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As long as there is going to be sports, there will be controversy. That applies to all sports, including high school. However, it seems that professional sports get the most costly controversy of all.
Take the boxing world. Since the fistic sports first started, there were stories written about the sports that don't meet the fancy of the fight fan. The biggest controversial subject in boxing is, "Who is, or was, the best boxer in the fight game?" The answer is, "Many."
Supposedly, there is going to be a movie made about the great "Sugar" Ray Robinson. It should be a good one depending on how they portray Robinson. In my opinion, in the last 65 years, there was none better. I can't go beyond that time as there were many good ones, but it seems that the consensus is that he was the greatest ever, a good boxer, puncher, and good speed. He fought the best.
There were many great fighters over the fistic start of boxing and if I had my choice for second place, it would be Willie "Will-O-The-Wisp" Pep. Following him would be the great Joe Louis. Are my picks subject to controversy? Very possible, yet I based my three best on their achievement in the ring, and all were great.
In the days of James J. Jeffries, the heavyweight champion of his era, the black man wasn't wanted as a champion. Jeffries could punch hard and being in top shape, was hard to beat. He was born in Carroll, Ohio. However, after he was long retired, the great Jack Johnson came on the scene and of course being black, there was no way the white public was going to stand for him being the heavyweight champion of the world. Now, before Jeffries retired, he was undefeated as a professional boxer, long before Rocky Marciano was. But again, the public didn't want Johnson. But the man was a great boxer and some say the best defensive heavyweight to step in the ring.
Jeffries Made A Bad Move
Jeffries made a bad move: to try to get rid of Johnson, those involved started a campaign to egg Jeffries out of retirement to fight and dethrone Johnson. Jeffries was out of the ring for five years and gained a tremendous amount of weight. Some stories have him losing 80 pounds to fight Johnson. The try to get him out of retirement was successful and he took a beating from Johnson before being stopped for the count in the 15th round. Had they fought when Jeffries was in his prime, it could have been a different story, or outcome as the boxing fans would say. Although Johnson won hands down, the weight loss was a big factor for Jeffries, but he chose to come out of retirement and paid the price.
So you see, boxing is a strange sport. But yet, those of us who still like it know that Jack Johnson was one great fighter, one of the best.
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