Which fighter proved themselves against the most diverse range of GREAT fighters?

Sugar Ray Leonard beat a great boxer and a great puncher in Thomas Hearns. He beat great boxer/punchers in Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. He beat a great boxer in Wilfred Benitez.

 

Wladimir Klitschko has beat boxers, boxer/punchers, punchers, etc.

 

Sonny Liston cleaned out his division and beat ATG-level slick Pernell Whitaker/Willie Pep hybrids like Eddie Machen and ATG all-round crafty Hopkins-esque technicians like Zora Folley as well as ATG-level Tyson-level punchers like Cleveland Williams. Proven against all styles, I would say.

 

Intriguing one this and not as easy as it looks. Mmmm......

Tunney beat Carpentier (the boxer-puncher), Dempsey (the puncher), Loughran (the pure boxer) and Greb (the swarmer).

Be back soon.......

 

:good

 

Benny Leonard beat/nearly beat a multitude of greats and very-goods with varying styles - Walsh, Kilbane, Tendler, Dundee, Britton, Ritchie etc.

So did Langford.

Armstrong beating the likes of Arizmendi, Bass, Joyce, Jack, Ross, Larkin, Zivic, Ambers, Garcia and Wolgast covers quite a lot of bases.

So does Charles tackling Moore, Burley, Walcott, Marshall, Maxim, Bivins, Louis, Lesnevich, Yarosz, Overlin etc

 

Muhammad Ali, of course.
:deal

 

Ray Leonard

 

I'm not trying to be a pain in the harris, but would anybody say that Ali ever faced a great pure boxer? Or that Ray Leonard faced a great swarmer?

 

Carpentier was washed up

Tunney did not beat Loughran. it was a draw. Loughran was only 19 at the time.

 

Ali defeated mobile boxers like Jimmy Ellis and Buster Mathis, and even though the decision was controversial, holds a victory over an extremely slick Jimmy Young.

Duran swarmed to some extent in his first fight with Leonard, although he integrated quite a bit of technique into his strategy. SRL did hold his own in that fight however, so even if he didn't win, he still proved himself in that fight.

 

Canzoneri. Nuff said.

 

Nah. The closest was probably having Holmes as a sparring partner. Jones, Young, Folley, Mathis and Ellis were all good pure boxers, but some distance from great.

While Hagler and Duran was far more than swarmers they had most of the qualities of great swarmers, especially Duran. At least the younger versions of them, not perhaps so much the versions Leonard faced.

So, no...

 

Regarding Loughran, I thought the thread said beat or nearly beat, but correct me if I'm wrong. Wasn't altogether aware that Carpentier was that far past it - my overall knowledge of the era is sketchy tbh. Tunney merely strikes me as a man who faced and defeated most styles from what I know about him.

Finding a man who defeated prime greats of every style isn't all that easy to tell you the truth, hence my quibbling about Ali and Leonard.