Why True Greatness in Boxing Requires Flawed Beginnings

True greatness in professional boxing is something very few ever achieve and is why maybe the sport is admired the most out of any sport there is on earth.

Those rare few fighting men who in pro boxing who go through the weights and beat the best fighters of their era don’t come along often.

Sure, there is Hall of Famers in boxing who are all time greats, all of them, but true greatness is surely even beyond that hard to get into awards.

Of the 21st century near these times you are talking your Terence Crawford, Manny Pacquiao, Lennox Lewis, Joe Calzaghe, Floyd Mayweather. Fighters who went above and beyond the term great and either beat everyone and moved through weights, avenged their only losses by knockout or became eight weight world champions in Pacquiao’s case.

Also the likes of Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins achieved true greatness, Hopkins years later avenged his loss to Jones later in life, Hopkins also went on to become the oldest world champion in boxing history.

Why True Greatness in Boxing Requires Flawed Beginnings

Jones still only one of two men to hold a genuine professional world middleweight and heavyweight world title in his time in boxing.

Bob Fitzsimmons being the other.

Before that you are going back to your Muhammad Ali’s, George Foreman’s, Ray Leonard’s, Roberto Duran’s, Chavez senior and more, there are too many to mention.

All these fighters invariably came from bad beginnings whether in life or even in their careers.

Bernard Hopkins lost his very first professional fight but the rest was history.

George Foreman came not from a great military background and was a very feared man outside of boxing before he got into professional boxing.

Terence Crawford was shot early on in life and nearly tasted death itself before getting into professional boxing and becoming a champion.

Floyd Mayweather’s father was shot while Mayweather junior was an infant being held in senior’s hands.

Manny Pacquiao was so poor his father ate his dog growing up.

Lennox Lewis travelled a great deal early on around the world before he really got going in pro boxing.

Roy Jones was robbed in the Olympics in the amateurs.

Joe Calzaghe’s father Enzo was an immigrant from Italy in the UK and the Calzaghe family had it tough early on growing up in Wales.

All of them, to a man, achieved true greatness.

Enough said.

True greatness is something that brings the masses to boxing and gets them to tune in to fights and rare stories.

At its core, that’s why boxing will never die.

That and the heavyweight championship of the world will always mean something in professional sport and once again is a respected title to have in the world, with the sport coming back now, with Oleksandr Usyk the current King of the heavyweight ring at this particular time.

Terence Crawford has now retired from boxing without doubt is a true great in the entire sport.