Retrotalk : Sports and Leisure : 1968 Computer Tournament: Who Was The Greatest?

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Manassa Jack Member Since: November 2005 Contributions: 1014 View User Posts	1968 Computer Tournament: Who Was The Greatest? Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:22 pm Central Time Anyone out there old enough to remember Murray Woroner's brain child computer tournament to determine the all-time heavyweight boxing champion? He spent a couple years developing the computer program and meeting with boxing experts to select the field and rate the fighters in a couple dozen different categories. The fights were broadcast nationally over the radio, generating a tremendous amount of interest. I have some fairly strong thoughts regarding both the field and the results but here's how it played out: First Round: Jack Dempsey KO7 over Jim Corbett John L. Sullivan W15 over Jim Braddock Joe Louis KO4 over Jess Willard Bob Fitzsimmons W15 over Jack Sharkey Max Baer W15 over Jack Johnson Rocky Marciano W15 over Gene Tunney Jim Jeffries KO10 over Jersey Joe Walcott Muhammad Ali W15 over Max Schmeling Quarter Finals: Dempsey KO7 over Sullivan Louis TKO8 over Fitzsimmons Marciano TKO13 over Baer Jeffries W15 over Ali Semi Finals: Dempsey W15 over Louis Marciano TKO14 over Jeffries Final: Marciano KO13 over Dempsey Ali, incensed at his upset loss to Jeffries, and without anything else to do in 1968 (draft dodging charges keeping him from fighting), agrees to participate in a filmed computer fight with Marciano, who, at 46, whips himself into tremendous shape. The two spar many rounds for the camera without knowing the result -- many different results are filmed. Marciano is killed in a plane crash shortly before the film of the fight hits the theaters-- the result: Rocky Marciano KO13 over Muhammad Ali.
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