For those who remember, I did a piece in March 2006 which took the 64 team, Swiss-style NCAA basketball tournament format, and replaced the teams with the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time. Unfortunately, there were only 32 fighters, as I had little time to prepare. The thread was a success, however, as I received lots of PM's containing fan votes, fight scenarios, and oodles of posts.
I am going to attempt this feat once again, only this time, I will include the full complement of fighters: 64 of them! What I am looking for first is a compilation of the best heavyweight fighters of all time, rated 33-64. I am also reserving four special slots, one in each bracket, for the fighters who had moments of greatness but didn't reach their full potential for various reasons.
Special Fighter 1: James "Buster" Douglas, that infamous night in Tokyo. He cut weight, trained hard, suffered the death of his mother shortly before a title fight, and pieced together the largest upset in history against an arguably underprepared and over-confident "Iron" Mike Tyson.
Special Fighter 2: Earnie Shavers in a title fight. While many people may actually include him in their top 64 already, most critics agree that he had underdeveloped talents in the ring. He wasn't that skilled, and his chin was at times questionable. He did have perhaps the biggest single punch in boxing history, however, giving him a chance against any opponent, including the "Living Legend" Larry Holmes, and a (past-his-prime) granite chinned Muhammad Ali.
Special Fighter 3 & 4: Up to you!
So, give me your suggestions for Special Fighters 3 and 4 via PM. Post pubicly and discuss who would fall into the 33-64 slots for great heavyweights (K-DOGG's time to shine).
Furthermore, the brackets will be shifted around considerably to make things more difficult for last year's top performer, Muhammad Ali. After all, everybody is always gunning for the champ! The tournament will begin in March. Happy posting.
I am going to attempt this feat once again, only this time, I will include the full complement of fighters: 64 of them! What I am looking for first is a compilation of the best heavyweight fighters of all time, rated 33-64. I am also reserving four special slots, one in each bracket, for the fighters who had moments of greatness but didn't reach their full potential for various reasons.
Special Fighter 1: James "Buster" Douglas, that infamous night in Tokyo. He cut weight, trained hard, suffered the death of his mother shortly before a title fight, and pieced together the largest upset in history against an arguably underprepared and over-confident "Iron" Mike Tyson.
Special Fighter 2: Earnie Shavers in a title fight. While many people may actually include him in their top 64 already, most critics agree that he had underdeveloped talents in the ring. He wasn't that skilled, and his chin was at times questionable. He did have perhaps the biggest single punch in boxing history, however, giving him a chance against any opponent, including the "Living Legend" Larry Holmes, and a (past-his-prime) granite chinned Muhammad Ali.
Special Fighter 3 & 4: Up to you!
So, give me your suggestions for Special Fighters 3 and 4 via PM. Post pubicly and discuss who would fall into the 33-64 slots for great heavyweights (K-DOGG's time to shine).
Furthermore, the brackets will be shifted around considerably to make things more difficult for last year's top performer, Muhammad Ali. After all, everybody is always gunning for the champ! The tournament will begin in March. Happy posting.
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