Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol – Boxing and basketball are two entirely different sporting events. Though unlike basketball, boxing is essentially just an individual sport. Nevertheless, we can’t deny the fact that it also involves a great deal of teamwork, especially in the training stages leading into a fight. Here, we are going to discuss a few parallels in the two sports disciplines and delve into some analogies that fans of boxing or basketball or both might find interesting.
Let’s jumpstart the comparisons with the icons… the legends… the greatest each sport has ever produced. Indubitably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, some may even say, is the greatest athlete of all time. Well, he probably soars above all other sports heroes in terms of popularity because he is among, if not the, most marketed sports figures in history. Jordan, often referred to as “His Airness,” transcends basketball like no other sports figure does. Case in point, Tiger Woods is the Michael Jordan of golf… Babe Ruth is the Michael Jordan of baseball… Efren “Bata” Reyes is the Michael Jordan of billiards (pool)… Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno is the Michael Jordan of bowling…which eventually leads us to Sugar Ray Robinson (173-19-6, 108 KOs), the Michael Jordan of boxing.
Most of us might be too young or perhaps too caught up with much of the hype spawned by this generation’s boxing greats, which more often than not makes us ignore the heroes of the past and the mind-boggling achievements these brave men accumulated over the course of their respective careers. This is rather irresponsible and utterly unfair for those warriors who have made this sport possible in the very first place. They deserve the honor… they deserve the praise… and they deserve the recognition. One person, however, deserves these things more than everyone else – Sugar Ray Robinson. A professional career spanning over two and a half decades, 200 bouts, 1403 boxed rounds, a divisional range across lightweight and light heavyweight, and at least seven Hall of Fame fighters as victims, Robinson has literally done it all. His amateur career was flawless at 85-0, 69 KOs and 40 of those knockouts not lasting the 1st round. Robinson’s record speaks for itself and we don’t have to be in his era to justify his distinction as the greatest boxer of all time.
Now, fast forward to present time, two boxing greats who might have inherited the greatness of Sugar Ray Robinson have emerged as the consensus best pound for pound pugilists of this era. Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) of the Philippines and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (40-0-0, 25 KOs) of the United States are on a collision course to determine who is the alpha male of this generation. Mayweather and his so far unbeaten slate can be likened, although on a much smaller scale, to Robinson’s unblemished amateur record, while Pacquiao’s unbelievable seven world championships in as many weight classes in a career that began at 106 lbs, beating at least six Hall of Fame caliber fighters along the way, could rival Robinson’s domination regardless of the weight class. Both Pacquiao and Mayweather, like Robinson, are also conditioning and training freaks. Robinson once commented that once a fighter has trained to a certain level, their techniques and responses become almost reflexive. “You don’t think. It’s all instinct. If you stop to think, you’re gone,” Robinson said.
Going back to the parallelism of boxing and basketball, you might wonder where LeBron James and Kobe Bryant fit into the equation. Let’s start with Kobe, arguably the most skillful and most talented basketball player today. Like Mayweather, Kobe uses his sound fundamentals, vast array of skills and experience to effortlessly avoid contact in making his shots. LeBron, on the other hand, much like Pacquiao, comes at you full speed and knocks you out with his imposing dunks. Mayweather and Kobe thrive on finesse, whereas Pacquiao and LeBron just subdue their foes with raw power… but before you make any wrong impressions, both Pacquiao and LeBron also possess great boxing and basketball skills, respectively. It’s just that these skills are often overshadowed by the imposing power that both men wreak at their foes rather than the sweetness and fluidity of their moves. Mayweather, like Kobe, may have a claim as the best of this time, largely because of his unbeaten record… but Pacquiao, like Lebron, sooner or later, is going to try to prove it otherwise.
The NBA and the rest of the basketball world want Kobe and LeBron to go at it in the NBA finals as much as the world of boxing wants Mayweather and Pacquiao to settle once and for all the last lingering question that has spurred much debate from pundits and fans alike: Who really is the best?
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