Greatest Sportsperson of All Time?

[Inanimate_object]

I can't say I'm a fan of folks beating up other folks.
Outside of the ring, that's a criminal offence, and a serious one at that.
Are they talented? Extremely.
Are they highly skilled and trained athletes? Absolutely.
But at the end of the day they are literally beating each other up.
Not to mention most of them are complete a**holes outside the ring anyway.
Many are convicted criminals (usually assault, surprise surprise), and they're basically making a career out of putting others in hospital.
I absolutely in no way respect that, and I make no apologies for calling them what they are.

Rugby, AFL, fine, the injuries are only a by-product, even if it's still horrible.
But in boxing, the goal is literally to knock out your opponent.
It is literally to assault your opponent.
I don't even understand how it's legal.
Sweet science? Please.

Your ignorance is really unbelievable. You seem to know nothing about boxing or boxers yet have no problem making idiotic statements like it is a thug sport for criminals not worthy of respect or legalization. I knew it was a little empty between the ears, but this is something so laughably prejudiced it makes me wonder if you are trolling or not.

Boxing requires a level of focus patience, coordination, cardio, endurance and fine hand-eye coordination that is seldom matched in other sports. You're making yourself look really stupid spouting this drivel about a sport you clearly are so prejudiced towards. Stick with your upper socioeconomic class sports and stay clear of any sports which one cannot wear polos and slacks to. Your comment is not worthy of a sports fan let alone an adult.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Your ignorance is really unbelievable. You seem to know nothing about boxing or boxers yet have no problem making idiotic statements like it is a thug sport for criminals not worthy of respect or legalization. I knew it was a little empty between the ears, but this is something so laughably prejudiced it makes me wonder if you are trolling or not.

Boxing requires a level of focus patience, coordination, cardio, endurance and fine hand-eye coordination that is seldom matched in other sports. You're making yourself look really stupid spouting this drivel about a sport you clearly are so prejudiced towards. Stick with your upper socioeconomic class sports and stay clear of any sports which one cannot wear polos and slacks to. Your comment is not worthy of a sports fan let alone an adult.

I don't deny any of the skills etc. you mentioned that boxing requires.
It might even be the toughest sport all around, I would not argue with that.
But that's not my issue, it's what they're doing with those skills which is the issue here.
They are assaulting each other, period.
I know enough about boxing to know you punch the other person to win/get points.
Pointing out the facts is not drivel.

It's not "great" to be the best in the world at assault, and yes, it's assault, even if it looks pretty.

Ali or whoever could easily be the best sportsperson ever, but absolutely no way could he be the greatest.
His claim to fame is assault.

Federer, Woods, Pele, Maradona etc. win without committing crimes.

You can't deny what they're doing by saying I know nothing about the sport.
I do know about boxing.
And I know enough to know that it is highly glorified thuggery.

Mayweather, apart from being a cheat, is also a thug and a buffoon.
Some boxers (not him) have honour and class, but they're still participating in a classless sport.

I have more respect for martial arts, that has very strict codes of honour and conduct, but even that's still fighting.

 

[BringBackSV]

Some of the suggestions here are laughable to say the least. Ice hockey? Baseball? Darts? American Football? Golf? Basketball? Get a grip, please

The only truly global sport is football (real football btw, not that awful circus some call a sport). Do you realize that over a billion people around the world play football, yes over a billion, most just for fun, but they play it anyway. That means when you compare the competition to rose to the very top of world football players like Pele, Di Steffano, Maradona, Cruyff, Messi, Ronaldo, etc faced with the competion that for instance Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan faced, there is no comparison at all. Probably more people play football around the world than all of the other sports combined.

Pele is the greatest, 3 time world champion. But the best is Maradona, that guy was from another galaxy

Yeah but you don't seem to understand that talent is dilluted by the amount of people who play football. The best US athletes don't care, Africa, Asia, and Australia produce little of note. It's still a sport that is largely relegated to a handful of European countries and a few South American countries when it comes to requisite youth infrastructure. There are 125 players in the world with a PGA tour card, the competition is stiff.

