Can ATG status be attained without a trial by fire?

Jones Jr was an ATG long before he ran into Antonio Tarver.

 

I think you can but it would be an exception to the rule.

ATG like P4P is mostly subjective so anything is possible.

 

two ways to atg status.

trial by fire, battling it out with fellow top contenders at the risk of losing.

or a very long period of dominance vs the available opposition (providing even in a weak era, they are all top ten a la wladimir)

you can't do it off hypothetical views of h2h supremacy a la vitali. which is why one brother is great and one brother is not.

 

It's attained through doing great things whether if that means trial by fire or not.

 

That's a pretty decent response. I also think one's potential plays into it a bit. For example someone said Jones, yes Jones is an ATG but what could he have done if he pushed himself to the point that he dared to loose. PBF is pretty much in the same boat.

I think it's Mag65 I keep arguing about with Duran cause he says when Duran stepped up he usually lost. And my point is, yes, but he stepped up, he dared to step into the ring with Hagler and give it his best shot. There's no guessing what he could have done, he pushed his boundaries to the limit. Neither Jones or PBF have done that. Pac has.

 

jones and pbf did push themselves at first (toney, hill; corrales, castillo) the problem is they stopped doing so. I feel pac is now at that point, hopefully he proves me wrong but I think he's heading down the money over legacy route now.

with duran, he has wins over leonard and barkley, plus is arguably (aside from perhaps whittaker i can't think of anyone rivalling him) the greatest lightweight of all time. top ssay he lost whenever he stepped up is ridiculous IMO.

potential can be considered afterwards, but it means little at the time (jones over hopkins, hopkins over johnson etc.)

 

Roy jones gained atg status by beating up utitility workers.

 

love it

:good:good:blurp

 

To be the best or to even be considered among the best you have to seek out the best. Even if you think they might have your number, or you fear them slightly, you ****ing go for the fight regardless and believe you will win.

Fight the best out there, win or lose and you will always be remembered and your legacy will stand.

 

Only to the casual fans, which counts for nothing.

 

"No, all great fighters should be battle tested at lengths"

How can a fighter be called "great" when he is not battle tested at length?

1 or 2 dominant victories against good oppositions won't qualify a fighter to be an ATG. :deal