I watched some old black and white footage on channel 9's Friday Night Fights when I was very small of Sugar Ray Robinson, but the first really great Fighter I met in person was Muhammad Ali. I was about 7 when I first Met Ali. I ran into him many years later as an adult, and have met dozens of other champions and hundreds of other fighters, but Ali was my first and probably still most favorite.
I think it's amazing that both Stick & Move and I were at the DeLaHOya/Qaartey fight, I took my oldest daughter and my son to that one. Small world.
Ike Quartey and Roy Jones Jr.
I was like nine or ten years old when I first saw them fight (Quartey vs DLH and RJJ breaking Virgil Hills ribs).
Those are the fights that got me into boxing, and from then on I was hooked. After taking a few years off from watching the sport, b/c I got more into playing baseball/basketball and trying to get laid, Kelly Pavlik and the Rafa Marquez/Izzy Vazquez fights got me back into being the hardcore fan I currently am now.
Haven't missed any fights since like 2006-2007.
So all the props go to RJJ, Quartey, Pavlik, and the violent/beautiful wars that Rafa and Izzy put on.
Joe Frazier was an ATG but I don't base my favorite fighters on greatness ,I usually root for my hometown fighters ,Allan Green and Carson Jones.
One of my favorites fighters of the past is Ray Mercer because I saw him in his pro debut and said he would be something special and he did pretty well with his career but I can name a lot of fighters from the past that I admired.
Mine was and always will be SONNY LISTON. ...............In spite of how he's perceived after the two Ali fights, Liston was a force that would have given any heavyweight a very tough night. Without Ali, Liston would have been ranked in the top 5 IMO.
My baptism in to the sport was watching Ali with my brother and cousins at our father's feet. Them on couches and us kids on the floor. We were swayed by the men's opinion, bit Ali didn't need much help keeping us.
mine was barry mcguigan ,he was a bit of a cult hero with the irish and i would watch fight him live a few times and even got to meet him a couple of times when i was about 13 . i loved his aggresive style of fighting yet very mild mannered outside the ring ( a little like manny pac) .
floyd mayweather was the first
Mine was Smoking Joe Frazier! God the man was tough as nails and he was the first to defeatthe great Muhammad Ali.
