F--- boxing

Marciano had the same rap, as champion and contender. He beat guys like Roland LaStarza and Rex Layne on the way up but his most notable win was probably against Joe Louis in what would be Louis's last fight. He beat an aging Walcott for the title and defended against him, had two really tough fights against Ezzard Charles, known more for being an all-time great light heavyweight champion, and finished his career against Archie Moore, another great light heavyweight champ who was 42 at the time. In the end Marciano beat whoever they put in front of him, it wasn't his fault he fought in what was not a golden era of heavyweight boxing.

 

Tyson had two chances to face Holyfield when he was in his prime and he screwed it up each time.

First, when he lost to Buster Douglas.

Second when an injury in training forced their fight to be postponed and his legal issues kept it from being rescheduled.

Yet some regarded Holyfield as a “paper champion “ during that time because he didn’t fight Tyson.

That never made sense to me.

After they finally fought in 96 and 97, someone made an interesting comparison. Holyfield was the Gene Tunney of that era and Tyson was the Jack Dempsey. Even though Tunney beat Dempsey in both of their fights, Dempsey was still regarded as the dominant heavyweight of that era, and so it was with Holyfield and Tyson.

 

That's an interesting comparison; Dempsey, like Tyson, was one of the most famous athletes of his time while Tunney, like Holyfield, was the guy moving up in weight to take on the champ.