Ali Vs Frazier, 1971 - The Fight of the Century

The venue was Madison Square Garden in New York and the fight date was 8th March 1971. Muhammad Ali had previously had 31 fights and had not lost any of them. Unfortunately, he lost his title and his boxing licence because of his refusal to enlist in the army and fight in Vietnam. He refused on religious grounds and he famously said he had no quarrel with the Vietnamese.

Joe Frazier won the title vacated by Ali and remained the champion up to this fight. His record was 26 fights, 26 wins, 23 inside the distance.

The build up to the fight was almost as entertaining as the fight itself. The two fighters could hardly have been more opposite, both in fighting style and in character. Joe was a man of few words with a rugged and bullish style in the ring. Ali, on the other hand, was a more scientific style of boxer who had lightning quick hand speed and just as quick on his feet. He invented what has become known as the Ali shuffle.

He was just as quick with his mouth. He constantly insulted Joe Frazier during the build up, saying he was ugly and that he could box Frazier in his sleep. He also liked to recite poetry. When asked by Harry Carpenter what he would do if he lost to Frazier, his quick fire reply was "How can I lose with the stuff I use?".

The night of the fight arrived. There were many famous faces in the audience that included Woody Allen and Burt Lancaster. Even the paparazzi were famous, or at least one of them. One ringside photographer was none other than a certain Francis Albert Sinatra.

It was now time for the fight to begin; the bell rang for round one. Ali was quick out of the blocks and scored well with quick left jabs into Frazier's face. He frustrated Frazier by tying him up at close quarters. He was showing off to the crowd a lot and shook his head dismissively whenever Frazier tried to land a blow. The second round followed the same pattern, and then came the third.

Worryingly for Ali, Joe was starting to get past the jabs with his bulling style and was throwing punishing shots into Ali's body. Frazier wouldn't take a backward step and he took the fourth round also.

The middle rounds of the fight saw Ali re-establish himself with his long range style evading Frazier's efforts. He landed some heavy punches, crunching into Frazier's head, but Joe was tough and took them well.

Ali had set a furious pace and was now finding it hard to maintain. He started to tire. Frazier, on the other hand, was revelling in it. He edged ahead of Ali on two of the three judge's cards. In the 11th, Frazier was coming for Ali and he resorted to leaning back on the ropes to evade Frazier's punches, except for one ferocious left hook that caught him flush and he desperately hung on for the rest of the round. The referee checked on his condition at the end of the round.

For the next two rounds, Frazier continued to take the fight to Ali and he won both rounds. In the 14th, a tired Ali somehow managed to find something extra and he rallied to produce an all or nothing effort to beat Frazier, but Joe wouldn't go away.

The 15th and final round saw Frazier produce the punch of the fight to put Ali on the seat of his pants. The famous Frazier left hook landed plum on the side of Ali's face to put him down. Ali got up straight away and boxed on, but the knockdown removed any doubts about what the outcome would be.

When the final bell sounded, Frazier grinned at Ali, he knew he had won. In the press conference afterwards, Ali was more respectful to Frazier, saying he was tougher than he thought he was. He would go on to have his revenge over Frazier in two subsequent fights, but for now, the night belonged to Joe Frazier, and what a night it was.

I'm David Beedham and I hope you've enjoyed reading this article as much as I have writing it. Many people think their best fight was the Thriller in Manila, but I disagree. I think this was slightly better because both fighters were in their prime physical condition. I think in the Manila fight, brilliant though it was, they were both starting to decline. I think the 1971 fight was truly the fight of that, and any other century.

Boxing Champions - Who Are the Three Best Italian-American Middleweights of All Time?

Even though boxing's heavyweight division seems to get the most publicity and interest, it wasn't always that way. For many years, the middleweight division attracted significant press coverage and capacity crowds at championship fights.

For those who follow the careers of Italian-American boxers, or just follow boxing in general, here are our picks for the top three Italian boxing champions of all time from the middleweight division...

Rocky Graziano

Born in 1922, Rocky Graziano was one of the most popular boxers during the 1940's and 1950's. Much of his popularity stemmed from his gregarious, straightforward nature and his equally straightforward boxing style.

