I am posting in the general and classic with this out of curiousity to see more opinions Criteria 1- Duration- how long was this guy champ for 2-Defenses- some can reign many yrs but at the same time sit on the belt dont defend it a lot or can have a **** load of defenses in a short span 3- Top contenders or rank of opponents considered- was the champ consistently facing his top challengers or was he facing like the 8th thru 15ht ranked guys 4- Unification- yes this really just fits modern boxing as for yrs there was 1 title or I guess for old timers the effort to fight the best and clear your weight, so like back then there was no unification but without mandatoris a guy could avoid Lamotta or Liston like the plague, ultimatley, did the champ unify and not duck the best guys avoiding divisional clarity 5- KO percentage during reign 6- Shut out decisions- KO percentage is bias to punchers but there are dominant decision fighting champs 7- Defenses in the other guys back yard, a risky venture for many champs, in recent memory would be Roman Karmazin vs Cory Spinks 8-Honors- like Ring mag end of the yr awards, records for your weight class, or hall of fame honors so with this in mind what in your eyes is the greatest reign as a champion
I guess for the 'old days' you could put beating the NBA or European champ under 'unfication', not earning the other guys belt bit beating a 'champion' who was highly regarded?
:deal CARLOS MONZON: 11/70: Nino Benvenuti (Champion) 05/71: Nino Benvenuti (#1) 09/71: Emile Griffith (#2) 03/72: Denny Moyer (#3) 06/72: Jean Claude Bouttier (#4) 08/72: Tom Bogs (N/A) 11/72: Bennie Briscoe (#3) 06/73: Emile Griffith (#1) 09/73: Jean Claude Bouttier (#4) 02/74: Jose Napoles (147 Champion) 10/74: Tony Mundine (#1) 06/75: Tony Licata (#2) 12/75: Grattien Tonna (#4) 06/76: Rodrigo Valdez (#1) 07/77: Rodrigo Valdez (#2) Keep in mind these are the annual ratings; if broken down monthly, many of them were in all likelihood the No. 1 contender for the title at that particular time. He only had 1 title fight in 15 that wasn't against a top 4 middleweight sans a big money bout with HOF 147 kingpin Jose Napoles. Take what you may of the quality of this group, but Monzon took out everybody. Amazing Run. This content is protected
Ottke Calzaghe Michalczewski 20+ defenses against ATG oppostion Monzon could only dream of beating P4P elite fighters like Ashira, Piper or Krajnc
Joe Louis. and i dont think there are really any other candidates. the rest are contesting for second place.
There are several good contenders for this distinction; Louis, Tyson, Gomez, Monzon. Mike Tyson's reign of terror gets my vote because he unified at a time where the belts seemed to be perpetually splintered, he fought frequently against the best possible opponents and won in convincing fashion against all comers with no close calls. He also topped Ring Magazine's p4p lists 3 years in a row, unusual for a heavyweight, and his reign was what everybody wanted from the Heavyweight Champion of the World. He embodied all the qualities of what the public wanted in a fighter and a champion. Joe Louis has the kind of reign that every champion wants; the duration of his reign and the number of title defenses to this day has been unmatched. Monzon had solid reign; possibly the best ever as a middleweight. Gomez and KO streak make a strong case as well.
Monzon topped it all off by retiring unbeaten as champion..that's riding out into the sunset in style IMO.
Duran had some slaughter exhibitions for a good share of title fights. However, his top end is still rather impressive: Ken Buchanon (Champ), Esteban DeJesus x2 (No. 1 both times), Ray Lampkin (No. 1), Edwin Viruet x2 (No. 3). This content is protected