Greatest 40 fighters of the last 40 years?

[mickey malone]

Here's a list you can all steam into..

I've put very little thought into it, so there maybe some names i've totally forgotten about.. Normally, i'd need days to refine a list like this, so where do you think it could it be improved?

Once again, it's only a rough list and it's mainly based on resume so please feel free to blast me if you think i'm miles out with anyone..

Note - I am including fighters who turned pro before 1970.

1. Ali
2. Duran
3. Monzon
4. Jones
5. Arguello
6. Pacquiao?
7. Hagler
8. Chavez
9. Foreman
10. Leonard
11. Whitaker
12. Sanchez
13. Hearns
14. Holyfield
15. Mayweather?
16. Napoles
17. Benitez
18. Frazier
19. Morales
20. Spinks
21. De La Hoya
22. Marquez?
23. Toney
24. Mosley
25. Nelson
26. Holmes
27. Lewis
28. Olivares
29. Barrera
30. Tyson
31. Hopkins
32. Gomez
33. Trinidad
34. McCallum
35. Zarate
36. Lopez
37. Calzaghe
38. Chang
39. Galaxy
40. Kalambay

Honourable mentions to, Michael Nunn, Donald Curry, Marlon Starling, Pipino Cuevas, Ricky Hatton, Winky Wright, Carlos Palomino, Myung Woo, Bob Foster, Dwight Quawi, Gilberto Roman, Jeff Chandler, Jeff Fenech, Lupe Pintor, Eusebio Pedroza, Brian Mitchell, Aaron Pryor, Naseem Hamed, David Haye, Terry Norris, Gerald McClellan, Julian Jackson, Nigel Benn, Virgil Hill, Chris Eubank, The Klits, who all arguably or swayably should make the cut?

Also, apologies to anyone I may have shamefully forgotten, but i'm sure i'll be reminded lol..

[HaglerSteelChin]

Here's a list you can all steam into..

I've put very little thought into it, so there maybe some names i've totally forgotten about.. Normally, i'd need days to refine a list like this, so where do you think it could it be improved?

Once again, it's only a rough list and it's mainly based on resume so please feel free to blast me if you think i'm miles out with anyone..

Note - I am including fighters who turned pro before 1970.

1. Ali
2. Duran
3. Monzon
4. Jones
5. Arguello
6. Pacquiao?
7. Hagler
8. Chavez
9. Foreman
10. Leonard
11. Whitaker
12. Sanchez
13. Hearns
14. Holyfield
15. Mayweather?
16. Napoles
17. Benitez
18. Frazier
19. Morales
20. Spinks
21. De La Hoya
22. Marquez?
23. Toney
24. Mosley
25. Nelson
26. Holmes
27. Lewis
28. Olivares
29. Barrera
30. Tyson
31. Hopkins
32. Gomez
33. Trinidad
34. McCallum
35. Zarate
36. Lopez
37. Calzaghe
38. Chang
39. Galaxy
40. Kalambay

Honourable mentions to, Michael Nunn, Donald Curry, Marlon Starling, Pipino Cuevas, Ricky Hatton, Winky Wright, Carlos Palomino, Myung Woo, Bob Foster, Dwight Quawi, Gilberto Roman, Jeff Chandler, Jeff Fenech, Lupe Pintor, Eusebio Pedroza, Brian Mitchell, Aaron Pryor, Naseem Hamed, David Haye, Terry Norris, Gerald McClellan, Julian Jackson, Nigel Benn, Virgil Hill, Chris Eubank, The Klits, who all arguably or swayably should make the cut?

Also, apologies to anyone I may have shamefully forgotten, but i'm sure i'll be reminded lol..

I think most of the big names are there, obviously i would have a different order but that would be my list and not yours.

I think asian fighters as Pongsaklek Wonjongkam would make my top 40 list as he is now a shoe in to be in the hall of fame with the flyweight defense record and recently taking Koki Kameda to school. Veerapol Sahaprom and Yoki Gushiken would have made honorable mention in my list as Chris John.

I am not sure if Steve Collins is in your list? But he ended his career strong and had wins against Benn and Eubank.

