List your top 10 most influential people in boxing history.

[ray corso]

John L. Sullivan Heavyweight Champion of the World!
Jack Johnson Heavyweight Champion of the World!
Jack Dempsey the most influencial athlete of his time. More well known than Babe Ruth at that time.
Tex Ritter..........manager/promoter/matchmaker first that I know of who sold shares on fighters.
Joe Louis Heavyweight Champion of the World.....the best technical Heavyweight so far.
Sugar Ray Robinson welterweight & middleweight Champion. The Best Fighter of ALL Time!
Rocky Marciano ......Undisputed Undefeated Heavyweigh Champion of the World!
Cassius Clay/M. Ali..........Gold Medalists 3 Time Heavyweight Champion of the World! Greatest Promotor of All Time!!
Ray Arcel,Freddy Brown,Jack Blackburn, Eddie Futch,Georgie Benton, Sam Soloman, Pat Nappi, Angie Dundee, Manny Stewart,
I don't like promotors!!!! matchmakers either!!
I have to mention Ray Leonard Mike Tyson Oscar de La Hoya the three were influential personalities in the sport during their prime times!
Don Dumphy the best commentatory, and Johnny Addie the best announcer of all time!

lunch time! Ray. I'm sure I forgot alot of good people!

[bradlee180]

Jack Dempsey
Muhammad Ali
Jack Johnson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Manny Pacquiao
Tex Rickard
Bob Arum
Don King
Jose Sulaiman
Oscar De La Hoya
Mike Tyson

[IamInuit]

In no particular order
Jem Mace. First man to apply the sweet science to pugilistic endeavor and beat the piss out of much larger men in the process.
John Douglas or the 9th Marquees of Queensbury. Although penned by John Graham Chambers his stamp of approval changed boxing from a grappling circus like act to what we see today.
Nat Fleischer. Ring founder and incredible historian
Ray Arcel and Whitey Birmstein The Tag team trainers. Love Whitey’s famous quote. “Show me a fighter that is undefeated and I’ll show you a fighter that hasn’t fought anybody.
John L Sullivan. Pure pioneer. Held the bareknuckle title before gloves and then won it with them.
Tex Rickard
Ali
Ray Leonard. First 100 million dollar earner and for better or for worse changed the face of prize fighting.
Sulaiman. For all the wrong reasons starting with the creation of 17 divisions.


I’d throw Poverty in the mix if it were a person.

[scribbs]

James Figg - First Boxing Amphitheater
Jack Broughton - Established Rules
Jem Mace - First Universally Recognised Champ
Marquis of Queensbury - Established Modern Rules
Richard K Fox - Police Gazette - Precursor to Fleischer & Ring Magazine reporting on boxing
Terry McGovern - Innovative style in Old Timers era
Tex Rickard / Mike Jacobs - Promoter of Big Boxing events - - MSG Honcho
Nat Fleischer - Ring Magazine establishing ranking & belts for all weight divison
Frankie Carbo - IBC Honcho who controlled much of boxing
Jose Sulaiman - WBC Honcho who changed some rules

Sorry that's 11 but couldn't separate Jacobs & Rickard as they were intertwined.

[bzkfn]

Jack Johnson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Bob Arum
Don King
Jose Suliaman
Muhammed Ali/Cassius Clay
Mike Tyson
Oscar De La Hoya
Frank Warren (For BoxNation, I've wanted an all Boxing Channel for years!)
Ricky Hatton (For what he did for Boxing in the UK)

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

1. The Marquis of Queensbury
2. Ring Magazine
3. YouTube

[TitoFan]

Good question, and good thread.

You said "good" OR "bad", so I'll go with that.

Muhammad Ali - His name's got to be first on the list. People who don't know shit about boxing still know and recognize Ali's name.

Don King - I'm not saying he's second on the list, 'cause from here on out, they're in no particular order. And he's not on the "good" side, either. But he has been extremely influential in boxing and the good he did for the sport's popularity cannot be denied, no matter how much of a scumbag he is.

Sugar Ray Leonard - He was the quintessential All-American, good-looking, smart young man who made good. Forget skin color. He made most boxing fans love him. Not to mention he's one of the ATG's, at a time when boxing was enjoying a time of riches in talent. He had not one, but several epic fights against other ATG's.

Joe Louis - One of the very best HW champs in history. But beyond that... he brought the nation together with his KO over Max Schmeling. Good over evil. America over Nazi Germany. A black man making his country proud. Too bad America was still embroiled in it's racist years... and the racist culture continued. So you could say that America was united in race during a few joyful days of celebration. The unfortunately it was business as usual.

Howard Cosell - Yes... he was abrasive and arrogant. But he was also intellectual and brought a cerebral aspect to boxing commentary which undoubtedly brought in a lot of fans. Love him or hate him, he was a polarizing figure.

Jim Lampley - Yes... the guy we all love to hate. Like it or not, Lampley has been the face of boxing on arguably the biggest TV network when it comes to boxing. His face and voice will be forever connected to boxing. Many young fans have been watching Lampley as long as they can remember.

Michael Buffer - Another surprising name to most of you. But think about it.... who doesn't know Buffer's signature line? Even outside of boxing. And looking at some old boxing clips, announcers were as exciting as watching grass grow. "In this corner... (yawn)... the challenger, weighing 160 pounds.... (yawn).... blah, blah, blah."

Rocky Marciano - Again, not the best. But who didn't know who Rocky Marciano was? How many parallels can be drawn between Rocky Marciano and Stallone's "Rocky"? He was the quintessential white, undersized, hardworking, Italian-American champion of the masses. Retired undefeated, which added to his myth. Mention the name of Rocky Marciano outside of boxing... and most people recognize the name.



I tried to stick with universal influence. Surely some fighters can be named, who have been influential in their own countries. Like Hatton in England... and Trinidad in Puerto Rico. But sticking to strictly global influence, I'd have to say those are the main names on my list.

[Master]

These influenced me.

Ali – Greatest boxer to transcend the sport
Tyson – my hero
Cus De Mato – magical trainer who created my hero
King – controlled the heavyweights
Arum – controlled the non- heavyweights
Louis – credit to the human race
Herol Graham – first boxing hero
Dundee – Ali, SRL and Foreman
Manny Steward – Kronk Gym and Hit Man Hearn’s
Nat – Ring mag for his historical insight

[bzkfn]

Jim Lampley - Yes... the guy we all love to hate. Like it or not, Lampley has been the face of boxing on arguably the biggest TV network when it comes to boxing. His face and voice will be forever connected to boxing. Many young fans have been watching Lampley as long as they can remember.

Michael Buffer - Another surprising name to most of you. But think about it.... who doesn't know Buffer's signature line? Even outside of boxing. And looking at some old boxing clips, announcers were as exciting as watching grass grow. "In this corner... (yawn)... the challenger, weighing 160 pounds.... (yawn).... blah, blah, blah."

Both of these are good calls. If I lived in the US, Lampley might have made my list. Buffer definately should have been on my list though. The mans voice is iconic. His voice is so smooth, I almost want him to introduce me to the bedroom before I have sex.