Former Olympic gold medalist and multi-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya has two men tied in the age-old debate over who is the greatest boxer of all time.
“The Golden Boy” is now best known as the face of Golden Boy Promotions, but in his prime he was a potent blend of speed, athleticism and power that made him one of boxing’s biggest stars – and one of its biggest earners.
While De La Hoya may not place himself in this conversation, he is adamant that a man most certainly has a place in it, as he told ES News.
“Sugar Ray Robinson is the greatest of all time. That’s basically it. Every weight division, hardest puncher, best footwork. He fought multiple times a month. Faced the best, took on the toughest challenges.”
Robinson boxed 201 times during a 25-year career, winning world titles at welterweight and middleweight. His victories over Jake LaMotta (in their sixth meeting), Rocky Graziano, Henry Armstrong and Sammy Angott were just some of the highlights of an illustrious career that saw “Sugar” stand head and shoulders above his peers.
For first place, De La Hoya placed Robinson alongside another American who called himself “The Greatest.”
“He is [Robinson] literally the GOAT in boxing obviously next to Muhammad Ali. I would put the two together.
Ali is arguably the biggest name in boxing history, having become a three-time world heavyweight champion and having participated in some of the greatest fights of all time, including the “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman and the “Thrilla in Manila” against Joe Frazier.
