Why do some fans demand fighters to do what past greats do?

[-Kev-]

He's confused. Back in the day ALL fighters did what the All-Time greats did. The All-Time greats just became the all time greats...

I highly doubt that back in the day ALL fighters did what ATG’s did. Highly doubt it. Especially when talking, specifically in plain English, a copy of what ATG’s did. Meaning winning.

I am not talking about the Emmanuel Augustus and DeMarcus Corley of boxing. I am talking about ATG’s who actually won and did great things.

It’s extremely hard to do that.

And you should know since you said you have boxed. So you should know what I am talking about.

[-Kev-]

It's a good point. Joshua, in particular, is criticised on here for not regularly beating the best fighter in any particular year.

So he's only beaten Whyte, Povetkin, Parker, Martin, Klitschko, Ruiz... Is that not enough? if he'd also beaten Wilder (pre Fury) or Fury, he'd be in ATG territory! It's not good enough that he's exceptional?

I agree.

And look at his loss to Ruiz. He is not allowed to lose. He can’t be great because of that. Losses don’t matter, but then they matter very much.

[iamboxing]

It happens a lot in boxing because it's an indvidual sport. Happens in Tennis too (Federer to Sampras).

Also, how do you label a current boxer "great" without a reference point?

[-Kev-]

It happens a lot in boxing because it's an indvidual sport. Happens in Tennis too (Federer to Sampras).

Also, how do you label a current boxer "great" without a reference point?

How many top 10 fighters he beat?
How many top 10 P4P fighters he beat?
How many HOFers he beat?
How many titles he won?
Who did he win the titles from (paper titles?)
How dominant did he look vs top 10 fighters?
How many times did he challenge himself?
Did he ever move up(not necessary but adds to it)?
Who did he fight in each weight class?
Did he make an effort at fighting the best and biggest names of his era?
If some fights did not happen, why not?
Any losses?
How bad were the losses?
Did he improve after the losses?
Did he rematch fighters who beat him or had good performances against him?

I don’t think it’s difficult to gauge. I don’t need a reference point to identify a successful career. Boxing could have been invented in the last 20 years and anyone would know who’s successful in that time span. Wlad, Canelo, Pacquiao, Mayweather, Lomachenko, GGG, Hopkins, etc.

[lolasif]

Basically, fans will use anything to downplay the accomplishments of fighters that they dislike. I would say don't let it get to you. Most fighters aren't fairly judged, until long after they have retired.

[Hustle]

why do fans demand that their favorite fighters do nothing but cherry pick opponents with no chance in hell of beating them, but get the title of "great" ?

Exactly. It's like they dont wanna see the best vs the best

[Hustle]

Thats how sports work. Present time is judged off of the past.

Just ask lebron

[-Kev-]

Exactly. It's like they dont wanna see the best vs the best

Exactly nothing.

No one said anything about not wanting to see the best not fighting the best. We have had this issue before, where you do not understand the thread topic. Again, it is in easily understandable English.

Fans have extremely high expectations for fighters they don't like.

The point of the thread is that it's very difficult to do what a boxer unanimously known as a top 10 ATG did in his time. This means wining like they did. Accomplishing what they accomplished.

This includes the best fighting the best and losing or winning close.

The thread topic, if you read carefully, does not mention "fighters should avoid the best".

The content of the thread is that even if fighters fight the best, it's not enough for some fans. They want to see a fighter they don't like replicate a top 10-20 ATG fighter.

But that top 10-20 ATG is ranked where he is ranked because what he did can not be easily replicated. Which is a very hard concept for some of you to understand. I am not sure why it's so hard. It's like I am talking to zombies or something.

What Ali or SRL did in their time, winning like they did, beating who they beat, winning in the fashion they did...all of that is extremely difficult. Some boxing fans think boxing is a piece of cake and anyone can do what Ali did, or what SRL did, or what Marciano did.

If Mike Trout from the LA Angels can't reach Babe Ruth's homerun record, or Hank Aaron's home run record, it's okay. Baseball fans know it's a huge feat to break without the use of steroids (Barry Bonds cheated to break Ruth/Aaron's record). Why won't Mike Trout finish with 714 home runs or more? If he is really great, he should replicate Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron's career right? No, what they did was extremely hard and will not be easily done again.

Some of you boxing fans don't really have any clue how hard the sport is. How hard it is to even be top 25 active in a weight class. Let alone top 10. Let alone win every fight vs any top 10 fighter you fight. It's hard. ATG's are who they are because they accomplished things that are very hard to accomplish and can't just be repeated easily.

[The Big Dunn]

Basically, fans will use anything to downplay the accomplishments of fighters that they dislike. I would say don't let it get to you. Most fighters aren't fairly judged, until long after they have retired.

In addition to this there is a very warped sense of what fighters did back in the day.

For instance the Duran thread about moving up.

Duran deserves credit for all of his great wins. That said, he moved up because he wasn’t disciplined in between fights.

His eating and drinking, partying, and lack of sleep made him gain huge amounts of weight that he could no longer get off.

When a guy like GGG, who I’m no fan of,stays at one weight his whole career, that shows discipline and training that should be emulated and appreciated, not scorned because he didn’t ”move up.”

[maguirre]

What fans say don't matter in the overall grand scheme of things.

It's not them who decides which fight gets made.

There are at least three parties; fighter A, fighter B, the head of the platform or network they will be fighting in. Each with it's respective members like trainers, managers, promoters, assistants, etc., get to have a say in the fight.

This is like saying complete strangers "fans" have more power than the fighter's trainer, father, promoter, etc.