All-time at 135 and P4P. Brown made 11 successful defenses of the lightweight crown, a record for a single reign in the division until Duran broke it. He beat Wallace "Bud" Smith 3 times, beat Jimmy Carter, went 2-1 with Virgil Akins, stopped Ralph Dupas, beat Kenny Lane, Dave Charnley twice, Battling Torres, etc. Lost his title to Carlos Ortiz and continued on fighting for 8 more years, losing more than winning. How highly do you rate him at 135lbs, and where is he at (roughly) on an all-time P4P list?
On my rankings Brown could possibly just make the top 10, but he's a guaranteed top 15 at 135. All-time he may be somewhere inside my top 100, but I haven't made one of those lists in a while so I can't make any specific area for him to place in.
Have a warm place in my heart for Joe Brown. Took pains at Stillman's Gym to show me moves: how to hook off a jab, and throw a right to the heart.
If you have any stories about him and what he was like I would love to hear them. Also would like to know if you have an opinion on how he rates against the other great lightweights.
On any given day, tc, Stillmans would be packed with ATGs, and Joe Brown could spar and shadow box in ring #1 (reserved for Stillman's favorites) without drawing special attention. It would be like Pac or Mayweather working out unnoticed now. Only will talk about up-coming fights; there are outcomes. Ratings and mythical fights are too frustrating on the board; nothing's ever resolved. Without question, Joe Brown's an ATG for me...and savor sayin' it.
He makes my top 20, maybe even top 15, but I think he misses out on my top ten. If I was able to squeeze him in, it would probably be somewhere around 9 or 10.
