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Que Pasa ? Boxing Aficionados:
I'm sure my top 5 favorites will come as no surprise to the ' BOXING GURU' seeing we grew up together going to the old "Olympic Auditorium" in downtown Los Angeles @ 18th and Grand, not to mention the big championship fights that were held at either the Los Angeles Sports Arena or the "Fabulous Forum".
1. Salvador Sanchez- World Champion - Pound for pound could not and was not beat, he had a shy boyish grin, always came across as grateful for the opportunity to be interviewed. I remember when he did a exclusive interview for a then up and coming publication known only in Calif as "Lowrider Magazine". At his early and untimely death the NFL Hall of Fame coach John Madden called Salvador "the finest athlete he had ever seen" after watching Salvador's training routine for a Championship defense in Las Vegas.
Salvador always did his talking in the ring.
2. Julio Ceasar Chavez - World Champion - Outside the ring friendly, engaging loves his fans. Inside the ring "all business" unbeatable by anyone in his prime, proved that in one of the greatest comebacks against Medrick Taylor who was clearly outpointing the Champion before his devastating knockout at Ceasar's hands, to look at Ceasar's calm focus before the 15th is something I will never forget. Julio never ducked any fighter or hid behind his belt, he was ready as Champion to defend against any and all comers His only mistake which is common in many of the great ones is he fought way to long and lost to 'Palukas" that would never have had a chance against him in his prime.
3. Larry Holmes- World Champion- The most underrated and unappreciated heavyweight of our time He was awesome in his prime and never ducked an up and coming
opponent. Inside the ring knew how to take advantage of his size and reach to keep his opponent at bay until he could land the knock out punch. He is loved and respected by those who know him best in his hometown of Easton, Penn. I dare say that the only other Heavyweight that may have had a chance against him in his prime would have been "The Greatest" in his prime. and even though Larry beat the greatest, he would be the first to tell you that Ali was way past his prime when he beat him, as Larry was way past his prime when he lost to "Mike Tyson". .
4. Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini- World Champion - Exciting to watch, you could not help but root for him. He had a great respect for the sport and the opponents he faced. But in the ring it was "Bombs Away" A great TV presence and not a bad color man for fights. His downfall came after he killed the South Korean fighter he was never the same after that.
5. Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali "The Greatest"- World Champion- What he accomplished in the ring speaks for itself. But what he has done outside the ring is unmatched by any other athlete in the world. Whether you agree with his stands or not, no one can argue that he was not passionate about the stands he took and more than once risked all he owned to defend his right to say what "America" in that day did not care to hear.
5 LEAST FAVORITE
1. Mike Tyson- Great talent, ungrateful, disrespectful and typical spoiled athlete. Proved he was not that bright when he joined up w/ Don King, and turned his back on his team that made him what he was. Cus would be so disappointed. it was truly the beginning of the end and Mike himself now knows that looking back.
2. Sugar Ray Leonard- Overrated, always waited for the big name opponents to be on there way out
before he fought them. Beating Thomas "Hit Man" Hearnes was the only legit championship fight he ever won. Duran #1 Ray was humiliated, Duran #2 was a fixed fight and I believe on his dying bed Roberto "Manos de Piedra" will confess he took a dive in that one. Duran #3 Roberto was 3 months from collecting Social Security, okay maybe not 3 months, but he was old. And lets not forget how long he ducked "Marvelous Marvin Hagler" , not until the old man Roberto Duran went the distance with Hagler did Ray decide to make a comeback. Ray a world class opportunist.
3. Parnell Whitaker- Overrated, Sugar Ray Leonard light.
4. Gentleman Gerry Cooney- Fighter cmon, he laughed all the way to the bank.
5. Fernando Vargas- Awesome talent but lacks true sportsmanship, does not give the proper respect to those who have beat him legit.
Ed "The Mex" Delgado
Sisnerosboxing@... wrote:
Brian,
I have to say that I like your 5 faves too. Vinny Paz will always be
one of my favorites and could have easily been in my top 5 too! When I
first started collecting autographs from boxers for my little boxing
museum, I wrote to him, and didn't hear back for a while, but one day
there was a big yellow envelope from PAZ! He sent me a nice letter with
an autographed 8x10 and an autographed boxing card too! I think he's a
great character from the ranks of pro boxing, and I know many think he's
"Too Cocky", but I think he's one of my favorite boxers of all time, not
only because of his heart and skill, but I think he has a good heart as
a person too!
Say Brian, you said something about YOUR boxing days... Did you fight
Amateur? Pro? Do you have any video of your fights? I'd love to see
them, and maybe put them on my public access boxing show (if you'd
like). Let me know!
-- The Boxing Guru
THE GURU'S BOXING MUSEUM
http://angelfire.com/nm/boxingmuseum
To: boxingonvideotape@yahoogroups.com
From: BRIAN PENNACCHIA <koartist23@...>
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:39:51 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: [boxingonvideotape] Favorite and LEAST favorite boxers...
Hi everybody,My 5 Favorite Boxers are in this order:1-Evander Holyfield-The way he was always the smaller guy and would show such heart and determination in every fight was truly inspiring.2- Vinny Pazienza- Lived five houses away from his gym in Providence R.I.. first met him while throwing a Tennis ball up against the wall of his gym as a sort of outfielder's practice. The man who came out to see what the noise was? Lou Duva. He sent me to the store for him,let me keep the change and introduced me to the"Next World Champion" Vinny Pazienza. From there I became a fixture inside his gym. I would start my own Boxing career shortly thereafter, and would later serve as a Sparring Partner for Vinny in his fights with Joe Kiwanuka and Esteban Dejesus.3- Sugar Ray Leonard- Terriffic speed, always found a way to win and for a flashy speedy kind of fighter was a killer when he had you in trouble.4- Rocky Marciano- The pride of all Italian-Americans5- Floyd Mayweather jr.- Unbelievable skillsFive least favorite:Naseem HamedLennox LewisIan GardnerZab JudahJulio Cesar Chavez
"The Boxing Guru (Dan)" <Sisnerosboxing@...> wrote:Hi everybody,
I'm just curious, who are your 5 FAVORITE boxers and your 5 LEAST FAVORITE boxers of all time? I'm talking about personality wise, or the way they handle themselves etc., not their style of boxing, but rather the way they connected (or dis-connected) with you as a fan!
-- The Boxing Guru
I can start this, and I think 5 is a small number but here are my 5:
FAVORITES OF ALL TIME:
1. JOHNNY TAPIA - I've known Johnny since I moved to New Mexico back in 1988, and he's always been kind to his fans, takes time to sign autographs and visit with them. Johnny will always have a special place in my heart because when our Son died in 1998, Johnny called us from Big Bear, CA to see how we were doing and send his respects.
2. ALEXIS ARGUELLO - I think Alexis always showed respect to his opponents, and through his personal problems still took time to be polite and kind to the fans.
3. BOBBY CHACON - Even through his personal problems, he was very popular when I was a youngster growing up in the L.A. area. He always stopped to talk with people at boxing events and remained friendly throughout his career and after!
4. AARON PRYOR - Aaron was pretty cocky and always played "The Bad Guy" during his prime boxing career. But he's really proven his self to be an honest and caring person these days. "The Hawk" has been very active helping others, and has always responded to my contacts. He's a great story of someone who has turned their life around. I think the world of him.
5. RAY MANCINI - Ray was always easy to root for. He is friendly and takes time for his fans too.
-----------------
My "Least Fave Five":
1. PERNELL WHITAKER
2. ZAB JUDAH
3. MIKE TYSON
4. NASEEM HAMED
5. LAILA ALI
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