Yeah the hagler hearns Arguello ommissions surprise me the most, but seeing as itts difficult to find good quality full fight footage of a lot of the old guys I never get too fussed about these lists, I'm never going to be able to have a strong opinion over whether marciano would get p*ssed on by Wlad, Lewis, because I'm never going to truly appreciate how good he was.
One more thing - in most sports standards of training, fitness and nutrition have advanced so much that modern athletes are usually superior in the narrowest sense to old-timers. I'd think this was petty much the same in boxing as well, but never really gets mentioned when comparing over eras.
Originally posted by OptimusWolf
I'm not going to comment on the details of the list, but in boxing these greatest of all time lists always seem skewed towards fighters of the more distant past rather than more recent guys. There are a couple of possible reasons I can think of behind this;
1) Boxing had a golden era and now standards are a lot lower, the talent is not there and even where it is the legacies are not made.
2) It takes a long time to be able to focus on a fighter's achievements, therefore in 10 years time we might see some of RJJ, PBF, Pacman, Hopkins, barerra make that list.
3) Writers are biased towards older fighters and view things will rose-tinted spectacles
I've a feeling its a bit of all 3, but there perhaps is a lot of truth in no.1, particularly the last point about legacies - they're harder to build these days with the sanctioning bodies etc. I know in other sports such as association football (just cos it's the one i know the most about), there would be many more modern players included, eg Maldini, Zidane, Maradona, possibly quite a few more in the top 25.
Yeah the hagler hearns Arguello ommissions surprise me the most, but seeing as itts difficult to find good quality full fight footage of a lot of the old guys I never get too fussed about these lists, I'm never going to be able to have a strong opinion over whether marciano would get p*ssed on by Wlad, Lewis, because I'm never going to truly appreciate how good he was.
One more thing - in most sports standards of training, fitness and nutrition have advanced so much that modern athletes are usually superior in the narrowest sense to old-timers. I'd think this was petty much the same in boxing as well, but never really gets mentioned when comparing over eras.
Its been mentioned but the Nostalga boys claim boxing is the only sport that hasNt improved
Id drop Ross, Canzoneri, Walcot, Marciano and Dempsey and thats just for starters! Loads of changes id make! Id have the guys like Hagler Hearns and such in there, and if there putting in Dempsey and Rock why not Foreman or Lewis? Lists are hard to make, u have to be brutal but my list would be VERY different to this
The International Boxing Reserarch Organization (IBRO), which counts several boxing experts including 30 historians in its rolls, compiled a list of the 25 Greatest Fighters of All Time. The list is a result of a poll conducted by the IBRO among its members.
Take a look at the names and the rankings. You can be in for some suprises (or aggravation?)
1. Sugar Ray Robinson
2. Harry Greb
3. Henry Armstrong
4. Muhammad Ali
5. Joe Louis
6. Sam Langford
7. Roberto Duran
8. Benny Leonard
9. Willie Pep
10. Bob Fitz
11. Joe Gans
12. Ezzard Charles
13. Sugar RAy Leonard
14. Jimmy Wilde
15. Eder Jofre
16. Mickey Walker
17. Archie Moore
18. Jack Dempsey
19. Jack Johnson
20. Gene Tunney
21. Stanley Ketchel
22. Joe Walcott
23. Rocky Marciano
24. Tony Canzoneri
25. Barney Ross
Note: names like Alexis Arguello, Wilfredo Gomez, Thomas Hearns, JCChavez, etc are not on the list.
Your thoughts...?
Not a bad list, but Willie Pep deserves a higher rating, and where's Hagler and Holmes?
I'm sure you will. You sound like the kind who will.
Wouldnt u? I mean as far as Heavys go i rate Lewis Foreman Tyson and such higher and thats just heavy weights, uve still got Sweet pea, Chavez Hearns , Hagler ect to think about.
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