Four (Other) Kings: BHop, Roy, Calzaghe, Toney

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Cliff Rold - Storied Boxing writer George Kimball has recently come out with a fascinating look at the Fabulous Four of the 1980s (Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, and Roberto Duran) titled “Four Kings.” The subtitle of the book describes it as the ‘last great era in Boxing.’ There can be arguments against that idea, particularly from the Tyson/Holyfield/Bowe/Lewis led Heavyweight 1990s, but it’s not far off the mark. While there have been and will be many great fights and fighters, the public anticipation and acclaim for those four was a perfect storm not repeated anywhere in the sport today.

So much of the perfect storm was due to timing, the right fighters making the right fights at the right time. It was also about rivalries. As Kimball notes, all of the four fought one another at least once and was just shy of a Fab Five with Wilfred Benitez facing all but Hagler. Include Carlos Palomino and Pipino Cuevas, and it reaches into a pool of seven hall of Famers emerging from that pocket of Welterweight-to-Middleweight history. [details]

[warp1432]

Good article, but why was Toney there? I mean he never really fought others then Roy and never really ruled like all of them.

I guess, but maybe you could put Tarver there since he was closer to fighting them.

[Clegg]

Good article, but why was Toney there? I mean he never really fought others then Roy and never really ruled like all of them.

I guess, but maybe you could put Tarver there since he was closer to fighting them.

Or Glenn Johnson, who fought Roy+Hop and came very close to fighting Zag.

[crold1]

Tarver and Johnson are both part of the phenomenal class of fighters beneath them. The point was looking at the core of the generation and I think Toney, who really was the catalyst for the whole thing, the first star to emerge and the natural comparison point for Jones all those years, was a strong point.

[BennyST]

Good article, but why was Toney there? I mean he never really fought others then Roy and never really ruled like all of them.

I guess, but maybe you could put Tarver there since he was closer to fighting them.

He ruled as solidly as Jones did easily. He was pound for pound number one for quite a while and ruled middleweight after winning the title from Nunn before moving up to SMW where he also reigned until meeting Jones Jr.

He made seven defenses of his middleweight title over a couple of years before he moved up and then made another five or six of his SMW title before the loss to Jones. All of those were against great competition and in between were many non title defenses against very solid competition.

Apart from having twenty defenses like Joe and Hop, he probably ruled more solidly than any of them by facing the harder competition consistently. Jones didn't exactly make twenty defenses of any of his titles either.

[GreatestIam]

Man just think if Toney didn't gain all that weight and was fighting at around 168-175 he'd be pretty ****ing unstoppable, he's fighting HWs and takin there shots plus dishin a few out... Name some one who beats him at 168-175 honestly!

[Clegg]

Man just think if Toney didn't gain all that weight and was fighting at around 168-175 he'd be pretty ****ing unstoppable, he's fighting HWs and takin there shots plus dishin a few out... Name some one who beats him at 168-175 honestly!

Roy Jones.

[GreatestIam]

At this point hell no if they fought 3 yrs ago toney woulda KOed him... LOL Jones doesnt beat Hopkins at this point, Until he proves otherwise'1

[daggum]

don't they mean 3 kings and a queen.

[Clegg]

HoskinsKO1Toney