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Hello everyone. I'm 29, and have been an avid follower of boxing since I was 14. I read online forums all the time and see endless polls and lists about 'the greatest of all-time' or 'the greatest since...', but I want to know who people think will be regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of what I consider to be my youth- the boxers I will tell my children about. I would welcome any comment or argument, as although I have put a lot of time and thought into this list, it's all about opinions...
10. JAMES TONEY
Whereas Jones Jr moved up to heavyweight and beat the mediocre Ruiz, Toney deserves more credit than he gets for being able to move up to heavyweight and compete regularly with men who are naturally much bigger than himself. Although he was convincingly outclassed by Jones, James Toney was a force to be reckoned with in every weight division he fought in.
9. ERIK MORALES
Like Arturo Gatti, Morales will be forever remembered for his immense courage and battling abilities in providing some of the greatest fights of the age. A stellar first half of his career was not matched by the second however, as El Terrible lost 2-1 in the epic trilogies with Barrera and Pacquiao. The defeat by Raheem was a disappointing blemish, but still an excellent boxer.
8. FELIX TRINIDAD
Tito would surely be higher up the list if the fighters were being judged on punching power alone. In my opinion though, this power sometimes hid other deficiencies in his skills. I believe he was an unworthy winner of the superfight with De La Hoya, and proof seems to lie in the fact that when his power was neutralised by fighting at middleweight against bigger, stronger opponents, he was dominated by both Hopkins and Winky Wright. An exceptional welter- and light middle-weight though.
7. MANNY PACQUIAO
Surely the hardest puncher pound-for-pound in boxing today, if he beats Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight that must surely happen now after Marquez's win over Barrera, he will be on par with Mayweather as the number one of the present moment. The fact that Pacquiao stopped Barrera and Morales (twice) is testiment to his quality. However, a couple of careless losses and the Marquez draw mean Pacquiao needs to do more to climb higher up this list over the next 5 years. I think he will.
6. LENNOX LEWIS
If it wasn't for the knockout defeats to the very average Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, Lewis could have competed for the top three. It was a privilege to live in an era with a truly dominant and brilliant heavyweight champion. Regardless of whether it was the strongest heavyweight era ever or not (and it was without doubt better than the 1980s which, Holmes and Tyson aside, was awful), Lewis took on and beat everyone there was (except Rid**** Bowe who was very clearly scared of facing him). The wins over Holyfield, Tyson, Golota and the revenge over Rahman are evidence of awesome punching power and a high level of technical skill. A good chin away from being as good as Ali or Louis.
5. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR
An unpleasant character, but an undoubtedly wonderful talent. He may even be as naturally talented as Roy Jones Jr, but whereas Jones beat Hopkins and Toney, Mayweather has never faced the same level of opposition. He is still worthy of a high placing as he has beaten good fighters like Corrales and Castillo (Gatti was way past his prime, and Mitchell and Judah were always overrated). If Floyd can beat De La Hoya, his stock will rise even further.
4. BERNARD HOPKINS
It's difficult to argue with results. 20 successful titles defences, wins over De La Hoya (who was admittedly fighting some way above his natural fighting weight) and Felix Trinidad, as well as a recently impressive win over Antonio Tarver at light-heavyweight, make The Executioner the dominant middleweight of his generation. No shame in losing to Jones Jr or losing narrowly to a much younger Jermain Taylor, Hopkins could have held his own in any era due to this technical skills- though one doubts if he could have lived with the power of a Hagler or Monzon.
3. OSCAR DE LA HOYA
De La Hoya's achievement of setting a record for winning world titles at every weight from super-featherweight (in 1994) to middleweight (10 years later) will compete with Jones Jr's capture of the heavyweight title as the greatest boxing achievement of this generation (personally I think Oscar's would have been the better feat if it were not for the dubiety of the decision he won over Felix Sturm). De La Hoya deserves legendary status for actively seeking the best fights and the toughest opponents in an era where politics and corruption and alphabet titles had threatened to devalue the sport. One of the best lightweights and welterweights of all-time, he was the true winner of the clash with Felix Trinidad, and also scored superb wins over Whitaker, Quartey, Gatti, Vargas and Mayorga. The only reason he is not rated second here is the way Shane Mosley exposed the rather one-dimensional nature of the Golden Boy's style as he twice could not nullify Mosley's speed. However, if Oscar shocks the world and beats Floyd Mayweather, a compelling argument could be made for him to be the number one.
2. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA
Another guy who went looking for superfights, Barrera must be considered in any list of the best super bantam- or feather- weight ever. His career is blighted by two losses to Junior Jones, but (just like Mosley and De La Hoya or even Ali and Norton) I believe this was a case of an inferior fighter just having a style that the better fighter could not negotiate: a boxing anomaly. Aside from those losses, Barrera was past his peak when he lost to the magnificent Manny Pacquiao and should definitely consider retirement after a brave loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. His achievements dwarf these blemishes: the incredible 2-1 triumph over Morales (in my view better than Gatti-Ward), wins over the previously undefeated Naseem Hamed, Paulie Ayala, Johnny Tapia, Rocky Juarez, Kevin Kelley and Kennedy McKinney will live long in the memory. I believe he would have had too much for Pacquiao at his peak, and was probably the toughest fighter of this age and the best Mexican boxer ever after Chavez.
1. ROY JONES JR
The best pound-for-pound boxer of his generation, the best certainly of the last 15 years, the best super-middleweight ever by some distance, one of the very best at middleweight and light-heavyweight, and also a heavyweight champion. Despite dreadful end of career losses to men he would have demolished with ease in his prime (Tarver and Johnson), when Roy Jones was at his best he was untouchable. He beat two other men who deserve their places in this list (Toney and Hopkins), and beat them well. He beat another legend, Mike McCallum, and knocked out Virgil Hill for the light-heavyweight crown. From Mar 95 to Nov 96 he stopped 6 challengers for his super-middleweight crown in emphatic fashion, and avenged a disqualification loss to Montell Griffin with a stunning first-round knockout a year later. He was possibly the most dominant light-heavyweight champion ever, at one stage holding SEVEN versions of the world title. Roy Jones Jr never lost legitimately before it was obvious his career was in terminal decline, and like other timeless athletes Michael Johnson and Roger Federer, he always seemed to have an extra gear he could reach that no-one else could when the pressure was on. Astounding speed, power and movement, Jones Jr is the clear number one, and should definitely be ranked in the top 10 of all-time.
Thank You.
PS: After you post any reply to this list, please give your prediction for Mayweather v De La Hoya. I think Oscar will do it with a late stoppage!
Honourable Mentions: PERNELL WHITAKER, EVANDER HOLYFIELD and JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (obviously these three would be near the top of a pound-for-pound list of the last 20 years, as I think their best days were at the end of the 19080s and the beginning of the 1990s), KOSTYA TSZYU, SHANE MOSLEY, RICARDO LOPEZ
10. JAMES TONEY
Whereas Jones Jr moved up to heavyweight and beat the mediocre Ruiz, Toney deserves more credit than he gets for being able to move up to heavyweight and compete regularly with men who are naturally much bigger than himself. Although he was convincingly outclassed by Jones, James Toney was a force to be reckoned with in every weight division he fought in.
9. ERIK MORALES
Like Arturo Gatti, Morales will be forever remembered for his immense courage and battling abilities in providing some of the greatest fights of the age. A stellar first half of his career was not matched by the second however, as El Terrible lost 2-1 in the epic trilogies with Barrera and Pacquiao. The defeat by Raheem was a disappointing blemish, but still an excellent boxer.
8. FELIX TRINIDAD
Tito would surely be higher up the list if the fighters were being judged on punching power alone. In my opinion though, this power sometimes hid other deficiencies in his skills. I believe he was an unworthy winner of the superfight with De La Hoya, and proof seems to lie in the fact that when his power was neutralised by fighting at middleweight against bigger, stronger opponents, he was dominated by both Hopkins and Winky Wright. An exceptional welter- and light middle-weight though.
7. MANNY PACQUIAO
Surely the hardest puncher pound-for-pound in boxing today, if he beats Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight that must surely happen now after Marquez's win over Barrera, he will be on par with Mayweather as the number one of the present moment. The fact that Pacquiao stopped Barrera and Morales (twice) is testiment to his quality. However, a couple of careless losses and the Marquez draw mean Pacquiao needs to do more to climb higher up this list over the next 5 years. I think he will.
6. LENNOX LEWIS
If it wasn't for the knockout defeats to the very average Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, Lewis could have competed for the top three. It was a privilege to live in an era with a truly dominant and brilliant heavyweight champion. Regardless of whether it was the strongest heavyweight era ever or not (and it was without doubt better than the 1980s which, Holmes and Tyson aside, was awful), Lewis took on and beat everyone there was (except Rid**** Bowe who was very clearly scared of facing him). The wins over Holyfield, Tyson, Golota and the revenge over Rahman are evidence of awesome punching power and a high level of technical skill. A good chin away from being as good as Ali or Louis.
5. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR
An unpleasant character, but an undoubtedly wonderful talent. He may even be as naturally talented as Roy Jones Jr, but whereas Jones beat Hopkins and Toney, Mayweather has never faced the same level of opposition. He is still worthy of a high placing as he has beaten good fighters like Corrales and Castillo (Gatti was way past his prime, and Mitchell and Judah were always overrated). If Floyd can beat De La Hoya, his stock will rise even further.
4. BERNARD HOPKINS
It's difficult to argue with results. 20 successful titles defences, wins over De La Hoya (who was admittedly fighting some way above his natural fighting weight) and Felix Trinidad, as well as a recently impressive win over Antonio Tarver at light-heavyweight, make The Executioner the dominant middleweight of his generation. No shame in losing to Jones Jr or losing narrowly to a much younger Jermain Taylor, Hopkins could have held his own in any era due to this technical skills- though one doubts if he could have lived with the power of a Hagler or Monzon.
3. OSCAR DE LA HOYA
De La Hoya's achievement of setting a record for winning world titles at every weight from super-featherweight (in 1994) to middleweight (10 years later) will compete with Jones Jr's capture of the heavyweight title as the greatest boxing achievement of this generation (personally I think Oscar's would have been the better feat if it were not for the dubiety of the decision he won over Felix Sturm). De La Hoya deserves legendary status for actively seeking the best fights and the toughest opponents in an era where politics and corruption and alphabet titles had threatened to devalue the sport. One of the best lightweights and welterweights of all-time, he was the true winner of the clash with Felix Trinidad, and also scored superb wins over Whitaker, Quartey, Gatti, Vargas and Mayorga. The only reason he is not rated second here is the way Shane Mosley exposed the rather one-dimensional nature of the Golden Boy's style as he twice could not nullify Mosley's speed. However, if Oscar shocks the world and beats Floyd Mayweather, a compelling argument could be made for him to be the number one.
2. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA
Another guy who went looking for superfights, Barrera must be considered in any list of the best super bantam- or feather- weight ever. His career is blighted by two losses to Junior Jones, but (just like Mosley and De La Hoya or even Ali and Norton) I believe this was a case of an inferior fighter just having a style that the better fighter could not negotiate: a boxing anomaly. Aside from those losses, Barrera was past his peak when he lost to the magnificent Manny Pacquiao and should definitely consider retirement after a brave loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. His achievements dwarf these blemishes: the incredible 2-1 triumph over Morales (in my view better than Gatti-Ward), wins over the previously undefeated Naseem Hamed, Paulie Ayala, Johnny Tapia, Rocky Juarez, Kevin Kelley and Kennedy McKinney will live long in the memory. I believe he would have had too much for Pacquiao at his peak, and was probably the toughest fighter of this age and the best Mexican boxer ever after Chavez.
1. ROY JONES JR
The best pound-for-pound boxer of his generation, the best certainly of the last 15 years, the best super-middleweight ever by some distance, one of the very best at middleweight and light-heavyweight, and also a heavyweight champion. Despite dreadful end of career losses to men he would have demolished with ease in his prime (Tarver and Johnson), when Roy Jones was at his best he was untouchable. He beat two other men who deserve their places in this list (Toney and Hopkins), and beat them well. He beat another legend, Mike McCallum, and knocked out Virgil Hill for the light-heavyweight crown. From Mar 95 to Nov 96 he stopped 6 challengers for his super-middleweight crown in emphatic fashion, and avenged a disqualification loss to Montell Griffin with a stunning first-round knockout a year later. He was possibly the most dominant light-heavyweight champion ever, at one stage holding SEVEN versions of the world title. Roy Jones Jr never lost legitimately before it was obvious his career was in terminal decline, and like other timeless athletes Michael Johnson and Roger Federer, he always seemed to have an extra gear he could reach that no-one else could when the pressure was on. Astounding speed, power and movement, Jones Jr is the clear number one, and should definitely be ranked in the top 10 of all-time.
Thank You.
PS: After you post any reply to this list, please give your prediction for Mayweather v De La Hoya. I think Oscar will do it with a late stoppage!
Honourable Mentions: PERNELL WHITAKER, EVANDER HOLYFIELD and JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (obviously these three would be near the top of a pound-for-pound list of the last 20 years, as I think their best days were at the end of the 19080s and the beginning of the 1990s), KOSTYA TSZYU, SHANE MOSLEY, RICARDO LOPEZ
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