Top 15 middleweights of all time

Tell em' brutha jowcol, tell em'!! I thoroughly endorse this post!

 

I hate lists, so I'll just say it's Monzon first, and you can sort out the rest.

 

I hate lists, so I'll just say it's Monzon first, and you can sort out the rest.

Great list Robert...so glad you have Giardello included...the old self taught wizard himself.

 

If I went to the trouble of making a list I'd have to shoehorn Gene Fullmer in there somewhere.

 

Im always mystified at anyone picking Monzon. Paper thin quality home padded resume, best names on it were well past their primes and had moved up from lower weights, ducked his #1 for 3 years and wouldnt fight him until after his car crash injury. You gonna tell me Greb or Robinson wouldnt have run through the versions of Valdez, Griffith, Benvenuti, and Napoles like **** through a goose? To say nothing of Eurotrash like Boggs, Bouttier, and Tonna, all of whom would have been featured in a fight a week tour of Robinsons even past his prime.

 

Great to see Charles there. He's my number sixteen. Might need to promote him.

 

Two of these lists are shouting out to me... Gibbons! What am I missing here? You guys are all much more knowledgeable than me. Why is he top fifteen? (incidentally, I have him at 19)

 

Because he was one of the first all time p4p fighters beating Dillon, Greb, McGoorty, Clabby, Chip, McFarland (imo), Houck, Jeff Smith, ODowd, to say nothing of the multitude of contenders he fought. Not many MWs can boast of his record or accomplishments and that doesnt even touch on the massive stylistic improvements and influence he had on the sport. He was a true all time great whose resume at MW shits all over Ezzard Charles who some think should place on this list despite having only a few good wins at the weight.

 

I consider myself schooled, and will adjust his rating accordingly. Alrhough I'll have to check out a few of those guys, as I don't know too much about them. Particularly interested in some of those early wins you mentioned. Pretty special.

 

1.Greb - He has the best resume
2. Robinson - Best skills on film. Durable, fast, hit hard
3. Hagler - Very durable, good skills, a puncher
4. Golovkin - could retire undefeated. Great chin/power. Very good jab
5. Jones - Very fast and strong, chin less of an issue at 160
6. Fitzsimmons - No one hit as hard.
7. Monzon - A tad over rated, not fast. Not a big hitter. Attrition grinder.
8. Cerdan - Died young, IMO very under rated. Looks good on film.
9. Walker - A tough dude, lost a few more than most.
10. Burley - Under rated!
11. Hopkins - Boring, defensive, but effective.
12. Zale - Clever. Strong body puncher
13. Ryan - Based on what they say...
14.LaMotta - tough, a little easy to hit
15. Steele - Great ring record, good boxer, good hitter

I might tinker with this later. >>Updated!

 

Great list, even if I dissagree the pants off a lot of it. But you make an argument for each . If I nitpick... Do you feel Cerdan beats Ketchel?

 

Tommy Ryan was great, but while he was pretty dominant, I don't think he'd do too spectacularly H2H. At welterweight I think it would be another story though. Depends how you rate though.

 

Shots fired in classic...!

Is anyone going to step up and challenge this "mad" man?!

 

Leaving out Monzon from the top 5, let alone top15, is plain ******ed.

At the end of the day we only have a record of excellence and/or longevity upon which to judge a fighter. If you require a bar higher than 14 years undefeated the problem is with you.

 

Who's the bigger fool? The fool who doesn't notice (me)! Good point. I am sure it was an oversight from the poster