Top 15 middleweights of all time preliminary list

I'd have Kalambay above Zale myself :yep

 

Definitely...:yep

 

How is he ?

 

I wouldnt say so.

I think Monzon is an almost certain win over LaMotta and Hagler is fairly certain too.

 

And this is the reason why La Motta is in over his head. He is not in the same class as these guys. Not because he is a bad fighter because he was very good, it is just that some of his opposition was exceptionally good. La Motta was a good fighter who won a world championship, but was never really the best middleweight of his time, and only had a very short time at the top anyway. If it wasnt for the Raging Bull movie, his ranking would drop dramatically. He is a class below the elite of the middleweight class, maybe two classes.

Guys like Greb, Monzon, Hagler, Robinson, Fitzsimmons, Hopkins, Walker, Ryan, Dempsey and more are clear standouts against him. Then you have others how were awesome at the weight and dominant but didnt hold the title for long like Steel, Ketchell, Choynski, Apostili, Holman Williams, Langford, Jones jr, charles, etc

Finally, you have the guys who did have short terms at the top of which there are plenty Graziano, Bailio, Pender, Benvenuti, Giardello, Leonard, Griffith etc. I think that Monzon finds himself somewhere in this group. If you do your maths, that is well outside the top 15 and that is why i say he is in over his head. Sure he beats a few guys in their and maybe gives most a decent fight, but so does everyone else in that tier 3 list.

 

Monzon is at #1 and Hagler at #2 and all the rest you can quibble about all day.

 

Haha on the general some guy is saying that hopkins would beat greb any day of the week because hopkins "is old school" lmao

 

You think thats funny? Ask him for his all time heavyweight list.

 

I dont think he is in over his head hanging out with the top 15, i just think that there are some towards the top that would have huge stylistic advantages over him.

 

Glad to see Eddie Booker, Mike Gibbons, Jack Dempsey and Lloyd Marshall making some lists(though I tend to rank Marshall at light-heavy). Some other names that are often overlooked are Teddy Yarosz, Jeff Smith and Frank Klaus

 

Does Eddie Machen deserve to rate over Floyd Patterson because Patterson was accused of ducking him for years?

 

LaMotta wasn't even a ranking middleweight when Zale was in his prime.

 

He was, but unfortunately the title was frozen due to WWII.

 

Luf, how great Sam Langford was ,he was a lightheavyweight when he fought the 12 pound lighter Ketchel in 1910. And he was way past 160 pounds in 1922 when he kod Flowers...