His boxing career began in the early 1940's and lasted into the mid 1950's. During that time, he was known as one of the best knockout punchers around. Even when Graziano was overmatched, he was extremely dangerous to opponents because he had the ability to end a fight with one punch.

He is probably best known for his trilogy of bouts with the great Tony Zale. Zale won two of the three and each was a see saw battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Even today, the three fights are ranked as some of the most captivating and exciting in history.

Graziano was widely recognized as a brawler rather than a finesse and defensive fighter. Opponents with greater technical skill and defensive abilities often bested him, but Graziano certainly gave it his all.

Even after his retirement from boxing, Graziano maintained his profile and popularity. He was a beloved figure in Hollywood and appeared on many television shows well into the 1970's.

Jake LaMotta

Another larger than life Italian boxing champion was Jake LaMotta, who also fought in the 1940's and 1950's. His life and boxing career was chronicled in the movie "Raging Bull" starring Robert DeNiro.

LaMotta, like Graziano, was a full speed ahead fighter who dominated many of his fights on sheer punching power and aggressiveness. Despite his personal flaws, he was dedicated to his craft. LaMotta is probably best known for his several fights with Sugar Ray Robinson. The two fought six times, with Robinson winning five while absorbing significant punishment from LaMotta.

After his retirement from boxing, LaMotta became a stage actor and stand up comedian. among other business ventures. He had a small role in the Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason classic film, "The Hustler", in which he plays a bartender.

Carmen Basilio

Even though Carmen Basilio arguably had his most success as a welterweight, he stepped up in class to fight as a middleweight in the mid 1950's. Basilio also fought Sugar Ray Robinson and defeated him to win the middleweight crown.

Basilio is well regarded as one of the toughest fighters of all time. He was an excellent defensive boxer but also had terrific punching power. He lost in a rematch to Robinson held at the Chicago Stadium in 1958. The fight is one of the all time classic matches and is shown frequently on historic boxing programming.

Carmen Basilio has long been one of boxing's great ambassadors and for years served as a volunteer at the Boxing Hall of Fame in his native upstate New York.

Summary

Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, and Carmen Basilio are three of the greatest Italian boxing champions of all time. Each left an enduring legacy on the sport which carries on to this day.

If you have an interest in boxing history, be sure to visit our site dedicated to great Italian-American boxing champions [http://www.italianboxingchampions.com]. Who do you think are the greatest Italian-American boxers of all time? Let us know at: [http://www.italianboxingchampions.com]

Argentinean Fighters of Note: Monzon - Galindez - Locche - Coggi & Castro - Victor Galindez

Different countries boast of their own great fighters. The English had gritty Nigel Benn and the great Lennox Lewis, the proud Cubans had the flashy Kid Gavilan and "El Feo" Rodriquez, the Nigerians had super talented Dick Tiger and Hogan "Kid" Bassey, the Ukraine has the Klitchko's and so on. But for gaudy records, legendary fights and especially high drama, I have always had a great fondness for South American fighters and most particularly, for those from Argentina. Let's go back in history now and look at a few of the more notable ones.

1. Carlos "Escopeta "(Shotgun) Monzon.

With a final record of 87-3-9 with 59 KO's, This powerful and rangy Argentinean killing machine, built like an iron rod, first captured the World Middleweight Boxing Championship in a shocking upset over the highly favored Nino Benvenuti. Who can forget the perfect rights cross to the jaw that was the coup de grace for Nino?

Overnight, he became the toast of the boxing world. Handsome and macho, he became a superstar and a favorite of the jet set. Some said he pushed his punches. If so, he pushed over 87 opponents to defeat. He also became only the second man to stop former three-time world champion Emile Griffith in 14 rounds. Blessed with great stamina and a granite chin, he seemingly was irresistible force. Indeed, he was unbeaten over the last 81 bouts of his career, a span of 13 years! He defended his title fourteen times. Sadly, Monzon, like Salvador Sanchez, died in a car accident in 1995 at the age of fifty-two.