I am a bigger fan of Camacho than most since he displayed great hand speed early on and did register wins against guys like Rosario, Pazienza, Mancini, Haugen, Ramirez, Limon etc. Although past their primes he did score wins against Duran and SRL. He did win titles in 7 divisions(although a few were paper) but he never was knocked out in like 87 fights and he did fight good punches like Chavez and Trinidad. I think Camacho is top 40 of the last 40 years.

Jeff Fenech would make my list instead of honorable mention, i would give honorable mention to Carlos Deleon and Esteban Dejesus. Pascual Perez i guess since most of his fights were pre 1970 wouldn't be included. Dariuz Michaelski(sp?) and Steven Ottke would not make my list but would get honorable mention.

[mickey malone]

I think most of the big names are there, obviously i would have a different order but that would be my list and not yours.

I think asian fighters as Pongsaklek Wonjongkam would make my top 40 list as he is now a shoe in to be in the hall of fame with the flyweight defense record and recently taking Koki Kameda to school. Veerapol Sahaprom and Yoki Gushiken would have made honorable mention in my list as Chris John.

I am not sure if Steve Collins is in your list? But he ended his career strong and had wins against Benn and Eubank.

I am a bigger fan of Camacho than most since he displayed great hand speed early on and did register wins against guys like Rosario, Pazienza, Mancini, Haugen, Ramirez, Limon etc. Although past their primes he did score wins against Duran and SRL. He did win titles in 7 divisions(although a few were paper) but he never was knocked out in like 87 fights and he did fight good punches like Chavez and Trinidad. I think Camacho is top 40 of the last 40 years.

Jeff Fenech would make my list instead of honorable mention, i would give honorable mention to Carlos Deleon and Esteban Dejesus. Pascual Perez i guess since most of his fights were pre 1970 wouldn't be included. Dariuz Michaelski(sp?) and Steven Ottke would not make my list but would get honorable mention.

Thanks for the response, you're the only one to reply which is understandable when you think of the names to take on board, but these are the guys we all discuss on a daily basis.. They're the fighters we all know a lot about (or should do).. What i'm trying to do, is exactly what you've just started - to discuss the fighters who were possibly on the same level but for one reason or another didn't achieve the status, and you've come up with some good names..

Asian fighters are a nightmare because of their names.. I can't even pronounce some of the them, let alone spell them but that doesn't mean we shouldn't rate them lol.

DARIUSZ MICHALCZEWSKI has to be THE most avoided fighter when it comes to this.. I've just had to goggle it with the usual 6 attempts.. And taking a look at his resume, he should be in the top 40.. My only criticism would be that he was one of those who never fought outside of Germany.. Ottke, Maske, Tiozzo also fall into this category..
MICHALCZEWSKI in particular KO'd some good fghters - Christophe Gerard, Nicky Piper, Derek Harmon, Drake Thadzi, Montell Griffin, Graciano Rochhigiani, Richard Hall as well as points wins over Leeonzer Barber and Virgil Hill.. Strictly a WBO fighter, he won titles at LH and cruiser, defending the 175 belt a record number of times, 23 i think..

Hmmm... Should constant hometown advantage make any difference as to how we rate fighters?.. That could be a thread all on it's own..
In someone like Ottke's case, YES it does, mainly due to a hell of a lot of dubious ht decisions hanging over him.. But in the case of MICHALCZEWSKI, he KO'd most of them beyond doubt, and i think there's a very good case for him..

Camacho gets overlooked because of his style, which can be very negative to say the least.. His win against Leonard was little more than Holmes's win over Ali, and yes Duran was well PP..
He failed against greats in Chavez and Tito, plus most of his belts were of the paper variety.. I think he's a very honourable mention tbh..

PONGSALEK WONJONKAM is another tongue twister - shame on me living in Thailand and all that.. Same with VEERAPOL SAHAPROM.. Both are extremely good fighters who suffered from lack of exposure and sponsorship.. I'm not an expert on either of them, so a bit of research won't go a miss..

Gushiken, De Leon, Feneh were all basically 'one style' fighters, who in my opinion deserve to be credited with honourable mentions..
Who would you take out, in order to put them in?

