I cant really speak too much about Sugar Ray Robinson on a fight/skill basis because I've only seen his last fight with Jake Lamotta, but he is given the distinction of The Best Fighter Pound for Pound. He won titles in the welterweight division and middleweight as well.
So now when I think of "pound for pound" I think of boxers who have moved up the ranks and have been champs in more than one division. So all of this talk mainly about Dirrell and Ward need to cease until they prove their worth in another division or atleast Dominate 168 for a while. If anything Arthur Abraham needs to get more pound for pound recognition because of his impressive performances in the Super 6( he was gonna finish Dirrell b4 the DQ) , after being undefeated as a middleweight champ. So lets keep this in mind when we rate these fighters, a couple of victories in one weight class, whether over top notch comp or not, doesnt automatically mean pound for pound UNLESS those victories are over top Pound for Pound boxers.
I was always under the impression that "pound-for-pound" just meant who was the best fighter if every man were the same size. You can come with your own criteria, it's a mythical thing and shouldn't be taken as seriously as it often is.
What he said
I cant really speak too much about Sugar Ray Robinson on a fight/skill basis because I've only seen his last fight with Jake Lamotta, but he is given the distinction of The Best Fighter Pound for Pound. He won titles in the welterweight division and middleweight as well.
Robinson also beat the lightweight champion of the world in a non-title bout very early in his career.
I was always under the impression that "pound-for-pound" just meant who was the best fighter if every man were the same size. You can come with your own criteria, it's a mythical thing and shouldn't be taken as seriously as it often is.
The term also wasn't really invented for Sugar Ray Robinson, contrary to the popular myth. Maybe popularized because of him, but it'd been used to describe fighters well before Ray.