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Impossible though it may be, I'd like to see a round robin tourney involving the greatest heavyweights in history at their respective primes: Jeffries, Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Clay, Frazier, Foreman, Holmes, Tyson, and Holyfield. .....each fighting every other fighter in the field twice. It would be interesting to see who came out of that field with the best record, but I suspect it would be the fighter with the most dimensions to his game, both physically and mentally. .....and Johnson would be up there. Tyson would probably be at or near the bottom.

Back in the mid-sixties, computerized heavyweight boxing tournament was held. Data was fed into an NCR mainframe computer. From the calculated results, scripts were written and broadcast by radio as actual boxing matches, supplemented with interviews of then living former champions.

The tournament was a 16 man elimination tournament. I don't remember all the participants, but I do believe that they included Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, Schmeling, Sharkey, Baer, Louis, and Marciano. Some of the results: Baer beat Johnson, Dempsey beat Louis. Marciano beat Dempsey in the finale. Needless to say, the results were highly disputed by boxing fans.

This led to a computer fight with tournament winner Marciano and Ali. However, this was not a radio script but a TV script, with the real Marciano and Ali participating. They both got into shape. The sequences were filmed as an actual fight with Marciano winning via a 13th round KO. Marciano died in an airplane crash a few weeks after the "fight" in 1969.

The film was shown months later, nationally, via paid closed circuit TV. Here is an account of that fight.

I know that this is not the exact information that will be welcome. I know that there were TWO ENDINGS to the Marciano - Ali mock up. Where Ali (Cassius Clay) was popular it showed HIM as the winner. Bloomin' fiddle. Still all good fun and entertainment.

Unfortunately we should take the meticulous athletic records kept in track and field. It is regretful for comparisions , that some sort of evolution has taken place. Even if we leave out steroids, the oldsters just do not compare with the moderns. Sad I am to admit this.

I will make one exception at least. That is not in boxing. No admirer of the French though. One man stands above all others . Professional name- BLONDIN. Nobody could do what he did. Tight rope walker of over 110 years ago. Oh, just loved the immortal James J Corbett and his Edison studio film beating poor Peter Courtenay in the 1890's. Lovely stuff.