BOXING MYTHS

We have all heard someone state something about our beloved sport or a particular fighter as fact that is in fact untrue. What are some that annoy you and why?

1. Mike Tyson was a great inside fighter. No he wasnt. Tyson SUCKED at fighting inside. He was man-handled and pushed around by just about EVERYONE he ever fought on the inside. What Tyson was, was a master of MID-RANGE fighting. He could work his way inside a fighters long reach (not INSIDE) and then get off big shots before he fell INSIDE and was smothered or tied up.

2. Rocky Marciano was a bleeder with tissue paper skin. Nope again. Mike Tyson suffered more cuts in his career than the Rock did. Marciano suffered one of the most horrific cuts ever, and he did get cut a few times, but the notion that he bled at the introductions is untrue.

3. Willie Pepp once won a round without throwing a punch. This one bugs me. Pepp awesome. He was great. But he NEVER won a round without throwing a punch. The myth became firmly entrenched in the sports lore when Bert Sugar MADE UP a story about the fight (which he has acknowledged was a work of PURE fiction) that people continueto believe. Even after historians like Monte Cox completley shredded his story with accurate and historical facts.

4. In Boxing Speed Kills. Ok, this one is a bit subjective (hey its boxing after all). Speed is an asset in the sport but it is no more important than Power, chin, endurance, toughness, etc. What KILLS in boxing is superior CRAFT. Ill take a guy like Michael Spinks or Archie Moore over the muuch faster and more athletically gifter Roy Jones Jr. all day long BECAUSE thier craft and skill level is SSOOOOO much higher they can not just over-come that speed but actually USE it against a guy like Jones who lacks basic fundamentals.

What are some of your favorites?

you stole 2 i would have, Tyson and the Pep thing

Jack Johnson wouldnt fight black fighters

Rocky Marciano ducked Floyd Patterson

FLoyd Mayweather Jr wont fight anybody

Pernell WHitaker was high on cocaine when he fought (he only failed 1 post fight drug test vs Pastraneov or whatever his name was)

1)Joe Calzaghe had no power. Not true at all Joe broke his hands early in the amateurs and they never properly healed. It's still impressive that he got 32 stoppages with such brittle hands.

This isn't a myth, but I hate the fact that people give so much creedence to power punchers. How many guys really are power punchers? There is a littany of guys who knocked out bums, journeyman, other prospects, and other contenders on their way to the top.


It is rare to find a guy that can continue to knock out guys when they get to the top of a division. When it comes down to top 5 guys in most divisions, the better technical boxer will normally win.

boxinglawyer wrote:

We have all heard someone state something about our beloved sport or a particular fighter as fact that is in fact untrue. What are some that annoy you and why?

1. Mike Tyson was a great inside fighter. No he wasnt. Tyson SUCKED at fighting inside. He was man-handled and pushed around by just about EVERYONE he ever fought on the inside. What Tyson was, was a master of MID-RANGE fighting. He could work his way inside a fighters long reach (not INSIDE) and then get off big shots before he fell INSIDE and was smothered or tied up.

2. Rocky Marciano was a bleeder with tissue paper skin. Nope again. Mike Tyson suffered more cuts in his career than the Rock did. Marciano suffered one of the most horrific cuts ever, and he did get cut a few times, but the notion that he bled at the introductions is untrue.

3. Willie Pepp once won a round without throwing a punch. This one bugs me. Pepp awesome. He was great. But he NEVER won a round without throwing a punch. The myth became firmly entrenched in the sports lore when Bert Sugar MADE UP a story about the fight (which he has acknowledged was a work of PURE fiction) that people continueto believe. Even after historians like Monte Cox completley shredded his story with accurate and historical facts.

4. In Boxing Speed Kills. Ok, this one is a bit subjective (hey its boxing after all). Speed is an asset in the sport but it is no more important than Power, chin, endurance, toughness, etc. What KILLS in boxing is superior CRAFT. Ill take a guy like Michael Spinks or Archie Moore over the muuch faster and more athletically gifter Roy Jones Jr. all day long BECAUSE thier craft and skill level is SSOOOOO much higher they can not just over-come that speed but actually USE it against a guy like Jones who lacks basic fundamentals.

What are some of your favorites?

Great stuff BLawyer. My favorite is the 2nd Ali - Liston fight. It was supposed to be fixed, however, Life Magazine caught a photo of Liston's feet up in the air as "So called Phantom Punch" landed. What we had here was a lousy referee. Jersey Joe Walcott, a great fighter, panicked at the sight of Ali standing over Liston and daring him to get up. He correctly started the count once he got Ali to a neutral corner, however the time keeper called Walcott over and told him Liston had been down for more then 10 seconds. Sure he had, with Ali standing over him. Ali was giving it to Liston when Jersey Joe got the word from the time keeper and stopped the fight. Bottom line. Liston got hit with a punch he didn't see. Hector Camacho threw many of those at lightweights and jr. lightweights early in his career. No big deal. But when a the big, giant Liston falls, people see a different story. They don't consider that Ali was actually bigger than Sonny. Anyway, that's my take.

a punch landed but no hcance in hell Liston rolls around on the ground like that for 15 seconds from that punch

My feelings on Liston/Ali II change depending on what I last read about it, LOL!. I think there is a high probability the fight was fixed based solely on Listons connection to Carbo, who DID fix fights in those days. I do NOT think the first fight was fixed at ALL, it makes zero sense. The motivation and the pay-off as well as the opportunity DID exist in the second fight though.
I also believe that Ali landed a punch on Liston. Video has proved that to me anyway.

the fact that Carbo bought the rematch to Liston Ali 2 before the first fight even happened just stinks

Birdofthad wrote:

you stole 2 i would have, Tyson and the Pep thing

Jack Johnson wouldnt fight black fighters

Rocky Marciano ducked Floyd Patterson

Those are good ones. I have heard the one about Jack Johnson a LOT and it bugs me too. Good call.