I thought i'd given a mention to Collins (must have slipped my mind) but he was a case of too much, too little, too late.. Limited skillset, great chin - HM as i see it..
And yes you're right about Perez.. Had this been over 50 years, he'd have been right up there.. I'm also considering Ken Buchanan, who's another one i forgot about..

[Joey Giardello]

Here's a list you can all steam into..

I've put very little thought into it, so there maybe some names i've totally forgotten about.. Normally, i'd need days to refine a list like this, so where do you think it could it be improved?

Once again, it's only a rough list and it's mainly based on resume so please feel free to blast me if you think i'm miles out with anyone..

Note - I am including fighters who turned pro before 1970.

1. Ali
2. Duran
3. Monzon
4. Jones
5. Arguello
6. Pacquiao?
7. Hagler
8. Chavez
9. Foreman
10. Leonard
11. Whitaker
12. Sanchez
13. Hearns
14. Holyfield
15. Mayweather?
16. Napoles
17. Benitez
18. Frazier
19. Morales
20. Spinks
21. De La Hoya
22. Marquez?
23. Toney
24. Mosley
25. Nelson
26. Holmes
27. Lewis
28. Olivares
29. Barrera
30. Tyson
31. Hopkins
32. Gomez
33. Trinidad
34. McCallum
35. Zarate
36. Lopez
37. Calzaghe
38. Chang
39. Galaxy
40. Kalambay

Honourable mentions to, Michael Nunn, Donald Curry, Marlon Starling, Pipino Cuevas, Ricky Hatton, Winky Wright, Carlos Palomino, Myung Woo, Bob Foster, Dwight Quawi, Gilberto Roman, Jeff Chandler, Jeff Fenech, Lupe Pintor, Eusebio Pedroza, Brian Mitchell, Aaron Pryor, Naseem Hamed, David Haye, Terry Norris, Gerald McClellan, Julian Jackson, Nigel Benn, Virgil Hill, Chris Eubank, The Klits, who all arguably or swayably should make the cut?

Also, apologies to anyone I may have shamefully forgotten, but i'm sure i'll be reminded lol..

I wouls take kalambay or chang off and replace them with pryor! leonard and whitaker are way to low! frazier is way to high! Calzaghe has no place on this list, oscar is way to high and so is morales.

[bklynboy]

Here's a list you can all steam into..

I've put very little thought into it, so there maybe some names i've totally forgotten about.. Normally, i'd need days to refine a list like this, so where do you think it could it be improved?

Once again, it's only a rough list and it's mainly based on resume so please feel free to blast me if you think i'm miles out with anyone..

Note - I am including fighters who turned pro before 1970.

1. Ali
2. Duran
3. Monzon
4. Jones
5. Arguello
6. Pacquiao?
7. Hagler
8. Chavez
9. Foreman
10. Leonard
11. Whitaker
12. Sanchez
13. Hearns
14. Holyfield
15. Mayweather?
16. Napoles
17. Benitez
18. Frazier
19. Morales
20. Spinks
21. De La Hoya
22. Marquez?
23. Toney
24. Mosley
25. Nelson
26. Holmes
27. Lewis
28. Olivares
29. Barrera
30. Tyson
31. Hopkins
32. Gomez
33. Trinidad
34. McCallum
35. Zarate
36. Lopez
37. Calzaghe
38. Chang
39. Galaxy
40. Kalambay

Honourable mentions to, Michael Nunn, Donald Curry, Marlon Starling, Pipino Cuevas, Ricky Hatton, Winky Wright, Carlos Palomino, Myung Woo, Bob Foster, Dwight Quawi, Gilberto Roman, Jeff Chandler, Jeff Fenech, Lupe Pintor, Eusebio Pedroza, Brian Mitchell, Aaron Pryor, Naseem Hamed, David Haye, Terry Norris, Gerald McClellan, Julian Jackson, Nigel Benn, Virgil Hill, Chris Eubank, The Klits, who all arguably or swayably should make the cut?

Also, apologies to anyone I may have shamefully forgotten, but i'm sure i'll be reminded lol..

40 greatest fighters in 40 years has a ring to it but *40* fighters. Wow, that's a lot to handle. I think that's one of the reasons this topic has so few posts. I can't possibly come up with a list of my own so, if you don't mind, I'll nitpic on yours.

