How do you classify a fighter as elite and who do you consider elite?

[Pretty Boy Greg]

I look for dominance and some sort of reign. Elite fighters are ones who I can't ever imagine being outclassed as long as they aren't shot. If they're outclassed, it only happened once.

Prizefighters I back -
Mayweather
Hopkins
Rigondeaux
Ward
Brook
Garcia
Lara
Martinez
Marquez
Nishioka

The names in bold are elite operators.

Wouldnt you put Donaire in there and take Nishioka out if he wins his next fight and looks good?

Donaire is favored in that fight as well so wouldnt that take Nishioka out of that class by your standards?

[Pretty Boy Greg]

Let's look at the definition: Elite - the most powerful, rich, gifted, or educated members of a group.

It's about standing out from the rest, having qualities that the majority don't possess.

IMO, "Elite" has two layers: a fighter's skill-set/experience/resume and their star-power/earning potential/notoriety. Both have to be cultivated over time. Analyzing a fighter's status from a macro level is the only time I bring up the word "elite". When I'm referring to their status within a division, I'll just say "he's a top fighter".

is Khan an "elite" fighter? No. Is he a "top" fighter? Yes.

I agree with everything you said, spot on!@

[GrandpaBernard]

Wouldnt you put Donaire in there and take Nishioka out if he wins his next fight and looks good?

Donaire is favored in that fight as well so wouldnt that take Nishioka out of that class by your standards?

I'm not so familiar with Donaire's career to be honest.

I watched 2-3 of his fights that I think will correlate with his upcoming Nishioka fight, and believe Nishioka will win.

It depends on how bad Nishioka loses if he does. He's close to retiring imo