 

[Inanimate_object]

Ali or whoever could easily be the best sportsperson ever, but absolutely no way could he be the greatest.
His claim to fame is assault.

You are clearly trolling at this point. I don't believe even someone as thick headed as you could believe what you are writing. Ali's claim to fame is ASSAULT? Wow, there are so many things I want to say about a brat so damn aristocratic and snobbish that he would believe that. But for your mental health and my own I'll refrain. Your level of prejudice is out of this world.

 

[Sirius Black]

^ I believe it would technically framed as battery, not assault.

 

[BringBackSV]

I don't deny any of the skills etc. you mentioned that boxing requires.
It might even be the toughest sport all around, I would not argue with that.
But that's not my issue, it's what they're doing with those skills which is the issue here.
They are assaulting each other, period.
I know enough about boxing to know you punch the other person to win/get points.
Pointing out the facts is not drivel.

It's not "great" to be the best in the world at assault, and yes, it's assault, even if it looks pretty.

Ali or whoever could easily be the best sportsperson ever, but absolutely no way could he be the greatest.
His claim to fame is assault.

Federer, Woods, Pele, Maradona etc. win without committing crimes.

You can't deny what they're doing by saying I know nothing about the sport.
I do know about boxing.
And I know enough to know that it is highly glorified thuggery.

Mayweather, apart from being a cheat, is also a thug and a buffoon.
Some boxers (not him) have honour and class, but they're still participating in a classless sport.

I have more respect for martial arts, that has very strict codes of honour and conduct, but even that's still fighting.

Calling boxing assault is clearly false, that's dishonest. If you were to tackle somebody in ordinary life, that would also be assault. A poor slide tackle in every day life would also be considered assault. It has the potential to be brutal but you shouldn't dismiss it because of that. There is a beauty to that struggle, to the will power and resolve required to be elite. My bigger issue though is people talk about Ali but ignore somebody like Ray Robinson, Joe Louis and so forth. Even a guy like Jack Johnson had to deal with a lot, he was the first black heavyweight champion, at a point when they weren't even allowed to be playing other sports with whites.

 

[BringBackSV]

^ I believe it would technically framed as battery, not assault.

I believe you are correct, at least in the US.

 

[vanioMan]

I don't deny any of the skills etc. you mentioned that boxing requires.
It might even be the toughest sport all around, I would not argue with that.
But that's not my issue, it's what they're doing with those skills which is the issue here.
They are assaulting each other, period.
I know enough about boxing to know you punch the other person to win/get points.
Pointing out the facts is not drivel.

It's not "great" to be the best in the world at assault, and yes, it's assault, even if it looks pretty.

Ali or whoever could easily be the best sportsperson ever, but absolutely no way could he be the greatest.
His claim to fame is assault.

Federer, Woods, Pele, Maradona etc. win without committing crimes.

You can't deny what they're doing by saying I know nothing about the sport.
I do know about boxing.
And I know enough to know that it is highly glorified thuggery.

Mayweather, apart from being a cheat, is also a thug and a buffoon.
Some boxers (not him) have honour and class, but they're still participating in a classless sport.

I have more respect for martial arts, that has very strict codes of honour and conduct, but even that's still fighting.

I'm sorry FSM, but you are fully and totally wrong in your post.

And I mean, you simply cannot be more wrong.

Plus, Federer, Nadal, Woods, Maradona and etc all combined have done a lot less than Ali has done off the field by himself. He is what they call "larger than life".

PS: You know I respect you, but for your own sake, please relax with your Federer obsession.

 

[LapsedNoob]

Casey, though he had some untimely strikeouts.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Maybe it's the fact that I hate Mayweather, he is a legitimate criminal, outside the ring, and he's who I think of when I think of boxing.

But I couldn't call myself a fan of the sport, I just couldn't.

Boxers that are good people, fight with honour, and are not criminals, I can tolerate, and I'm sure that a good percentage of them are just like this.
Pacquiano seems to be one of them.