I generally like your TOP 10.

I think that de la Hoya is way too high, I don't see Calzaghe in there at all. On second thought his undefeated rein might put him smack at #40.

I think that Aaron Pryor should be up there -- anywhere above Calzaghe would be good.

[bklynboy]

I wouls take kalambay or chang off and replace them with pryor! leonard and whitaker are way to low! frazier is way to high! Calzaghe has no place on this list, oscar is way to high and so is morales.

Pryor definately should be higher but who would you push down for Leonard and Whitaker? I love Whitaker - he had the best D I've ever seen; jaw-dropping "how did he do that?" ability to slip punches. BUT, as in all sports, no matter how good your D is you still need to score points. And in boxing that's by landing punches.

Was Whitaker better than:

1. Ali
2. Duran
3. Monzon
4. Jones
5. Arguello
6. Pacquiao?
7. Hagler
8. Chavez
9. Foreman
10. Leonard

I don't know. The only one I could really see dropping from that TOP 10 list is Foreman. I suppose a case could be made placing Whitaker above Chavez.

Who else? Roy Jones? Maybe, but that's only because Jones' record is 'tarnished.' He should have retired 5 years ago.

[mickey malone]

I wouls take kalambay or chang off and replace them with pryor! leonard and whitaker are way to low! frazier is way to high! Calzaghe has no place on this list, oscar is way to high and so is morales.

Jung Koo Chang was the most dominant fighter in the history of his division and with 17 divisions, no 38 may infact be underrating him.. His resume crucifies that of Pryor..
Morales and DLH were both dominant in more than 1 division.. Neither ducked anyone and I have to disagree that 19 and 21 respectively, is way too high..
Leonard and Whitaker may be a little bit low, but I don't think either of them are top 5..
Kalambay's in there to be moved for when somebody mentions a fighter who is more worthy.. I'm toying with the idea of replacing him with either Wonjonkam or Michalczewski, who were both far more dominant champions.. However, I may move Frazier down a bit..
So what did Pryor do in one division, that Calzaghe didn't do in 2?.. Both have poor resumes, but Calzaghe beat 2 past primers and Pryor beat 1 on 2 occasions, one of those wins being very dubious.. Pryor couldn't adapt to slick movers either, where as Calzaghe wasn't fazed by any particular style, and had more than one dimension to his game.. Pryor was no more dominant than Hatton in my opinion..

[mickey malone]

Pryor definately should be higher but who would you push down for Leonard and Whitaker? I love Whitaker - he had the best D I've ever seen; jaw-dropping "how did he do that?" ability to slip punches. BUT, as in all sports, no matter how good your D is you still need to score points. And in boxing that's by landing punches.

Was Whitaker better than:

1. Ali
2. Duran
3. Monzon
4. Jones
5. Arguello
6. Pacquiao?
7. Hagler
8. Chavez
9. Foreman
10. Leonard

I don't know. The only one I could really see dropping from that TOP 10 list is Foreman. I suppose a case could be made placing Whitaker above Chavez.

Who else? Roy Jones? Maybe, but that's only because Jones' record is 'tarnished.' He should have retired 5 years ago.

Perhaps Big George should swap places with Whitaker?

[bklynboy]

Perhaps Big George should swap places with Whitaker?

Yes.

Make SRL 9, Whitaker 10 and Big George 11

[bklynboy]

So what did Pryor do in one division, that Calzaghe didn't do in 2?.. Both have poor resumes, but Calzaghe beat 2 past primers and Pryor beat 1 on 2 occasions, one of those wins being very dubious.. Pryor couldn't adapt to slick movers either, where as Calzaghe wasn't fazed by any particular style, and had more than one dimension to his game.. Pryor was no more dominant than Hatton in my opinion..

Wow, and I have Ricky Hatton somewhere in the TOP 100 of the past 10 years. I haven't seen Pryors fights for quite a while but I remember him being a little better than Hatton. :-)

Speaking of Hatton -- Kostya Tszyu deserves honorable mention as well. Hmmm, perhaps comparing Pryor to Tszyu would not be too far off.