Best Boxers

Mott the Hoople

Mott the Hoople

Sweet Jane
So who are the best boxers you’ve seen fight? I know this question puts some younger members at a disadvantage as they will not have seen some of the greats us grey hairs have seen. Still it would be interesting to see others view. I’m going to limit this to the four main divisions of lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight.

Some of the criteria I used are undisputed championships and defense. Unified Championships and defense. Knockout percentage, wins, loses, defensive ability and offensive ability.

So the best I’ve seen are;

Heavyweight- The Greatest Mohammed Ali. 3 time undisputed heavyweight champion at a time when the heavyweight division was loaded with talent. 10 successful undisputed championships and a skill level on offense and defense that defied the fundamentals of the sport. Best fight, George Foreman.

Middleweight- Marvelous Marvin Hagler. No boxer in my lifetime had to undergo as many obstacles to get a championship shot. His record is enhanced in that for three years the middleweight champions ran from him. Then when he finally did get a shot he was screwed over by corrupt judges in a fight he obviously won. Not the last time that would happen. Hagler had un godly ambidexterity and could switch from left to right to left. Always extremely well conditioned and ready to go 15 rounds. Hagler made 12 successful undisputed title defenses. No boxer since Hagler retired has come close. Hagler also had a 78% career knockout record. Best fight, Tommy Hearns.


Welterweight - Sugar Ray Leonard. Ray may not have accomplished the most as a welterweight but he certainly had it all. Speed, technique, fitness, power, IQ but what gives him the edge is his resume. He fought a great series of other great fighters and the only blemish was in the first Durán fight where Durán took Leonard to school. To his credit Leonard took Durán to school in their second fight.

Lightweight - Manos de Piedra Roberto Duran. What an incredible combination of offensive and defensive skill combined with savagery and determination. He dominated the division for seven years and ended that reign with 12 successful defenses including 11 knockouts. Best fight, Ray Leonard 1 when Durán moved up to welterweight. Best fight as a lightweight, Estaban de Jesus 2.
 
I will admit Sugar Ray Leonard is my weakest pick as no one fighter has really dominated that division in my lifetime except one. Of all the undisputed welterweight champions in my life José Nápoles was the only one held onto that undisputed title for much more than a year and I never saw him fight.

And don’t bring up Run Run Mayweather. He never held an undisputed title.
 
IMO Heavyweight goes to
#1 Vitali Klitschko
#2 Rocky Marciano.
#3 Muhammad Ali
#4 George Foreman.
#5 Mike Tyson
#6 Wladimir Klitschko
#7 Lennox Lewis
#8 Tyson Fury
#9 Evander Holyfield.
#10 Andrew Golota.
 
You saw Marciano fight??!!

When I said “seen” I meant live. Like a live telecast, ppv or in person.

Now if you’re not old enough to have seen Ali then I can understand Klitchco as he was the best heavyweight of his era.

But not in Ali’s league. Now an interesting fantasy fight,assuming both fighter are in their Prime would be Forman vs. Klitschko. I’d take Foreman to knockout Klitschko in the 6th rd. The knock on Klitschko was he was never an undisputed champ though he was a unified Champ. Foreman was an undisputed champ. So was Ali. Ali had ten successful undisputed championship defenses. Klitschko had none. Ali had 14 successful defenses as unified champ. Klitschko had 17 which places him second all time to Joe Lewis who was the best heavyweight all time (but I never saw him fight live).

I place Klitschko in a four way tie for fourth with Frazier, Tyson and Liston but Klitschko beat Ali in his prime? That’s funny.
 
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Not saying he was great, but, Evander Holyfield is my personal favourite. Unlike all you douchebags who liked Tyson because he was controversial, I actually enjoy the nice guy.
 
My favorite fantasy matches;

Assuming both fighters are in their prime.

Lightweight Duran vs Mayweather. Duran KO’s Mayweather in the sixth. Mayweather was slightly better than Duran on defense and no where close to Duran on offense. Duran was the best inside fighter I’ve ever seen. He’d tie Mayweather up and work over his body and Mayweather wouldn’t be able to run.

Junior Welterweight - Aaron Pryor vs Manny Pacquiao. Pac-Man by split decision. Pryor’s ring skill and determination agains the speed and power of Pac-Man. Pac-Man’s ability to fight from awkward angles and lines of attack neutralized by a fighter his equal in that ability. Pryor goes the distance but in the end Pac-Man’s superior punching power wins.

Heavyweight Klitschko vs Foreman, Wouldn’t that be something else. Klitschko had the best ring skills of a boxer of his height I’ve seen but let’s face facts. He was no Ali in skill, tactics, talent and IQ (but hell who was). Could Klitschko find a way to counter the hardest puncher ever? Naaa Foreman in 6.

Hagler vs Monzón. That would probably be the best match of all. Pure savagery and Violence. In the end Monzón can’t figure out Hagler’s ambidextrous attacks. Unanimous decision Hagler.

Ali vs Joe Lewis. Ali meets his match. A fighter his equal in ring skill but a harder and more precise puncher. Joe Louis by TKO in the 14th rd.
 
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Chaz said:
Not saying he was great, but, Evander Holyfield is my personal favourite. Unlike all you douchebags who liked Tyson because he was controversial, I actually enjoy the nice guy.
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The real deal was great. My fantasy match up with him would be Marciano. Evander was at his most dominant as a light heavyweight and the amazing fact about Marciano was he was only 5’10” and 175#. No one had a britches full of the nasties like Marciano,
 
Mott the Hoople said:
The real deal was great. My fantasy match up with him would be Marciano. Evander was at his most dominant as a light heavyweight and the amazing fact about Marciano was he was only 5’10” and 175#. No one had a britches full of the nasties like Marciano,
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I graduated from HS at 6'1 175 pounds, as a comparison.
 
I buy wacky designs from Old Navy. My all-time favourite pair were light blue with a bunch of cassettes, each with the tape unspooled, and tangled up.
 
ThatOwlWoman said:
Oh. *That* kind of boxers. You don't know how disappointed I am. I thought there would be pictures.
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Ask and ye shall receive!

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