what constitutes a legend in boxing?

I saw this film called "Ring of Fire"...which is pretty much a boxing doc about Emile Griffith killing Benny "the Kid " Paret in a title match. The old man in the movie (some kind of coach/former boxer) said the reason Griffith is a legend is because he fought whoever was the #1 challenger at the time, then #2, and so on until no one was left. He went on to say that nowadays, the promoters look in the yellow pages to find a "suitable opponent" for the champion to fight. This guy was old and seemed to know alot...He made good sense to me. Sometimes a legend is little more than what is expected from being just a "champion". Griffith also visited Paret in the hospital before he died, but they wouldn't let him in the room. I don't want to spoil the end for anybody...watch it for yourself.

They are boxing-related...but they are not substantive accomplishments. slightly beating/losing to Collazo...accomplishment? hugging urango...accomplishment? Being dominated and humiliated by mayweather...accomplishment? Being knocked silly by a retired journeyman...accomplishment? Jesse james Leija has fought EVERYBODY... is he a legend, too? Yet another absurd, biased post. Why do you feel the need to denigrate the achievements of British fighters? I will never understand it.

The items in red above are not even related to boxing accomplishment. Ricky Hatton is a "welterweight title holder" like Zab judah is a "junior middleweight title holder". Collazo was not a champion. That was a paper belt. Be real. Ricky hatton is the LINEAR AND LEGITIMATE JWW champion. He made it into the top ten p4p for a time. That is his legacy. Don't try to inflate it by putting ticket-buying info into the mix. Winky wright has generated more sales revenue than Ricky's gate. Keep that in perspective. Americans CHOOSE not to have fights in football arenas. Boxing is a televised event here in the states, and the culture is more around buying the PPV than traveling to the event. It is not appealing to the casual american fan to sit in the nosebleed section of an arena and not be able to see a fight. Do you think that Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield could not have filled five arenas if they wanted? Um, no offense. But being a 'legend' itself is not related only to boxing accomplishment. A legend lives not in record books but in the minds of the fans. Also, Ricky boxed on both sides of the Atlantic, his boxing filled stadiums in both countries, his boxing brought the fans with him, his boxing got him the CBE (he wouldn't have got it otherwise) and his boxing has made him loved by the fans. So really all those things are boxing accomplishments. They wouldn't have happened if Ricky was a builder, would they?

so is oscar not a legend then in your opinion? He will be when he's done with the sport. He's not the most popular, richest man in the sport for nothing. He's fought all the best fighters out there. No one has taken on all the top competition like Oscar. He takes risks. If all other top fighters fought all the best, they too would have losses on thier records. And, he was competitive in every fight, he was never "beaten up" in the ring. He's fought in 6 different weight divisions, earning titles in each. And he still has the possibility of going out with a win over the top P4P boxer today.

"Legend" status can be achieved in a number of ways... 1. Championships (Delahoya) 2. Longevity (Hopkins) 3. Method of victory (Trinidad) 4. Universal acclaim of skills (Mayweather) 5. P4P legacy (Jones) 6. Top fighters beaten (Pacquiao) 7. Rivalries (Barrera/Morales) This is not an all-inclusive list... just a few examples of this generation's fighters... Good post. I agree.

"Legend" status can be achieved in a number of ways... 1. Championships (Delahoya) 2. Longevity (Hopkins) 3. Method of victory (Trinidad) 4. Universal acclaim of skills (Mayweather) 5. P4P legacy (Jones) 6. Top fighters beaten (Pacquiao) 7. Rivalries (Barrera/Morales) This is not an all-inclusive list... just a few examples of this generation's fighters... you've pretty much nailed it there

You can't be serious?. That's an insult to all the other great fighters from these shores. your pictures knocking me sick, thats got to be the ugliest football team, in history They make the goat look like brad pitt

You can't be serious?. That's an insult to all the other great fighters from these shores. how many do as much charity work as Hatton does. If Alex Ferguson can get one then Ricky Hatton should as well

Ricky Hatton is a "BRITISH boxing legend". Not a "boxing legend". 3 time junior welterweight title holder. Ring magazine junior ww title holder welter weight title holder Fought on both side of the atlantic Filled arenas on both sides of the atlantic Post war record attendance for a british boxing match with 56000 people Took 30000 fans to America for a fight over there. Recieved a CBE from the queen One of the most loved Sportsmen in the country Professional fighting record of 45 - 1 - 0 If that does now constitute a legend anywher fuck knows what it Nxt you will be telling us that steve redgrave with 5 olympic gold medals in 5 consecutive games is only a british legend

just wondered what someone would have to achieve to become a legend? It helps if you clean out every Champion and top contender in your respective weight class. It more than shows that there is no one that can compete with you. It's not so much how many title defenses, but against whom...and more importantly, the way you did it! There is an old saying.... " Success isn't measured by what you have...but by "what you did" to get there"!

as usual you are clearly inplying superiority,its very uncouth.. what if i put it to you that your fighters need to travel to claim any superiority in our eyes.. you really are the most inverted looking society on planet earth Co-sign. It's true.

Does this confer legendary status to Joe Calzaghe, or is there come caveat which explicitly excludes him? Line 24 in the Queensberry Rules: "Joe Calzaghe is an amateurish, protected, euro, slapping bum. He could unify every division in boxing and it still wouldn't count."

"Legend" status can be achieved in a number of ways... 1. Championships (Delahoya) 2. Longevity (Hopkins) 3. Method of victory (Trinidad) 4. Universal acclaim of skills (Mayweather) 5. P4P legacy (Jones) 6. Top fighters beaten (Pacquiao) 7. Rivalries (Barrera/Morales) This is not an all-inclusive list... just a few examples of this generation's fighters... Best post so far. Being a legend basically means that a boxers finest moments are enduringly remembered by the fans. As this post points out, that can be achieved in any number of ways.

Ricky Hatton is a "BRITISH boxing legend". Not a "boxing legend".as usual you are clearly inplying superiority,its very uncouth.. what if i put it to you that your fighters need to travel to claim any superiority in our eyes.. you really are the most inverted looking society on planet earth

In my eyes they need to do something no one had thought possible for that said person. Whether that means having a career with titles at different weight classes and never losing, or coming back to win a title after being beaten by someone, or an epic come from behind win or win against the odds. Many fighters can be viewed as legends in my eyes.

Ricky Hatton is a "BRITISH boxing legend". Not a "boxing legend". Hopkins is an American boxing legend.

2. Longevity (Hopkins) Does this confer legendary status to Joe Calzaghe, or is there come caveat which explicitly excludes him?

Well the word legend is brandished about in English vocabulary far too much such as "You coming down the battle cruiser you legend?" I'd say Hatton's a bit of a boxing legend in his own right, strictly in terms of fan base. Very true.

Well the word legend is brandished about in English vocabulary far too much such as "You coming down the battle cruiser you legend?" I'd say Hatton's a bit of a boxing legend in his own right, strictly in terms of fan base. If he beats PM and then beats Pacman he should deffo get legendary status. He should deffo get HOF status as well. I see a knighthood on its way for Mr Hatton as well. He has to win his nxt 2 fights though to achieve them things

so is oscar not a legend then in your opinion? Hmm, Oscar to me in his biggest fights always fell short, no doubt he was a very good fighter in his day, but he just lacked that little extra to carry him to the next level. I think these days the word "Legend" gets thrown around a little too much when describing fighters. When I replied to this thread I had Roberto Duran in mind when answering your question. I think you'd agree that there aren't many, if any fighters that you could make a genuine comparison to Duran with in the game today.