I do not post on here much but one of my observations is that almost every fighter who is respected by one fan is very quickly shot down by another for varying reasons I.e. padded records, glass jaw, over-rated etc etc. obviously it is a natural for differences in opinion however I would be interested to see if there are any fighters past or present who get universal praise for the most part?
You can literally take apart any record and find circumstances of why the result should be diminished. From catch weights, pre fight issues, health issues, pre prime, post prime... if you want to you can ruin any record. Even the SRRs, SRLs, Durans, Alis etc does not matter ... no record is safe from it sadly.
True, although it some cases it boils down to people acting absurd about it and wielding a vicious agenda. Of those you mentioned, I find Ali's to be the easiest to crack. Both Liston bouts are forever shrouded in mystery, and the second was an obvious fix, Patterson was post-prime, lost to Frazier at his best in FOTC, accusations of the ring ropes being loosened prior to Foreman which softened the blows for his strategy; Frazier was considered washed up before Thrilla, extremely disputed decisions to Norton (who'd previously broken Ali's jaw and beaten him) and Young, etc etc. SRL: Benitez "didn't train", Duran was out of shape, Hearns was weightdrained, Kalule was an early stoppage and Hagler was past it. This feels a lot more ridiculous, however.
Miguel Cotto's record is certifiable and can't be criticized. Wladimir Klitschko has fought and beat the best available opposition now for almost 12 yrs. Even if a guys has some L's, even devastating L's, if they come back strong like Wlad, Miguel, Pac, etc......IMO, they are immune to criticism.:deal
SALVADOR SANCHEZ: 02/80: Danny Lopez (Champion) [42-3, 39 KO] TKO13 04/80: Ruben Castillo (#2) [47-1, 24 KO] UD15 06/80: Danny Lopez (#1-3) [42-4, 39 KO] TKO14 09/80: Patrick Ford (N/A, #5 for '81) [16-0, 10 KO] MD15 12/80: Juan LaPorte (N/A, #8 for '81) [15-1, 8 KO] UD15 03/81: Roberto Castanon (#6) [43-1, 24 KO] TKO10 07/81: Nicky Perez (@130) [50-3] UD10 08/81: Wilfredo Gomez (#1) [32-0, 32 KO] TKO8 12/81: Pat Cowdell (N/A, #8 for '82) [19-2, 7 KO] SD15 05/82: Jorge Garcia (N/A) [23-2] UD15 07/82: Azumah Nelson (N/A, #6 for '83) [13-0] TKO15 Lopez, Gomez and Nelson are all comfortably enshrined in the HOF. In the case of Castillo, he'd only suffered one defeat and it was to Arguello @ 130. In the case of LaPorte, he'd continue climbing the ratings in the immediate following years and claim a portion of the title; Castanon's only defeat was to Lopez whom Sanchez stopped twice. Wilfredo Gomez was moving up (4 LBS) but was a 2-to-1 favorite. Azumah Nelson didn't lose again for 8 years. Yeh, Pretty Fuuckin Good Record.