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06/09/2008 Archived Entry: "The Best Fight the Best"
The Best Fight the Best
By Ted Sares
Courtesy of Eastsideboxing.com
Great champions last a long time, defend frequently and duck no one --Anonymous
He who is not curageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. --Mohammad Ali
Back in the day, the best always fought the best, or so it seemd. I can recall Ezzard Charles, Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott doing their round robin. Even Marciano got into that mix. Kid Gavilan never backed down from an opponent, nor did tough hombres like Chico Vejar, Joey Giardello, Emile Griffith, Dick Tiger, and, of course, the great Sugar Ray Robinson (who had 24 fights with Hall of Famers alone). George Chuvalo fought anyone who was anyone and Archie Moore had 229 total fights which says it all. The heavyweights in the 70’s never avoided one another. In still another era, Alan Minter, Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Wilfred Benitez and Sugar Ray Leonard did it. I could go on and on, but hopefully I have made my point--which brings me to 2008.
Between 2005 and 2007, Edison Miranda fought Sherwin Davis, Howard Eastman, Arthur Abraham, Willie Gibbs, Allen Green and Kelly Pavlik in succession. He is now scheduled to war with Abraham again. Miranda is old school; he fights superior opposition. So does Joe Calzaghe, who risked his great legacy against tough Mikkel Kessler and Bernard Hopkins, and is now poised to risk it once against Kelly Pavlik. Jermain Taylor duked in succession Pavlik twice, Winky Wright, Cory Spinks, Kassim Ouma and Bernard Hopkins twice—all champions at one time or another. That’s some very impressive risk taking.
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=16021&more=1
