bull shyt lol
people love Sugar ray because he took on all comers in there prime, and fought a lot in short period of time. He would have been loved just as much if he won every fight.
If ali would have went undefeated he still would have been loved and praised.
these boxing debate type conversations never end well so ima bow out now.
Bow out after you call bull shyt?
Larry Holmes bust EVERYONE's ass until he got old. How far down on the list of greatest heavyweights is he for most? Folks can't give him the respect he deserves because he beat everyone and diminished their value.
You can't love a fighter who beat everyone because it diminishes the other fighter's value. Sugar can't be great without beatin' great fighters. Can't argue that. But how do you get great fighters?
Who's Duran without a win over Leonard? Hearns, Hagler... these fighters are best known for their fights against EACH OTHER.
And Hagler wasn't in his prime. They were both old and Hagler retired afterwards.
Same with Ali. Who is Frazier without the Ali win? Norton? Part of Ali's legacy is comin' back to beat those fighters.
And with Ali, it's circumstance. He crushes Frazier if they fight before his 3 year ban... probably bad enough there's no trilogy.
Loved and praised? Sure. Considered the greatest? How so without beatin' other greats? But how are those boxers great? By beatin' other greats. And so on.