All time Top 5 boxers at 140

[Yogi]

Benitez is up there with Pernell Whittaker and Willie Pep as the most hard to hit fighters ever.

You can easily mention Nicolino Locche in that group of defensive geniuses, as well, and Locche is also one of the great Jr. Welterweights in history.

And don't judge him strictly on the old version of himself that fought and lost to Pryor, because Antonio Cervantes deserves mention in any discssion pertaining to the great 140 pounders of all-time...He'd certainly be in my top three, no doubt.

[GOAT]

I just realized I left out Tony Canzoneri . . . he should be up there. He did most of his work at lightweight, but he was definitely one of the best jr. welterweights of all time.

[Yogi]

I just realized I left out Tony Canzoneri . . . he should be up there. He did most of his work at lightweight, but he was definitely one of the best jr. welterweights of all time.

Yep, Canzoneri can definately make a strong claim for an all-time top five spot in this division, when you consider his wins over HOF'ers like Jackie Kid Berg and Jimmy McLarnin. Also the common opinion is that Canzoneri was robbed in at least one of the fights against Ross, if not both of them...A couple of quotes from the Sept. 2001 issue of The Ring;

"He (Canzoneri) outfought, outhustled, and beat up Ross in their first fight, despite what the judges saw."

"Ross made his name at welterweight, but two decisions over Tony Canzoneri, even if they probably were unjust, are hard to ignore."

[oldgringo]

Do you think it's safe to say that if JCC was never around at 140 while Mel Taylor was there that Mel would have been on his way to being one of the 5 greatest 140 pounders ever? Only a guy like Chavez could have beat that fight out of him.

[GOAT]

Absolutely. As it is, Taylor is still one of the better jr. welters of all time.

[Yogi]

Absolutely. As it is, Taylor is still one of the better jr. welters of all time.

With his quick and flashy, in-and-out style, it's not hard imagining Taylor giving some of the greatest Jr. Welterweights problems and possibly even beating a few of them. But I just don't think he did enough at that weight to warrant inclusion in a top ten at this weight (I also rate Benitez lower than most, as well).

He had a couple of fairly decent wins before winning the IBF title, and he did look excellant against both Buddy McGirt and John Meekins (and later vs. Chavez in a losing effort). But even though the scorecards would tell you otherwise, he did struggle with Courtney Hooper, and in fact, I can remember a bit of a fuss being made in the various boxing magazines about how Taylor didn't even deserve the decision in that fight...Quite a few people thought Hooper won that one.

I would maybe sneak Taylor into the all-time top twenty at 140, but he wouldn't get a much higher ranking from me than that.

[oldgringo]

With his quick and flashy, in-and-out style, it's not hard imagining Taylor giving some of the greatest Jr. Welterweights problems and possibly even beating a few of them. But I just don't think he did enough at that weight to warrant inclusion in a top ten at this weight (I also rate Benitez lower than most, as well).

He had a couple of fairly decent wins before winning the IBF title, and he did look excellant against both Buddy McGirt and John Meekins (and later vs. Chavez in a losing effort). But even though the scorecards would tell you otherwise, he did struggle with Courtney Hooper, and in fact, I can remember a bit of a fuss being made in the various boxing magazines about how Taylor didn't even deserve the decision in that fight...Quite a few people thought Hooper won that one.

I would maybe sneak Taylor into the all-time top twenty at 140, but he wouldn't get a much higher ranking from me than that.

I agree with your analysis, but what do you think of the prospects of Taylors career without Chavez around?

[tracylee]

Absolutely. As it is, Taylor is still one of the better jr. welters of all time.

What did you think of the stoppage (or better yet, the way it came about, timing wise) of Taylor-Chavez? Did you think Richard Steele was right to stop it with 2 sec's remaining?

[Yogi]

I agree with your analysis, but what do you think of the prospects of Taylors career without Chavez around?

In a way I kinda think Taylor's first performance against Chavez enhances his status at 140, so I'm not sure he would've benefited all that much from Chavez' absence. And considering his struggles with the taller boxer types like Hooper and later Espana (although Taylor was past it by that fight), I think there would've been somebody around that would've outboxed Taylor from the distance and by using their reach...maybe(?) a guy like Roger Mayweather, who I think was still around and ranked at that time.

[dansweeney]

best at 140 in history is Aaron Pryor, nobody, not chavez not mayweather, not tzsyu