The Importance of a Fighter's Legacy in Boxing

There are many great champions who have made it big in the sport of the Sweet Science. The boxing world remembers them not for the amount of money they had earned in their fighting days, neither for the number of belts they had won, but the challenges they hurdled to get the recognition from every aficionado of the sport. A multi-titled boxer might not be respected and remembered the same way and manner as the other fighter who only held a title or two, and the big question is "why?" It is because of legacy.

Boxing is all about legacy. Although there are many different notions attributed to legacy, for this article's interest, let us define it as "irrefutable accomplishments recorded in history." Beyond question, all boxing champions have left a legacy in the sport for others to discuss and debate over. It could only fall in two categories: tainted and untainted. The first category (tainted) is the more popular one while the second category (untainted) is a little harder to conform to, but surely, there are a few pugilists who have satisfied every aspect of unblemished legacy such as Manny Pacquiao, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Rocky Marciano.

In the arena of pugilism, you have to beat the best to be the best, not stay away from the rest of the best and then proclaim yourself as the best of them all. The previous statement may have sounded too knotty to some so let's extricate it for better understanding. It simply means that fighters must allow the historical records to do the talking for them, discuss their accomplishments, and shed light on their equivocal ring bouts.

Let's take a look at the historical records of the fighters mentioned earlier in this article videlicet Pacquiao, Ali, Robinson, and Marciano, to determine what legacies they built and left their fans and historians with to cogitate and analyze. Not everyone will have the same perspective on these fighters' accomplishments but majority would agree that these pugilists gave their all each time they step in the ring and as they progressed as great fighters in their own respective eras.

Of all the aforementioned boxers, the only one who still actively fights is Manny Pacquiao: the current pound for pound king of boxing. He fought a good number of future hall of famers such as Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Oscar De La Hoya, and annihilated them all. Pacquiao claimed seven titles in seven different weight division and before retiring, he may even attain his eight world title in another division. Now that's a legacy that could never be underestimated.

Muhammad Ali, who proclaimed himself as "the greatest", won the heavyweight crown three times (1964-67; 1974-78; 1978). Although he had a few losses in his legendary career, he was never in a dull battle throughout his . He could have fought the weakest or the strongest heavyweight contender in his time but that's irrelevant because Ali equals amazement and pure romp. He was truly inspired by Rocky Marciano in his early teens.

Sugar Ray Robinson, another legendary fighter who won the world middleweight championship five times and the world welterweight championship once, had an astonishing record of 173-19-6, beating 108 of his opponents via knockout. This was one of the sweetest careers in boxing of a fighter called "Sugar."

Rocky Marciano was the first and only undefeated heavyweight fighter to retire without ever tasting a defeat in his career. His illustrious pursuit of boxing greatness abruptly ended in a plane crash on August 31, 1969. Marciano was too small (5'10) and too light (190 pounds) to be a heavyweight champion but he destroyed his opponents at will. He fought the best in his era without reservation and that alone made Marciano one of the greatest boxers of all time, leaving a legacy so great that have not been matched yet by any other heavyweight fighter until today.

Legacies of such reputation are meant to be emulated but that seems to be far-fetched because most boxers today do not seem to be interested in keeping their legacies intact and indisputable. Until another fighter emerges with the same zealous desire as the fighters presented in this article, let us comprehensively enjoy and reminisce the legacies these all-time greats left behind at present.

Sources:

Rocky Marciano, the Boston Blockbuster: Quotes

Pacquiao has evolved but he's still a fighter at heart