Over the years, boxing has had some fans’ favorites as far back as when Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney moved on September 23, 1926 120,557 fans at Sesquicentennial Stadium in Philadelphia for the heavyweight title of Dempsey.
Although Dempsey would lose back-to-back fighting to Tunney, including the rematch, which was referred to as ‘the long score’ when the new rule was when a boxer had to go to a neutral angle. Dempsey stood over Tunney for about 15 seconds before the score began.
Dempsey, although in the defeat, was a fan of fan. It would only be before ‘The Brown Bomber’ Joe Louis became champion in June 1937, when he won the heavyweight title of ‘The Cinderella Man’ James Braddock by Knockout in Chicago. The following year, Louis took revenge for his only loss of Germany’s Max Schmeling. He said ‘until I beat Schmeling, I’m not champion’.
At Yankee Stadium he did it in the first round. He was the first active champion to enter the Army. Along with Louis, it was best considered the best pound-for-pound boxer ever, ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson, holder of the welterweight and middleweight titles another fan favorite.
Together with Robinson, Henry would be ‘Homicide Hank’ Armstrong, who held the featherweight, welter weight and lightweight titles at the same time. They would meet when Armstrong was a little past his lead, with the winner of Robinson.
Next would be that heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, who was behind at points, knocked out the champion ‘Jersey’ Joe Walcott. The punch with which he ended the battle was seen all over the world, as the distorted face of Walcott showed that the power with which Marciano ended the battle in September of 1952 at the municipal stadium in Philadelphia, in the thirteenth round, too far behind in points to win a decision.
Marciano would end his career at 49-0, a record that stopped until 2017, about sixty-one years, when Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather raised his record to 50-0 and defeated Connor McGregor and made his debut.
Another heavyweight named Muhammad Ali would be loved and hated by many, but the most famous all over the world.
Then came a world champion of six divisions that started flying to the light of the middleweight named Manny ‘Pac Man’ Pacquiao from the Philippines. He retired with a record of 61-7-3 in June 1921, just four years later at the age of forty-six to achieve a disputed draw in July for the WBC world title, although at the end he looked like a certain winner when it was announced against champion Mario Barrios in July 2025.
Who is your choice as your favorite boxer of all time, if not the ‘PAC man’?
Last updated on 08/05/2025
