Please Participate--All Time Lightweight Survey (POLL CLOSED!!)

I am allowed mistakes, I am senile.

 

1. Manny Pacquiao
2. Oscar Delahoya
3. Julio Cesar Chavez
4. Roberto Duran
5. Hector Camacho
6. Pernell Whitaker
7. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
8. Joe Walcott
9. Henry Armstrong
10. Alexis Arguello

worth mentioning : Miguel Angel Gonzales , Lou Ambers , Tony Canzoneri , Mysterious Billy Smith , Joe Gans
and it is possible there might be some minor swaps in places in this list.

 

i knew it will cum.
why didn't you complain about the rest ? the same can be said about them too.
the thing with pac is that he is a LW doing good at LWW and the majority even consider him the favorite to beat Cotto. how many elite fighters did Benny Leonard beat ? :huh and to how many not elite did he lose ? but i bet that you consider him h2h better than pac , cause ur d defender of old time nuthugery .

 

exactly what i'm sayin : pac's a LW beating elite fighters ABOVE LW.
does not even bother making the weight.
that what made langford what he was.
not that i say pac's at langford's level but who knows - maybe if they fought pac would've just overwhelm him too.

but again , why about pac it bothers you and not about the others in my list ?

 

it just counts even more , considering his undoubted ability to still make 135 , and he just might some day.

 

I have to say that this is the toughest decision yet.

Jack McAuliffe, Joe Gans, Henry Armstrong, Benny Leonard and Roberto Duran are the standouts and could go in any order.
This leaves excellent champions with good records (some of which dont even seem to have been mentioned in this thread) like:
Ike Williams, Lou Ambers, Carlos Ortiz, Pernell Whittaker, Joe Brown, sammy Mandell, Julio Cesar Chavez, Lou Jenkins, Battling Nelson, Willie Ritchie and Freddie Welsh.

Since the deadline is approaching i will split as follows:
1. Jack McAuliffe - In a talent ridden division, his longevity is better than anyones and he was never beaten and he was the undisputed best lightweight for the longest time. I can see why others can rank higher, but it is the lack of knowledge about his era which seems to have dragged him down so much.
2. Henry Armstrong - What an awesome fighter. He was a truly great lightweight (as well as other weights) He swayed me by beating heavier fighters (world class ones) at the light weight. In other circumstances i would elevate him to number one.
3.Benny Leonard - I put him here, with the biggest thing being the praise from his contemporaries. I have penalised him a little because technically most of his fights were slightly over the lightweight limit, but the fact that most of his opponents did not want to be considered in the same class as him tends to suggest that he was a very special fighter. Of course, his actual record itself is also something to behold.
4. Roberto Duran - A long reigning champion who dominated at lightweight. His career is boosted by the technicolour dream coat, but the reality is that he can do it all in the ring.
5. Joe Gans - A defensive master with a brillian record. He was as dominant as anyone.
6. Ike Williams - A very good and long reign. He has some big supporters who rank him even higher, but i dont think he was quite as special as the 5 above.
7. Sammy Mandell - Definitely one of the underated ones. He Defended his title against Kansas, McLarnin and Canzoneri. He has a pretty solid legacy, imo.
8. Carlos Ortiz - A long reigning champion who seems to have a lot of supporters in this thread.
9. Pernell Whittaker - More common to most on this thread, and for those who saw him fight at light weight, it really is hard to imagine fighters dealing with those tremendously quick hands of his.
10 Lou Ambers - The decision is getting too hard on this one. But, Lou Ambers was a great fighter and he gets the nod here because I just watched the Rocky Marciano telemovie the other day, and Lou Ambers was serving behind the bar and when Marciano tried to give him a charity tip, Ambers abused him and threw him out of his hotel. A show of courage that tips the scales slightly in his favour for the coveted 10th spot.

 

It is extremely strange that he ranked Sam Lanford as the greatest Welterweight ever, based on the notion that he would be a head to head monster for any welterweight that ever lived. Why then, is there no ranking of Sam Langford at lightweight?

 

"Undoubted ability"??

The guy came into the ring even heavier than DeLaHoya when they fought up at 147.

I'll believe he can still make 135 if/when he actually does it.

 

Good point.

 

:rofl:deal