And @Inanimate_Object - Disliking contact sports is not prejudiced or snobbish, why would you think that?
So if I dislike strawberry milk, does that me me prejudiced or snobbish, because I will only drink chocolate milk?

If I lay out why I dislike strawberry milk, and you disagree with my analysis, you're going to attack me for it, labeling me as being a certain way?

 

[Deleted member 688153]

I'm sorry FSM, but you are fully and totally wrong in your post.

And I mean, you simply cannot be more wrong.

Plus, Federer, Nadal, Woods, Maradona and etc all combined have done a lot less than Ali has done off the field by himself. He is what they call "larger than life".

PS: You know I respect you, but for your own sake, please relax with your Federer obsession.

This is true.
Ali has been tremendous both within his sport and outside of it.
The other guys have done little to nothing outside of their sport compared to Ali.
Easily the greatest boxer ever.

Woods is hardly perfect too, he has behaved very unethically.

It's just the violent nature of boxing I dislike.
I dislike violence in general, no matter how skilled.
And this other fellow peering down his nose at me gives me little incentive to let up.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

You are clearly trolling at this point. I don't believe even someone as thick headed as you could believe what you are writing. Ali's claim to fame is ASSAULT? Wow, there are so many things I want to say about a brat so damn aristocratic and snobbish that he would believe that. But for your mental health and my own I'll refrain. Your level of prejudice is out of this world.

Who would you say is the Polo GOAT?

 

[Inanimate_object]

Maybe it's the fact that I hate Mayweather, he is a legitimate criminal, outside the ring, and he's who I think of when I think of boxing.

But I couldn't call myself a fan of the sport, I just couldn't.

Boxers that are good people, fight with honour, and are not criminals, I can tolerate, and I'm sure that a good percentage of them are just like this.
Pacquiano seems to be one of them.

And @Inanimate_Object - Disliking contact sports is not prejudiced or snobbish, why would you think that?
So if I dislike strawberry milk, does that me me prejudiced or snobbish, because I will only drink chocolate milk?

If I lay out why I dislike strawberry milk, and you disagree with my analysis, you're going to attack me for it, labeling me as being a certain way?

Saying you are not a fan of the sport is fine. No one should be forced to like things they don't enjoy. However you go beyond that and disrespect the entire discipline, and the fans by saying not only is boxing not a sport, it is cheap barely-legalized public thuggery. A blood-lust filled archaic practice where barbarians and felons try to out-assault one another. That's just stupidity of the highest order, and you should know that.

You are using the age-old cheap shot that old fogeys used to criticize boxing with back in the day. Clearly you believe boxing is an inferior game for lower income households and people from inferior socioeconomic backgrounds. Hence why you think golf and tennis are "classy" while boxing is the playground of thugs and criminals. You know how elitist and aristocratic that sounds?

Anyone who isn't brain-dead knows boxing is not assault in the same way a sliding football tackle or a shoulder tackle from a defensive linesman or a hipcheck from a hockey player are not assaults. Are you not a fan of contact sports? That's fine, more and more people aren't. What's not okay is that you don't even recognize how ignorant and prejudiced it is to write off the sweet science, a mainstay of American and Mexican sports institutions, as an adage of criminals and crime-watching fans. Again, I hope you're trolling because if not you've got a severe case of ivory tower going on.

 

[WhiskeyEE]

I can't say I'm a fan of folks beating up other folks.
Outside of the ring, that's a criminal offence, and a serious one at that.
Are they talented? Extremely.
Are they highly skilled and trained athletes? Absolutely.
But at the end of the day they are literally beating each other up.
Not to mention most of them are complete a**holes outside the ring anyway.
Many are convicted criminals (usually assault, surprise surprise), and they're basically making a career out of putting others in hospital.
I absolutely in no way respect that, and I make no apologies for calling them what they are.

Rugby, AFL, fine, the injuries are only a by-product, even if it's still horrible.
But in boxing, the goal is literally to knock out your opponent.
It is literally to assault your opponent.
I don't even understand how it's legal.
Sweet science? Please.

