Is Virgil Hill a top 20 - 25 light heavy?

IB, a lot of the fighters you listed for Hill wete mediocre or washed up (Mwale, seriously?)

Hill was a very good one-handed boxer but in a division as storied and deep as light heavyweight I don't see why he would be a lock for top 20 like some people are saying here.

Hill was undeniably world class but how many actual title defences did he have? Of the lineal title that is?

Acting like people are stingy for rating him outside the top 15 is just as bad as saying you are being too generous to giving Hill credit for numerous title defences against decent, but not truly world class, light heavyweights.

Conteh has less depth to his resume, but better opponents, a better left hand (not debatable) as well as being clearly the better operator on film. And he's not top 20 material either.

I am glad that Roy Jones is being dissected (as a LHW) as he should be, he is in no way top 10 material as so many believe him to be.

 

You do know champs/titleholders isn't the same thing right? Giving the same amount of credit to both things is where your argument falls down.

 

Also, including amateur record and being inducted into the HOF as ATG credentials in the pro light heavyweight ranks? FFS.

 

That was consecutive title defenses, just to be clear. Hill did have nine more overall:

 

He's below top 20-25

 

Yeah, Flea, I don't think either Hill or Jones has a terrific amount of depth worth mentioning at 175lbs (a couple of nice wins each and then lots of filler, in both cases) but on sheer longevity and consistency the argument is there for Hill depending on how much weight you give such things. Certainly he and Jones are well outside 10 (although many would argue Jones is well inside 10 on a h2h list) but as rich a history as light heavy does indeed have, what 15-20 names surefire belong ahead of them?

 

Where would you rank Jones on an ATG list? Not just LHW, but overall.

 

John Conteh
Record in Light Heavyweight Title Fights: 4-3
Number of Champions/Titleholders Faced: 3
Record against Champions/Titleholders: 1-3

Virgil Hill
Record in Light Heavyweight Title Fights: 22-2
Number of Champions/Titleholders Faced: 14
Record against Champs/Titleholders: 11-7 (and three of those losses came when Hill was in his 40s)

 

I don't understand why people can't see the class that he was. It seems fairly apparent to me.

 

I like Virgil but think he fought in an extremely weak era of light heavyweights .. he does not make my top 20 ... off the top of my head I'd pick :

Roy Jones
Antonio Tarver
M Moorer
M Spinks
Qwai
Saad
M Johnson
Mustafa Muhammad
Conteh
Galindez
Foster
Tiger
Torrez
E Charles
Moore
H Johnson
John Herny Lewis
Billy Conn
Gene Tunney
Harry Greb

over Hill without question

 

As this is all based on the light heavyweight division, surely we must measure Jones' victory over Hopkins to some degree, as the latter has gone on to have great success winning the lineal title, is still competing as one of the top light heavyweights in the world 8 years after this feat, ranging from 41 to 49 years of age

 

That victory was at middleweight

 

I'll add two more :

Hopkins and Hearns

 

Thank you captain obvious. Hill has the more decisive loses.

 

Conteh, Tarver, Moorer, Mustafa Muhammad, Tiger (not at light heavy) and Torres ... in no way ... rate ahead of Virgil Hill at light heavyweight.

Virgil Hill has more successful title defenses at light heavyweight than all those guys I pulled out COMBINED.

Conteh has one win against a guy who actually, at one time, held a title (Rondon). That's it. Hill faced 14 men who held titles, and had 11 wins against them.

Not even close.