Today, compiling various lists and tops is quite a thankless task. Nevertheless, if we talk about the best boxers in the world, there are names of great fighters in the world sport who definitely deserve attention.
Mohammed Ali
One of the brightest and most prominent figures in the history of boxing is undoubtedly Mohammed Ali, also known as Cassius Marcellus Clay. He was born in 1942. At that time in American society, there was a strong social inequality between black and white people. In some states, they did not stand on ceremony with blacks at all and considered them second-class people. Little Clay had to go through a difficult path and overcome a huge number of obstacles before he reached the top of professional boxing and became the world champion.
Cassius's father also added fuel to the fire, who from early childhood pointed out to his children their place in society. He repeatedly showed them a photograph of a brutally murdered black boy, thereby indicating the "horror of white justice." All this put a lot of pressure on the future boxer, he often fell asleep with tears in his eyes.
But one day his life changed dramatically. Having saved up money, he bought himself a brand new bike, which Cassius was very proud of. But after visiting another children's fair, he discovered that someone had stolen his favorite bicycle. Clay Jr. was beside himself with anger and told the police officer at the fair that he would beat the thief. The same one answered him that first you need to learn how to hit correctly and offered to take up boxing.
Cassius ignored the offer and did not go to the gym, but when he saw the program “Future Champions” on TV, which showed this very gym, he firmly decided to become a professional boxer and win the world title. His first fight got into the next edition of "Future Champions", then he was awarded a victory on points, but this did not bother him at all. Clay shouted to the camera that this is just the beginning and he will soon become a champion.
From that day on, he devoted himself entirely to training, he never smoked, did not drink alcohol, and even began to give preference to only healthy food in food. At the amateur level, victories poured in one after another. His first professional fight took place in 1960, and by the age of 22 he was ready to fight for the world title.
On February 25, 1964, after a tough fight, he lifted the belt of the world boxing champion over his head. A total of 61 fights in Muhammad Ali's professional career, 56 of which ended in the victory of the great boxer. Throughout his life and professional career, he followed the words once said: "I flutter like a butterfly, I pity like a bee" - a phrase that has become a winged one. Possessing quite impressive dimensions, he combined a devastating blow with extraordinary mobility. His wrestling techniques are still considered an excellent "instruction" to young boxers, and Ali himself is today a cult figure in the sport.
Mike Tyson
Another world-class boxer is Michael Gerard Tyson. As a child, he did not even think that he would one day become a boxer, being very young, he could not even stand up for himself. This was used by local hooligans and constantly bullied little Mike. When he was ten years old, one of the hooligans took the pigeon from him and tore off his head. This Mike could not stand it, he pounced on the enemy and finished him off, while he himself earned a lot of bruises.
This unexpected act gave Tyson a ticket to street gangs, where he quickly mastered the skills of petty theft, theft and robbery of private shops. The impudent boy's antics attracted the attention of the police, and he became a frequent visitor in special detention centers for difficult teenagers. Another detention became fatal for Mike. During his stay in a special institution, Mohammed Ali himself came there to deliver a motivational speech to juvenile delinquents. Tyson was so impressed that he decided to become a professional athlete.
Despite his desire to become a boxer, Mike did not give up his antics and at the age of 13 ended up in a special school. Many educators considered him to be backward and unable to learn. The approach to the violent teenager was found by physical trainer Robert Stewart, who began to train him. First, Stewart persuaded Tyson to refuse offending, and then set a condition - if he studies well, Stewart will make him a real fighter.
Tyson did not break the agreement and trained hard. Very soon Bobby Stewart realized that he had nothing more to teach Mike. Then he contacted one of the most famous boxing trainers - Cas Di Amato. He agreed to hire a promising youngster and very soon formed a professional team around him.
The first fight in the professional ring for Mike took place in 1985. In total, during that year, he entered the ring fifteen times and in all cases left it as a winner. Glory and success quickly turned the head of the young boxer and he went all out. He disbanded his team, began to drink heavily and indulge in excesses. One could say that Tyson did not pass the "copper pipes" test, but the guy managed to realize his mistake. Realizing that he could not continue this way, he resumed training and was able to return to the big ring. Throughout his long career, Tyson had 58 fights and won 50 of them.
Floyd Mayweather
This is an extraordinary boxer, born in 1977, who has managed to turn his talent into a very profitable business. He did not strive to fight for titles, did not take part in serious tournaments, although he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics. The main criterion for participation in the battle for Floyd was money. He even received such a nickname - money.
But despite all the reproaches for his commercialism, Floyd always gave the public what they came to watch boxing for. Every fight he participated in turned into a stunningly spectacular show. It is also worth noting that all fifty fights that he spent in his rather rich professional career ended in victory for him.
Rocky Marciano
American boxer, absolute world champion, who has not suffered a single defeat in his entire professional career. 49 fights ended in victory for him. Rocky was born in 1923 and went into boxing because he was unable to play his favorite baseball due to an injury. Marciano died tragically in a plane crash in 1969, remaining a cult figure in boxing.
There is a legend that Marciano served as the prototype for the main character in the action movie "Rocky", but in fact this is not entirely true. The hero of Sylvester Stallone is a "collective" character, and the real Rocky became just one of the prototypes. And the fate of the film's hero is an artistic reflection of the life of another famous boxer - Chuck Wepner.
Manny Pacquiao
Filipino Pacquiao is a true legend of his country, a boxer whose fate resembles a large-scale literary drama. Born in 1978, he grew up in a very poor family with many children. The father dreamed that his son would become a priest, but as a teenager he fled from home to Manila, where he grabbed his teeth into his dream of being a boxer. He made a living during the day and trained at night.
At first, Pacquiao's technique looks more like a fist fight than professional boxing. Smarter fights, he began to carry out already in America, where he left after receiving the first titles in Asia. During his career, he had 70 fights and 61 ended in victories. This boxer is the only holder of championship titles in as many as eight categories. The Association of Boxing Journalists unanimously recognized Pacquiao as the "Boxer of the Decade". After the end of his career, he became a famous actor in the Philippines, and since 2007 - a major political figure in his country.
Konstantin Tszyu
Listing world-class boxers, one cannot fail to mention the Russian fighter Kostya Tszyu. The absolute world champion and the only Russian boxer included in the world boxing hall of fame. During his professional career, he entered the ring 34 times and won 31 times. The last fight was held on June 4, 2005 against Ricky Hatton, the fight ended in a technical knockout and defeat for Bones.
Konstantin began his career at the Youth Sports School in Serov, where he was born in 1969. The young talented fighter impressed legendary boxing coach Johnny Lewis at the World Cup in Sydney, and Kostya was immediately invited to move to professional boxing, moving to Australia. Tszyu accepted the offer and built a successful career in the ring by developing a system of his own techniques. And then he returned home and began to train Russian fighters, among whom there are many celebrities.
Sergey Kovalev
Sergey was born in the Chelyabinsk region in 1983 and became interested in boxing since childhood. Kovalev is another Russian boxer who recently retired from his professional career. On February 2, 2019, a rematch with Colombian fighter Alvarez took place, the fight ended with Kovalev's victory. Throughout his career, he entered the ring 37 times and won 33 times.
He achieved his first victories at the amateur level in 2005. Kovalev became the world champion among amateurs, as well as among the military. At the professional level, he became the absolute champion and owned three belts at once. Sergey is the only Russian boxer to be named “Boxer of the Year” by the prestigious Ring magazine.
