How long before Ali recedes to being a #2 or #3 heavyweight, except for boxing hipsters?

I'm not sure if you are sarcastic or not. May we see spots #1-#7?

 

Great thread...this is what I feel is happening to Sugar Ray Leonard...I honestly think he’s becoming underrated (believe it or not )

 

...or maybe his pedestal just isn’t as high as it once was

 

Every opponent he faced has an excuse Duran =didn’t train. Hearns=trouble making weight. Hagler = the ring was too big ,the wrong gloves . Benitez =didn’t train. Lalonde =bad shoulder. Mayweather Sr. =I hurt my hand

 

Not an SRL fan or hater, but every SRL fan has an equal and opposite excuse....didn’t fight the right fight against Duran or those who have convinced themselves he actually won the first encounter...to old...he really deserved the win against Hagler or the laughable he didn’t really lose Hearns 2...his eyes were shot...but they (his fans, not really SRL himself) don’t offer reciprocal leniency to others...I don’t even dislike SRL I just feel he is falling more into his natural spot

 

In your opinion,what is his natural spot?

 

Lol not to sure off the top of my head....# 2 rated Sugar Ray behind Robinson but ahead of Seales #2 Leonard behind Benny. TBH I have not compiled a list to give an actual spot in at least 5 years maybe 8?

So I have seen him rated as the #2 WW and think 4-5 is more likely? But again it has been a while...I have seen him top 10 p4p and largely top 15...I would say top 20-25 is more likely..again not really knocking him (although some of his fans rub me wrong...not meaning you by the way), just think he is rated higher than I would (does not make me correct by the way just my opinion). I think he was great and one of the best during my childhood, but I don’t rate him top 10 or 15 at last memory.

Edit: I also don’t see any large scale underrating of him, although a small vocal percentage certainly has some distaste for him personally. But as far as general placements of him I have not seen any fall off over the past 10 years or so.

 

The reason that he has been so hard to shake from the spot, is that nobody since him has come particularly close to replicating his record.

A fighter tends to get knocked off that lofty perch, when somebody of more recent memory, accomplishes something comparable.

 

Wladimir's reign was pretty impressive in terms of longevity and number of elite opponents beaten.

 

Also, how is the current era garbage? I think they could hold their own against or beat any prior era.

 

....Elite?

 

Yeah, not a big fan and find him....aesthetically unpleasing to watch. But he has landed on my 5-6 HW tier unfortunately