H2H, not greatness Some half decent contender from the 90s is picked over Marciano and Dempsey nowadays. I've heard people make arguments that Butterbean would beat Louis
Louis is consistently picked h2h as top 1-3 ever at HW... I hear ya though. He's got alot of crap from people recently.
About 10 years ago? I would have said he was overrated, but as the years go by he very well may have become underrated
I've literally never seen someone pick Naz in a fantasy fight online. I think the Barrera fight made people think he was literally only flash and power and that any fighter who's ever had a boxing lesson could school him.
I'm going to sneak in Jeff chandler and particularly Azumah Nelson. Sure he could under perform but excepting Fenech (a monster in his own right) he got home in these lesser efforts. The guy was beaten by ATG Salvador Sanchez when green, and an ATG lightweight at his peak in Whitaker. By the time he lost to Leija he was all but 36. I think Nelson at his very best would be fitting sharing the ring in the company of Sanchez, Pedroza and co. He was also a beast of a junior lightweight.
Floyd Patterson. His losses to Sonny Liston made him seem less capable than he actually was; He did have some post Liston wins over Machen, Chuvalo, Stander, Bonevena not to mention he arguably beat both Jerry Quarry (twice) and Jimmy Ellis. Yet in head to head match ups he's almost always projected to lose against _______________ (fill in the blank). He often gets under looked therefore I think he's one of the most underrated fighters in head to head matchups.
I agree with this and have made a few posts in the past in other threads. I do think he is better than many will say, but I also struggle to answer the question of who is the best or greatest Floyd would be picked to beat? I personally get into Schmeling Walcott Charles territory before I pick him in a h2h. Who is the best fighter you would pick him to beat?
Chris Byrd. Never seems to get credit for his trickiness and ability to make bigger heavyweights look like total crap. Herbie Hide. Gets (rightfully) criticised for his God awful chin, but he was always a handful for anyone. Sultan Ibragimov. Hardly ever mentioned in H2H fights, but his speed, skills and decent chin would give him a chance against anyone that couldn't shut him down. Lamon Brewster. Probably not underrated, but not often considered for his heart, grit and determination, as well as his stunning punch power and ridiculous ability to absorb punishment. He's like a 2000s version of Ron Lyle, kind of inconsistent, but a nightmare when he's on form.