"Carlos never did stop walking on the wild side and certainly never found the secret to controlling the raging temper that he mastered so well within the roped square." Mike Casey

2. Nicolino "El Intocable" Locche

One of my all-time favorites, this Hall of Famer from Argentina, 117-4-14, possessed incredible defensive skills that may well have been every bit as good as Willie Pep's. He was known for his magical defensive tactics, uncanny reflexes and extraordinary ability to feint and make his opponents miss. This earned him the nickname "The Untouchable." In many of his fights, his fans would burst into song mesmerized as they watched him dazzle his opponents. The event would resemble a soccer match.

Following an amateur career in which he won 117 of 122 bouts, he turned pro in 1958. In 1961, he defeated Jaime Gine over 12 rounds to capture the Argentine lightweight title and two years later added the South American lightweight title. Over the next several years, he fought Joe Brown, Ismael Laguna and Carlos Ortiz. He then stopped Paul Fujii in Tokyo for the WBA junior welterweight title. Locche successfully defended the title five times. After losing to Antonio Cervantes (who he had previously beaten), he closed out his career with 7 straight wins. Locche is revered as one of Argentina's greatest boxing legends. He died on September 7, 2005 at the age of 66.

If you ever get a chance to watch this magician fight on video or film, don't pass it up.

3. Victor Galindez

This colorful warrior hailed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and amassed a 52-9-4 amateur record. As a pro, his final slate was 55-9-4-2 with 34 KO's.

He represented Argentina at the 1968 Olympic Games before turning professional in 1969. Galindez captured both the Argentine and South American light heavyweight titles in 1972, beating tough Argentine fighters like Juan Aguilar and Jorge Ahumada. Galindez suffered his first pro defeat when Aguilar beat him via a 10 round decision. It wasn't the only time Aguilar would give Victor trouble as they fought three more times in 1970 with Galindez failing to beat him with another decision loss, a draw and a no contest

In 1974, he challenged for the vacant WBA light heavyweight championship. Now focusing more on boxing than partying 9for which he had a wild reputation), he put his 23-fight unbeaten streak on the line when he met Len Hutchins, 22-1-1, on December 7, 1974 for the vacant WBA light heavyweight championship. Fighting like a ferocious bull, he TKO'd Hutchins in 13 rounds. A busy champion, he traveled the world defending his title 10 times over formidable foes like Pierre Fourie, Alvaro "Yaqui" Lopez (yes, that Yaqui Lopez), Richie Kates and Eddie Gregory. He lost the crown to Mike Rossman in 1978 (it was his first loss in seven years and 44 fights). He regained it in a rematch the following year. He then lost the title to Marvin Johnson.

Galindez also got to know his opponents very well during his career as he fought Aguilar nine times, Peralta six times, Ahumada five times, Domingo Silviera three times, Adolfo Cardozo twice, Lopez twice, Kates twice, Burnett twice, Rossman twice, Ramon Cerrezuela twice, Raul Loyola twice, Pedro Rimovsky twice, Ruben Macario Gonzalez twice and Fourie twice.

Galindez fought once more before retiring, losing to Jesse Burnett. Sadly, on October 26, 1980, at the age of 31, he was killed in a horrible auto racing accident in De Mayo, Argentina

Victor Galindez was the first Argentinean to win the title at home; though he never defended it there, as he was more at home in South Africa and Italy. Still, he was a national hero, and tens of thousands of mourners came to pay their respects the day his coffin was on view in Luna Park, the arena in which he had won the title from Len Hutchins. Like Locche and Monzon, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2002.

"When I was a child I wanted to be a leopard, to be free, to be hunted, to escape. I became one. I wanted to be a champion. I became one. I lived my life the way I wanted. I think I'd now like to become a champion auto racer. It's a sport less dangerous than boxing. You can die at any moment in boxing. Racing is a lot safer. You don't have to take any punches in racing."

4. Juan "El Látigo" Coggi.

His record was 75-5-2 with 44 KO's. Coggi was born on December 19, 1961 and is a native of Santa Fe, also the birthplace of Carlos Monzon. He became a three time world Jr. Welterweight champion. His nickname, "El Látigo," means "The Whip."

"El Látigo" fought under the radar and few American fans knew much about him. He finished with a winning percentage of 91% and a KO percentage of 54%. Argentina boxing includes many greats. Immortals like Locche, Monzon, Galindez, Salazar and Castro. "El Látigo" surely has a prominent place among them.

