I received an in-box note from someone this morning whose name I won't mention. Basically, the note said that they were embarrassed to post their PxP list because of fear of possible ridicule or rejection from other posters. They said they'd rather give the list to me without everyone else seeing it.
I get it. I understand.
It's the reason thousands of people read these posts daily, but only dozens will post something. It's that fear of being made fun of, the fear of being laughed AT, rather than WITH. The person who in-boxed me said they'd rather just give me their PxP list without having it--in their words, "scrutinized, analyzed and criticized by everybody."
Again, I get it. I understand.
However, your list is important--just as important as anybody else's. We want your list. We NEED your list. Don't hold back. Compile your list and, if you are like the person who in-boxed me, apprehensive about putting your list out there for everyone to see, in-box me with your list. I will keep it to myself. I will look at it and compile it with the rest. I'll respect you for sending it. I'll thank you for sending it.
Brownsugar, I totally understand where you are coming from. It's that fluctuation which bothers you. You can do a list today, then, if asked two days later to recite the 10 names you crafted, you'd probably have the same names--in a different order.
But listen to this: As I think you know, I worked for Ring Magazine once upon a time. The Ring. "The Bible of Boxing." When I was in high school, I wanted to one day work for The Ring. I wanted to write for them. I wanted to work for their founder and the guy who started doing rastings--Nat Fleischer. Well, I never got to work for Nat, but I did get to work for The Ring. At first, I was its Associate Editor under Bert R. Sugar, then, after Sugar left, it's Editor-in-Chief. Me! This Long Island high school kid who clamored to work for The Ring was now its Editor-in-Chief. I actually sat at the helm of The Ring!
Yet, in the time I spent as Editor-in-Chief and in the years which have followed, I have NEVER put together my own listing All-Time lists: The Greatest Fighters of All Time. The Greatest Heavyweights of All Time. All the other E-I-C's of The Ring have done so. I haven't. Why?
I couldn't put together the same list twice. However, I don't believe any of us can. That's for a Top-10. Do you think Bert Sugar, in his listing of the Top 100 Fighters of All Time, ever put the same list together twice, without writing it down? Even with his amazing, photographic memory, he didn't. Nobody can. So many of the names are interchangeable. That's what makes these lists so unique.
In my upcoming book, "Glove Affair," I am finally going to be publishing my lists. Many of them. It's about time I did.
Brownsugar, in-box me your ratings or e-mail them to me at either
rgboxing@yahoo.com or
fightclubrandy@gmail.com. I will keep your ratings to myself. I'll only compile them for TSS. Write your list down and send it to me. I don't care if the list you send me today differs from the one you compile tomorrow. Ratings are always changing. So are your thoughts and feelings. Today's ratings will probably not be like the ratings you do tomorrow...and the day after...and the day after.
So give me your list. Give it to me out here in front of the world of TSS posters or give it to me via my TSS in-box or e-mail. All of you. Do those PxP Lists NOW. Write 'em down and send 'em to me.
I can hardly wait to see what our final list looks like. OUR list. Not theirs. OURS! TSS' list, compiled by you.
Thanks for responding.
-Randy G.