The 10 levels of Professional Boxing

[AKATheMack]

Brilliant.

[LeG00N]

They're in between. They're both boxing legends but they didn't meet the criteria to be considered a "Superstar."

seems reasonable.....

[elgranluchadore]

agreed at 147

the most naturally gifted athlete in any sport in the history of sports

maybe the blue print for the perfect fighter at 147
the only fight at 147 pacquiao might lose

williams is too hittable now moving down to 147 would only slow him down imo making him more vulnerable to a devastating overhand left
lara connected all the time on him can you imagine if that shot came from pacquiao or ortiz? good night.
he never was truly unbeatable ppl tought he was slick because of his reach but his defense would always fail margarito and quintana proved that

[jtiger777]

great post i agree with it all!!!!!

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

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.

Lara is more than a beginning pro, I would put him in the prospect list.

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.)

Canelo is more than a young prospect, he's a contender in the least even if the belt he has was given to him.

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.


Emmanuel Augustus was more than a Journey man in his prime.

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.


Erik Morales has no business fighting? Did you watch him vs Maidana?

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.

Mayorga needs to be in the Shot category, he's been done for 4 years now.

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.


Paul Williams in no longer at this level, he might be in the shot or gate keeper category. Also, Bernard is in the Super Star level, 42 yrs old dominating prime fighters, enough said.


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 could go years 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.

JMM is in this level, he may be past it a little but he's a legend in the game. Sergio Martinez is here as well he's lb 4 lb one of the best up there.


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.

good post though.

[LeG00N]

good post though.

I agree with your post including all of the red text with the exception of the Martinez part.

He's one of my favorite current fighters but he's not a legend or a superstar
he's a good example of a level 9

[Bushbaby]

I disagree with the #'s 9 & 10. I believe the only thing that seperates superstar & elite fighters are drawing power. For example Martinez is an elite fighter, but he doesn't draw like the superstar Floyd & Pacman do. Also there are legendary fighters that are far from elite. Gatti was one. But other than that your right on.

[The Big Dunn]

I disagree with the #'s 9 & 10. I believe the only thing that seperates superstar & elite fighters are drawing power. For example Martinez is an elite fighter, but he doesn't draw like the superstar Floyd & Pacman do. Also there are legendary fighters that are far from elite. Gatti was one. But other than that your right on.

Left Hook Tua made a good point about Martinez. If we don't overrate Paul Williams, who has he really beaten to earn elite status? Just asking.

[Bushbaby]

Left Hook Tua made a good point about Martinez. If we don't overrate Paul Williams, who has he really beaten to earn elite status? Just asking.

Is that right? Well I'm a thinking man Dunn. Let's take a look & see if we can figure this out. If Martinez wasn't elite, I don't think there would be a problem with getting Pacman, Floyd, or Cotto to put a beating on his a$$ at 154.

He did beat the lineal 160lb champion. He was the 1st to stop a fighter in Dzinziruk that was previously undefeated. Now take every fairly decent fighter between 147-154 that we can honestly say would do to him what Martinez did. I don't think you'll find 1. It's real easy to call the Punisher overrated now, after being brutally sodomized by Martinez.

i would love for that same logic to be applied to other fighters getting brutally ko'd 7 thus finally earning their shot at boxing's best fighters. Wouldn't that also make that fighter overrated as well, just saying.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

I agree with your post including all of the red text with the exception of the Martinez part.

He's one of my favorite current fighters but he's not a legend or a superstar
he's a good example of a level 9

Well the category says "Elite/Superstar" you wouldn't put Martinez in the Elite category? I would, easily............