The 10 levels of Professional Boxing

[mcdoodledoo]

What, a thread NOT about Mayweather or Pacquiao? Red K sent...



This was a really good read, it would be really interesting to see the rise and fall of boxers using a rating system like this. A lot of boxers would always ending up falling down to level 6 from 9 or even lower, which is sad to see. It'd be good to see more boxers retire when they are at the top.

But good read and nice to see a change on NSB.

[aznhybrid]

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.

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

hmm here is my list.
1. Jose Benavides
2. Steffy Bull
3. Saddam "World Kid" Ali
4. Omar Sheika
5. Junior Witter
6. Nate Campbell
7. Marcos Maidana
8. Amir Khan
9. Tim Bradley
10. Manny Pacquiao

[Roy Hobbs]

Valero is a pure level 8 fighter now on his way to level 9.

[Dambala]

Great thread, level #5 makes me feel bad because it happens so much, it's sad to see great fighters being beaten by mediocre or/and average newcomers.

[Konstantin]

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.

Not having Roy as a lvl 10 is just plain silly. And having Oscar above him is even sillier.

And I think lvl 1 should limit to 5 fights or less because when they have 10 fights they're already a prospect. But overall good read.

[Afactor4]

Awesome list with some personally flattering examples.

I would probably add a level somewhere in the middle of promising undeafeated fighters that suffered their first loss during a big test. Something along those lines where the fighter is in the process of redeeming themselves as a future top contender once again. Think John Molina, Vic Ortiz, Perro Angulo, at one point Amir Khan.

[Roy Hobbs]

Awesome list with some personally flattering examples.

I would probably add a level somewhere in the middle of promising undeafeated fighters that suffered their first loss during a big test. Something along those lines where the fighter is in the process of redeeming themselves as a future top contender once again. Think John Molina, Vic Ortiz, Perro Angulo, at one point Amir Khan.

i think that could be covered by level 7 contenders. urbano antillon is in that list. so is jorge linares.

[Roy Hobbs]

Not having Roy as a lvl 10 is just plain silly. And having Oscar above him is even sillier.

And I think lvl 1 should limit to 5 fights or less because when they have 10 fights they're already a prospect. But overall good read.

i dont think roy ever transcended the sport. his kingship at 1# p4p was very lackluster. he never truly hit superstardom in the mainstream or in the boxing world. he was a level 10 talent without a doubt but he never reached ali, duran, tyson, level stardom like oscar & now pac & mayweather do. i think he's the much much better fighter than oscar. pernell was omega level 10 talent but he never attained mega star boxing icon when he was active.

[baCCaT]

is sugar shane a paradox in your list TS

i think he is..

[P.WILL]

Glen Johnson should be moved up to contender.