His level of opposition included such formidable foes as Jose Luis Ramirez, Harold Brazier, 60-8-1, Patrizio Oliva, 48-0 coming in, Adolfo Rossi, Hugo Ariel Hernandez, 40-1, Ruben Oscar Verdun, Sang Ho Lee, 47-1 coming in, Akinobu Hiranaka, 17-0, Francisco Cuesta, 27-2-1, and Hiroyuki Sakamoto, 19-0. The total won-lost record of his opponents was extremely impressive.

After a great amateur career, he turned professional on April 2, 1982 and won seven of his first ten bouts by knockout. In 1986, he beat Hugo Ariel Hernandez, 40-1-1, coming in, for the Argentine (FAB) Light Welterweight Title in Buenos Aires. He then won the WBA Light Welterweight Title by knocking out the aforementioned Oliva in Ribera, Italy. Like the great Monzon, he took a liking to Italy and KO'd Korean Sang Ho Lee, 47-1, in Roseto degli Abruzzi. In 1989, he beat cagey Harold Brazier by decision in Vasto, Italy and after beating the great Jose Luis Ramirez in France in 1990 (after which Ramirez retired), he was upset dropping a razor thin MD to Loreto Garza, 21-1-1, in Nice for the WBA Light Welterweight Title.

He then went on a 20-fight win streak, doing battle in many different countries. In 1993, he beat Filipino Morris East to earn the WBA Light Welterweight Title. After several successful defenses, he lost a UD to Frankie Randall, 50-3-1 at the time, on September 17, 1994 in Las Vegas. He would go on to split a pair with Randall in 1996. Each fight with Randall was controversial for different reasons. Many remember Coggi based only on his performances against Randall, but Coggi beat Randall in their second fight after Frankie was unable to continue due to an injury caused by a head butt. As well, Coggi had decked Randall in round three of that fight.

He proceeded to win 5 in a row before losing his last fight to Michele Piccirillo, 29-1, in Italy on May 29, 1999 closing out a great career against great opponents in many different countries. He never lost a fight by knockout.

5. Jorge "Locomotora" Castro

Still fighting, he is currently 130-11-3. When he crushed Colombian Jose Luis "La Pantera" Herrera, 14-2 coming in, at the Municipal Patinódromo, Sea of the Silver, in Buenos Aires on January 27, 2007, he had avenged a previous loss. He decked "The Panther" 4 times, as he gained his redemption in no uncertain terms.

"Locomotora" has been fighting as a pro for 20 years. He won his first 40 professional fights, but few except aficionados know much about him, maybe because most of his fights have been in Argentina. Nonetheless, he has fought the very best during his long career. Indeed, he split a pair with Robert Duran beating him in 1997 and holds two wins each over Reggie Johnson (for the vacant WBA Middleweight Title) and John David Jackson (in 1994's Ring Magazine Fight of the Year). He also beat Peter Venancio (three times), Hector Hugo Vilte, Alex Ramos, Juan Carlos Gimenez Ferreyra, Fabian Alberto Chancalay, Imamu Mayfield and many other tough customers. His losses were against such rugged foes as Shinji Takehara, Terry Norris, Vasily Jirov, Paul Briggs, Juan Carlos Gomez and Roy Jones Jr.

Many of Castro's opponents have long since retired. Ramos now heads the Retired Boxers Foundation; Norris has been inducted into the Hall of Fame and Duran will go in this year; Takehara has retired as has John David Jackson; Jones and Jirov are still trying to recapture the magic. Yet Jorge fights on and wins.

No stranger to championship belts and fights, he has won the WBA Middleweight Title, the South American Cruiserweight Title, WBA Fedelatin Super Middleweight Title, the Argentine (FAB) Light Middleweight Title, and the South American Light Middleweight Title, As well, he has battled for the WBC Cruiserweight Title, IBF Cruiserweight Title, and IBO Cruiserweight Title.

