Everyone has a plan 'til they get punched in the face

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Everyone has a plan 'til they get punched in the face

JonnyStead · **"I'm Lois!"**

May well be true - but its the "punched in the face" bit that made me laugh when I first read it and so I would continue to quote Tyson's.

Truckman · Old. But wise!

Joe Louis was a hero, Tyson is a punk...Ben

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

That was my thinking!

JonnyStead · **"I'm Lois!"**

Truckman wrote:

Joe Louis was a hero, Tyson is a punk...Ben

I appreciate Ben's comment has the JDK's expert endorsement - but its not my view.

Joe was a great fighter, but it was a very different time. There are two different ways of looking at this in my view. The first is, taken as a review of their whole careers who is the greatest? I think Joe Louis would have to win that one and Ring magazine plus many fans around the world would agree.

The other way to look at it though is - if Joe Louis and Mike Tyson had fought, both of them in their prime, who would have won? On that basis I think most would agree that Tyson would have been victorious.

Tyson fought in probably the tougher era (tougher based on the quality of the opponent - their fitness and skill etc) and during his reign as champion was devastating.

Joe was a great fighter and fought good fighters, but Tyson was a great athlete and fought the best athletes the heavyweight division has ever seen. Even now I dont think there is a heavy weight fighting today, who could live with a 19 year old Tyson - he was a freak of nature.

Now, Ali v Louis would be a fight to see -

-- Edited by JonnyStead on Friday 17th of July 2009 02:48:35 PM

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Plus... Tyson has the benefit of being able to bite his opponent's ear off!

I don't think Ben's opinion has much to do with Tyson's prowess in the ring. More that he's a pretty despicable human being.

JonnyStead · **"I'm Lois!"**

ddvmor wrote:

... More that he's a pretty despicable human being.

I dont think thats true either - in particular. He certainly is troubled, and needed a lot of guidance during his fighting years. Whilst he was under the care of Cus D'amato he was polite and controlled - but he was taken in by Don King after Cus's death and allowed to misbehave during a time that King and various hangers on were bleeding him dry financially.

If he had had the support of a mentor throughout his career like say Calzaghe or Hatton have had more recently, his life would have turned out differently in my view.

As for the rape conviction - I think it was telling that his 'victim' was attempting to gear up the civil case even before the criminal conviction came in.

Tyson has had a bad press - and has made mistakes, but when you consider where he came from and where most boxers end up (bankrupt or early deaths) he has held his life together reasonably well.

And personally, I have respect for anyone who can make it to the top of the toughest sport in the world.

Truckman · Old. But wise!

ddvmor wrote:

I don't think Ben's opinion has much to do with Tyson's prowess in the ring. More that he's a pretty despicable human being.

Exactly...Joe Louis was no saint either, but I'd rather hire and trust people that modeled their life on his rather than someone who wants to follow the footsteps of Tyson...But in no way do I discount the fighting abilities of either one...Ben

Susan · Tickle me, Elmo! I'm Roger Moore's Stunt Double!

All of this has led me to confuse

...

If you have one, who's your idol and why?

Truckman · Old. But wise!

Susan wrote:

All of this has led me to ...

If you have one, who's your idol and why?

Theodore Roosevelt...By his own will and determination, he rose from being a sickly, myopic child of middle-class parents to building his body into an endurance machine...He could have remained a studious, intelligent young man and rose to a career limited by physical frailty, but chose instead to continue his studies while overcoming the limitations nature put on his health...

When his beloved first wife and his mother died on the same day, he could have drowned himself in sorrow as many men of lesser stamina have done...Instead he threw himself into work in the west, learning the art of cowboying and the business of running a ranch...

He went on to become the consummate outdoorsman, hunting, hiking and fishing in places lesser men can only read about...And many read about it in the many books and magazine articles he wrote...With the political connections he developed on his own initiative he became an Undersecretary of the Navy, a position that would have kept him safely out of harms way in the impending war with Spain...

True to his nature, when war broke out he resigned his political post joining the Army...He was commissioned an officer at the age of 40 and talked his superiors into forming his own unit...In the Battle of San Juan Hill, he led his men to victory over an entrenched enemy, beginning not with a cry of, "Charge!" as many believe, but with the words, "Follow me!"...

His men, knowing their leader, stood up and overcame a numerically superior force...For this action, Lt. Col. Roosevelt was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor, the highest decoration that can be awarded by a grateful nation...His political career was resumed when he was selected to be the vice-presidential running mate of William McKinley...Upon the death of McKinley, he assumed the office of President and was subsequently elected to serve a second term...

After his rift with the Republican Party under whose banner he campaigned and won the Presidency, he formed his own party and once again ran for President...While campaigning, an attempt was made on his life by an assassin...The would be murderer shot Roosevelt in the chest...The bullet penetrated his body after being slowed by a sheaf of notes he carried in his pocket...With his own blood staining his shirtfront, he went on to deliver a 90 minute speech...The effort was in vain as he was not elected again to office...

He accomplished all this while at the same time raising a large family with his second wife...One of his sons, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., followed his father's footsteps and insisted on going ashore with his men at Normandy beach in 1944...For his actions then and in the following days, the son was also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, making the Roosevelts one of only two father and son pairs to be awarded their nation's highest honor...

I could go on more about this extraordinary man's life, but suffice to say, I'm inspired every time I think of him...Ben

Susan · Tickle me, Elmo! I'm Roger Moore's Stunt Double!

Wow! I've learnt more by reading your post than in a lifetime of history lessons.

Thank you for sharing that Ben. I feel truly humble.

Truckman · Old. But wise!

Thanks, Susan...Anybody that wants to read of a truly full and exciting life can do no better than to read of the "Colonel" as he liked to be called...Astonishingly enough, his nomination for the Medal of Honor was disapproved by political powers at home...After the heroic action securing the hill, Roosevelt saw the poor living conditions and malaria that was decimating the troops he served with...Getting no response to his demands for proper care for his men, he wrote a letter to a newspaper...Its publication got the problem solved but enraged the politicians for embarrassing them...

The Medal of Honor was denied him in life but almost 100 years after his acts of gallantry, it was approved by Congress and awarded by President Clinton, one of the few things done by that administration I approve of...Ben