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28 January 2001 All Time Top 10 Pound for Pound list

Page history last edited by Archer844 13 years ago

Posted by Simguy on 1/28/2001, 10:59 pm.

Once again it’s time to reflect upon the relative hierarchy of celebrity fighters and recast the canon. “Greatness’ is open to some interpretation, but the following criteria guide my judgment in this admittedly haphazard exercise. Technical expertise won/loss record--these can’t be ignored, but I see them as necessary, if not sufficient measures. Quality and breadth of opposition, in particular the rival each girl faced in her career. Longevity. Je ne sais quoi meaning the esthetic dimension that might separate a girl from her peers, or make a certain celebrity more iconic than others in her class, It should be noted that I’m only considering celebs whose careers are essentially complete--ill-advised comebacks not withstanding. And so…

10.) Lynda Carter.

 

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Often criticized for lack of heart, and susceptible to being upset by smaller foes--Lynda is the benchmark for all pageant fighters and remains a viable threat even today after more than 20 years in the squared circle. Her size, lithe grace, and power made her a champion, and often compensated for her lack of zeal.

9.) Bo Derek.

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With uncanny reach and heavy hands for her size, Derek swooped in and out of the title picture in the early 80’s. Emerging from the bare knuckle beach scene, Bo’s abilities were immediately recognized by John Derek, who unleashed this primal beauty upon a startled celeb hierarchy with a shake-up-the-country-club promotional approach. One of the  most instinctive and ethereal of celebrities, Bo was virtually untrainable but her natural gifts would prove daunting for more technically skilled opponents to overcome.

8) Cyd Charisse,

 

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Best of the Studio Age fighters. Cyd incorporated Marcel Cerdan’s high guard innovations into the celebrity game and changed it forever. Watch tape of Charisse against the likes of Jane Russell, Jayne Mansfield, or Betty Grable--you’ll see a thoroughly modern style, brilliant ring generalship and deceptive power from those unparalleled legs.

7.) Farrah Fawcett.

 

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If only she had fought more! Often thought of as the best pure technician in history, Fawcett’s legs and footwork made experienced celebs look like punk amateurs. With a punch that couldn’t break eggs--Farrah’s skills needed to be razor sharp, and they were--often stopping thoroughly demoralized opponents late in one-sided fights through sheer accumulation. No championship fighter ever entered more fights as an underdog than Farrah, who played the harmless bimbo right up until the opening bell.

6) Barbara Eden.

 

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Best small woman in history. Babs originated the hyper-overdrive style embodied today in the likes of Dani Fishel or Mish Williams. Never, ever backing down from a challenge, fighting on short notice, and tackling tremendous odds against with gusto--eden makes the list with her unmatched lust for combat.

5.) Sophia Loren,

 

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History’s best big woman, proved that thundering power could overcome a multitude of sins. Loren would routinely give away rounds, walking her opponents down and finishing them with paralyzing force from either hand., She oozed big woman confidence and deliberately exaggerated her mass with a flat footed style that could become quite nimble when necessary. Loren’s bruising defeats of Ann- Margret  disproved once and for all that Europeans couldn’t fight.

4.) Victoria Principal

The Fran Tarkenton of celebrity fighters, Vicky P fought more fights, won more, lost more, and fought more separate individuals than any other fighter we have accurate records for. This tough, hard-nosed lanky body scrapper had to learn her trade in the ring, losing many developmental fights and taking many a beating at the hands of Raquel Welch, Angie Dickinson and others as a sparring partner, When she finally hit her stride in the late 70s, there was no type of opponent she couldn’t face,. And unlike many celebrities, she actually got better as she got older.

3) Ursula Andress.

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The only fighter Raquel Welch ever admitted to being afraid of, this cold-eyes Nordic beauty is often recognized as the best European fighter ever. Possessed of an iceberg chin, KO power in either fist, and tireless legs, she would hound her foes into extinction, pouring on the pressure until gaining the collapse. More U.S. exposure and wider variety of opponents could easily have elevated this woman to the number 1 position.

2) Ann-Margret.

 

 

Bridging the gap from the studio system to the Sex Kitten Era--Margret was the best pressure fighter of her time, using an explosive left hook to lay waste to the American celebrity landscape before the emergence of Raquel Welch. Without Welch, Ann would almost certainly reign supreme as boxing’s goddess, although her skills did not translate well into the 80s and beyond.

1) Raquel Welch.

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How much of the Welch mystique is mere illusion, how much fact will never be known, It’s probable that she would not have been as dominant in the PPV eras today, but for 3 decades, Raquel Welch strutted through the ranks of the FCBA like a colossus, facing down some of history’s best fighters in a career that reads like a Homeric epic. Starting out as a gangly, coltish brawler, maturing into the best boxer/puncher of the 70s, then winning titles by slugging cleverly on the inside and fighting big in the 80s--no one has ever shown more looks, been more resolute or had more pride than the incomparable Ms. Welch. And to her startling record the mind boggling number of classic rivalries she had, from Victoria Principal and Loni Anderson to Margret, Andress, Cardinale and Bardot, and you gave the woman most would agree is the top pound for pound fighter in history.

HONORABLE MENTIONS.

Claudia Cardinale--always in the shadow of Loren, Cardinale may have been better technically, but rarely fought in the U.S, top prove it, Gave Brigitte Bardot her worst beatings.

 

 

Caroline Munro--Hammer studio queen--hampered by low exposure and a penchant for private, unrecorded brawls. Could easily have been the equal of Eden pound for pound.

 

 

Angie Dickinson--hard working blonde could fight.

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Marilyn Monroe--sure the record’s padded, and nobody had more fixed fights, but Marilyn set the standard for defense.

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Julie Newmar--so badly ducked, she never had a chance to really shine, beat a shopworn Sophia loren senseless in the 70s.

 

Heather Thomas--could probably have scratched out a place at number 10, Easily one of the best fighters ever to come out of television.

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Loni Anderson--stiff robotic, and oh yeah, deadly in her prime.

 

 

Catherine Bach--Maybe the best TV brawler until Nolin.
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Pam Grier--old story--nobody willing to risk it against her.
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Reposted by Archer 3/16/11

 

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