Is my all time top 10 good or bad?

I agree SRL doesn't have the depth of win resume to rank top 10 p4p all time, though I consider Kalule a better win than both the shot Duran from their third fight and over a weight drained LaLonde.

 

He has success over over a large range of weight too. That matters a lot.

 

I wait for a fighter to be retied for at least 10 years. So, I can't add Manny or Money to my list yet. Just kind of my thing. I do think Bob Fitsimmons is very underrated. SRL did beat Duran in the rematch. Duran was 72-1 before the fight and was lightweight champ for six years before moving up. That's way I have Duran in and SRL out. You can't go wrong with SRR, Pep, Armstong, Ali. I can respect other people's list. Just because I may disagree doesn't mean I'm right. There is no video of Grebs fights. There's him in training but no fights. So, I can't add him to the list. Also, my thing. Peace.

 

The weight disadvantages you referenced are typically no more than 2 lb, & often not even a full lb. by contrast, McLarnin's weight advantages were sometimes so large you could almost fit an entire division in between, & he had them for some of his most noteworthy wins. 5-6 lb is a huge advantage down @ fly-bw, same for 7-9 lb up @ lw-ww.

but the issue goes beyond simple advantages/disadvantages IMO. for example, the record shows that he beat Mandell 2 out of 3, but in the fight that mattered most w/ the title on the line, he was beaten soundly. that makes for a complicated legacy IMO.

 

Yeah if you're being less charitable then 99% of his resume is rests in 4 wins instead of 6 in Duran II, Hearns, Benitez and Hagler.

people say he's beaten a "list" of ATG but he didn't. He beat a hastily scribbled on tissue paper's worth of ATG's. I feel like people conflate his H2H ability with his all time ranking.

 

HELL NO !!!
Ali is nowhere near top 5 !!!!!!!!

 

Honestly, that's a very strong list. You clearly know your history, you’ve got the right foundational names in there like Greb, Robinson, Armstrong, Langford, Benny Leonard, Pep, Charles, Moore, guys who dominated across divisions and had ridiculous depth of résumé.

The only small criticisms I'd have:

• McLarnin is probably the most debatable pick. Great fighter for sure, but most historians wouldn't rank him ahead of someone like Duran, Ali, or even Tunney if you’re talking strict all-time standing. His wins over Ross and Canzoneri are elite, but overall depth and consistency aren’t quite on the level of the others.
• Missing Duran is the biggest thing. Duran has arguably the deepest lightweight reign ever and then beat an all-time great in Leonard moving up, plus fought into his late 30s still competing with top guys. He’s usually a lock for top 10.
• Ali is another name who almost always makes it, not just because of historical impact, but because beating the murderer's row of Liston, Frazier, Foreman, etc. is arguably the greatest heavyweight run ever.

Overall though, 8 or 9 of your 10 are absolutely defensible. You're working from the right pool of fighters, you just made a couple personal judgement calls that not everyone would make, and that's fine for a personal top 10.

If you swapped McLarnin for Duran or Ali, nobody would even blink. As it stands, it's still way better than 90% of "top 10s" you see thrown around casually.

 

I don't participate in P4P rankings because I would get totally lost. Nevertheless I find the lists surrounding it interesting.

 

I'd have McLarnin and Moore moved into the 11-20 bracket.

 

I like this list very much. Not sure about Walker but all the rest are pretty much spot on IMO