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An "All Time Great" like Ali and Lenoard are forgivin for losing to people they shouldnt have lost to or for not fighting fighters the possibly could have fought
Legends are guys like Hopkins, Jones, Mayweather and Lewis who will not get the full respect they deserve untill they have long left the ring, look at Lewis now, everyone talks of him as if he was the best thing since sliced bread just because he shown everyone how weak HW is without himComment
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This is a matter of definition and really depends on how you subjectivley view it. To me, it would go as such:
An 'All Time Great' would be a boxer who, without doubt, is one of the best the sport has seen. This would be based on his career achievements. This means, really, as long as a fighter was one of the best at his weight he could be an all time great and yet not have achieved 'legendary' status. Like Joe Calzaghe. Nobody can argue he's an ATG SMW. You CAN argue, however, that Super Middleweight is a weak division and Joe's career is far short of legendary.
Legend status is achieved by your in-ring, fight-by-fight story. I mean, this would be guys who have scored stunning come-from-behind KO's, jumped up in weight to take on multiple divisions, men who come off the canvas time and again- bloody and battered- to win fights. These are the warriors, the underdogs who actually make it to championship level- basically the stories you would tell your friends by the fire of boxers who have attained an almost immortal status in boxing mythology.
Examples of a legend would be the Ali in the 'Thrilla in Manila', possibly even battles like Gatti-Ward.Comment
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Legend can be a good thing and a bad thing, someone who made a certain time when fighting caught the attention of the public who did soemthing that would go down in history good or bad. Tyson id put there.
ATG is someone who has belts, records ,stats ,results checked out and who is a great in that sport.
To me thats is.Comment
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Yeah, I feel what you're saying here.
When I think of legendary boxers I think of Ali, Frazier, Louis, Chavez, Hagler, Hearns, Leonard, Duran, Robinson, LaMotta, Marciano and Foreman. Fighters who have had special careers and a number of epic fights. These guys will forever be linked to each other in some respect and stories/debates will go on about them for years and years.
There are some amazing, top 50-100 all-time fighters who will never be regarded like this because they didn't have those special moments in their careers which transcended boxing. The guys I mentioned are held in high respect among hardcore boxing fans and the common man alike.
I think it is possible for fighters to be involved in legendary fights, but that idea of the fighters involved being "legends" eludes them. Castillo vs. Corrales is one of the most incredible fights to have ever taken place, but I don't think either will be considered a legend in the sport. Gatti is a different story. He has been involved in so many types of those grueling fights that 100 years from now people will automatically remember his career and his heart.
I think the Barrera/Morales/Pacquiao trio will be remembered as legends, as they provided so many memorable moments in championship fights. They have had well documented careers and they all mean so much to their respective nations. The three of them are all entwined with each other in some of the greatest moments the sport has seen, so in a way they have all elevated each other to that level.Comment
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oscar is neither.Comment
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It all depends on how you define the terms.
If you are looking at legendary status on how he impacted the sport then Oscar clearly is a legend. Noone has had the impact on boxing the he has had in the last 20 years.
As far as ATG status it again depends on what you classify an ATG. Is it top 20? 30? 60? 100? He could be or he could not be, depending on the criteria you use.Comment
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