Have you ever had your opinions changed on here?

Hi Buddy.
I had held an almost 50 year conviction that Duran was far and away the best LW that ever strode the boxing world, maybe because he formulated my growing up years, possible the look or the machismo swagger , obvs his record at that particular weight, of course I was aware of the close contenders, the likes of Leonard, Gans, mainly these two, some may posit Whittaker, but not me.
Then on a OPs question about the great LWs, and who was the best, @Greg Price99 pitched in to the debate , politely and unassuming as is his wont, his breakdown of fighters that both Duran and Leonard fought, their respective records and achievements, the standing these fighters had in the widely different eras, gave me pause for thought, after reading his expose, written with his inimitable prowse, I was left with no choice but to swap my No 1 and 2 around, have to say I would have bet my house that nobody could persuade me that Duran was not the best LW that ever lived, Greg did.
stay safe hombre.

 

Absolutely

 

Yeah. I didn't use to rate Lewis that highly until arguing quite a bit about his resume. While I still think he's inconsistent, and while I still think his chin isn't iron, the fact is that he beat the names that were around and clobbered a who's who of the division while he active. I also think he should have rematched Vitali but that's another matter.

 

Thank you for your kind words, as always, Mike, you're a Gent.

For what it's worth, if you asked me who was the greatest LW (as in natural LW, at their peak), based on all of their career fights at all weights, Duran would be my answer too, based on his superior work, relative to Benny Leonard and Joe Gans, in fights contested above LW.

As you explain, I'd have Leonard and Gans above Duran in a LW ranking based solely on contests staged in and around the LW limit.

 

When I started here I had Ali higher in all time rankings as I remember it and I was also much more interested in fantasy h2h, had a much stronger opinion about them overall and especially in how well Ali would do.

I still have Ali very high mind you, but not among the absolute top p4p and feel much less sure about how he would do in fantasy matchups and isn't very interested in discussing it overall.

Then I also have a higher appreciation about fighters that I have learned more about here.

 

Curious as to that odd point in regard to Larry and Mike, please.

 

I like to think I've learnt quite a bit on here. Especially from the more experienced among us.

 

Yes, a lot. It's a great resource to draw from.

 

Hmm? I've never liked Canelo. and so far no one's changed my mind.

 

Sure. Many times. It's easy to have opinions on fighters while their careers are going on and then change those opinions as they finish up and you see how their careers finally concluded.

Some boxers have all but "ruined" their careers, IMO, by dragging them out too long.

It's also common to have opinions on retired fighters and then change your mind about their standing when new fighters come on the scene and surpass them.

No point in being rigid. The sport is fluid and always changing.

 

I always come on here to find out what I've missed about some fighter or fight that I get all excited about or to see what people think about them and then you just start going down the rabbit hole. I form a lot of opinions based on what I read here. Lots of people know a lot more about it than me around here.

 

I have pretty much stuck to my guns on certain boxing matches and fighters. But I have learned some things from other posters like Saintpat and Fergy, a few other posters like mcvey too. I don't think that we have all the answers but it is good to learn something new every day as long as we don't have trolling posters like James Page or El Gallo Negro or Harry Nutsack, Greg Price99 knows what I am talking about. The trolls tend to pollute our really good classic site, the mods are doing a good job monitoring tall sites to remove the flagrant trolls.

 

I did a complete 180 on Jake Kilrain after Richard here relayed his first-hand account of Jake battling both John L Sullivan and the blazing summer Mississippi sun for 75 rounds. Eyewitness testimony is crucial to forming solid boxing opinions.

 

What a fight. WOW.

 

To be fair, you're both two of the good guys. @Mike Cannon 's courtesy is unparalleled on the forum and I've noticed your reluctance to get involved, even when provoked. With some of the hotheads we've had from time to time - blowing up like you'd slapped their mother if you had a minor difference of opinion about a boxer neither of you would ever meet - it's a breath of fresh air.

Pair of you know your stuff as well. To be so erudite and so impeccably mannered, you can only be English.

Anyway, @McGrain gave a breakdown of Monzon a couple of weeks ago may yet change my mind. I couldn't argue against Monzon with a fraction of the gravitas he gave to his points for him.

Also @Smokin Bert put me straight when I suggested there was a bit of dog in Chavez. I respect Bert's knowledge and share a lot of what he likes in fights and fighters. I nearly wrote Julio a personal apology.

Loads of others have given me food for thought. Some of the youngsters - @George Crowcroft and @Dynamicpuncher make some compelling cases, too. Wise beyond their years. Anyway, I'll stop before I name too many as I don't want to sleight those I haven't mentioned.