as he has had some extra-marital problems, but I will not discuss them any further than I just have. Holyfield speaks his mind, but he is not outspoken like Muhammad Ali. There is no one who could (or can) promote a fight like Ali. The only thing he has relied on to promote his fights is his boxing ability.
Another positive for Evander is that he is not cocky. In general, I do not like cocky people or fighter, (although there are a few exceptions.)Evander seems very humble and is one of the elite group of superstars, who realize their greatness and is not a bad person beacause of it. Actually I think there is a perception that celebrities are mean and concieted, but almost all of the ones who I met were very nice. (No,I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Evander yet.)
If I had to pick a fight in the career of Holyfield that made him great, I would say it was hist first fight against Bowe. Bowe really faded away after his Holyfield fights, but at the time Bowe was really dominant. Holyfield took the best from Bowe and came back for more. It is easy for someone to 'dish out' the punishment, but it takes someone special to take the punishment and still 'dish it out.' He really took a beating that night, but was still fighting strong in the 12th round. He did not win that fight but it was a fight that made his 'warrior heart' shine through.
The fight that I think made him an all-time great was the first fight against Tyson. At this point in his career, Evander had done some really great things in the ring. He didn't just fight... he fought wars. When he fought Tyson, everyone (including myslef) thought Evander would lose. In the fight though he took the best that Mike Tyson had, then came back and laid the smack down. His boxing was magical that night. That night, he also tied a record of Muhammad Ali, to win the heavyweight championship 3 times.
This week Evander has a chance to break that record and win the championship for an unprecedented 4 times. It would be a mavelous feat if he can win. His opponent isn't very tough either so his chances are very good.
I think Evander is in the top 5 as far as all-time greats are concerned. He is and always will be my favorite boxer of all time, but I realize he may not be the best. I will continue this commentary later so come back later for the next part.
In the meantime, if you would like to respond to anything I wrote, please post a message in my message board. Or, if you would like a personal response... email me.
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