That Fraud Mayweather guy has to be one of the biggest buffoons I've ever seen.
Maybe he's just had his brain cells destroyed by fighting, but the guy is a criminal, a complete a**hole, and yet he is still paraded around as "great".
Would you let that complete loser of a person near your family or children?
Didn't think so.
Federer on the other hand, is a kind, gentle person, and one of the most respected people in the world, and a gentleman.
A far cry from a criminal thug.

Everyone has got an opinion until they get punched in the mouth.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Saying you are not a fan of the sport is fine. No one should be forced to like things they don't enjoy. However you go beyond that and disrespect the entire discipline, and the fans by saying not only is boxing not a sport, it is cheap barely-legalized public thuggery. A blood-lust filled archaic practice where barbarians and felons try to out-assault one another. That's just stupidity of the highest order, and you should know that.

Boxing is absolutely a sport, and a highly skilled one at that.
It's the violence/contact I disagree with.

You are using the age-old cheap shot that old fogeys used to criticize boxing with back in the day. Clearly you believe boxing is an inferior game for lower income households and people from inferior socioeconomic backgrounds. Hence why you think golf and tennis are "classy" while boxing is the playground of thugs and criminals. You know how elitist and aristocratic that sounds?

Er, no.
By classy I mean no contact, no violence.

Anyone who isn't brain-dead knows boxing is not assault in the same way a sliding football tackle or a shoulder tackle from a defensive linesman or a hipcheck from a hockey player are not assaults. Are you not a fan of contact sports? That's fine, more and more people aren't. What's not okay is that you don't even recognize how ignorant and prejudiced it is to write off the sweet science, a mainstay of American and Mexican sports institutions, as an adage of criminals and crime-watching fans. Again, I hope you're trolling because if not you've got a severe case of ivory tower going on.

I'm turned off by the boxers who are actually criminals more than anything else (Mayweather).
And yes, maybe I was being a bit strongly worded before, but I dislike contact sports.

 

[ARFED]

Yeah but you don't seem to understand that talent is dilluted by the amount of people who play football. The best US athletes don't care, Africa, Asia, and Australia produce little of note. It's still a sport that is largely relegated to a handful of European countries and a few South American countries when it comes to requisite youth infrastructure. There are 125 players in the world with a PGA tour card, the competition is stiff.

Ok, so ask yourself this. If you start playing golf and football as a kid, in which sport are you more likely to suceed?? Honestly, it`s a no brainer. The larger the pool of competitors, the harder to achieve something. With such fierce competition, and i repeat that over a billion people around the world play football regularly, it is a superhuman task to reach the top of the pyramid.

About Africa not producing nothing of note, well then you don`t know who Eusebio is, or Weah, or half of the French national team. European leagues are full of African players. Australia? You must be joking, since it has a population of less than 30 million, not very important on a large scale. Even so, football is growing in popularity by the minute over there.
China is a strange case. Football is the most popular sport, but they have failed to develop A class players. But they have been working really hard in the last 15 years, once they produce their first major stars, with a population as large as they have, they are bound to be a football superpower

 

[BringBackSV]

Ok, so ask yourself this. If you start playing golf and football as a kid, in which sport are you more likely to suceed?? Honestly, it`s a no brainer. The larger the pool of competitors, the harder to achieve something. With such fierce competition, and i repeat that over a billion people around the world play football regularly, it is a superhuman task to reach the top of the pyramid.

