Who The Hell Is Great?

[JMCbulls]

Tyson is legendary and very popular but that doesn't make him great. There are boxers in the hall that are not all time greats, such as Mancini and Paz I believe. Tyson never beat one great fighter so it is not fair to call him an all-time great. He could've been, but he wasn't.

thats just the point of the truths post tho



u cant take anything away from a fighter for not having good opposition, if there was no good competition 2 fight

[Super_Lightweight]

hmm

I take nothing away from Tyson. It's unfair to him that he was in jail. However, because he was in jail and because he put himself in undesireable situations leading up to the Douglass fight, one cannot call him an all-time great. He never beat a great or a very good fighter. He has some decent wins. He was a very good fighter. It's not fair to call him an all-time great though.

[JMCbulls]

^^agreed

[Easy-E]

When listening to posters on this site, sometimes I wonder what fighter isn't overated? If how I thought about boxing was soley based on what others, particulary on here said, I would think everyone sucks. If you listen to the online boxing community Roy Jones isn't great, Mike Tyson isn't great, Felix Trinidad isn't great, Bernard Hopkins isn't great and the list goes on. Why arn't these guys great? The usual answer is THEY NEVER FAUGHT NOBODY!!! Sometimes I think to myself...well who have you faught? I mean I am not fighter but I am not the one saying that everybody didn't fight nobody. Shouldn't we give these fighters respect for being fighters? Reguardless of who they faught, to win titles on a professional level can't be easy. You know what? I don't think boxing is easy, even for great fighters. It requires alot on intangibles that most human beings don't have. All I am saying is, maybe we as boxing fans shouldn't critize championship caliber fighters careers so much. They were champions and are champions in a sport where the other guy is trying to knock their head off for 12 rounds.

Bernard Hopkins was great, roy jones was great, muhammad ali was great, joe fraizer was great, marvin hagler was great. srr was great, hearns was great, leonard was great, duran was great etc etc etc

there are many greats, but oftentimes, rabid fans who dont listen to reason can turn people off to a fighter. i know MTJ has done that to me.
good post though, you have a great point, i think about that often

[Kid Achilles]

It's one thing to give respect to a fighter, and another to proclaim them as great. To be truly great you need to end a career with accomplishments that, in the grand scheme of boxing history, stand out among those of your peers.

I think that we, boxing fans as a whole, should all give respect to ALL boxers but there needs to be a standard, a criteria to assess greatness.

Otherwise you're just diminishing the accomplishments of the truly great fighters but placing inferior boxers on their level.

[cple]

It is true that people are often too harsh on fighters. However, it must be understood that a fighter CAN be overrated and still be great. For example, I personally believe many people overrated Pernell Whitaker, but i still consider him to be one of the greatest fighters to ever live. I simply don't hold him in as high a regard as others do.

I completely agree that EVERY fighter deserves much respect for stepping into the ring. Every time they fight, they risk injury and possibly death. However, when judging a fighter (or for me at least), i compare them to fellow fighters, not some average joe.

[Super_Lightweight]

hmm

It's one thing to give respect to a fighter, and another to proclaim them as great. To be truly great you need to end a career with accomplishments that, in the grand scheme of boxing history, stand out among those of your peers.

I think that we, boxing fans as a whole, should all give respect to ALL boxers but there needs to be a standard, a criteria to assess greatness.

Otherwise you're just diminishing the accomplishments of the truly great fighters but placing inferior boxers on their level.

Name 10 fighters, if you can, from the last decade that deserve the "greatness" moniker.

I'm interested to see who you put given your criteria.

Here's a short list from me:

Holyfield
Jones
Toney
Hopkins
Whitaker
Lewis

[scap]

This is one of the better threads from start to finish I have seen in a loing time!

I enjoyed reading everyones comments.

[Truth]

It's one thing to give respect to a fighter, and another to proclaim them as great. To be truly great you need to end a career with accomplishments that, in the grand scheme of boxing history, stand out among those of your peers.

I think that we, boxing fans as a whole, should all give respect to ALL boxers but there needs to be a standard, a criteria to assess greatness.

Otherwise you're just diminishing the accomplishments of the truly great fighters but placing inferior boxers on their level.

Tyson has an accomplishment that stands out in boxing history. He is the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.

[Kid Achilles]

Nope. Floyd Patterson is. Tyson is the youngest heavyweight to own a portion of the title.