THE PERCEPTION
By Jim Amato
September 21, 2007 - It is not fun growing old. I am a product of my past. A
victim of my era so to speak. I constantly bump heads with the young fans of
today. They glorify Hopkins, Tito, De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr. and Mosley. Even
from a decade or so before it's all about Holyfield, Whitaker and a guy named
Mike Tyson. They are all great fighters in their own right. Then you can go back
a little farther. Now we're talking Holmes, Hagler,Leonard, Hearns, Pryor,
Michael Spinks and Benitez. How about Julio Cesar Chavez, Edwin Rosario and the
great Salvador Sanchez ? Some great names and outstanding fighters.
I honestly feel I was very fortunate to grow up in a period of some truly great
fighters. Boxers... champions who dominated their respective divisions. This
isn't about Ali and Frazier. The mark they left on boxing is stamped for
eternity. No this is about dominant champions like Bob Foster, Dick Tiger, Emile
Griffith, Carlos Monzon,Rodrigo Valdez, Jose Napoles, Antonio Cervantes, Roberto
Duran, Carlos Ortiz, Flash Elorde, Alexis Arguello, Vincente Saldivar, Eder
Jofre, Fighting Harada, Ruben Olivares,Carlos Zarate, Pone Kingpetch, Pascual
Perez, Chartchai Chionoi, Betulio Gonzalez and Miguel Canto.
Then you have boxers who in today's state of fragmented titles would have surely
won a piece of the pie. Tough men like Jerry Quarry, Yaqui Lopez, Bennie
Briscoe, Hedgemon Lewis, Ernie "Red " Lopez, Armando Muniz, Clyde Gray, Esteban
De Jesus and Howard Winstone.
Yes I admit that I live in the past but these boxers and so many others from
that era continue to stir up great fistic memories. We will never know for sure
if Hopkins could have defeated Monzon or Hagler. We'll never know if Bob Foster
could have defeated Archie Moore or Billy Conn. I just don't want to let the
greatness of the fistic heroes I grew up with be forgotten. Just as I hope the
fistic heroes of today will be remembered thirty years down the road.
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