Who is the cockiest boxer of them all?

Just been watching some videos of Sugar Ray Leonard and Rjj on youtube and they were unbelievably cocky. Then there's the obvious Mohammed Ali but Eubank and Naz must have been up there so who was the cockiest fighter ever?

mckay1402 wrote:Just been watching some videos of Sugar Ray Leonard and Rjj on youtube and they were unbelievably cocky. Then there's the obvious Mohammed Ali but Eubank and Naz must have been up there so who was the cockiest fighter ever?

James J Corbett would be up there. If ever a man had an inappropriate moniker it would be Corbett. Arrogant, rude, foul mouthed and dismissive of everybody, with the possible exception of Peter Jackson.

Errol Flynn didn't seem too cocky in the movie.......

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Errol Flynn didn't seem too cocky in the movie.......

Good Ol' Hollywood, eh ?

I have to confess that I don't know a great deal about James J Corbett. I know Jack Johnson was accused of being cocky but suspect that might have been propaganda... In my memory Naz stands out as being the cockiest...seemed to disappear quite quickly...

mckay1402 wrote:I have to confess that I don't know a great deal about James J Corbett. I know Jack Johnson was accused of being cocky but suspect that might have been propaganda... In my memory Naz stands out as being the cockiest...seemed to disappear quite quickly...

I believe Jack was tongue in cheek with most of it, mckay. In addition, he was baited, of course, and so much of his stuff was retaliatory. Corbett, though, was a genuinely nasty bit of work, for the most part.

Its got to be Ali, the things he came out with were so cocky and he genuinley believed he was the greatest heavyweight of all time. but him being so cocky is what made him the fighter he was. he needed that cocky attitude of " i am the greatest"

also Degale is well up there with the cockiest of fighters, only with him we dont yet know what he will achieve.

Windy Corbett died before you were born...

Why Is Johnson tongue in cheek and Corbett isn't.......

Not having a pop but surely it depends on the source...

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Windy Corbett died before you were born...

Why Is Johnson tongue in cheek and Corbett isn't.......

Not having a pop but surely it depends on the source...

Newspaper accounts and interviews, Truss. The things he said about Fitzsimmons during the run up to their fight; his behaviour after the fight, during which he turned the air several shades of blue with his in - ring outburst ; his remarks about Johnson, long before the Jeffries fight, and his disparaging comments about Jeffries, ( who, lest we forget, was supposed to be Corbett's friend and had been a long term sparring partner to Corbett ; ) his torrents of racial abuse hurled at Johnson from the Jeffries corner during their fight, and various other bits and bobs which surfaced in the press at the time, leave no doubt that he wasn't a very pleasant guy, all in all. And he was, most certainly, arrogant and cocky.

I believe we all know the Johnson story well enough that I don't need to explain why I believe Johnson was provoked. Even LRR, who couldn't stand Johnson, said once that he wished Johnson had displayed in the ring the guts he displayed outside it, in reference to Johnson's having ducked Langford.

Shakespeare died before I was born, also. I could quote some of his stuff, if you like.

Of a more recent vintage, Anthony Small, anyone? Cocky as you like, and a pretty unpleasant character to boot. Filled me with joy when Webb took the British title from him.

90% of people were racist then....John L any better than Corbett????

How many boxers don't slag off opponents before and after...

You're an honest guy.....Would you declare an interest where Corbett is concerned!!!

Not the first time you've been on his case in the last few years.....

For me Ali has been just as vocal if not more cocky....

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:Of a more recent vintage, Anthony Small, anyone? Cocky as you like, and a pretty unpleasant character to boot. Filled me with joy when Webb took the British title from him.

And from that day onwards we never saw him again on the old 606, he was an occasional poster before that. What a tool of the highest order.

Naz is certainly one of the cockiest in my life time, unbelievable.

More instances than career cockyness....

Never seen much of him prior to Sexton, but Usman Ahmed's ring walk in that fight made me stupidly angry. Remember going a bit mental when he got sparked! Talk about cockyness going pete tong!

Nate Campbell offering his chin on a plate with his hands down and get sparked is another instance...

Fists of Fury wrote:

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:Of a more recent vintage, Anthony Small, anyone? Cocky as you like, and a pretty unpleasant character to boot. Filled me with joy when Webb took the British title from him.

