Zach Servino

Feature Project
April 28th, 2015
Professor Mardenfeld
The Greatest Champions Of All Time

What the promoters proclaim The Fight Of The Century just

days away, the media is having a field day comparing and contrasting
the two champion boxers. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are
finally set to face off in the squared circle. The fight, which many have
been begging to see for the majority of the 21st Century, is set for May
2nd. The bout, set to break nearly every record the sport of boxing has
to offer, raises many debates amongst the sports fan community.
Originally, the plan was to interview boxing fans, and ask who the
better boxer was in their opinion. That idea shipped shape after my
first interview with my 90-year-old Great Uncle Dave. Being as how
Dave was unfamiliar with either fighter, as Im sure a vast amount of
people truly are, He misunderstood the question, which resulted in me
changing my inquiry for the interviews to follow. What was at first a
premeditated survey choosing the best between the two boxers set to
fight on May 2nd, turned into opening an entirely different door; In
sports history, who is the best champion of all time?

When I sat down with David Blachly, I asked him who the better
boxer was between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. His
response to my question took the narrative of my story in an entirely
different direction, which I decided to stick with. Being born April 26th,
1924, David is from a different era. He answered by saying with
confidence, Joe Louis is the greatest champion of all time! Though he
stuck to the boxing narrative, he changed the confides of the question.
In response, I decided to follow suit. Now my question wasnt to pick
the better fighter between the two-prize fighters set to fight on
Saturday, but instead, who is the greatest champion of all time, in all of
sports history. Joe Louis was an American Born boxer from Lafayette,
Alabama. The former World Heavyweight Champion of the World, also
known as The Brown Bomber definitely deserves to be in the
conversation of best champion of all time. The Boxer, who fought a
total of 70 professional bouts, ended his Career with an overall record
of 66 wins and 3 losses and 1 no contest. 66-3-1 is one of the most
prestigious records in the sports history. However, the most impressive
aspect to the illustrious career of the Brown Bomber is his run as
champion; more specifically, amount of title defenses he had. What
makes a good champion isnt the way you win the belt, its how you
carry yourself champion, said Blachly. In the 29 months Louis reigned
as Champion, he defended his title a whopping 13 times. This

frequency was and is unmatched for the champions before him, and
those who came after.

With new direction for my narrative, I expanded my potential

interviewees. Instead of looking to interview boxing fans, I now sought
to speak to fans of sports in general. My next interview came from my
old landlord/boss Arty Castellano. Arty owns Ninas Pizzeria and served
as my landlord for a year when I lived in the apartment in the back of
the building. Over the year, me and Arty would always argue about
sports, so I was eager to gauge his proclivity on this inquiry. I asked
who he thought the best champion was of all time, to which he bluntly
responded, Jeter. Referring to Derek Jeter, I asked a few follow up
questions to support his opinion. Hes a natural born winner, said
Arty. 5 World Series Championships, former World Series MVP in the
subway world series against the Mets, hes just a stud. And its not just
the championships, its the way he carried himself, its not that he won
the MVP, its that he did it the right way. Baseball is a tricky game, in
a definite awkward time in 2015. What used to be known as Americas
Past Time is now just a thing of the past. With the majority of talented
youth and young athletes only interested in mainly basketball and
football, baseball is getting left in the dust. Derek Jeter entered the
MLB as an 18-year-old kid, retiring as a 39-year-old veteran; he saw the
rise and fall of the game. With a great number of his peers, and fellow

champions succumbing to the pressures and phenomenon of steroids

and performance enhancing drugs, Jeter managed to overcome the
evils of the game, and thrive in the process. Mr. October did it all, and
he did it all the right way.

Next, I interviewed a friend and former D1 athlete, Nolan

Gelman. Nolan won his fair share of championships and awards as a
High School athlete and collegiate athlete. Former winner of the
Hanson Award, given to the best athlete on the island, Gelman has
strong opinions when it comes to the game of Basketball. Whos the
best champion to Gelman? He answered without batting an eyelash.
MJ. To many, MJ, only means one thing, The initials of the best
basketball player to ever touch the ball, Michael Jordan. His stats
speak for themselves The numbers he put up are unrivaled by
anyone before him, and anyone weve seen after he hung his jersey in
the rafters. Jordan is more than just a basketball icon; hes a world
wide brand. His shoes alone have generated hundreds of millions of
dollars since they hit the marked in the late 1980s. What made him a
great champion, I asked Nolan. That stats say it all, look in the record
book. 6 Time NBA Champ, 5 Time NBA regular season MVP, 6 Time
Finals MVP, 14 Time All-Star those accolades are absurd, its almost
as if he spoiled us with his talent that we all grew numb to it. Gelman

fixated his competitive nature, which has grown into more of a legend
to those who recant the persona of Air-Jordan.

Finally, My last interview went to a bartender in New York City

who I frequent on the weekends spent in Manhatten. Eric Segal, a big
fan of Combat sports, which include MMA events such as UFC as well
as Kickboxing and Boxing, had a lot to say when I mentioned my
project. With such strong opinions on the narrative, I asked Eric who he
thought was the best champion of all time. Pretty Boy Floyd Money
Mayweather baby! Eric blurted. Even better than Muhammad Ali? I
asked. Muhammad Ali lost 5 times, with a final record of 56-5 He
even got knocked out by George Foreman. Research affirmed Segals
claims. Floyd is another level of excellence, hes never been knocked
out, hes never even been knocked down, the man has never lost!
Its that simple, the man has 47 wins, about to be 48 after Saturdays
fight, and a squeaky clean zero in the loss column. In an era where
boxing is somewhat overlooked, it seems as the legacy of Floyd
Mayweather is the only one of his generation that the sport will
recognize in years to come.

Being as how the sport of Boxing has been on the decline due to
lack of excitement, as well as the rise of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA),
which is rapidly becoming known as the most popular combat sport, I
altered my narrative portion of my project. The media proclaimed
Fight Of The Century taking place on May 2nd next month is huge for
sport of Boxing. However, instead of focusing on the two fighters
themselves, I decided to put the two up against the countless other
champions in the history of sports. Asking Who Is The Best Sports
Champion Of All Time? posed an interesting question, and helped put
this fight in perspective. Even though I didnt involve the favorite of
Saturdays fight, Floyd Mayweathers name in the question, he still
came up as the best champion of all time in 1/4th of the interviews I
conducted. This only aids to the hype surrounding the bout set for May
2nd.

Contact List

Nolan Gelman Ngelman4@gmail.com - 631-987-4849

Eric Segal DesertSegal23@aol.com - 631-365-7136

David Blachly 631-667-8751