The Marciano thing is a hit and miss with me. I do think that if Marciano does not have the plane crash he probably fights Patterson. It would have been hard for him to resist I think. That fight would have been interesting in my opinion only because we dont know how far the Rock had slipped and how much the lay-off would affect him. My guy tells me Pattersons style would give Rock some trouble for a few rounds but a single bomb from Marciano probably ends Patterson in the middle-rounds.

i dont understand boxing lawyer..the plane crash rocky was in came some 13 years after he retired.there was no way that he was interested in fighting again after 13 years of enjoying retirement let alone a patterson match..

Myth: George Foreman's KO of Michael Moorer to win the HW title the second time was a fix.

I believe Foreman hit Moorer with a legit shot to stop him, no fix there, but I do think the KO was a bit "miraculous".

ya Ring no way that was fucking fixed Moorers body was dead as a it gets

Birdofthad wrote:

the fact that Carbo bought the rematch to Liston Ali 2 before the first fight even happened just stinks

This is really interesting. Where can I read up on it? I"m honestly not busting your balls, I've just never heard this rumor. If Carbo bought the rematch before the first fight even happened, that stinks to hell.

Fighter X has no chin - I hate seeing guys get caught with massive shots and all of a sudden they have no chin.

Vivian Harris has a weak chin, Roy Jones Jr. had a fine chin, the verdict is still out on Amir Khan.

Fighter X got exposed - Sometimes one fighter is better than another fighter. That doesn't mean the other guy is bad. And even if they lose when another guy keys in on a glaring weakness, it usually takes a special fighter to find it and execute.

Jeff Lacy got exposed, Ricky Hatton did not.

Fighter X is/was a bum - This goes along with the above. Nowadays a loss, even to a top fighter means that a guy wasn't that good.

Ricky Hatton is not a bum, Yuri Foreman is not a bum.

Sex before fights weakens the legs. No surprise that some of the greatest fighters that ever did it, Louis, Ali and Robinson, were some of the biggest skirt chasers in history.

harry greb was known to have had woman in the dressing room just before a fight..many times ..maybe thats the key to harrys great career.0

Myth: Marvin Hagler vs. Tommy Hearns. According to Emanuel Steward, Hearns received a leg massage before the fight which weakened his legs. However, when looking at the fight, it seemed that his legs only got wobbly when Hagler was hitting him with the hardest punches he ever absorbed.

Myth 2: Marvin Hagler vs. Tommy Hearns. According to Tommy, he broke his hand midway through the first round. Your guess is as good as mine on this one. It's hard for me to believe because he was hitting Hagler with the right over and over and over again. It's just a matter of who you believe.

Myth 3. (God, hard to believe I'm a Hearns fan here.) Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Tommy Hearns I. Hearns was way ahead on the cards, and should've been. The first knockdown in the 13th round was a ruled a slip. Hearns was hit in the head at least 40 times and it's just a coincidence that he went flying out of the ring. There was confusion, because as Hearns was falling out of the ring, he grabbed Leonard's hands to avoid a trip in the celebrity section. Leonard grabbed his hands away and Hearns luckily grabbed the ropes. The 2nd knockdown was ruled a knockdown. If the round had been scored correctly, Leonard would've had a 10-7 round. Couple that with rounds 6 and 7, both of which should've been scored 10 -8 for Leonard along with Sugar winning rounds 8 and 10 and you have this fight dead even going into the 14th. And yes, the fight should've been stopped. If you doubt any of this, go on You tube and look at the action.

dmar5143 wrote:

harry greb was known to have had woman in the dressing room just before a fight..many times ..maybe thats the key to harrys great career.0

Ali - Liston I: Fixed: If this is the case, why did Liston's corner put a buring solution on his gloves to blind Ali before the 5th round? Why was Liston desperately trying to Knock Ali out during this round? I don't get this one.

Great post Boxing Lawyer. I'm all over this one.

Joe Louis can punch as hard as a mule could kick. Has anyone confirmed this by getting kicked by a mule, then letting Louis take his best shot at them. LOL

the first fight was on the up n up...liston did not put stuff on his gloves.thats a movie myth.

Ken Norton could only fight Muhammad Ali. So I guess, Larry Holmes, Jimmy Young and Jerry Quarry cease to exist in the world of boxing.

dmar5143 wrote:

the first fight was on the up n up...liston did not put stuff on his gloves.thats a movie myth.

dmar, I saw that myself. Something was in Clay's eyes and he was blinded during the 5th round. Before that round, he was panicking for Dundee to stop the fight because his eyes were buring so bad. You can look at the action on You tube to confirm.

yes something got in clays eyes off listons glove..both fighters used a little vaseline on there faces to slip punches etc etc and it got there by accident.