Ferocity and Passion just drips off these men. They don't just want to win, they want the other guy so defeated he never wants to fight again. For these men boxing is not sport, it is bloodsport. Their entire mindset is offense and tearing at the other man. They can be skilled enough not to take punches, but if that's what it takes? So be it. They aren't necessarily huge punchers but they never stop coming and never stop throwing. They weren't always the best boxers, but the kind of guys you'd like on your side as you walked into a dark alley. Who am I looking for? Think of Joe Louis...and then find his exact opposite.
Let's do it by division
105-Rosendo Alvarez is the only name that hits me.
108-Passionate, fiery, the Little Hands of Stone Michael Carbajal.
112-Francisco Guilledo. A tiny Jack Dempsey. A tornado of action. One thing that sets him apart from others in this class? He was scrupulously sportsmanlike, especially once he knocked someone down. We know him better as Pancho Villa.
115- Vic Darchinyan is the kind of guy I'm talking about. Khaosai Galaxy was too metronomic and emotionless.
118-The bantamweights are absolutely loaded in this category. Terrible Terry McGovern, Eddie Cannonball Martin, Masahiko Fighting Harada, Ruben Olivares and Jeff Fenech all deserve a mention. But I'm going to go with a lesser quality fighter. The Pocket Rocket Wayne McCullough fought with as much verve and passion and drive as one could ask for.
122-I am just going to throw up my hand on this one. Given my criteria? Picking between Bazooka Gomez and Erik Morales would just be criminal. It says something when Israel Vasquez finishes a distant third.
126-Another division that is simply loaded with these kinds of men. Young Corbett II was notorious for his trash talking before and during fights. Most notably he out nastied Terry McGovern. THAT takes some doing. Kid Kaplan never stopped bringing it. Danny Lopez was a nice guy, except in the ring. Eusabio Pedroza never understood that rules actually existed in the ring. But the runaway winner in this category is Sandy Saddler. Brutal puncher who would do, and did WHATEVER it took to win. Even George Foreman called him a nasty man.
130-I am going to put two fighters who fought one another four times and offered each other absolutely no quarter in any of them. Cuts, knockdowns and guys smiling as they got up. The Schoolboy and Bazooka. Bobby Chacon and Bazooka Limon.
135-The easiest pick on the board as he was the guy I was first thinking of. Roberto Duran.
140-It says something that even fighters as passionate and fiery as Ricky Hatton and Julio Cesar Chavez and Jackie Kid Berg aren't really in the running here. What time is it? HAWK TIME. Aaron Pryor in a walk.
147-Men like Mickey Walker and Henry Armstrong fought with undeniable spirit and fire. Ray Robinson considered himself a gladiator. But did anybody ever want it more than Carmen Basilio?
154-He only spent a very short time here, but how many fighters ever went after it the way Felix Trinidad did? I think both John Mugabi and Fernando Vargas also deserve a mention here.
160-As much as I want to give this to Marvin Hagler? I think he belongs no higher than fifth or sixth. Rocky Graziano's scowl is all one needs to see to know he belongs. If graziano gets a mention so does the Man of Steel Tony Zale. From the way Ray Robinson described his pre-fight feelings when The Bronx Bull Jake LaMotta was in the other corner and the way he saved his title against Laurent Dauthuille, he gets a nod. But the winner has to be Stanley Ketchell. I have never read anything about the guy that doesn't describe him the same way. A relentless, nasty, vicious human whirlwind.
168-A division of um, er, gentlemen. Bleh. I gotta give it to someone I guess. The Dark Destroyer himself, Nigel Benn.
175-Another just loaded division in this area. Battling Siki, Paul Berlanbach, Bob Foster, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Marvin Johnson, Freddie Mills. But the whole James Scott fighting out of Rahway State Prison has got to deserve this, doesn't it?
Cruiserweight-Evander Holyfield. Any questions?
Heavyweight-I think there are five possible names here. The Great John L, Jack Dempsey, Young George Foreman, Smokin' Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson. I'll go with Dempsey over Tyson only because Tyson was modeled on Dempsey and not the other way around.
Where am I wrong and who have I left out?
