Top 10 Light-Heavies from best to worst

[DeepSleep]

1. Charles
2. Moore
3. Tunney
4. Spinks
5. Foster
6. Conn
7. Jones Jr.
8. Loughran
9. Bivins
10. Stribling

[GJC]

Will have a play with a list soon but noticed something interesting.
I know Poet only counts fighters in one division but suprised that so far no one has put Greb in?

[geribeetus]

jones jr was as talented as anyone ever was at 175, but i don't think his resume there warrants top 10 inclusion. two of his best wins are a hairline decision over tarver and perhaps the worst version of mccallum anyone ever fought.

[mickey malone]

Surprised to see Moorer rated so highly. He didn't really accomplish all that much at 175 and was badly outboxed and outworked by Leslie Stewart, his best opponent, until finding the knockout punch. In my view he was probably not even the best of his era which included Virgil Hill, Charles Williams, Bobby Czyz, Eric Harding and Dennis Andries, although I admit he could have potentially beaten them all. The problem is that he didn't though.

Agreed, but don't you think Foster was the same?

[TheGreatA]

Agreed, but don't you think Foster was the same?

No.

In comparison to Moorer, Foster held the linear, undisputed title while Moorer held the (then) unheralded WBO belt which had no real prestige in the division. Foster won his title from the great **** Tiger, being the only man to ever knock him out, while Moorer won a vacant belt against the unknown Ramzi Hassan who was coming off 2 losses in a row. Previous to winning the title, Foster had already KO'd top contenders such as Eddie Cotton, Henry Hank (the only man to stop him), Allen Thomas. He went onto defend his title against top 5 ranked contenders Roger Rouse, Ray Anderson, Andy Kendall, Mark Tessman, Hal Carroll, Mike Quarry, Chris Finnegan and Pierre Fourie, winning most by decisive knockouts, and unified the titles against title holder Vicente Rondon with a devastating knockout.

Moorer mostly defended his titles against non-ranked clubfighters such as Victor Claudio (11-6) and Danny Stonewalker (10-4) along with a couple of fringe contenders such as 15-2 Frankie Swindell (who stunned Moorer several times) and 22-6 Mike Sedillo. His best win was over washed up former titlist Leslie Stewart (27-4), who was winning on all scorecards until being caught with a big punch late in the fight.

Foster didn't have the greatest resume at 175 but it would be an insult to compare his to Moorer's. As a heavyweight, Moorer was obviously better, but he was someone who drained himself down from 210 lbs to make the 175 lb limit while Foster with his lanky frame found it impossible to put on any extra weight. He was a natural light heavy.

[mickey malone]

No.

In comparison to Moorer, Foster held the linear, undisputed title while Moorer held the (then) unheralded WBO belt which had no real prestige in the division. Foster won his title from the great **** Tiger, being the only man to ever knock him out, while Moorer won a vacant belt against the unknown Ramzi Hassan who was coming off 2 losses in a row. Previous to winning the title, Foster had already KO'd top contenders such as Eddie Cotton, Henry Hank (the only man to stop him), Allen Thomas. He went onto defend his title against top 5 ranked contenders Roger Rouse, Ray Anderson, Andy Kendall, Mark Tessman, Hal Carroll, Mike Quarry, Chris Finnegan and Pierre Fourie, winning most by decisive knockouts, and unified the titles against title holder Vicente Rondon with a devastating knockout.

Moorer mostly defended his titles against non-ranked clubfighters such as Victor Claudio (11-6) and Danny Stonewalker (10-4) along with a couple of fringe contenders such as 15-2 Frankie Swindell (who stunned Moorer several times) and 22-6 Mike Sedillo. His best win was over washed up former titlist Leslie Stewart (27-4), who was winning on all scorecards until being caught with a big punch late in the fight.

Foster didn't have the greatest resume at 175 but it would be an insult to compare his to Moorer's. As a heavyweight, Moorer was obviously better, but he was someone who drained himself down from 210 lbs to make the 175 lb limit while Foster with his lanky frame found it impossible to put on any extra weight. He was a natural light heavy.

I think the key point is in bold, but I still don't see Foster cutting it with anyone who hit as hard as himself or Moorer.. Foster never went in with a puncher at 175, but was KO'd by Doug Jones who was a very small HW who could punch.. In short i think there were serious issues with Fosters chin which i believe may have been even worse than Moorer's..
I here what you say with regard to him being the only man to KO Tiger, but Tiger was pretty old by then, and was also about a foot shorter than Foster.. I think it's fair to say, Moorer would've done exactly the same to that version of Tiger as well..
I've got Moorer only one above Foster in my list which may be wrong when you compare their accomplishments.. I don't regard either man as top 5, but I'd edge toward a young Moorer dropping Foster in a match up at 175.. It would have been very interesting to see how he'd have dealt with a southpaw puncher like him..

