Pick someone to beat these GOAT candidates: Bob Fitzsimmons Joe Gans Sam Langford Harry Greb Sugar Ray Robinson Henry Armstrong Joe Louis Ezzard Charles Muhammad Ali Roberto Duran Criteria: 1. GOAT candidates are at their peaks. 2. An opponent have to fight within the same weight division. 3. An opponent have to fight at most 40 years after GOAT candidate. So no 1910s vs 2010s comparisons.
Fitzsimmons: Dempsey Gans (I assume you meant Joe Gans): Benny Leonard Langford: Jeffries Greb: noone at MW, Charles at LHW Robinson: noone at WW, Greb at MW Armstrong: noone at FW and LW, Robinson at WW Joe Louis: Muhammad Ali Ezzard Charles: Noone at LHW, Ali at HW Muhammad Ali: Rocky Marciano Roberto Duran: Robinson at WW and MW, Armstrong at LW
With in 40 years of his win over Zender (only real instance I can easily find of him at Middleweight), probably no one. I'd favour Freddie Steele over Bob (controversial I imagine) but they didn't fight at the same weight with in 40 years. At Light Heavyweight I'd favour Tunney and Loughran If we scrap the 40 year rule for a second I think that Ezzard Charles beats him badly, Bob Foster would KO him brutally as well imo. And at Middleweight I'd pick Monzon and Hagler to beat Fits Benny Leonard At MW, Greb At LHW, Ezzard Charles (1947) At HW, Dempsey, Louis, Baer Bob Fitzsimmons No one at WW Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon at MW Benny Leonard at LW SRR at WW Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, George Foreman No one at LHW, plenty at HW Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Joe Frazier Pernell Whitaker
The Dempsey fight was at 154, the Creedon fight was at 158. I don't know much about the Zender fight, but I'd imagine he didn't really weigh in. He had more in Aus, but he wasn't at his best then. Apparently the purses in Aus were terrible, despite the good competition. Starlight claimed (though even he said his memory was hazy), that when Fitz lost to Hall, he'd spent the day of the fight working as a blacksmith and Hall was drunk. Though that particular fight may have been fix anyway, with not a lot of money fixes were pretty rife in Aus. I actually think Fitz had to fight under pretty unfair conditions for the first Dempsey fight. He had to.make 154 on the day in his fighting clothes, and had to do a workout the morning of the fight to make weight, weighing himself at 155 in the morning.
Fitz= Johnson & Dempsey Gans=Leonard Langford=Tunney Greb=Robinson Robinson=Monzon Armstrong =Duran& Williams at L. Leonard at W Louis = Ali & Dempsey Charles=Tunney Ali=Lewis Duran-Williams All Maybe!
Bob Fitzsimmons - A good number of people, but I'll pick Johnson Joe Gans - Benny L Sam Langford - At what weight? AT HW, plenty of fighters. At a lower weight... say middle Greb Harry Greb - SRR Sugar Ray Robinson - Henry Armstrong - Duran Joe Louis - Ali is the obvious choice, but I'd also favor Foreman and Lewis Ezzard Charles - at HW I'd favor plenty. At LHW Spinks, maybe Foster Muhammad Ali - See SRR.... Blank Roberto Duran - Whitaker
No ideas at all on Ali, Armstrong, or Robinson. Louis would have been decisioned by 60s Ali, Holmes might have done that too (though he might have got knocked down at some point). I'm a little doubtful on the Larry, because Louis had a punishing right hand and he was at times a terrifiying finisher. That's it for Joe.
I see a lot of people picking HWs over Fitz. Does it mean that he's too good to be beaten by MWs or LHWs?
