On the evening of Friday, June 3rd, the world lost something it has never seen the likes of, and may never see the likes of again when larger-than-life icon Muhammad Ali succumbed to long time illness at age 74. When you look back at the life and journey of Muhammad Ali, present were many tales of everything from the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the lives of all the ‘greats’, there’s always one pivotal moment that seemed to be the catalyst in bringing them to a stage in which they’d one day fully conquer. For Michael Jordan, it was being cut on the varsity basketball team.
Boxing History
Boxing history articles
With Ali gone, who is the world’s greatest living fighter?
Whether or not you agreed with the man himself when he made his bold claim of being The Greatest, and whether or not you agree with those fans and experts who say heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali deserves to go down in history as the best fighter of all time, it has to be agreed how the world lost a very special boxer, athlete and human being on June 3rd when the three-time king passed away.
Muhammad Ali – January 17th 1942-June 3rd 2016 – Tsunami of tributes pour in for The Greatest
The greatest fighter of all-time, Muhammad Ali, passed away just hours ago as surely every person with a TV, a radio or a computer knows by now. Without doubt the most famous, the most celebrated and the most intoxicating sporting personality who ever lived, Ali, the former three-time world heavyweight king, will continue to be celebrated and honoured for many days, weeks, months, years, decades, maybe even centuries from now.
The Lost Fights of Mike Tyson Part 1: George Foreman
When discussing “Iron” Mike Tyson, and his Icarus-like ascent and descent from the summit of heavyweight boxing in the 80s and 90s, the debate always turns to the dream fights. How would the version of Tyson who crushed Trevor Berbick have dealt with the Muhammad Ali who carved up Cleveland Williams? How would the Catskills man have stacked up against “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis? Could he have matched leather with Marciano, Frazier or Dempsey? While we will never have definitive answers to these questions, there are three intriguing fights that were at the negotiation stage during Tyson’s terrifying and controversial rule over the sport of kings. These three bouts, had they come off, could have irrevocably changed the history of the sport’s banner division for years to come. Here we take a look at the first of these match-ups: Mike Tyson vs George Foreman.
VIDEO: The tale of Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe
Canelo Alvarez recently decided it was time to relinquish his WBC middleweight title rather than face fellow titleholder Gennady Golovkin in a unification bout. Many fans are outraged over Canelo’s reluctance to face Golovkin. It remains to be seen how this will ultimately impact Alvarez’s career and drawing power. But in the midst of this recent disappointment for boxing fans, many observers are comparing this situation to one that occurred back in the early 1990s when undisputed heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe deposited the heavyweight version of the WBC title into a trash bin rather than face his mandatory Lennox Lewis.
Iran Barkley speaks: “The Blade” on Hearns, Leonard, Duran, Benn and more
As he is often fond of saying whenever he grants an interview, former three-weight champion Iran Barkley never had things easy during his career. The blood and guts warrior who gave his all in memorable battles with the likes of Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Nigel Benn and others, can come across as bitter at times – bitter over how he feels he was not paid the type of big money he should have been and bitter over how he feels he was “robbed” in some of his fights.
But Barkley always gives a good interview – with a career full of great fights, how could he not – and today, recently married, the 55-year-old comes across as more upbeat and cheerful. ESB has had the pleasure of speaking with “The Blade” on a number of occasions and each time he has been kind enough to grant some of his time, Barkley has proven a very interesting subject.
Hagler-Hearns: still the greatest fight in middleweight history – but what if there’d been a rematch?
It’s just over three decades old (31 years ago today to be exact) but no fight has surpassed the epic three-round war between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas “Hitman” Hearns since it took place in Las Vegas in 1985 – certainly no middleweight fight has topped “The War.” With seemingly reckless abandon, the two greats, who were at their peak at the time of the showdown, launched into one another. Fans, experts and even the commentators could barely do anything but watch in awe as the magnificent warfare unfolded.
Sugar Ray Leonard – Kevin Howard: the failed comeback that came before the ultimate return to glory
Over three decades ago, May 11th 1984, former unified welterweight king Sugar Ray Leonard, boxing as a light-middleweight, fought for the first time since a near two year layoff. Going in with the little-known Kevin Howard, Leonard was returning to the ring having announced his retirement in November of 1982 due to suffering a detached retina in his left eye.
Coming back with an idea of perhaps making a bold challenge for Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s middleweight crown (Hagler acted as co-commentator for HBO), Leonard was thoroughly dissatisfied with his performance against Howard. Not only did Sugar Ray feel rusty, he was also knocked down in the bout, the 4th-round knockdown from a Howard right hand to the head being the 27-year-old’s first-ever trip to the canvas during a largely glorious career.
Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler: still the most controversial decision in boxing history
There have always been debatable decisions in boxing and there will continue to be so. Yet when it comes to picking one fight that is sure to cause a very passionate debate on the subject of who should have been awarded the judges’ decision, there is one fight that is the big daddy of them all: Sugar Ray Leonard’s 12-round split decision victory over reigning and defending middleweight king Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
When the ex-marine broke the draft dodger’s jaw – Norton-Ali
It might be something of a morbid subject, but Muhammad Ali, a man who literally gave everything he had in the pursuit of the greatness he achieved in the ring, is, despite the ghastly health problems he has been suffering with for over three decades, outliving his former ring rivals by a quite substantial amount of time. Ali, now aged 74 and more or less housebound, has lived longer than former foes including: Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Jimmy Ellis, Sir Henry Cooper, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Jerry Quarry, Floyd Patterson and even his final ring rival, Trevor Berbick.