Top 3 fighters since Ray Robinson`s prime ????

1. Duran
2. Ali
3. Roy Jones Jr

Some of the more recent fighters will be higher rated in 10-30 years time. People are always biased in favour of older fighters, and underrate the more recent ones. E.g.

Holyfield
Lennox
Pac
Mayweather

 

1) Roberto duran.

Muhammed ali.
Ray leonard.
Carlos monzon.

I cant think which one to eliminate of the three left after the lock number one...?

 

Eliminate Ray. As a defending champion, he had a grand total of four winning title defenses (Green, Bonds, Finch and Duran II) against one defeat. (Hearns I and II were title unifications, not defenses in a strict sense. As we know, his official record with Tommy is 1W-0L-1D, but he candidly admits to his credit that Hearns was the rightful winner of their rematch.)

Monzon set the middleweight record and retired as champion.

Ali was on pace to have upwards of 30 successful total successful title defenses as heavyweight champion had politics not reared it's ugly head in early 1967. As it was, Muhammad generated 19 defenses in his two reigns. He defended the HW title five times in 1966 (more times in one year than Ray did in his entire career), was on pace to possibly surpass that in 1967 (he decisioned Terrell in early February, knocked out Folley in late March, and was scheduled to defend against Bonavena in Tokyo on May 24), and defended it four times in 1975. If he'd remained classified correctly as 4F for the draft throughout Vietnam, he easily could have produced upwards of 30 title defenses.

Bottom line is that it's much more demanding and difficult to have to consistently defend a championship against all comers of various styles, strengths and abilities than it is to pick and choose who to fight and when. This isn't SRL bashing, just a statement of fact. We don't know if Ray ever could have generated 15 or 20 successful defenses of his WW or JMW championships, but he did lose his second title defense ever to a smaller and older (albeit consensus top five P4P ATG) former lightweight.

 

Would RJ made your list, BB, if he hung 'em up after near-blanking Ruiz?

 

I agree w/ these three also Duran, Monzon and Ali with Arguello a close 4th for me.:thumbsup

 

1. Art Frias 2. Tony Ayala 3. Chris "The Southern Rebel" Calvin 4. Robby Epps:hat

 

I think Pac is really good and a great fighter. And I always lean to the past.:good-this little figure looks like the "American Pie" album civer from 1970 by Don. Just thought i"d throw that in there.:good

 

JG, I realize you were not addressing the question to me, but if Roy had retired after doing this, I may well have placed him on my list. Considering my disdain for the 12 round limit, there was a time when I would have rejected that notion out of hand, but he came up from 160 to school a very good heavyweight. (It seems especially astonishing now that we know what kind of chin he has.)

 

my choices to and not tentatively. Monzon might be no 1 since then. dead

 

I hear what you are saying duo,its just that ray moved up weights and beat some atgs,i suppose his quality is very condensed...
On the other hand,monzon at a single weight is awesome...

 

not to change the subject, but Pambele in his prime was a GREAT fighter that I think would ko Pryor when at his best 6 years earlier. What a gerat fighter and a joy to watch (I have a gerat career set of him). The fight I wish had happened in the 70's around 75-Roberto Duran vs. Antonio Cervantes!:vonnecunt

 

you know, in the original showing of the fight, Leonard had Duran winning by dec. against Hagler and to tell you the truth, I did too. Watch the fight and how often Roberto hits Hagler. in the early rds and forces the fight while Hagl;er is supercautious. In the second Duran goes to hit him w/ a bodyshot and Hagler jumps back like Joe Frazier's trying to hit him. It's hiarious. But yeah, I though back in '83 when I saw the fight on closecircuit that Duran won by a hair. :bbb

 

1. Muhammed Ali
2. Thomas Hearns
3. Manny Pacquiao

 

I gotta tell ya, beating Ruiz means nothing. I think if they stayed at their normal weight, half the fighters who won fron jr.mid-ltheavy could beat Ruiz. Jones should have fought Lewis but as always went cherrypicking for the lowest common denominator. Totally worthless win. And if Jones had stayed 175, he would have beat him easier and maybe stopped him.:hat

 

Funny reading this TM. Hindsight's always 20/20. At the time, alotta savvy boxing people felt there was NO WAY RJ could deal with Ruiz's size 'n strength advantage. One trainer said to me: "Roy's fightin' a heavyweight now. His jab's gonna feel like a right hand."