Is Ike Williams a top 5 lightweight of all time?

For me there is a top 4 lightweights who are head and shoulders above the rest.

Leonard
Duran
Pea
Gans


Then we have the rest
Ortiz
Williams
Brown
Ambers
Welsh
Canzoneri
Tendler
Jack

Ortiz and Williams are fighting it out for 5th spot but i consider them as more a best of the rest than them making it a top 6.

 

I don´t see a reason to rate Whitaker above Williams Don......

Whitaker was great in skills and everything, but Williams was too.......then you have the resume and I don´t think is even comparable......Ike´s resume is much better at LW.....

 

I think when were talking about greatness we have to factor in a little bit of how good a fighter looks against their opposition, not H2H ability, but a domination factor which for me Pea had.

 

I think Chavez should be in that second tier too.

Thing is, there are so many great lightweights. A fighter like Billy Petrolle was great, and he never won the championship.
Jack McAuliffe from ye olde-times could be in the top tier.

 

number 3

 

:thumbsup

 

Top 3! I only rate fighters I seen fight in person or in real time on TV. I think Ike was one of the best lightweights I ever seen. Up there with Duran at the top of the heap

 

Having seen Ike Williams several times at his best ,he was the best lightweight I ever saw ringside...Roberto Duran was more successful moving up the scales than Ike but
Williams when uncuffed was a smaller edition of Ray Robinson, a rangy murderous combinatioin puncher, but Ike's career was stymied by the mob's activities throughout his career..Duran never had to face the great lightweights of Ike's time, such as Beau Jack, Bob Montgomery, Sammy Angott,Freddie Dawson, Willie Joyce, Wesley Mouzon, Johnny Bratton, Tippy Larkin etc...

 

Yes Williams is top 5.

 

duran

then these 3 in any order
arguello
armstrong
williams

 

I missed McFarland from y list but i have never understood the love some people have for McCaulliffe.

Other than a win over Griffo where McCaullife weighed in as a welterweight vs the lightweight Griffo what did McCaulliffe actually achieve?

 

Just read, very well written article.

Still i find it hard to rate some one like Carroll based on 4 recorded wins.
Not sure of your reasoning for not playing Whitaker higher at lightweight, i know the usually argument is that he did not achieve enough at the weight but i dont see any way of ranking him as achieving less at the weight that McAuliffe.