Boxers who achieved ATG status in their pre-prime stage!!!

I have a problem with people saying Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali and refering (in both cases) to a fighting prime that never was.

Maybe Ali's peak performances would be Williams, Terrell, Folley even if he'd carried on fighting. We dont know.
Same with Ray Leonard - and this guy chose to retire at 25, (with the eye damage being a main reason of course).

 

All depends on how you view Muhammad Ali's career...I think we would have most likely seen he best of him during the time he was exiled.

 

I imagine we might suppose the same thing about Tyson had he been jailed straight after the Michael Spinks or Carl Williams fight

 

Roy Jones Jr. He had already won world titles at mw, smw, lhw and hw, and had a ten year reign as p4p#1, then a few years of under-par performances, before he finally reached his prime against Calzaghe, Sheika and Lacy.

(this is not a joke, I read a comment from an unnamed poster on the General last week who stated with absolute seriousness and conviction that Jones's peak was against Calzaghe)

 

Felix trinindad, was a all time great welterweight, his prime was the 3 fights at lightmiddle against the unbeaten vargas and reid and the european champion and the joppy fight at middle. In them 4 fights tito looked devasting and the best he looked through out his career

 

If you say Tito for that reason, you have to say Tommy Hearns for the same reason.

 

At welter trinidad stayed unbeaten and won his super fight unlike hearns, and over all trinidad had the better wins at welterweight

 

If you say so atsch

 

Sanchez obviously

 

Is this a serious post??

 

I genuinely have only read one post here (this one obviously) but I have a feeling you might be picking Pacquiao here.... I`ll go check now :think

 

Benitez hits the mind first.

 

Not sure if Fenech counts, in his very early 20s when he took his first strap.

 

My answer to the thread would be Tyson.... people were going crazy about him when he won the HWT title at 20.

Only with hindsight does Ali get the full credit he deserved for his 64-67 run, he wasnt too popular & didnt box like your average HWT, footspeed, handspeed, hands low etc.
Too many people were against Muhammad Ali when he was actually in his peak & he therefore wasnt regarded as a true ATG at his absolute best until he came back to show his toughness & versatility in the 70s, when ironically, he was a lesser fighter by quite a bit.... he had the comp in the 70s tho to show what was always inside him.

Tyson on the other hand was treated as the 2nd coming, a breath of fresh air in everyone`s minds.

 

What about Morales? It's debatable, he was one of the most prolific fighters ever in terms of his age at 122. Benitez sort of stands alone,