***The TOP 50 WINS OF THE DECADE, 1980-1989***

Good to see you posting Popkins, I enjoyed reading your list as I have with past ones you have done, (and mostly agree with it as well) but I have a question concerning this item:

Do you really feel the Pryor victory deserves such a high ranking given the taint associated with it? Even with the controversy, the black bottle, and the revelations by Resto about asthma pills, I can certainly agree with ranking this victory in the top 50 because of the incredible performances by both men, (make no mistake, the black bottle doesn't negate the granite chin Pryor showed in this fight, his desire for victory, or the unexpected skills shown at times) but I can't agree with ranking it so high when it's virtually certain that the cheating of Panama Lewis was partially responsible for the victory.

Any thoughts?

 

I don't feel the black bottle had any effect, he made it easier in the rematch. Second wind IMO, Pryor was a stamina freak anyway.

 

Awesome, I remember the 2000-2009 thread you made but had to search your thread history to see the 1990-1999 list you made. Fortunately, it was the next thread down from this one in your history so it wasn't hard to find. Superb list with a simple but solid criteria.

 

Good work, Popkins. :good

As others have noted, it's good to see Honeyghan's win over Curry being given its due credit.

 

this list is pro-Duran. Duran beating Ray is number one? When he fought a green Ray Leonard yet Ray won the rematch easily when Duran quit, and his win over Barkley is number 8? Barkley was beaten up by Kalambay,Nunn and Benn. Are those fights on a great win list somewhere? Duran's win over Barkley is better than Hearns stopping Duran and Cuevas? Why not put Duran beating Davey Moore number 3? And Pryor over Arguello is 17 and not as significant as Honeyghan over Curry. I respect the poster typing this out and showing it to us and it was nicely done and complete, but the list is too subjective.

 

so Duran beating Moore is more significant than legend Hearns beating fellow legend Wilfred Benitez which is not on the list. This is a list of very subjective picks.

 

Duran was known to lose to all the greats in the 1980's except the first Leonard fight, and then beat second raters Barkley and Moore for his titles. Hearns won his titles from Cuevas,Benitez and beat Duran in what should have been a unification. The Duran win over Ray was top 10, but the other Duran wins do not warrant consideration, not if Hearns/Benitez is not listed.

 

I thought the Pryor/Arguello win is top 10 and I would not have argued top 5. It was very significant and formed the Pryor legacy-good and bad. The rematch just confirmed he didn't need the one they mixed to beat Arguello.

 

And I think you deserve credit for all the work you did in making this list to be honest-I have never put that much time into making such a list with the perspective you put on the fights and the great effort, and there is no way I could do it as well as you did. I shouldn't have made 4 posts about it since I just over explained my point. I do respect the list as your opinion, but my favorite guy Hearns is so obviously underrated in it and Roberto so overrated.