So if titles mean nothing in boxing,how do we determine who is the best?

"A Belt dont make me" - Floyd Mayweather

I see posters all the (when it fits their agenda) say titles mean nothing yet praise another fighter for winning a title, so if titles mean nothing then how do we determine who is the best? everyone can not fight everyone and in every other sport the best of the best are determined by titles and championships. So do titles really mean anything? Yes, but in every other sport, there is only 1 world champion (or just champion in the case of most national sporting leagues) and so when they are called the champion/world champion, they are actually that legitimately. There aren't four or five different world cups, with each one of them calling themselves the world champions. There aren't four or five seasons of NBA with each one calling themselves the champions. Imagine if there were five different basketball championship games at the end of the season, with each team saying that they were the true champion. That's what boxing is.

Ring Magazine is considered to be the lineage or the outright champion of the division example Floyd Mayweather is RM champ and also has the WBC title at 147lbs but other fighters also have titles Maidana WBA Porter IBF Bradley WBO but even though those fighters have major world titles they are not the out right champion of the welterweight division. Mayweather is not just a title holder he's the lineal Champion and best fighter at 147lbs but the Ring Magazine Champion is not always the best in the division at flyweight Akira Yeagashi is the lineal 112lbs champ but Roman Gonzalez is considered by most experts to be the best flyweight in the world even though he doesn't have a title yet. Gonzalez has good credentials and is undefeated in 38 professional fights and is also a 2 weight title holder but hasn't won a Ring Magazine Championship but that may change soon as negotiations between Yeagashi and Gonzalez promoters are on going and planing for a fight in late summer or in the fall.

Titles mean something but they don't mean everything. Everybody decides for themselves who is the best. About half the posts on this board are from guys disagreeing with each other about who is the best.

You'd determine whose best with your eyes and knowledge. Your eyes should let you assess a fighter's ability, and knowledge of who they have fought will clarify that. That being said, I don't think belts are worthless. They serve as a way of drawing a certain calibre of opponents together. However it is important to note that its worth is still dependant on the owner. Taking the belt from a D level opponent will always mean less than a victory over someone like a prime Duran with no belt on the line.

didnt he fight shane mosley next? ur acting like he ducked him Different topic buddy. Just pointing out the following: - Larryxxx is bringing up that titles is very important since his hero Floyd is facing Maidaina who has one - Larryxxx is the same guy who argues that Marquez pick was a good one NOT because he had a title, like Mosley did, but because of P4P ranking which is crazy since Marquez never fought at 140.147 back then. As for the Mosley fight: Yes it happened BUT too late! Mosley was hitting 39 years old and was inactive for about 16 months by then. Mosley never won a meaninglful fight after that. So it proved that Mosley was not the same Mosley no more!

They don't but the best fighters usually end up winning them at some point. Name a current fighter that you consider to be elite that has never won a title. There are so many belts out there, that they hold almost no weight. Great fighters almost always hold a belt but that doesnt mean belt holders are great fighters. There can be 7 champs in 1 division at the same time: Lineal, WBA super, WBA regular, WBA interim, WBO, WBC and IBF. Belts are money makers and fake ranking boosters. Case in point is Shumenov. Guy beat 1 top 30 guy, get easily outboxed by Campillo 2X, took several years off and people think he's a top guy because he has a belt (that he doesnt even deserve)

I see posters all the (when it fits their agenda) say titles mean nothing yet praise another fighter for winning a title, so if titles mean nothing then how do we determine who is the best? everyone can not fight everyone and in every other sport the best of the best are determined by titles and championships. So do titles really mean anything? Titles mean a lot for regular fighters. That's when they start making real money.

Both cotto and canelo held paper belts. Canelo more so than cotto but still. His welterweight reign is even worst imo. He sucker punched ortiz and beat featherfisted guerrero. Right. Judah is easily his best WW win.

Listen Larry, he beat lazy, beat up Cotto, and green as hell, overrated Canelo for the JMW titles. On the surface, it looks nice, but if you read between the dotted lines, it's just very good. Both cotto and canelo held paper belts. Canelo more so than cotto but still. His welterweight reign is even worst imo. He sucker punched ortiz and beat featherfisted guerrero.

floyd is about to be unified i 2 divisions at once.... belts arent everything but u cant deny thats incredibe Listen Larry, he beat lazy, beat up Cotto, and green as hell, overrated Canelo for the JMW titles. On the surface, it looks nice, but if you read between the dotted lines, it's just very good.

how is a resume determined with not titles? if you won nothing then who are you? you have manny in you avy and his claim to fame is "8 weight champion" When Floyd fought Marquez instead of Shane Mosley in 2009, Floyd said "A belt don't make me" So I wish you can use your own words about the Marquez pick but then you and other Floyd fans fall back on "but Marquez was #2P4P"

Exactly :boxing: Like Danny Garcia beating Matthysse is better than Ruslan Provodnikov beating Alvarado for a belt Funny tho the better fight was Provodnik vs Alvarado. So if your ranking fighters cuz of wins or bcuz of performance its still an individual choice right? Who determines where fighters get ranked really,governing bodies,they are made up of individuals. In the end usually one individual gets to make the choice and thats where rankings on paper come about,and thats why rankings can be at times off. Rankings are just numbers arent they,who counts how many times their hearts skip a beat when their hearts are racing?

Unify just means hold more than one belt. Undisputed is another story. Yeah, I meant undisputed, my bad.

We're not fighting to prove who is the best Stop crying already. Floyd himself says belts just collect dust.

How do you unify a division, when there are 2 promotional entities? You didn't. You're just the undisputed GBP champion. Or you're just the undisputed TR champion. There is no real unified champs in boxing, other than someone I'm not thinking of right now. Maybe Wlad? Unify just means hold more than one belt. Undisputed is another story.

how are they anyone if no one even has a title? Because of who they've beaten. It's not rocket science Larry. Beating Matthysse without a strap is better than beating Peterson with one. Understand?

How do you unify a division, when there are 2 promotional entities? You didn't. You're just the undisputed GBP champion. Or you're just the undisputed TR champion. There is no real unified champs in boxing, other than someone I'm not thinking of right now. Maybe Wlad? Edit: Maybe a guy like Sergio could do it or did it, since he's with Dibella? Other than that, ionno.

How exactly do titles make you a better fighter? They don't but the best fighters usually end up winning them at some point. Name a current fighter that you consider to be elite that has never won a title.

how is a resume determined with not titles? if you won nothing then who are you? you have manny in you avy and his claim to fame is "8 weight champion" Yes, I have Manny in my avi. Doesn't mean I think he's better than Sugar Ray Robinson because he got an 8th division title. An 8 division is impressive, but I'm not going around bragging about it, like he won the boxer of the century award. P.S. Try and find one post where I've ever bragged about his 8th division title.