Best 5 Boxers Since 1960 ?

You are right concerning Monzon. It seems to me that remaining in a single division is considered a deficit when evaluating great fighters. This ridiculous, considering that by the same criteria, Ali and Lewis could be condemned for not starting out as lightheavyweight champions before annexing the heavyweight title, meaning that they sould have started out at 175, won the title in that division, then gone up to the heavyweight title from there.

 

Duran
Ali
Griffith
Leonard
Monzon
Jofre
Whittaker
Hagler
Spinks
Chavez

 

They are worth mentioning if a guy like Gerena is worth mentioning, considering Mayweather used him as a punching bag. You were impressed with his skills? I don't see it. Woods and Gonzalez were good fighters, and Gonzalez went on to beat DM, Griffin, and another rated fighter whose name excapes me. That's more than can be said about Gerena and Chavez, other than Gerena beating a young Chavez.

He kept it up for about 4 rounds and faded as always. Nothing special there, he looked better against Spinks in the rematch.

 

That's without going into the Gattis, Corleys, N'dous and Mitchells in his record. Are you seriously not going to acknowledge that Mayweather has it in quantity?

Yes, I think Gerena, and Chavez especially, are more skilled than the likes of Clinton Woods.

Judah started scorchingly against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the best pound-for-pound at the time.

Again, let's get a little perspective here.

And it's not even as if the first bunch of fighters I named are inferior to the people I think stand-out in Roy Jones' record.
I think Oscar is a better fighter than Ruiz despite the advanced age at which he fought the Pretty Boy.

Castillo and Corrales were always exceptional.

So what's the beef with Floyd's record? I'll be the first to admit he didn't prove as much as he should or could have, but that's the same criticism Jones gets at a regular basis.

 

Let's just straight up compare resumes, I will not include the likes of Carlos Gerena because he was a nobody in the grand scheme of things. What skill did you see in him getting beaten like a red-headed step-child prior to getting stopped?

Floyd: Judah, Baldomir, old Oscar, Chavez, past prime Genaro Hernandez, Corrales, Castillo, Hatton, past prime Mitchell, etc.

Roy: Hopkins, Toney, Hill, Ruiz, past prime McCallum, past prime Trinidad, Tarver, Griffin, Gonzalez, etc.

That's not including certain fighters who really don't stack up in the grand scheme of things, though there are probably a few on those lists as well. A guy like Malinga who handily outboxed Nigel Benn deserves higher mention than Gerena, who's only accomplishment is getting made to look like an amateur by Floyd. So yes, I am arguing that Floyd doesn't have it in quanitity, and his top wins are not better than Roy's, that much is certain, regardless of what state you consider Hopkins and Toney in at the time. Hopkins was an exceptional fighter at the time Roy beat him, if a bit green, but then again so was Roy. Toney was ranked #1 P4P at the time, was probably a bit weight drained, and Roy schooled him. Floyd has not been as impressive with any of his top class opposition outside of Corrales, who was also weight-drained.

 

Ok, I can live with that. If you retire Woods from the argument, I guess I could do the same for Gerena. But what about the Tarver and Trinidad wins did you find particularly inspiring? Remember, I didn't include Castillo I.

Besides that, I think it is apparent Trinidad was much farther removed from his prime than Hernandez and Mitchell were, and he was fighting in light heavyweight to boot! McCallum is a reach as it is! To be fair, you might want to replace Tito's name with someone like Johnson. Then, when you factor in Gatti, N'dou and Corley, it becomes increasingly clear Floyd has the edge in quantity. Who're the guys in Roy's extended list? Pazienza? Malinga?

 

I gave you the reasons a guy like Malinga deserves a rating. Do you not consider a fighter who schooled Nigel Benn to be deserving of a notable spot on Jones's resume?

Gatti, N'Dou, and Corley are nothing special at all, no more so than guys like Harding on Jones's resume.

 

I never knew Malinga was that good a fighter. And look what Roy did to him and Thomas Tate. Roy surely is a top 3 or 4 middleweight.

 

Benn was very declined or almost shot when malinga beat him....Benn was never the same after gerald.....

 

I obviously know what Roy did to him, as I was talking about which fighters Roy beat when I brought him up. And no, Jones is most certainly not a top 3 or 4 MW, he simply didn't accomplish nearly enough.

As for enquirer, Benn lost to Malinga twice, the first fight being well before the G-Man fight. Part of it can be attributed to the fact that Benn simply couldn't deal very well with these types of boxers, but I think the win deserves recognition on Roy's resume considering how easily he dispatched him.

 

Whitaker was the best 'pound for pound' fighter in the world in the eyes of most observers. And Toney was more than just a 'bit' weight drained. You only need to watch the fight to realise how badly struggling with the weight effected him. He could hardly lift his arms, yes really that bad, and he was also breathing heavily after about 2-3 rounds. I give Jones credit as he made Toney look even worse of course with his sublime showing.

I don't think I have ever watched a fight that shows a fighter struggling with the weight so much over the course of a fight.

 

Toney rarely ever held his hands high anyway, and had enough in him to clown around with Jones when Jones got cute. He was a bit weight drained, it effected him, but what really effected him was Jones's style, as Toney would never have been able to adjust to a style like that. It just wasn't in his game.

And at that time yes Whitaker was still the best P4P. Toney was right up there though.

 

I do know that. I never once said in my post that he struggled to keep guard up during the fight. 'could hardly lift his arms' meaning he could not get off with punches. Yes he did have enough in him to clown with Jones when he fooled around. Toney did lift his arms up at times, but he was extremely weak and never had the stamina to sustain any pressure. I'm not seeing things differently just to take credit away from Jones.

I agree. Toney at his best would still have lost. But lets give some ground here he was more than a 'bit' weight drained. He weighed in at 184lbs the night of the fight. Just look at him in the ring and his energy levels after 3 rounds.

 

Malinga also dropped one against Benn, and plenty more against others, some of which were hardly stellar competition. Harding and Malinga are not above Gatti and N'dou as world-rated operators. I realize Gatti may not have been a consistent winner, but the relevant losses on his record are more passable than the ones on Malinga's once you consider the differing levels they were competing in. Gatti was on the championship level for far longer relative to Malinga, whose many spoiled outings excluded him from that picture.

 

I agree, although the point is moot because Roy would always pose a stylistic quandary for Toney. I doubt James could have done any better even if he had come in at tip-top condition.

It does always hurt though when you have an asterisk beside a top win, that is, when going on pure resume only. It kind of takes away from the accomplishment, if only slightly.