And from that day onwards we never saw him again on the old 606, he was an occasional poster before that. What a tool of the highest order.

Naz is certainly one of the cockiest in my life time, unbelievable.

I didn't know he had ever posted on 606! Was he as cocky on the forum as he was at pressers then?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:90% of people were racist then....John L any better than Corbett????

How many boxers don't slag off opponents before and after...

You're an honest guy.....Would you declare an interest where Corbett is concerned!!!

Not the first time you've been on his case in the last few years.....

For me Ali has been just as vocal if not more cocky....

An interest, Truss ?

No, not a bit. As a fighter, I believe what I have read about Corbett and I therefore regard him as having been a true pioneer and a brilliant boxer.

Don't much care for his personality, though.

I wasn't talking about his fighting accomplishments Windy....

Just think he gets a bad rep.......Like I said we were just a few years from slavery and everybody was pretty much racist on both sides!!!

Any worse than Ali?? really at least Corbett had the excuse that everybody was racist then..

TRUSS guesses my political views, place of education and views on VAT without me ever commenting on them, then he has a go at Windy for commenting on something he's probably read a lot about. Double standards at all?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I wasn't talking about his fighting accomplishments Windy....

Just think he gets a bad rep.......Like I said we were just a few years from slavery and everybody was pretty much racist on both sides!!!

Any worse than Ali?? really at least Corbett had the excuse that everybody was racist then..

I don't know, Truss. Ali was vicious for a year or two, but he did grow out of it and mellow, so that in later years there was always a twinkle in his eye. I do take your point about the racism, but I stand by what I say about Corbett's arrogance. Sadly, most of the stuff I have is in either hard copy or in pdf format, so it would take a while to put it here, but I assure you I'm not making this stuff up. He scarcely had a good word to say about anybody, black or white, though in later years he would heap praise on Peter Jackson.

The fact Fitz who had a lesson from him before the slats episode...never gave him a return may have embittered him...

Sounds like a bitter man though from what you say...

Take the racist stuff from that period with a pinch of salt though..

I think outright nastiness is possibly different from being cocky. I would say that for most boxers who have this cocky persona they need it to keep them getting in the ring. It makes them feel bigger than they are and gives them the courage to behave in a way that they couldn't possibly do in day to day life. I might be romanticising them though and they could all be massive tools.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:Of a more recent vintage, Anthony Small, anyone? Cocky as you like, and a pretty unpleasant character to boot. Filled me with joy when Webb took the British title from him.

And from that day onwards we never saw him again on the old 606, he was an occasional poster before that. What a tool of the highest order.

Naz is certainly one of the cockiest in my life time, unbelievable.

I didn't know he had ever posted on 606! Was he as cocky on the forum as he was at pressers then?

Went by the alias of MSP Special One, or something like that anyway. Yeah, he was evidently a cocky twerp from the posts he made, proclaiming that he was sugar ray clay jones jr or something ridiculous, before disappearing off the face of the earth after his loss to Webb. Last we saw of him he was supporting a pro-extremism rally, despicable character.

Fists of Fury wrote:

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:Of a more recent vintage, Anthony Small, anyone? Cocky as you like, and a pretty unpleasant character to boot. Filled me with joy when Webb took the British title from him.

And from that day onwards we never saw him again on the old 606, he was an occasional poster before that. What a tool of the highest order.

Naz is certainly one of the cockiest in my life time, unbelievable.

I didn't know he had ever posted on 606! Was he as cocky on the forum as he was at pressers then?

Went by the alias of MSP Special One, or something like that anyway. Yeah, he was evidently a cocky twerp from the posts he made, proclaiming that he was sugar ray clay jones jr or something ridiculous, before disappearing off the face of the earth after his loss to Webb. Last we saw of him he was supporting a pro-extremism rally, despicable character.

I saw the pictures of him at the rally in the press, but had no idea he was a 606 poster. Your right, he was a buffoon of the highest order.

Hector Camacho Snr

Recent mentions would be Naz,Degale and Mayweather.

Liam_Main wrote:Recent mentions would be Naz,Degale and Mayweather.

Naz would be my choice, FMJ has backed it up so he can get away with it.