I used to think Marco, but I'm going Morales It really is a toss of a coin though I might pick Barerra tomorrow? Marquez surpassed both
I say Morales does. Largely because he's the only man to defeat a prime Pacquiao. Not many can say they beat Pac in his prime, but Morales can, in fact, he's the only man who can say it.
That's what swings it for me and being competitive with maidana long past his best Barrera beating Hamed was absolutely huge at the time. In hindsight Morales beating Manny is a far better win, but that Hamed victory catapulted Marco and to a degree Erik because of their rivalry I still think they are as close to equal as any fighters can get. I wouldn't argue if anyone disagreed with me regarding both
Morales beating Pacquiao in 2005 was a huge scalp back in the day. Even live people were crowning him as a pure ATG after that win, but now that win is just out of this stratosphere after seeing what Pac went on to do in the new few years. No fighter today (and I like and respect guys like Usyk) has a win that even comes to close to Morales clean UD over Pac.
Barrera was more technically skilled than Morales was, but he did not have the physical strength to compete with Pacquiao. He got overwhelmed. H2H Morales matches up with other past ATGs better than Barrera does.
Yes i remember it was huge especially after Manny stopping Marco, but that win over Hamed was HUGE I'm from the UK so probably why it seemed so much bigger at the time I agree no boxer today has that win, but that's because no boxer now is the level of Manny or Floyd and that's the reality If Usyk gets the win over Fury that will be up there
I don't know man, Usyk is about as good as it gets. Dude is 220 pounds and moves like a Middleweight from the Southpaw position with skill and he has an iron chin and will.
I Don't think he is Floyd or manny level He gets tagged too much Imagine a 147 pound Tony B vs Floyd and manny? Manny smashes him in a few rounds, while Floyd absolutely schools him I know it's hypothetical, but I would be super confident both would beat him if similar sized
Barrera for me, but it’s a genuine 50-50 pick em and I get why people pick Morales. Their fights alone saw Barrera come out on top. You could easily make arguments for both.
Tough to choose honestly. Barrera bested Morales twice, but Morales did beat 2 of the guys that Barrera couldn’t beat (Jones, Pac). On the other hand Barrera outclassed other HOFers such as Hamed and Tapia who are great fighters themselves.
Think about this for a second. Hamed, Prime Pac, Morales, Marquez and Barrera all competing in and around the same weight class at the same time. Damn!!!!. That's just 1 division. Hell of an era.
Its real close. Barrera beat Hamed and Morales (twice), Morales beat prime Pacquiao in a win that has aged better than almost any win I can think of. Morales also came out of retirement to win a WBC title. Both guys beat a host of good fighters over their career. I go with Morales but barely and wouldn't argue with someone going Barrera.