Not at all. (and it isnt really a criteria) If you are the best pound for pound fighter in the world, you are basically the best fighter in the world (allowing for your division). To be the best fighter today you would have to start by being the best fighter in your division. For Arguments sake, the following fighters are the best: Heavy Vlad Klitchsko, Light Heavy Chad Dawson, Middles Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez, Featherweight Chris John. (This is not even considering some of the Champions who hold other weight class titles). Just looking at that list, three great fighters are not good enough to be the best pound for pound fighter as of right now. Now if you go back a little further and look at the best pound for pound fighter of the decade, you will see that the list needs to include some more great fighters eg. Lewis as a heavyweight, Roy JOnes Jr as light heavyweight, Hopkins and Mayweather may retain their spot, but if they do, it is at the expense of other great fighters. In fact, by going back just 10 years, it is easy to identify 10 great fighters some of whom some people will probably rate in their top 10 of all time, maybe even no 1. But realistically speaking only one of those 10 or so great fighters can be the pound for pound best. And there is no way that 10 of those can be guaranteed a spot in the alltime great top 10. In fact, if you do this same exercise for each decade, you will come up with the same problem. 10 great fighters, 9 of whom cant be the best fighter of all time. Do the exercise for every decade and you will come up with over 100 great fighters, 90 of who were not the best fighter of their time, and 9 of whom cannot be the greatest of fighter of all time. I dont think that people realise just how good you must have been just to make the top 10 let alone be in it. Take for example a Ray Leonard. Greatest Welterweight of his era. He was so good that he went up and beat another Great Middleweight (some say the greatest in Hagler). And he won a title as high as light heavyweight. Yet was he the best pound for pound fighter of his time? Maybe, but if he is, you would have to consider him better than Larry Holmes, who dominated for just as long a period, or better than Hagler who also dominated the same period. Or Duran dominated lightweight for the same amount of time, and actually beat Leonard in their first match. This is not even allowing to be compared to guys across other eras, like Henry Armstrong, who won More titles, Jack McAuliffe, who never lost a fight and reigned longer. Marty Servo, who most people dont even pay lip service to, but who beat the longest reigning welterweight champion and knocked down Sugar Ray Robinson. Or the original Sugar Ray himself. Leonard was a good fighter, but he is not a guaranteed top 20 or even 30. that is the point i was making. there have been so many good fighters, that unless you can say without question that you were the best fighter of your weight, in your era, then it is almost certain that you will not be in the top 30 atg pound for pound fighters. And even if you can, you still may not be.
1. Henry Armstrong 2. Harry Greb 3. Ray Robinson 4. Sam Langford 5. Benny Leonard 6. Ezzard Charles 7. Roberto Duran 8. Willie Pep 9. Archie Moore 10. Barney Ross
I'm at it mate . Good list. I was suprised you had Pep that low. I always thought he was around #5 on your list.
1. Armstrong 2. Langford 3. Robinson 4. Greb 5. Fitzsimmons 6. Charles 7. Pep 8. Duran 9. Moore 10. Leonard (Benny)
i just throw list together they dont mean much to me alll of them guys are near nough interchangeable and all are the same level
Yeah, he was at #4 for a while but gradually dropped. Didn't beat as many great fighters as the others. Although detractors of Pep's record are also in the wrong, because if you look at it, he beat a long line of rated contenders at both featherweight and lightweight: Pedro Hernandez (x2) Spider Armstrong Bobby Ivy Vince Dell'Orto (x2) Bill Speary (x2) Allie Stolz Sal Bartolo (x3) Jackie Wilson (x2) Willie Roache (x2) Willie Joyce Lulu Constantino Joey Peralta Charley Lewis (x3) Phil Terranova Jackie Graves Joey Fontana Lefty LaChance (x2) Joey Archibald Humberto Sierra (x2) Jock Leslie Miguel Avacedo Teddy Davis (x3) Paddy DeMarco Eddie Compo Harold Dade Charley Riley Ray Famechon Bobby Bell (x2) Carlos Chavez Eddie Chavez Baby Neff Ortiz Rodolfo Gonzales Gil Cadilli Armand Savoie Chalky Wright (x4) Manuel Ortiz Sandy Saddler Fantasic record, which is why Pep has to be a lock for the top ten.