A Sweet Science by former B C boxer Michael (the Silk) Olajide was interesting but left a sour taste in my mouth. And based on his amateur and professional style, why am I not surprised that he picked ALI as the best p4p fighter. However, when he selected ten boxers including ALi, then for the other nine he proceeded to slice & dice and minimize them with his only logical pick, guess who? Of course, the following great fighters were not even in the starting line-up in "The Silks" fantasy list: Archie Moore, Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross, Tony Canzoneri, Willie Pep, Eder Jofre and Jimmy Wilde.atsch
It sounds like the OP is referencing a book, but I found an article that seems to fit the bill: http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/4375/greatest/ The boxers Olajide looks at do make a strange list - does anyone seriously consider Marciano in GOAT discussions? Holyfield? He also makes strange statements about how cross-weight matchups might actually go - "Imagine Leonard vs. Ali!'. I think most, myself included, think it's a pointless exercise to imagine a HW Duran or a MW Louis. He does mention that he's only working with people with whom he has good film. Anyway, a strange approach as resume is rarely mentioned. It's mostly a styles discussion of modern greats with a couple of big name HW's thrown in. An odd way to end: "And why didn’t he [RJJ] ever have a nickname? That always bothered me." Agree with the OP in that it is a strange piece.
On Ray Robinson: "Ray’s style was so crowd-pleasing with his ability to make something so brutal look so beautiful, he was the epitome of nature. He also took an unbelievable punch… and that’s where gravity comes into play. Ray unfortunately took too many of them. And that was his biggest shortcoming. In the department of defense he lacked, BIG TIME. It’s almost like his trainers didn’t believe there was such a thing as punch drunk syndrome. I guess boxing still was in its infancy and it’s not like the medical profession was voicing its concerns for the professional boxer and his “sort.” No one ever seemed to have a problem getting to Ray; their biggest concern was getting out of his way… and what a huge problem that was."
He does know a little bit about boxing, but the problem is Mike always tried to fight like a mini-Muhammed Ali even as an amateur in Vancouver. So it wasn't a great shock that he picked Ali. But after 1967 Zora Folley fight Ali was a different fighter for many reasons. And Ali's Rope-A-Dope is not a quality that should rank as a big yardstick in measuring best P4P.