Come Out Writing

By The Ring |

SHOW LARRY SOME LOVE

I really appreciated reading The Ring’s all-time heavyweight rankings (May 2017 issue). Albeit a little late. Forgive me; 2020 has been a crazy year.

It’s so difficult to do these types of rankings given the differences in nutrition, weight training, athletic skills and even size. Heavyweights have gotten demonstrably bigger over time. Given that, I cannot argue with the top two. I think it is clear that Muhammad Ali (No. 1) and Joe Louis (No. 2), at this point in history, are the two best heavyweights of all time. And I have both of them in my top five fighters of all time as well.

However, the one fighter I think was underrated on your ranking was Larry Holmes (No. 5, underneath Jack Johnson and Rocky Marciano). Probably not a huge shock, given that Holmes has become a synonym for underrated and underappreciated great champions. He only ruled the heavyweight division for nearly a decade, beat top-notch competition and was competitive for a world title even when he was way past his prime.

I understand some of the fascination with Marciano. And yes, I believe some of it is racial. I do not believe his resume would be as respected if he wasn’t White. He was a White champion sandwiched between the Louis era and the rise of Black heavyweights of the 1960s (namely Muhammad Ali).

Marciano was a very good fighter who did beat great fighters who were past their prime later in his career. This may seem sacrilegious, but I believe Marciano’s career was similar to Joe Calzaghe’s, decades later. An undefeated and really good fighter who would not have beaten the all-time greats in their division in their primes.

Larry Holmes by almost any objective measure has to be considered the third-best heavyweight of all time. Its third-best champion. And a modern fighter who would’ve been a champion in any era.

I can only wonder, since you gave so much weight to Marciano’s “O,” will you give Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has a superior resume to the Brockton Bomber, the same consideration?

Kokayi Kwa Jitahidi
Los Angeles

POUND-FOR-POUND WORTHINESS

I’d like to say I was not surprised when Teofimo Lopez beat Vasiliy Lomachenko. In my opinion, Lomachenko should not have been considered pound-for-pound No. 1, with only 15 pro fights. Maybe they were considering his amateur career. I don’t think amateur fights should be counted.

How about back in the day, fighters like Henry Armstrong fought in three different weight classes when there was a big difference in weight from one class to another. Or a fighter like Willie Pep, who had more than 200 pro fights. I don’t know if pound-for-pound was around back then. If it was, Henry and Willie should have been in the pound-for-pound best – and too many others in that era to mention.

Angelo C. Colella
Lynn, Mass.

THE WORDSMITH OF MYTH

Having read Ron Lipton’s mythical matchup essays – Dick Tiger vs. Canelo Alvarez (December 2020) and Rocky Graziano vs. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (May 2020) – I, too, like reader Arnie Rifkin, was amazed and enthralled with Lipton’s amazing capture in words of both of these would-be superbouts! Yes, Lipton possesses a unique talent to bring such creative boxing interest and excitement to your readers.

Robert Atkinson
Fenton, Mich.

IRREGULAR

I saw in the February 2021 issue that The Ring has Xu Can listed as the WBA featherweight champion in the ratings section. I was confused by this for a few reasons: 1. Xu Can currently holds the WBA “Regular” version of the featherweight belt, and I was under the impression that The Ring does not currently recognize the WBA “Regular” belt. 2. Leo Santa Cruz is still the holder of the WBA “Super” featherweight belt, I thought?

Alexander Capaldo
Denver

Editor’s response: The Ring will recognize a WBA “Regular” title when there is no “Super” beltholder to outrank them, but in this case you are correct: Santa Cruz, even though he hasn’t fought at 126 pounds for over two years, apparently still holds the title.

When Santa Cruz won the WBA 130-pound title by outpointing Miguel Flores in November 2019, we wrongly assumed that the veteran would have to vacate his WBA featherweight title per the sanctioning organization’s rules, which state:

“An Association Champion can have only one world title in one division at the same time. If a World Champion wishes to fight for a title in another division, he must apply in writing to the Championships Committee for approval and must present a signed document undertaking that, in the event he wins the fight and obtains the other title, within five (5) days of the fight he will choose the title he wishes to retain and relinquish the other title.”

Obviously, this rule did not apply to Santa Cruz, nor does it apply to Gervonta Davis, who relieved the four-division beltholder of the WBA 130-pound title on October 31 while still holding the organization’s “regular” lightweight strap.

Even we find it difficult to keep up with the WBA’s “super ridiculous” system sometimes. Thanks for pointing out the error.