About Africa not producing nothing of note, well then you don`t know who Eusebio is, or Weah, or half of the French national team. European leagues are full of African players. Australia? You must be joking, since it has a population of less than 30 million, not very important on a large scale. Even so, football is growing in popularity by the minute over there.
China is a strange case. Football is the most popular sport, but they have failed to develop A class players. But they have been working really hard in the last 15 years, once they produce their first major stars, with a population as large as they have, they are bound to be a football superpower

Few countries are developing elite talent, that's why there aren't many countries with a chance to win the world cup. A lot of people play football but how many even attempt seriously or are from a place with good infrastructure? It's basically the same countries that have been on top of soccer for decades. So, to your point, it would depend on what country you are from but becoming a pro golfer or football player is a pipe dream for either. You are also grossly overstating Africa's contribution and when you consider the population between Africa and Asia not contributing much of note, it's still as I said mostly a handful from Europe and a few from South America.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Few countries are developing elite talent, that's why there aren't many countries with a chance to win the world cup. A lot of people play football but how many even attempt seriously or are from a place with good infrastructure? It's basically the same countries that have been on top of soccer for decades. So, to your point, it would depend on what country you are from but becoming a pro golfer or football player is a pipe dream for either. You are also grossly overstating Africa's contribution and when you consider the population between Africa and Asia not contributing much of note, it's still as I said mostly a handful from Europe and a few from South America.

True.
Many countries have their own sports that their population focus on.
The USA has NFL, basketball, baseball, ice hockey as major sports.
Children aspire to be in these sports.

In Australia, we have cricket, AFL, NRL, Rugby Union as major sports.
These are where the children go.

Football is the primary sport in Europe though, so it gets all the talent.
Tennis too, it's more popular in Europe than it is in Australia and the USA at the moment.
The talent is going to other, more well-known sports.

 

[ARFED]

True.
Many countries have their own sports that their population focus on.
The USA has NFL, basketball, baseball, ice hockey as major sports.
Children aspire to be in these sports.

In Australia, we have cricket, AFL, NRL, Rugby Union as major sports.
These are where the children go.

Football is the primary sport in Europe though, so it gets all the talent.
Tennis too, it's more popular in Europe than it is in Australia and the USA at the moment.
The talent is going to other, more well-known sports.

Ok, so you named 2 countries. How about if i say to you >150 countries where its population focus on football. Do you realize how powerful as a global institution FIFA is? The World Cup is a bigger event than the Olympics, that should be self explanatory. The Superbowl, which is hyped non stop bu the americans, is viewed approx by 150 million people (80% of them americans), compare that to the WC final which is viewed by 1 billion people.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Ok, so you named 2 countries. How about if i say to you >150 countries where its population focus on football. Do you realize how powerful as a global institution FIFA is? The World Cup is a bigger event than the Olympics, that should be self explanatory. The Superbowl, which is hyped non stop bu the americans, is viewed approx by 150 million people (80% of them americans), compare that to the WC final which is viewed by 1 billion people.

I'm not arguing against football being the biggest sport, it obviously is.
I was just giving a rationale for why soccer isn't bigger in some countries.

 

[Zoid]

Some of the suggestions here are laughable to say the least. Ice hockey? Baseball? Darts? American Football? Golf? Basketball? Get a grip, please

The only truly global sport is football (real football btw, not that awful circus some call a sport). Do you realize that over a billion people around the world play football, yes over a billion, most just for fun, but they play it anyway. That means when you compare the competition to rose to the very top of world football players like Pele, Di Steffano, Maradona, Cruyff, Messi, Ronaldo, etc faced with the competion that for instance Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan faced, there is no comparison at all. Probably more people play football around the world than all of the other sports combined.

Pele is the greatest, 3 time world champion. But the best is Maradona, that guy was from another galaxy

Whilst I agree that some suggestions are a bit of a stretch (darts), I think those sports still have merit where a player has shown statistically how far removed from the pack he is as a player. Gretszky, Bradman, Jordan. These guys played a sport less popular than soccer, yes, but they dominated it to an extent that is worthy of mention.

When talking of the best, I usually side with Ali, because of what he did out of the ring and because boxing is probably the hardest sport in the world. It encompasses a high degree of every facet of athleticism. Strenght, power, speed, agility, endurance, balance, coordination/timing, and mentally it pushes you against all your fears and doubts like few other sports.

