Does anybody born in the last 40 years crack the top 20?

Looks good. Wouldn't have Rocky higher than Usyk, though. He was never two division champ and didn't give up nearly as much size to the top HWs he beat. Higher at HW, but don't see the case p4p.

The rest in your top 20 all have good cases in keeping these three out, though.

 

Usyk is a work in progress...he's still competing.

And in 2020 when I made the list, he hadn't quite made his mark yet.

 

No, but I'd say Crawford is the closest. Followed by Inoue and then Usyk and Canelo. I doubt any of the aforementioned guys will make it into the top 20 when all is said and done though.

Crawford is getting older and doesn't really have any realistic opponents he can fight that'd give him the push needed. Same goes for Usyk. Inoue still has more room to build his resume by going on a featherweight run and beating Junto, but even then I don't think the names he'd have would be enough. Canelo has the highest volume of wins but is lacking any wins as impressive as say Usyk's over Fury, Inoue's over Fulton, and Crawford's over Spence and Canelo himself.

Still if he'd been willing to fight Benavidez and had gotten a win over him, aswell as not taking a fight against a guy coming up 2 weight classes and then losing decisively, I think he'd have a better case than the other 3 for being top 20 just because of the depth of his resume.

 

Usyk is a top 2 cruiser of all time and potentially a top 10 at heavyweight.

That could be enough to crack a p4p top 20 list, but its all subjective.

 

Usyk has a good resume and his P4P achievements for beating bigger Heavyweight is also good. But he's only had 24 fights I can't consider someone a top 20 ATG with only 24 fights.

Crawford has the rare achievement of being undisputed in 4 different weightclasses. But his resume is not that strong if you compare it with other modern greats before him like Mayweather, Pacquiao, who are arguably top 20 of all time and Crawfords resume pales in comparison to those two.

Inoue doesn't really have a stand out win or a rivalry against another great fighter like Morales, Pacquiao, Barrera, Marquez, etc. His best win to date is still a Donaire who was in his late 30s and had already lost convincingly multiple times before Inoue got to him.

So my answer is none of them even though I do like Usyk, Inoue, Crawford, none of them are top 20 of all time IMO.

 

Inoue is the one with the greatest potential, I think.

Crawford is probably very near the end of his career. He'd probably like a rematch with Canelo for the money it brings. But otherwise? He's said himself he doesn't want Benavidez, and I'd guess the same goes for Bivol. I also think he sees Ennis at 154 or even 160 as a bad risk/reward situation.

Usyk probably has Wardley and one or two others left, hopefully Kabayel. Wins over those would cement his dominance a bit more, but not change anything fundamentally.

If Inoue beats Nakatani and later Bam and cleans out 126 as well, then he looks very good for top 20, I think. We'll see if that happens, though.

 

If people don't think anyone in the last 40 years could be in the top twenty, it shows the insane bias going on in boxing. Name another sport where players in the modern era don't have a hope of getting into an all time top 20, it's plainly laughable. You people are utterly deluded and also need to go watch some full fights instead of highlight reels from your idols.

 

Usyk and Inoue.

 

Usyk

 

The thread is about anyone born in the last 40 years, not active in the last 40 years.

And boxing is a bit different since old timers had so many more fights and therefore could rack up so much higher numbers. That doesn't mean they were necessarly better, but more proven.

In the case of Usyk, Crawford and especially Inoue, they haven't been tested by any SRLs, Hearnses, Haglers or Chavezes, so haven't had the opportunity to prove themselves like that.

That's why I see Inoue with a chance to really make inroads into a high ATG ranking since he has Nakatani coming up and possibly also Bam in the future.

 

If these three retired today I'd probably have all of these above them (in no set order):

Sugar Ray Robinson, Sam Langford, Harry Greb, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Hank Armstrong, B. Leonard, Fitzimmons, Willie Pep, Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles, Roy Jones Junior, Joe Gans, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquaio

and maybe Pernell Whittaker

There might be names that are missing, but from my point of view there could be room for them already.

 

Usyk & Crawford.

Inoue has the potential... he just need more fights.

 

How when there are guys in the top 50 withh better resumes?

 

No.

Pac and Floyd made it to about 13 and 14 as I used to reckon it. Nobody from this latest group has come close to achieving what they have though. You have to win about twenty champion level fights, conquer multiple weight classes, and several hall of famers who were rival p4p types of your own generation. Not a lot of guys can boast about doing that, and fewer in the modern era when boxers fight less frequently. Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Ezzard Charles, Roberto Duran, Benny Leonard, Harry Greb, Barney Ross, Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Willie Pep, Pernell Whitaker, Roy Jones Jr, Marvin Hagler, Eder Jofre, Joe Louis, Kid Gavilan, Bernard Hopkins, and Carlos Monzon have left a high bar to clear.

Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford, and Lomachenko are all pretty good, but they are lacking enough big name opponents to rise to the level of their forebears.

 

That would depend upon the posters interpretation of course.

When you struggle to find historical parallels for the accomplishments of an active fighter, then you are seeing something special.