Best ability-wise.

I forgot to add Terry Norris to the mix. One of the weaker chins for an ATG though. Guy could box and brawl. Speed, elusiveness, power and ability.

 

SRR
Jones Jr
SRL
Whitaker
Pep

 

In terms of pure ability, you could make a case that Michael Nunn was one of the most gifted all time time. A 6'2 southpaw with a beautiful jab, great handpeed, potent power in his left hand, great feet and reflexes. Full package, just could never maintain his brief prime.

 

Sorry, I just don't get your point at all. Tommy used his assets to outbox the so called master boxer. If power and strength were all there was to it, Tommy would have won by your logic. The fact that he didn't shows that he was not the more powerful of the 2, because upon realising he was losing the boxing match, Leonard turned it into a fight, and won.

 

Nunn for a while looked for all the world to be a future ATG. As you say, he seemed to have it all.
I wonder sometimes where it all went wrong for him.

 

I never said that power and strength were all there was to it. Strength certainly wasn't, since Leonard was stronger.

What I'm saying is that Hearns was to a large extent dependent on his power as well as hand speed, reach and height to outbox his opponents. He wasn't a Kalamby, Whitaker, Napoles, Sanchez, McCallum etc who outboxed their opponents mostly by superior skill.

That's why he became much easier to get to when he moved up in weight. The loss to Barkley is treated as a fluke by many here, I think it was anything but. Barkley's height and reach together with his ability to stand up to hard punches meant that he never was far off reaching Hearns. And when he did we all know what happened. Compare that to how a truly skilled boxer like Kalambay handled Barkley.

 

I don't know why this is so hard to accept.

 

I agree Loma is a beast but I think Rigo is a notch above, and has a bit more natural ability. Faster hands, a bit more power and better reflexes. Not to mention anyone who knocked him down spent the rest of the night in a hospital. All the other things I mentioned can be worked on, this is the mark of a natural fighter.

 

James Toney....
Especially when he was at 160 & 168