The Classic: 13 years prior to getting his payback (December 10, 1994 to be exact), Castro met tough John David Jackson for the WBA Middleweight Title at the Estadio de Beisbol in Monterrey, Mexico. The fight, named Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year, featured one of the most dramatic endings in ring history. Castro was trailing badly on all three scorecards (71-80, 73-80 and 74-79). One eye was closed and the other was half closed. He was bleeding and pinned against the ropes taking wicked shots and combos.

Referee Stanley Christodoulou positioned himself to stop the fight and started to raise his hands to signal the stoppage, but then Castro landed a hard right hand on Jackson's chin and Jackson went down. All of a sudden, instead of stopping the fight in Jackson's favor, Christodoulou began counting out Jackson, but John David managed to get up. He suffered one more savage knockdown and "Locomotora" completed the comeback and retained his title with decisive knockout in the ninth round. Clearly, this had been one of the most amazing, if unlikeliest, turnarounds in boxing history. Shades of Hearns-Barkley, Castillo-Corrales, Graham Earl-Michael Katsidis....

At a press conference after the fight, Castro called his winning punch "La mano de Dios," (The hand of God). The ending to that fight became legendary in Argentinean lore and was written about for months in many boxing magazines and books.

In 1998, proving the first win was righteous, Castro beat Jackson again, this time by a close UD. He decked John David twice in the 4th and 8th rounds to pull it out for the vacant WBA Fedelatin Super Middleweight.

Given the brutally redemptive manner in which he won his last fight, hopefully we can count on seeing him fight again. He finished with a winning percentage of 91% and a KO percentage of 54%.

There have been many others including Hugo Pastor Corro (59-7-2), Santos Benigno Laciar (79-10-0-2), Ubaldo Sacco (47-4-1), Gregorio "Goyo" Peralta (99-9-9 with 59 knockouts), Jorge Victor Ahumada, 42-8-2, Juan Domingo Roldán (67-5-2-1), Oscar Natalio Bonavena (56-9-1) and Carlos Gabriel Salazar (47-3-8).

Carlos Manuel Baldomir, Jorge Rodrigo "La Hiena "Barrios, Hector Javier "El Artillero" Velazco and Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez are notable Argentineans currently fighting. While they may never make ESPN'S already infamous and dreadful top 50 list, someday, they just might join these Argentinean greats.

Ted Sares, PhD., is a syndicated writer who writes columns, essays, articles and short stories for a number of different publications. He is also a well-known boxing writer and boxing historian.

Alex Ramos - A Story of Redemption

It's not too often that? you get a nice heart-warming story in boxing, so when you get one it's a breath of clean, fresh air.

I started covering the career of middleweight Alex Ramos from the time he won four golden glove titles in New York City in the late 1970's (1977-80). Ramos was on the USA Boxing Team from 1978-80, but when then-president Jimmy Carter decided to play political hardball with Russia and boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Ramos was denied his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. (Tony Ayala, Bernard Taylor, Mitch Green, Tony Tucker, Johnny Bumphus and Davey Moore were also on the 1980 Olympic Team). Ramos' amateur record was 189 wins, 9 losses with a whopping 132 knockouts.

Ramos was a happy-go-lucky kid with an effervescent personality and one of the best left hooks in boxing. He also was burdened by an exuberant love for wine, women and song, and in boxing that is not a very good thing. With Lou Duva and Shelly Finkel as his managers, and George Benton as his trainer, Ramos was one of "Tomorrows Champions" and his pro career was

off to a booming start. In 1984 he won the USBA Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision over Curtis Parker, who at the time was the number one ranked middleweight in the world. He also beat future light heavyweight champion J.B. Williamson.

But then Ramos' boxing career started to crumble. He did win the California Middleweight title in 1986, but losses to Ted Sanders and James Kitchen, and a disputed? loss to John Collins set Ramos back.? Ramos fought off and on the next decade, but he never displayed? the genius in the ring that he had earlier in his career. There were looses to future champions Murray Sutherland and Michael Nunn, and a loss to Jorge Castro in Argentina.

Then literally the roof caved in, and Ramos, fighting the demons of alcoholism and substance abuse, found himself homeless and penniless living on the streets. He "awoke from the darkness" as he describes it, following a dream about Joe Louis and other fighters who died penniless and humiliated. He entered rehab, and today Ramos, now only 37 years old,? fights the biggest fight of his life trying to stay clean and sober.

