Who was the best of their generation: MAB, JMM, or Morales?

[- Ram Raid -]

Morales was special. The mear mention of his name has brought a smile to my face.

With that said, I consider Barrera to be one of the most intellegent and well schooled fighters that I've seen. It was a joy to watch him ply his craft.

The schooling that he put on Hamed is one of my all time favourite fights. I was a Naseem fan but I've always been a boxing fan first and foremost and that fight represented a triumph of well grounded boxing fundamentals.

He didn't get the fans or promoters as excited as Morales did but I have him just edging it.

[soul_survivor]

I think Morales clearly has the best resume of the 3.

there's nothing clear about Barrera and Morales

[Sugar Adam Ali]

I have debated and thought about this many times..

I have come to the conclusion that you can rank them in any order and would be right.. There is no wrong answer.. For each guy, they all have their positives and negatives..
And you will find yourself debating in cirlces..
Barrera- beat prince, morales twice, close lose to marquez, stopped by jones
Morales- beat barrera, beat manny, but clearly lost to barrera
Marquez- Manny, manny, manny, longevity, a win over past prime barrera



If i had to rank them

marquez
barrera
morales

[Hype job]

Morales had terrific skill, the fact he made Garcia and Maidana look silly at times when he was fat and shot was amazing. Plus he beat a prime Pac.

[Anthony342]

Barrera
Morales
Marquez

[SCtrojansbaby]

1.Barrera
2.Marquez(he used to be well below Morales but the Pacquiao KO moved him ahead)
3.Morales

[K-Nan]

When El Temible switched to southpaw in the 12th round of Morales-Pacquiao, it won him over to me as the most gutsy fighter of the "Big 3"... But I think Marquez is overall the most skilled and accomplished of the 3.

[HughJass]

Barerra
Marquez
Morales

[cleming]

Marquez is my favourite of all time but Barrera and Morales are two of my favs too.

Morales probably has the deepest resume, the quality of some his wins are incrdible, but I feel like he was the lesser fighter (if it can be said like that) of the three : Barrera, Pacquiao, Junior Jones, Zaragoza, Ayala and a bunch of top notch contenders/champions such as Kelley, In-Jin-Chi, J.Chavez and C.Hernandez, Mc Cullough. That's pretty damn solid ... He also performed quite well against young and strong boxers such as Danny Garcia and Maidana when he was well past his prime.

Barrera has quality name on his resume too : MoralesX2, Naseem, Mc Kinney are his best win imo. He also got some prestige wins over Tapia, Ayala and Kelleey but they were all past their primes (and unlike Zaragoza they did'nt perform well at all, Kelley was notably shot to piece).

Marquez : Pacquiao (but he performed well FOUR times against him, it's like if he fought the best guy available in four different weight class, which is pretty awesome), Barrera, Diaz and Casamayor. Barrera and Casamayor were past their primes but still competitive. And I think that Marquez woulod have had more success against the younger version of Barrera than against the masterful boxer. I also think that Marquez deserved the nod against Norwood and John, wich would have add quality wins on his resume. The fact that he is still at this level at 41 years old is quite extraordinary. This will be the 10th year he is in the Ring Magazine P4P list at the end of the year.

So in term of Resume, I wouyld say : 1 Morales, 2/3 Barrera and Marquez
In terms of skills : Marquez then Barrera and Morales ...

[billeau2]

I tend to be partial to marquez. A definite bias on my part. I consider that he should have gotten the nod at least one more time against Pac but even beyond that....his ability to withstand the first round against pac, after being floored, smeared, beaten like a pinata from piller to post and back again...was truly one of the most masterful displays of talent, heart and confidance ever witnessed in the square circle.

Some guys are tough, they can survive like Marquez managed, but to make adjustments against an opponent like Pacman, is an incredible fiat, the likes of which are extremely rare.

Barrera's take down of the paper prince was also a masterpiece.

And Morales has a resume that is outstanding.

Under these conditions imo you rank these guys depending upon your criteria. marquez is supreme regarding technical proficiency.

If one is unbiased (unlike me!) you could look at Barrera and Marquez as close regarding singular great performances....Barrera versus the prince and Marquez getting off the ground against Pacman.

Resume and consistancy the nod goes to Morales.

Overall Marquez has two things, one working for him one agianst him: workng for him is that he is still fighting at a decent level and could conceviably get some more strikes...all of these guys have (had) longevity. Working agianst him was how easily mayweather dealt with him. Marquez was indeed....outclassed in that fight.