The Greatest Boxers of the 1970s - PART 2

The Greatest Boxers of the Seventies - PART 2

The five best that were part of the greatest decade in sports

In the first part of our ranking of the best boxers of the 1970s, we already met you with Bob Foster, Jose Napoles, Joe Frazier, Carlos Sarata and Wilfredo Gomez. But who are the five best from arguably the sport's strongest decade? Here is the answer.

Fifth is the Nicaraguan rider Alexis Aguelo. Bosqueur, whom experts consider the greatest of all time in the super featherweight category. El Flacco Explosivo, or the explosive little guy as he was nicknamed, was one of the most dominant champions in the sport in the 1970s. Arguello won his first world featherweight title in 1974, defeating Ruben Olivares. Four years later, he moved to the next category and immediately took Alfredo Escalera's belt in a real bloodbath. Successful defenses against established boxers such as Bobby Chacon, Ruben Castillo and Rafael Limon followed. In the 1980s, Arguello also won the lightweight title, going down in history for never losing the world honors he captured, his 14th round loss to Aaron Prior in 1983 being one of the most the exciting matches of the next decade.

It's time to pay attention to the heavyweight competitors as well. George Foreman enters the top 4 of our ranking. Immediately after winning the Olympic gold in 1968, it became clear that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier would have serious competition. In 1973, he won the world title, inflicting Frazier's first loss in the professional ring. The manner in which Big George won this match goes down in history as one of the most remarkable victories. The Texas fighter knocked his opponent down six times in the first two rounds before the referee stopped the fight. This was followed by quick success over Ken Northern and another win over Frazier in the rematch. Many people thought his career would end after a humiliating loss to Muhammad Ali in 1974, but he bounced back and won against Ron Lyle in what turned out to be a spectacle in his next match. After losing to Jimmy Young in 1977, however, he took a 10-year hiatus before making an unexpected comeback in 1987.

In the top three we find the name of Carlos Monzon. The Argentine, nicknamed "Escopeta", or "The Gun" in Bulgarian, is another boxer who can be said to be the greatest in his category. But with competitors like Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvin Hagler, it's hard to put him at the top spot in middleweight history. Monson became world champion in the 1970s, stopping the great Nino Benvenuti in 12 rounds. Six months later, he also won the rematch against the Italian, but this time he only needed three rounds. In the decade we're talking about, he won two matches with Emil Griffith, managed to handle Benny Briscoe and Jose Napoles with ease. In 1977, he ended his career as champion with a tough decision over Rodrigo Valdez.

Roberto Duran remains at the foot of the peak. The Panamanian-born boxer is known by his nickname "Hands of Stone" and is best known for his performance in the 1980s when he inflicted his first loss on Sugar Ray Leonard in a welterweight title fight. Before that, however, he appeared on the scene as, perhaps, the greatest lightweight boxer ever. The only other person who can argue for that title is Benny Leonard. At lightweight, Duran is a true force, combining relentless aggression, endless power and brilliant technique that is simply unmatched in the division. He boxed for most of the decade and had only one loss, coming to Esteban De Jesus, whom he avenged twice in the aftermath.

And the first place goes to Muhammad Ali. The Louisville boxer is considered by some to be the greatest of all time, because after dominating the 1960s, refusing to be drafted into the United States military and being disqualified for nearly four years, he is back in everything. such good form and continues with the victories in the heavyweight division. Shortly before turning 30, Ali lost to Joe Frazier in 1971, but in his rematch he took it back against Smokein Joe. Two years later, Ken Norton also managed to deal with him, but the rematch took place in exactly the same way - a victory for Muhammad Ali. However, this is far from the most impressive thing about him. In 1974, he regained the world title, managing to knock out the champion George Foreman, considered the future in this category of boxing. By the end of the decade, Ali remained not only the biggest star in the sport, but one of the biggest stars among all athletes. With 27 wins and only 3 losses, he definitely deserves the top spot in our rankings considering the long forced hiatus in which he can't compete in the professional ring. The most impressive hits, other than those listed above, are against George Chuvalo, Oscar Bonavena, Ernie Shavers, Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Ron Lyle and two against Jerry Quarry. If there are people who claim that the entire history of boxing can offer us even greater than him, then at least the 70s are not capable.