[StarshipTrooper]

I think the key point is in bold, but I still don't see Foster cutting it with anyone who hit as hard as himself or Moorer.. Foster never went in with a puncher at 175, but was KO'd by Doug Jones who was a very small HW who could punch.. In short i think there were serious issues with Fosters chin which i believe may have been even worse than Moorer's..
I here what you say with regard to him being the only man to KO Tiger, but Tiger was pretty old by then, and was also about a foot shorter than Foster.. I think it's fair to say, Moorer would've done exactly the same to that version of Tiger as well..
I've got Moorer only one above Foster in my list which may be wrong when you compare their accomplishments.. I don't regard either man as top 5, but I'd edge toward a young Moorer dropping Foster in a match up at 175.. It would have been very interesting to see how he'd have dealt with a southpaw puncher like him..

The problem as I see it is what a fighter does in another weight class has no real bearing on how good a fighter was in the weight class that's actually under discussion. Not every fighter moves up in weight well; some fighters are better at a higher weight class than they were at a lower one. It doesn't ipso facto make them better or worse when discussing a particular division.

Poet

[TheGreatA]

I think the key point is in bold, but I still don't see Foster cutting it with anyone who hit as hard as himself or Moorer.. Foster never went in with a puncher at 175, but was KO'd by Doug Jones who was a very small HW who could punch.. In short i think there were serious issues with Fosters chin which i believe may have been even worse than Moorer's..
I here what you say with regard to him being the only man to KO Tiger, but Tiger was pretty old by then, and was also about a foot shorter than Foster.. I think it's fair to say, Moorer would've done exactly the same to that version of Tiger as well..
I've got Moorer only one above Foster in my list which may be wrong when you compare their accomplishments.. I don't regard either man as top 5, but I'd edge toward a young Moorer dropping Foster in a match up at 175.. It would have been very interesting to see how he'd have dealt with a southpaw puncher like him..

Foster fought Doug Jones in his 8th fight and put up a respectable performance, standing and trading with the more experienced fighter. How many light heavyweights would have beaten Doug Jones in their 8th fight? Michael Moorer in his 8th fight fought Jordan Keepers, who was 0-5.

In my opinion, the Tiger who was KO'd by Foster would have had a very good chance against Moorer. I believe you're over-estimating Moorer at 175, he was a strong puncher but due to weight-draining was weakened and did not have the stamina to fight 3 minutes of every round. This would suit Tiger, who liked to pick his spots. Against Foster he had to deal with a long jab consistently picking him apart, which forced Tiger to be overly aggressive and reckless. Moorer on the other hand would wait and wait for the big punch to come, which might be a mistake against the ultra-durable and defensively adept Tiger.

[mickey malone]

TheGreatA - Foster fought Doug Jones in his 8th fight and put up a respectable performance, standing and trading with the more experienced fighter. How many light heavyweights would have beaten Doug Jones in their 8th fight? Michael Moorer in his 8th fight fought Jordan Keepers, who was 0-5.

In my opinion, the Tiger who was KO'd by Foster would have had a very good chance against Moorer. I believe you're over-estimating Moorer at 175, he was a strong puncher but due to weight-draining was weakened and did not have the stamina to fight 3 minutes of every round. This would suit Tiger, who liked to pick his spots. Against Foster he had to deal with a long jab consistently picking him apart, which forced Tiger to be overly aggressive and reckless. Moorer on the other hand would wait and wait for the big punch to come, which might be a mistake against the ultra-durable and defensively adept Tiger.

Thanks for the vids.. I may be overrating Moorer as a better LHWT than his resume suggests, but I still think Foster's been overrated by the majority..
I believe Jones was his 1st defeat, which I thought was after more than 8 fights, but yes, it was quite early in his career.. One thing I did forget to mention earlier, is that one of Foster's toughest defences came against Chris Finnegan who with respect to him, was fairly average and nowhere near as good as his MW brother, Kevin.
Foster had a lot of difficulty putting him away and eventually ground him down in 14.. Finnegan incidently, was a southpaw scrapper who didn't hit anywhere near as hard as Moorer. Just a thought....

[mickey malone]

The problem as I see it is what a fighter does in another weight class has no real bearing on how good a fighter was in the weight class that's actually under discussion. Not every fighter moves up in weight well; some fighters are better at a higher weight class than they were at a lower one. It doesn't ipso facto make them better or worse when discussing a particular division.

Poet

I just see a problem with Bob's chin, and had there been a puncher at 175, or Monzon had moved up, I don't think we'd be discussing the same legacy..

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