The fight game has always been about exuding confidence and swagger, and as GQ Style cover star Conor McGregor knows, the suavest way to flex on your opponents is in a luxurious mink or a razor-tailored suit. While Conor may go down in history as the best-dressed fighter of all time, he certainly wasn’t the first to realize the psychological edge a piece of clothing can lend. Therefore, allow us to present the ten men who created the killer blueprint and forever changed the way we look at professional fighters outside of the ring. Steal their looks at your own risk.
The first black boxing champion didn’t just strike fear into white America with his punishing style in the ring, but with his brash and haughty suits outside the ring, too. Even with the law breathing down his neck during the Jim Crow era, Johnson refused to be viewed as lesser than, refused to stop being himself. If you want to talk about rebel style, you have to start with Jack Johnson.
Not since Prince has there been a man who looked this good in purple velvet. The Japanese MMA legend may not have the name recognition of a McGregor, but Akiyama is easily the swerviest UFC fighter around. Graphic prints, double-breasted suits, Panama hats, scarves on scarves on scarves—you never know what you’re going to get from Akiyama on any given day. But you will know that he’s going to look great in it. Most importantly, the man they call Sexyama proves that sometimes the best accessory for any look is an adorable toddler.
Looking at photos of Jack Dempsey during the height of his reign in the 1920s, you would swear the world heavyweight champ was a British dandy rather than a kid who grew up poor in the middle of Colorado. The newsboy caps, the cable-knit sweaters, the pristinely tailored three-piece suits—they’re moves straight from the playbooks of style gods Idris Elba and Tom Hardy. Wonder who they got their inspiration from…
Marvin Hagler is one of the few men in history who could slip into a suit and tie or an Adidas track suit and make either one look like a suit of armor. Which is fitting considering our favorite style moments from the legendary middleweight are when he would don a snapback with aggressively declarative statements like “No Mercy” stitched on the front for the entire world to see. The red and white “War” hat Hagler touted before his showdown with Thomas Hearns is truly a lost artifact in the annals of sports style—the type of statement piece hypebeasts across America would be scrambling to track down had the World Wide Web existed in 1985.
Joe Louis may have learned a thing or two about wearing a suit from his time spent in the military during World War II—the Brown Bomber’s off-duty looks were fly as can be. Any man can wear a polo, but it takes a keen eye like Louis’s to perfectly nail the proportions and transform a menswear staple into a best-dressed moment. That expertise came in handy when Louis finally decided to hang up his gloves in favor for some golf clubs and broke the PGA Tour’s color barrier in the early ‘50s.
Historically, most fighters looking to up their style game in hopes of standing out immediately add striped or plaid suits to their closets. It’s a technique that Conor McGregor has mastered, and now every UFC up-and-comer seems to be following his lead, with varying success. But when you ooze as much masculine confidence as Amir Khan, the better play is laid-back put-together-ness with an occasional flare of high-fashion. It’s no wonder Floyd Mayweather dodged the speedy Brit for years.
There is only one fighter in history with a legitimate claim over Muhammad Ali for the title of Greatest of All Time, and you’re looking at him. Outside of the ring, Sugar Ray Robinson knew that the only thing that garners more attention than six world titles is an in-your-face suit. But what made Sugar Ray so stylish wasn’t necessarily the clothes he wore on his back (which, mind you, were very stylish), but how effortless he looked in even the loudest Tartan plaid. He dressed with a perennial ease that made clothing seem fun.
While the ‘70s and ‘80s were rampant with wide-legged pants and Technicolor prints, El Caballero [the Gentleman] had a penchant for streamlined grey suits that would look right at home on a red carpet in 2017. The way he dressed his svelte frame almost perfectly mirrored his style in the ring. You see, Arguello was a fundamentalist. On the surface, it all seems rather unassuming, but the tiniest of details are what can knock you out.
It’s hard enough to stand out in a room with Muhammad Ali, but Joe Frazier was arguably the only man in the world who actually made you take your eyes off the People’s Champ, thanks in large part to his trademark Stetson hat. There’s nothing we appreciate more than a man who can turn a fashion risk into a uniform. Thirty-plus years after the Thrilla in Manila and Smokin’ Joe was still rocking that hat.
He could fight. He could talk. And holy hell could he dress. It’s like bow ties and tuxedo jackets were invented specifically with Ali in mind. A modern day Greek statue in a shawl collar, where every proportion was slaved over for hours to ensure his oh-so pretty face was perfectly presented to the world. Simply put, he’s The Greatest. Period.
These photos prove that the UFC Champion and GQ Style cover star puts his pants on the same as you: one Gucci leg at a time.