In 1995, Ramos founded the Retired Boxers Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping former boxers who are now down and out and looking for some dignity in what is left of their lives.? The RBF executive director is Jacquie Richardson. Ms. Richardson has twenty years in marketing and public relations and 10 years in grant writing and fund development.

Ms. Richardson said, " I've written over $5 million in grants, so I'm very good at what I do and I'm very picky. I've been working with Alex for a little over a year now and we have made progress. We have found ways to help fighters in trouble, and a the same time, get the word out to the public on the difficulties far too many retired fighters have once they leave their glorious days in the ring. While the job seems overwhelming, it would surprise you how little an effort it takes sometime to make a real difference. We have made referrals for medical care, rehab and even had a surgical procedure donated for a fighter."

The mission? of the RBF is to assist retired professional boxers, especially those suffering from alcohol and substance abuse problems, hopelessness and the effects of pugilistic dementia (the medical term for punch drunk). Their goal is to identify and build resources that are available and accessible to retired boxers under five areas of service.

They are:

*Financial services to help boxers in critical need of financial assistance.

*Rehabilitation services, including physical therapy, personal and peer counseling, substance abuse treatment and support groups.

*Housing Services to those boxers who are homeless.

*Youth Services whereby the RBF will organize activities to assist disadvantaged youth under Kids Gloves Boxing Foundation Programs, including summer boxing camps.

*Senior Citizen Programs to provide supportive services to senior citizens, including assistance with simple daily tasks such as transportation and assistance with personal business.

Richardson and Ramos also find the time to visit with fighters who are lonely and in need of company. One such fighter is former great featherweight and junior lightweight Bobby "Schoolboy" Chacon, who is also battling substance abuse and pugilistic dementia. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Chacon can barely remember his address,? let alone his nickname. Still, Richardson and Ramos feel that fighters like Chacon deserve better, and they socialize with Chacon often, trying to restore the former champ's spirit of self worth.

Ramos is now spending time in Orlando, Florida as the camp supervisor for his old pal Hector "Macho" Camacho. Ramos and Camacho have been friends for 27 years, both growing up, like myself, in the mean streets of New York City. Even though he is retired as a fighter, Alex still gets up a 4:15 a.m. every day to put in his roadwork. The first day Alex woke up Camacho that early, Camacho yawned, rubbed his eyes and grumbled some unhappy words. So Alex decided 6 a.m. was early enough for Camacho to begin his daily training routine.

For my 25 years in boxing, I've heard numerous people, most of them with deep pockets and short memories,? pay lip service to developing programs to assist retired boxers who are in need. Until now, only boxing historian Irv Abramson has done a damn thing. The rest talk the talk, but only Abramson, and now Ramos and Richardson walk the walk.

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Heavyweight Boxer is Aspiration For Many

Prize fighting, or boxing, is a sport that has roots that go all the way back to the early Greek civilization. Though, for most people today, when you think of a boxing match you immediately conger up images of one heavyweight boxer taking on another.

Numerous movies, books and plays find their interesting settings revolving around a key character brought to life in the person of a heavyweight boxer. One who is out to beat the odds and prove himself to others, and often to himself as well, in the unfolding of the story.

Some of those fictional stories of a heavyweight boxer who overcomes the odds to live his dream can be compelling. Although, many of the true-to-life stories behind the real professional boxers are more than interesting enough to keep the fans in their corner and rooting for them.

Heavyweight is a designation for a weight class in both professional and amateur levels of boxing. Of the 17 different weight classes in this sport, it is the class for the largest of boxers and is probably the most widely known category of classes.

Almost all of the biggest, most promoted, most exciting and highest-money grossing boxing matches have been those that pit one undefeated heavyweight boxer against another.

These athletes usually have a similar, clean statistical record of wins. There is no doubt that professional boxing, especially at the heavyweight level is a huge and profitable industry.

