Your Top 3 most underated/overrated fighters of the last 25 years?

Yes, you are probably right. I was a bit over-the-top saying C-class, as Clottey would not be an underdog against legitimate top 10 fighters like Berto, Collazo and Quintana. I do think Cotto would beat him up if they fought again though, I attribute the closeness of the scorecards to his damaged eye. I see more things in Clottey I don't rate than I do.

 

Mosley's first win over Oscar is one of THE best wins and performances of the decade IMO.

Barrera's win in the first fight with Morales (a robbery IMO) the same.

Both of these guys hit the heights at points in their careers.

I think Junior Jones and Vernon Forrest are outnumbered by the wins over quality guys like Hamed and Margarito etc.

Fair enough point to say they overrated, but I wouldn't agree, though you have more of a case with Mosley than with Barrera IMO. MAB has one of the best resumes of the last 20 years (Sugar Shane does not). He fought everyone, his best wins are excellent.

 

I dont think mosley is overrated as he has proven himself but to have one great win make you 3rd best p4p is a little unfair. Despite losing to mayweather i wud rate marquez above mosley until wee see how mosley performs in his next fight.

 

Agreed:yep

 

I like Chavez a lot too. I don't think he was on the same level as Whitaker as many seem to, but I do like his style a lot, his performance against Rosario is one of my favourites. The Taylor fight I find troubling though. That was more or less a prime Chavez, and he was dominated for most of the fight. It does always creep into my mind when rating JCC's ability. Yes, the stoppage was certainly the correct call IMO.

I'm not a huge fan of Leonard-Hearns I to be honest mate, I found Leonard's lethargy and Hearns's chin both kind of unsatisfying. My favourite 80s fights are Leonard-Duran I (the most high-quality fight in history IMO, as it is an infighting fan's dream) and of course the epic Arguello-Pryor I (a strong contender for the most exciting fight ever).

If you are investing in more 80s fights soon, get Sal Sanchez v Azumah Nelson, a real 15 round war between two superb fighters.

 

underrated: Tszyu, Forrest, Wright

 

MORE TECHNICAL THAN FLOYD???? this shyt is gettin outrageous. THE ONLY fight that was close was castillo...he clearly beat Oscar and Castillo 2.

 

Toney's fans point to him going all the way to HW as some sort of show of toughness and greatness...when it reality, it was out of necessity due to lack of conditioning and poor dedication (though him being able to do it shows his skill level which is amazing). Also, for all of the people who laud what he has accomplished, they ignore that he never unified any major title...ever...and he also never held two major titles at the same time at any weight. Add in the steroid cloud that hangs...and that he epitomizes the phrase "fighting down to his opponent's level", losing to fighters like Drake Thadzi and should have lost vs Dave Tiberi, Fres Oquendo and Mike Mccallum the first time. Also, his lack of footwork and movement in my opinion really would hurt him in a H2H standpoint (for instance, vs Jones, it killed him).

Is he an amazingly skilled ATG? Yes, definately (I feel he is a lower teired ATG but in the top 100), but because of the above, I feel he is supremely overrated...

Mccallum on the other hand...though losing to many of the greats he fought (Jones, Toney, etc.) never really gets mentioned when people bring up the best of his era, when he clearly was among them. Wins vs Jackson, Curry, Graham, Collins, Kalambay and Toney (arguably the first time)...with his only losses against Kalambay, Toney, Tiozzo and Jones (no shame there...especially since 3 of those came far past his prime). Also was a three division champion, from JMW to LHW.

Was he greater than Toney? No...but I dont believe there was that much of a difference between the two, even tho he gets FAR less credit than James does.

 

Cheers mate:good

 

Gotta agree with Popkins...those are a great place to start when catching up with the past...so to say...LOL!

Haugen tho is better than what he showed vs Chavez (aint in the HOF for nothing LOL). Watch his second fight with Vinny Paz and either one vs Camacho to see how good he really was at his peak.

And when you get to Sweet Pea's career, you will probably come back and edit this post...

:thumbsup

 

Over-rated
Boxers of the older era, like Mohammad Ali/Joe Louis.
American boxers (Jeff Lacy, Chad Dawson, any number of HW fighters)
Manny Pacquaio - very talented fighter but gets credit for things other people wouldn't.

Under-rated
Calzaghe - speaks volumes that despite beating an active ATG who was still PTP #3 in the world at the time of their fight, people didn't want to credit him because Hopkins was old - same Hopkins then absolutely destroyed Pavlik in a fight.

Wladimir Klitschko - all anyone can talk about is "But he lost 7 years ago" rather than give him credit for his dominance over the last 7 years.

 

This is why I never rate Toney that high in ATG lists. His achievements do not stack up and at the end of the day, for all the talk about skillset, Zab Judah has a tremendous set of skills but who the **** cares?

I prefer to reward fighters who achieved while showcasing their skills, which is why I personally see Calzaghe and Floyd as being two of the top five fighters of this era, even if their resume doesn't have as noted names.

The idea that Toney dominates Calzaghe has always made me laugh considering Toney got beaten by guys like Thadzi and had luck in decisions with Tibiri and McCallum.

Toney's resume is not that impressive, I've often thought the only reason people think it is, is because of his movement through the weights - but he was never THE MAN at any weight.

 

Wlad lost 5 years ago...not 7.

And most of the people attempting to discredit Calzaghe's win vs Hopkins due so not on Bernard's age, but the fact they many believe Hopkins won. I had the fight close to Joe, but not everyone shares that sentiment.

I for one think Calzaghe is both overrated and underrated, just like Cepillo said in the original post.

I wont even touch the Ali/Louis comment, due to its insanity. And the american boxers one is just as bad...so...Ill just leave it at that.