What were some masterful performances by a fighter against an elite opponent? I'd say Roy Jones against James Toney.
Starling vs. Honeyghan Mijares vs. Arce Conteh vs. Lopez Hopkins vs. Tarver Whitaker vs. Chavez, although...:-( Buchanan vs. Laguna I Winky vs. Tito Good thread. :thumbsup
Mayweather v Gatti Hopkins v Pavlik Hopkins v Tarver Jones jr v Pazienza Marquez v Gainer Wright v Trinidad Toney v Barkley
Simpatico. I almost said Mayweather vs. Gatti but wasn't quite sure Gatti was elite. But then, I did include Jorge Arce of 2007, who like Gatti was probably more aptly described as "world class" than "elite", but yeah, fair is fair...
Camacho vs Ramirez McGirt vs Brown Mosley vs Margarito Morales vs Ayala McCallum vs Watson Gainer fought an absolutly pathetic fight against Marquez
Rigo vs Donaire, imo Donaire past prime, but still a top tier fighter for fighters his size. Considering Rigo was the smaller man, impressive.
Quarter of these fights listed aren't against A level opposition, imo. Which is what the thread starter asked. Many fighters can pull masterclasses against C level fighters. Its doing it against top tier fighters that are truly epic.
The only name off my list I'm 2nd-guessing as "elite" is Arce, but in 2007 he was perceived as being an elite @ 112/115lb. ...then El Diamante came outta nowhere and made him look C-level.