Raw ability yes....and remember he was a Cuban (adopted Mexican by fans) The cut factor may have been a problem against the "very best" (since Curtis Cokes was on the way down when Napoles won the title).
Napoles did indeed possess such talent. If anything held him back, it was his drinking and thin skin.
I'd put him slightly below them..apart from Pep whom I'm undecided on because just havent seen enough of his prime personally.
I'd consider him the least of that group, but I certainly wouldnt go so far as to say he was a full level below them. In the same company as Wilfredo Gomez.
he is a serious right winger. anything to knock anything less than republican politics.:smoke ANYWAYS i think a lot of fighters are biologically more suited to boxing than others but i think a sociological aspect to how good they are. does a good trainer make them too confident in certain areas when they are not as proficient as they think. or does a sloppy trainer make the fighter realise what he has to improve on and that he has to have a mentality that they themselves are responsible for what they are learning. it's interesting, what point does nature win and nurture lose. soooo yeah, i think he was a gifted technician but it was learning and adapting which makes him so special. i believe he is not on par in the ability of the others mentioned but that does not make him any more or less the amazing talent that he is/was. similar to how musicians seem to all have synesthisia. doesnt make you a better or worse it just adds an aspect.
He was eery bit as good as them...in many ways better. Remember that what th world saw of Napoles the welter champ was past prime really...just the tip of the iceberg..like SRR's middleweight reign..just the tail of the comet. Napoles was brilliant..sheer brilliance.
