Gygax

This could be interesting. Name your Top 5 Favorite Boxers of All Time. They may not be the greatest in skill, or maybe they were never a world champion. But each fighter really stuck in your head and you'd go out of your way to be sure to watch them ply their trade. Maybe you got to meet them once or they just always had an incredibly exciting style. You can put them in order or just list your fab five. Here's mine...

Mike Tyson - Back int he mid-80's, my dad used to take me to alot of fights up in the Catskills of NY. He took me to Poughkeepsie to see the fights once and I got to see this up and coming phenom by the name of Mike Tyson. It was around his 6th fight against a can by the name of Larry Sims. Sims literally ran in fear for 3 rounds before Iron Mike finally cornered him and dropped him out cold with a left hook. The guys was practically in convulsions from the punch. From that time I was hooked. I truly feel all blame for his downfall lies at the feet of Don King. I really won't even follow him anymore as he is just a freakshow at this point. Opportunity wasted, a real shame.

Alexis Arguello - He personified smooth boxing for me. There was always just something so silky in the way he threw punches that I loved watching him fight. His wars with Aaron Pryor were absolutely awesome to watch even though he ended up on the losing end twice. Wonderful boxer!

Buddy McGirt - I was a big fan of Buddy but ended up being a friend of his. During his first fight with Pernell Whitaker, Buddy tore his rotator cuff clean off his right shoulder in the 3rd Round. The surgeon said it looked like a hand grenade went off in his shoulder. I know this because he came to my facility to rehab. Myself and the head PT worked with Buddy getting him back. He fought a few warmup fights, including a war with Livingston Bramble before stepping back in ring with Pernell. Pernell completely outboxed Buddy and his glory days were clearly behind him. But he was a classy guy who really made a great impression on me.

Arturo Gatti - Following up on the Buddy story, I got to meet and hang out with Arturo because of Buddy. They fought on the same card at the Meadowlands Convention Center in '94 and we all went to a post fight party together. Arturo was very down to earth and seemed to just love the fight game. I've always found it interesting how Buddy is now his trainer as well. And though no one has ever claimed that Thunder was the most skilled fighter, he has as much heart and determination as any who have stepped through the ropes.

Sugar Ray Leonard - As classy a fighter as I've ever seen. The man was as confident as anyone, yet was always respectful of his opponent. Lightning fast, for some reason in my eyes his occasional antics never seemed to be showboating, more a case of a real strategy. Sugar was always a great ambassador for the sport and I really enjoyed his broadcasting as well.

Honorable mentions:

Boom-boom Ray Mancini - a warrior
Bobby Czyz - playeed softball against him
Lou Savarese - dad knows his family
Roy Jones Jr - insane skills and speed
Mark Breland - followed since the Golden Gloves