LAS VEGAS - In recalling what was at stake before the Oct. 1, 1975, rubber match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in what is now renowned as the "Thrilla in Manila," author Thomas Hauser tried to put the matter in perspective.
"They were fighting for so much more than the heavyweight championship of the world. They were fighting for the heavyweight championship of each other," said Hauser, whose 1991 book, "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times," might be the definitive biography of Ali.
One of these days, longtime middleweight champ Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. But although most ring historians tend to assess Hopkins' career in relation to such other premier middleweights as Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon and Sugar Ray Robinson, B-Hop is, first and foremost, a Philly guy, proud of this city's rich tradition and his place in it.
At the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame induction dinner on May 20, veteran Philadelphia promoter J Russell Peltz ignited something of a minicontroversy. In praising one of the inductees, onetime middleweight contender Bennie Briscoe, whom Peltz had promoted, Peltz said, "If any of you think Bennie Briscoe wouldn't have beaten Bernard Hopkins, you're badly mistaken. Bennie would have kicked Hopkins' [butt]."
Peltz is known for sticking up for his guys, so perhaps he can be excused for taking a jab at Hopkins as a way of elevating Briscoe. But those in attendance couldn't help but wonder what might have happened had two of Philly's best-ever 160-pounders from different eras squared off, prime against prime.
With Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) in Las Vegas to defend his The Ring magazine light-heavyweight title against Winky Wright (51-3-1, 25 KOs) Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, the time seemed right to do some sorting out in the only way available to fight fans. The Daily News commissioned local computer analyst Craig Sirulnik (www.compufight.com) to conduct a four-man middleweight tournament to determine just who is the best middleweight ever to come out of Philly, whose reputation as America's best fight town is largely owed to its wealth of standouts in that division.
The field is comprised of top seed Hopkins; No. 2 Joey Giardello, another former middleweight champion; No. 3 Briscoe and No. 4 George Benton.
