The 10 levels of Professional Boxing

[Tmann400]

great read TS.

this is a bump worthy thread, i could talk about this all day.

[Roy Hobbs]

great read TS.

this is a bump worthy thread, i could talk about this all day.

this is why i made this thread. we could identify currently active fighters & which level do they belong in right now. we could talk about fighters who will move up in the higher levels, which fighters will move down. we could talk about fighters throughout history; the highest levels each attained, the lowest. we could talk about the wins of a fighter & at which level were the fighters that they defeated were at.

I just think that boxing has such a rich & grand tradition that to see discussion pages with titles such as "clottey the guy who lost to baldomir" or "how in god's name could duran beat floyd" is truly repugnant. We could be talking about much better things.

[tesla_power]

i guess maybe we could just do this for currently active fighters. You are right about the varaiations. If you take roy jones for example his career went trhough almost the whole level from level 1 to level 9. now i have him at level 5, shot/past it name. You guys could take it & run away with it. You can discuss the highest level a certain fighter throughout history got.

I feel that we could talk about something else other than that reflex's guys countless idiotic threads.

Hahaha. Actually this is a breath of fresh air around here.

[RockyB]

Posted this on the history section but it seems as dead as dinosaurs over there. Maybe i can get NSB's opinion on this;

This is my opinion of the different levels or hierarchy of professional boxing. Starting from beginning professional to all time great living legend. I would like to identify which boxers past present & future are at which level/ point in their career. Feed back would be greatly appreciated.

Level 1 - Beginning professional.
5 to 10 fights. This is your omar henrys, matyev korobovs, erislandy laras & shawn porters, rigondeauxs etc.

Level 2 - Tomato Cans.
The no hopers. Chums for beginning professionals. Probably boxing as a part time gig.

Level 3 - Young Prospect
Past the the beginning stage of their career. ready for the next step. This is your saul alvarez & to a certain extent chavez jr. (at least he's being treated by top rank as such.)

Level 4 - Journey Men
Good enough not to be labeled as tomato cans but have no future in the sport. This might be your emmanuel augustuses, monte barrets & hector velasquezes.

Level 5 - Shot/Washed up Name
Former contenders, hall of famers who have no business fighting professionally & need to retire asap. These are your erik moraleses, evander holyfields, marco barreras, & sad to say roy jones jr.

Level 6 - Gate Keepers
Done as elite fighters but not done as a good honest pugilistic professional. Get past this bunch you are a serious professional that is ready for the next level. This bunch could include rocky juarez, ricardo mayorga(maybe too high), antonio tarver, glenn johnson, & nate campbells of the world.

Level 7 - Contenders
Ready for a title shot, a shot at the champions. This your yuriorkis gamboas, urbano antillons, vanes martirosyans, bernabe conceptions, & eddie chambers.

Level 8 - Belt Holder/champion
This is a very ambiguous level. Sure they are above gate keepers & contenders but with the ubiquitous nature of belts & champions the boxers who reside in this level could also be considered level 7 contenders or even gate keepers. This is everybody with a title or belt.

Level 9 - Elite Fighter Status
This level is what differentiates a true champion with a belt to a ordinary fighter who happens to have a belt. This is your p4p top 10. You dont have to own a belt to be considered elite. This is the shane mosley, paul williams, chad dawson, arthur abrahams & bernard hopkins.

Level 10 - Super Star/ Legend Status
This is a level above elite. You cant be too gracious with this designation. I think only 1 or 2 fighters can be considered in this level each year. Sometimes you go a year without anyone attaining this level. I think this level requires some out of ring attributes. I think you have to transcend the sport. I think You have to galvanize the fans, the media, & non boxing fans to consider yourself for this level. I can only think of 2 fighters currently fighting that fit this criteria: Manny Pacquiao & Floyd Mayweather jr.


What do you think guys? Agree or disagree with the placement of levels or the placement of fighters in the levels? I would be glad to see your opinion.

I would like to see & participate in serious discussions. No name calling or childish talk please.

Great read man, green k very interesting and true.

[markkerr101]

Do you think Tarver status was higher at one point

[Roy Hobbs]

Do you think Tarver status was higher at one point

I think tarver topped off at level 9 when he KO'd roy & he made the p4p top 10 in 03 & 04. Since then he's been on the decline.

[markkerr101]

I think tarver topped off at level 9 when he KO'd roy & he made the p4p top 10 in 03 & 04. Since then he's been on the decline.

Yeah I agree. Who do you think was the last number 10's in the last few years?


besides manny and floyd

[Roy Hobbs]

Yeah I agree. Who do you think was the last number 10's in the last few years?


besides manny and floyd

You know what, its really been a weak era in terms of level 10 type fighters. I originally said you could go a couple of years without a level 10, but you could go longer. I think the last level 10 guy is oscar in his prime & mike in his prime before that. Guys who transcended the sport. There have been plenty of level 9 guys like roy, shane, lennox lewis. I could make a argument for tito trinidad in his prime but i dont think tito ever truly crossed over mainstream wise.

So it has to be mike tyson & oscar in their respective primes. Pacquiao just recently became a level 10 & i think floyd is just about there. Pacquiao & Floyd really make each other level 10 due to all the crazy anticipation that they created in regards to their aborted fight.

[J.Dempsey]

Can't help but think khan went from lvl 4 to lvl 8 just like that?! :P

good to see a thread that ain't full of 'my fighters better than urs' lol

[Roy Hobbs]

Can't help but think khan went from lvl 4 to lvl 8 just like that?! :P

good to see a thread that ain't full of 'my fighters better than urs' lol

That's the nature of the game. leon spinks won a heavy weight crown in his 8th fight.

actually khan went from level 3 to level 8. but like i said, there are a lot of level 8 titleholders that are really level 7. You could actually make a case for level 6 through 8 being the same type of fighters. I think the only way you get to level 9 is by beating another level 9 fighter.