Ali can say he was one of/if not the very best in the world - in a sport that demands more physical prowess than any other - and in the heavyweight division.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Whilst I agree that some suggestions are a bit of a stretch (darts), I think those sports still have merit where a player has shown statistically how far removed from the pack he is as a player. Gretszky, Bradman, Jordan. These guys played a sport less popular than soccer, yes, but they dominated it to an extent that is worthy of mention.

When talking of the best, I usually side with Ali, because of what he did out of the ring and because boxing is probably the hardest sport in the world. It encompasses a high degree of every facet of athleticism. Strenght, power, speed, agility, endurance, balance, coordination/timing, and mentally it pushes you against all your fears and doubts like few other sports.

Ali can say he was one of/if not the very best in the world - in a sport that demands more physical prowess than any other - and in the heavyweight division.

???

"The Power" is the best heavyweight athlete.

 

[Zoid]

???

"The Power" is the best heavyweight athlete.

How did I forget about THE POWER!

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Alright, contact sports are obviously some of the most athletic, and clearly have a large mental component, so I'll include them in my thoughts on this even though I dislike them.

What about MMA though?
Would you say that's tougher than boxing?

 

[Zoid]

Alright, contact sports are obviously some of the most athletic, and clearly have a large mental component, so I'll include them in my thoughts on this even though I dislike them.

What about MMA though?
Would you say that's tougher than boxing?

I'd say it would be very close, if not on par with boxing. I really don't watch any MMA i couldn't tell you to be honest.

 

[rossi46]

Lance Armstrong surely.

 

[Starbuckingham]

Lance Armstrong surely.

He might be just a tad higher than Nad in the greatness level.




7 in a row is greater than 5 in a row no?

 

[Russeljones]

Alright, contact sports are obviously some of the most athletic, and clearly have a large mental component, so I'll include them in my thoughts on this even though I dislike them.

What about MMA though?
Would you say that's tougher than boxing?

I think wrestling is the only thing that trumps boxing in terms of strength/stamina.

 

[Zoid]

I think wrestling is the only thing that trumps boxing in terms of strength/stamina.

I'm not sure stamina of a wrestler would be that of a boxer going 12/15 rounds. Strength is with the wrestler i would assume, although I don't know a lick about wrestling.

 

[Russeljones]

I'm not sure stamina of a wrestler would be that of a boxer going 12/15 rounds. Strength is with the wrestler i would assume, although I don't know a lick about wrestling.

Think about focusing all your strength on holding, grappling, lifting, resisting, twisting etc. for minutes and minutes. No respite. I don't think there's another sport where energy is expended in such a manner. If you look at weight lifting, for example, the motion is abrupt. You can see how MMA fighters stagger when they do a little wrestling.

I am no wrestler myself, but I'm an admirer of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

 

[Zoid]

Think about focusing all your strength on holding, grappling, lifting, resisting, twisting etc. for minutes and minutes. No respite. I don't think there's another sport where energy is expended in such a manner. If you look at weight lifting, for example, the motion is abrupt. You can see how MMA fighters stagger when they do a little wrestling.

I am no wrestler myself, but I'm an admirer of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Definitely, how long does a typical wrestling match last? Are there a number of rounds?

Boxing through 15 rounds is insane, given your head/ribs/kidneys are getting punched in and you gotta throw punches yourself.

Doing boxing cross training gave me a lot of respect for boxers given how hard it is to punch a bag for a minute.

Boxing and Cycling - those guys are insane.

 

[Russeljones]

Definitely, how long does a typical wrestling match last? Are there a number of rounds?

Boxing through 15 rounds is insane, given your head/ribs/kidneys are getting punched in and you gotta throw punches yourself.

Doing boxing cross training gave me a lot of respect for boxers given how hard it is to punch a bag for a minute.

Boxing and Cycling - those guys are insane.

The wrestling format has changed very recently to 3 2-minute periods. Like I said in my first post in this thread, I think it's a split between a boxer and a wrestler. For me those would be Sugar Ray Robinson and Aleksandr Karelin, two pillars in their respective sports.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Tossup between Rick Flair and classy Freddie Blassie.

 

[the green god]

Bobby Fischer.