A fighter who weighs-in at over 200 pounds, or 90.72 kilograms is considered to be a heavyweight boxer. This standing is consistent with all of the main professional organizations of this sport worldwide, including: the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC), the International Boxing Organization (IBO)78 and the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

For a long time in the sport history, this boxing division had no maximum limit for weight (unlike the other 16 boxing weight classes) and so this class has been rather vaguely defined historically, allowing for some under the 200 pound threshold to compete as heavyweights during the 19th century.

However, in 1920, the classification was more formally defined and a minimum weight was set at 175 pounds in order for a fighter to be considered a heavyweight boxer. This eventually evolved into the light heavyweight division. Today, any fighter who is over 200 pounds cannot contend in any class other than heavyweight.

It is essentially impossible to identify who the first heavyweight boxer champion was because of the fact that the sport history stretches back as far as recorded history goes.

It is certain that there must have been large fighters unfairly matched against lighter athletes, since the standards of classifications have only been in use within the last 150 years or so.

It is easier to identify champions of recent times. In fact, nowadays with the excess of media coverage, there is an abundant amount of news on this sport. Information that covers all of the current contenders and their matches in great detail, through boxing magazines, the internet and also on the cable sports channels.

And, there is no doubt that real fans of it simply cannot get enough of the behind-the-scenes stories concerning the contending boxing greats, that are in contention with one another to be the next great heavyweight boxer.

It is an interesting development to note that in recent years, the title of heavyweight boxer champion has actually become fractured among the different sanctioning organizations of this professional sport.

This has made it somewhat more difficult to determine a sole heavyweight boxer as the champion. Because of this there is another title of "Undisputed Champion", which indicates that one heavyweight fighter has been able to defeat those other champions that have risen to the top of the various professional boxing organizations.

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David Haye - The Making of a World Heavyweight Boxing Champion

David Haye has taken the boxing world by storm over the past few years. The brash British fighter is a two-division champion and is one of the most talented fighters in any weight class. In addition to his great skills, and his already formidable career, he's also known for his great athleticism, physique and his power. Just like any great world champion, it all starts in the gym though, and success is only accomplished through hard work and dedication.

Haye started his professional career in 2002 as a cruiserweight fighter, and was just 22 years old. He quickly progressed through the ranks, however had a setback when he lost by stoppage to Carl Thompson in 2004. Undeterred, he returned to action just three months later and by the end of 2005 he was the European cruiserweight titlist. He went on to defeat an undefeated Giacobbe Fragomeni among others, and then got his world championship shot against Jean Marc Mormeck at the end of 2007. Mormeck was seen as perhaps the best cruiserweight in the world, and Haye knocked him out in the 7th.

He then quickly and brutally KO'd Enzo Maccarinelli, and set his sights on heavyweight, with the goal of getting a fight against one of the Klitschko brothers. In just his second heavyweight fight, he won a world championship at that class by defeating Nikolay Valuev. Since, he has defended the title on several occasions, and it seems like his dream of fighting a Klitschko and becoming the recognized heavyweight champion is finally within reach.

Haye is a supremely gifted athlete, but none of what he has accomplished would have been possible without putting in the hard work and training at the gym, and without utilizing the right training equipment and gear to help him along the way. At first, he had to cut weight to meet the cruiserweight limit of 200 lbs, and this presents its own challenges. It puts an even higher premium on training long and hard, and focusing on sweating down, as opposed to being able to complete more strength training, eat the right kinds of foods, and focus on tactics.

But moving up to heavyweight then presented its own challenge. Haye no longer had to cut weight, but he had to add real strength and muscle, while staying lean and fast. Boxing isn't about bodybuilding and lifting weights, although it appears that Haye could have excelled in that field if he wanted to as well. Instead, a fighter like Haye needed to build explosive body strength and muscle through rigorous training, bodyweight exercises and old school boxing training using equipment like medicine balls, pull-up bars and all the rest.

David Haye has said he wants to retire at a relatively young age, so it remains to be seen how many more times we'll get to see him fight, and what else he will accomplish. But being a two-division champion isn't a bad start. For Haye, from cruiserweight up to heavyweight, it all starts in the gym, and training with the right boxing equipment to give him an edge, from refining his skills with punching mitts, to working on his speed with the speed bag, to building the explosive strength and power he thrives with.

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