Easily the most enduring of all sports questions is "Who was/is the best . . . ?" Perhaps in no sport is the question more asked and argued over than in boxing. And in boxing perhaps none is more qualified to answer the question than Bert Randolph Sugar. In Boxing's Greatest Fighters, not only does the former publisher of Ring Magazine tell us who the best fighters were, he lists them in order. Could Sugar Ray Robinson have beaten Muhammad Ali? Could Sugar Ray Leonard have beaten Sonny Liston? The answer, most experts agree, would be "no." But what if, as Bert Sugar has done here, one were to take all the boxers and reduce them in the mind's eye to the same height, the same weight, and the same ring conditions? The answers would be quite different. And while some fans may express outrage that Rocky Marciano barely makes the top twenty, and Marvin Hagler staggers into the top seventy-five, others will nod eagerly when they read that Harry Greb and Benny Leonard were better than just about anybody. So whether you read Boxing's Greatest Fighters cover to cover, pick your favorites at random, or simply browse through the many rare photographs, "at the bell, come out arguing."

Celebrates boxing's greatest fights and fighters.

For many years, New York City was considered to be the fight capital of the world." Local venues put on shows almost daily, and the mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden, hosted boxing regularly. Fans flocked from one arena to the other to catch all of the action. New York City's Greatest Boxers is a photographic journey featuring over 180 photographs showcasing many of the outstanding boxers who helped make up the city's colorful history. New York City's biggest boxing stars are all found here, from legendary champions like Terry McGovern and Benny Leonard to local stars and celebrities like Joe Miceli, Tiger Jones, and Tony Danza."

A diverse collection of the best pieces ever written about boxing, complete with all the drama and excitement of a championship bout.

Fed by media fascination with super heavyweights like George Foreman, the perception of boxers as oversized guys with oversized muscles is simply wrong. For every weight class, strength must be carefully balanced with the ideal physique. In truth, boxer training produces a body perfectly balanced for strength, shape, speed, and stamina. The author traveled the world talking to top boxers about how they train for peak performance. Their workouts will help reshape the reader's body, and the short bios and quotes from legendary favorites will inspire readers to take their workout to the next level. This one-of-a-kind approach to the world of boxing offers readers proven tips on balancing their own physique. Want to build more strength? Follow the workout of heavyweights like Ali. Need to slim down but don't want to lose muscle? Try the program of middleweight Fernando Vargas. Want to go all out for the ultimate physical fitness? Then try to keep up with the training of pound-for-pound legend Roy Jones Jr.

Standing no more than 5' 7" tall, Sam Langford was one of the 20th century's greatest fighters. In 1951, the great featherweight champion Abe Attell was asked if Sugar Ray Robinson was the best of all time, either as a welterweight or middleweight. He named Stanley Ketchel as the greatest welterweight he'd ever seen and said that, as for the middleweights, he'd take Sam Langford, "the greatest of them all at that poundage." Remarkably, the man Attell felt was the greatest middleweight fighter in history fought and defeated many of the leading heavyweight contenders of his day. Over time, he matured physically and grew into a light heavyweight, then began fighting heavyweights on a regular basis, but he was almost always the much smaller of the two combatants. Nat Fleischer, founding editor of The Ring magazine, called Sam one of the hardest punchers of all time, and ranked the little man seventh among his personal all-time favorites "Sam was endowed with everything. He possessed strength, agility, cleverness, hitting power, a good thinking cap, and an abundance of courage He feared no one. But he had the fatal gift of being too good, and that's why he often had to give away weight in early days and make agreements with opponents. Many of those who agreed to fight him, especially of his own race, wanted an assurance that he would be merciful or insisted on a bout of not more than six rounds." Other leading sportswriters of that era had even higher opinions of Sam. Hype Igoe, well known boxing writer for the New York Journal, proclaimed Sam the greatest fighter, pound-for-pound, who ever lived. Joe Williams, respected sports columnist of the New York World Telegram wrote that Langford was probably the best the ring ever saw, and the great Grantland Rice described Sam as "about the best fighting man I've ever watched." At the time of Sam's induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame (October 1955) he was the only non-champion accorded the honor. Many ring experts considered Sam the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the history of boxing Under different circumstances he might have been a champion at five different weights: lightweight; welterweight, middleweight; light heavyweight; and heavyweight. Blind and penniless at the end of his life, Sam lived quietly in a private nursing home But when one visitor expressed sympathy for his circumstances, Sam replied, "Don't nobody need to feel sorry for old Sam. I had plenty of good times. I been all over the world. I fought maybe 600 fights, and every one was a pleasure " With 98 photographs and illustrations, primarily from private collections.

It's time to enter the ring and meet the greatest boxers of all time! Readers will learn about the sport and look at exciting facts and stats presented in an engaging top-10 format.