I agree with almost all of that. However, given how very often Floyd was knocked down or out, why can you not say he at least had a sub-par chin for a top ranked fighter?
Louis didn’t have slow feet, he just didn’t move around much. But he was sharp and quick when stepping in and out of range. Some of Carnera’s fights were allegedly fixed, but that doesn’t make him a fraud. His undeniably genuine achievements outweigh those tremendously. And he played no part himself in said allegations, as you said.
Used to tell guys when I trained fighters that we’re not here to cooperate with your opponent. And we don’t want him saying after the fight, ‘Well that was a pleasant experience.’
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned but I think the criticism of Ken Norton’s chin being weak is overstated.
Well when analyzed it’s really not so bad. Was knocked out five times. Twice by Ali (once was last fight), twice by Liston (arguably one of the greatest KO artists), and once by Ingo (avenged). Went against some good hitters like Moore, Bonavena, Quarry, Jackson etc. I agree not the best jaw ever not even a good one champion wise but it certainly wasn’t glass.
Not terrible, but not very good for an elite fighter. You avoided listing the other thing I referred to, how many times he was down! Still an excellent fighter, what was he top 10 according to Ring magazine for 17 years?
Maskaev had 6 fights when McCall beat him. We've been over this. It does not count as an elite win. He lost the rematch with Lewis. He lost to Bruno and Tucker and Douglas as well. Everyone and their mom beat Seldon and Damiani. That leaves him with one elite win over Lewis and Holmes with 2 very basic unremarkable wins over Seldon and Damiani. That's pretty dubious to say he was clearly head and shoulders above Moorer, Morrison, Foreman, and Mercer.
Good points When someone says that Tyson fought under 200lb is simply stupid......he was, I believe only 16 at the time.
I clicked the thing on the bottom of the page that says "Show Ignored Content" for the first time. You aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I didn't say he was "clearly head and shoulders...." Those are words you invented. I said Moorer has a case for being ahead of him. Maskaev already had one of his best wins before McCall knocked him out. Lewis got knocked out by McCall. Foreman wouldn't even fight Tucker or rematch Schultz, never mind fighting Lewis. LOL at lumping in Morrison like he could get a five spot. It would be generous to put him above Michael Grant.
I didn't say you said those exact words. When you have a numbered list of a top 5, you are saying the 5th guy is definitely above the 6th guy, the 3rd guys is definitely above the 4th guy, etc. That's how rankings work. Hence why I said clearly head and shoulders to emphasize my point that it's not easy to exclude Foreman in the top 5 of the 90's decade unless you're THAT convinced McCall or Moorer are THAT much better overall. Stop it. Literally no one on the planet will agree with you that beating a fighter with 6 wins puts you on the top 5 for anything. Do you dare me to do a poll? Because I will if you choose to die on this hill, wouldn't be the first time you lost a landslide decision. Morrison has quantity over quality and beat Foreman. Therefore it isn't crazy to suggest he ranks ahead of Foreman and Foreman himself has a case for making top 5. I'm not saying Morrison is the strongest candidate but he has a case.
1. Many of his knock-downs were from being off-balance and/or wanting to take a breather. 2. Only 2 fighters knocked Floyd out, one of them quite possibly the hardest hitting champion of all time (maybe even the hardest hitting fighter of all time period), and Ingemar Johannson, another very powerful fighter with possibly one of the best right hands the division has ever seen.
It’s crazy to even suggest Morrison is ahead of Ike in the 90s. I said right there in my list that Moorer can be considered for 5. The 5 spot is razor close between Moorer and McCall, but not the others. I favor McCall because icing Lewis is huge. Miroschnichenko beat Bowe and got a medal btw.