The Greatest Fighter Least Remembered
ESPN has a great piece on Sam Langford, a black, half-blind fighter who first fought in 1902, and is mostly only remembered in the small circles of boxing historians.
It had been nearly 18 years since Sam Langford had last fought, in August 1926, and by then, he was well past his prime, probably aged 41, and already almost completely blind. Over a 24-year span, he had fought some of the very best of his era, from lightweight to heavyweight, winning far more often than he lost. Although his exact record is a matter of some confusion, he fought at least 293 times, won at least 167 against 38 defeats and a combined 85 draws and no decisions, and scored at least 117 knockouts, the last of which ranks him in the top 10 of all time.
