I think we all agree that for a boxer the level of competition they have faced is one of the very most important factors when evaluating their true standing in the game. To say a fighter "takes on all comers" is high praise indeed, and rare. On the other hand, the accusation of "cherry picking" is something one hears all to commonly. So, fellow aficionado-pugilistas, I ask you ...
Which boxer(s), in your opinion, has taken on the toughest overall opponent choice since the year 2000? Who would you nominate for the "Strength of Schedule Sweepstakes"?
The floor is now open for candidates! :boxing:
shane mosley.
dlh twice, winky twice, forrest twice, vargas twice, margarito, cotto, mayweather, pacquiao, canelo.
didn't even think of him, that is a great list but i reckon a strength of schedule should also take into account the wins but based purely on having motherfukin tough as nails fights, this is right up there. Especially considering he has been past prime for a while now.
I don't get how you would leave mayweather out when he beat 5 of the 10 fighters you listed that pacman beat. and Judah,guerrero,castillo,corrales,and Ortiz were all better or at worst just as good as ledwabo,bradley,and clottey.
Please read this all post without resorting to Maynerd-rage!
Judah is better than Clottey....but at the time was coming off a loss to Baldomir lol but I'll let you have that one.
Ledwabo was a DANGEROUS fighter when Pac fought him, the man was a big, big favourite, Pacquiao beat him up. That's totally different.
Almost every major fight Floyd has had bar Hatton, Guerrero, Castillo and Ortiz have been against guys on their way down. Guerrero and Ortiz didn't deserve to share a ring with Floyd, Hatton was not a good WW and both Castillo fights were damn close but Floyd was fav going into all of them.
I don't wana get into this whole crap about Manny or Morales etc having better resumes than Floyd. I know how butthurt some people get. The facts are facts though. I'm posting names of guys who have had the toughest possible fights BACK TO BACK without gaps of 2 or 3 years or fighting once a year and that BS. Floyd ain't ever done that. His tune ups, which is what they are, were Guerrero and Ortiz. Ridiculous fights to happen at the time. When Cotto, Marg, Mosley were primed, Floyd retired himself.
Just to further the argument, back to back tough fights for Manny:
Ledwaba, Julio, Sanchez, a few "easier" fights followed no denying that then bang...Barrera, JMM, Battery, Morales, Larios, Morales, Barrera, Marquez...bleedin heck that's a run. I'll stop right here.
I'll do it for Froch too:
Pascal, Taylor, Dirrel, Kessler, AA, Johnson, Ward, Bute...fukin hell!
Now no denying Floyd has a terrific resume but he has too many of the likes of Baldomir, Ortiz, Mitchell, Guerrero on his resume when he could have had prime Cotto, prime Marg, possibly prime Williams, maybe a better version of Mosley, heck even if he only had Kostya in there instead of Gatti.
Floyd has a good list of scalps but strength of schedule? I doubt he even makes the top 10 post 2000.
Erik Morales is a good call and so is Miguel Cotto but I have to other names:
Manny Pacquiao, the man has fought anybody who was worth a damn, from the lower divisions to as high as 147. Ledwabo, Barrera, Morales, Marquez, Cotto, Oscar, Clottey, Bradley, Hatton, Mosley........I could name a few more but the list would stretch on for a while. I know not all the names mentioned were primed or at their best weight (Oscar) but Pacquiao was an underdog in at least 3 of those fights. That's a rarity for many modern "champions".
Carl Froch is the other name, seriously, the guy has all but cleared out every legit name in the division and beaten em all except Ward. What more can anyone want? Froch is another man who was an underdog in a number of those fights, just off the top of my head the AA fight, Kessler 1, Ward, Taylor and if I remember correctly he was an underdog versus Pascal in some corners.
I don't get how you would leave mayweather out when he beat 5 of the 10 fighters you listed that pacman beat. and Judah,guerrero,castillo,corrales,and Ortiz were all better or at worst just as good as ledwabo,bradley,and clottey.
Cotto, Hopkins, Froch, Mares, Pacquiao, Morales
I think those guys have each had the toughest stretch of opponents. Cotto, Pac, Morales in the former half, Hopkins, Froch and Mares in the latter half. Hopkins though is going on a decade plus of just nothing but top level fights
Same for Morales. If you go back before 2000 you'll see that he's been fighting top opposition since 1997. Even in the back half of his career he's fought guys like Maidana and Garcia twice when he clearly didn't have to. Even now there's talks about a fight with Humberto Soto but idk if that's still going through
Cotto, Hopkins, Froch, Mares, Pacquiao, Morales
I think those guys have each had the toughest stretch of opponents. Cotto, Pac, Morales in the former half, Hopkins, Froch and Mares in the latter half. Hopkins though is going on a decade plus of just nothing but top level fights
Erik Morales is a good call and so is Miguel Cotto but I have to other names:
Manny Pacquiao, the man has fought anybody who was worth a damn, from the lower divisions to as high as 147. Ledwabo, Barrera, Morales, Marquez, Cotto, Oscar, Clottey, Bradley, Hatton, Mosley........I could name a few more but the list would stretch on for a while. I know not all the names mentioned were primed or at their best weight (Oscar) but Pacquiao was an underdog in at least 3 of those fights. That's a rarity for many modern "champions".
Carl Froch is the other name, seriously, the guy has all but cleared out every legit name in the division and beaten em all except Ward. What more can anyone want? Froch is another man who was an underdog in a number of those fights, just off the top of my head the AA fight, Kessler 1, Ward, Taylor and if I remember correctly he was an underdog versus Pascal in some corners.