I think there's some guys, like Tommy Burns, who's success at higher weights is beyond their ability at their natural weight, and it makes them pretty tricky to rank, especially for someone like me who tends to give a lot of credit for going up weight. But being dangerous or having success at multiple weights, isn't really the same as dominating multiple weights. For me Hearns's better competition sets him above Ward, but I can see a case for not putting too much stock into assessments about the qualities of divisions/eras, because it really does open you to bias. I think if you put more stock in dominating the competition you faced, rather than judging the competition, and put more into dominating your own weight than having success at higher weights, there's a case for Ward. Though I don't know if anyone actually believes that.
Did you state his death age? I bet the middleweight contenders of the 40s wish he hadn't been around.
I'll take this seriously when you tell me who from the modern era beat better people than Benny Leonard
Yes, how could going 100 fights unbeaten against many of the best fighters his weight and above be impressive? It happened in black and white FFS.
Yes... and I'm sure you can post loads of 130-year-old articles, describing him like he was the 8th Wonder of the World!