Name some fighters and how much their ATG status would improve if they had retired at a certain poin

Jeffries if he never returned to lose against Johnson, he would likely be remembered as one of the ATG heavyweights by the mainstream. He likely would've been the original Marciano in the sense that his undefeated record alone would elevate him on many lists.

Who knows, maybe some casuals today would know Jeffries if he stayed retired

 

Sonny Liston. If he had retired after Patterson II - there would be no humiliating back-to-back loses (especially the 2nd) to Ali, which would have saved his fearsome reputation & aura.

 

Some solid mentions on this thread already. I'll add to them with:

• Tommy Gibbons - If he'd retired before his 3rd fight with Greb his record would have been 52-0-3, including wins over Harry Greb x 2, 15lbs heavier Battling Levinksy, Billy Miske x 2, Willie KO Brennan, Buck Grouse, Gus Christie x 4, George Chip x 5, Clay Turner x 2 & Bob Moha
• Freddie Steele - If he'd retired before his rematch with Fred Apostoli, during which he reportedly broke his sternum, he'd have ended his career 120-2-11, including 45-0-1 at MW, with wins over Ken Overlin, Vince Dundee, Gus Lesnevich, Fred Apostoli, Gorilla Jones x 2, Baby Joe Gans, Babe Risko x 3, Solly Krieger, Swede Berglund and Allen Matthews.
• Pascual Perez - Retired before his 1st fight with Kingpetch & he'd have ended with a 54-1-1 record, having avenged his only loss, which came in a non title fight to Sadao Yaoita, by beating him in one of what would have been his 10-0 record in Lineal world Flyweight title fights.
• Carlos Zarate - Had he retired before fighting Wilfredo Gomez, he'd have ended with a record of 52-0, 51KO's, with wins over Alonso Zamora, Rodolfo Martinez, Alberto Davila & Paul Ferreri.

 

Naseem Hamed and Kelly Pavik would be thought of much greater h2h if they retired before their losses.

 

I think most casuals know Jeffries as the racist former champ who lost to Johnson. They probably couldn't tell you much about his career before that but he's still well known among more casual fans. To be clear I'm using casual in a literal sense not a demeaning one.

 

I’ve mentioned this one before, but I remember Tyson suggesting retirement at the post-fight press conference after his 91 second demolition of Michael Spinks.
I’d he’d done that, I think you’d consistently see him in the top 3 all-time heavyweight rankings.
Roy Jones Jr - forget Tarver, if he’d walked after the Ruiz fight he’d still be seen as Superman.

 

Joe Frazier at some point before the first Foreman fight. The devastating loss to Foreman stripped him of his aura of invincibility and at the time raised serious questions of the risks to his well-being by continuing to fight. Even though he was still able to give Ali life and death in their second and third fights, he lost those fights. Had he retired undefeated, he would be remembered as an unstoppable juggernaut that just rolled over everything in front of him.

 

If Tyson disappeared before the Douglas bout the hype would be insane. Some of the mags had him losing to just 3 or 4 greats if that already. There was thought to be no challenge whatsoever out there. There'd be many pushing into #3 on resume (some would argue the top 2 spots too, no losses, dominance etc) and countless peeps having him #1-#3'ish H2H. Longevity would be cast aside by many.

Jones Jr would make an enormous amount of top tens if he retired post Tarver 1. He'd be argued anywhere from #1 down by some.

Heck, if Schmeling retired on the Louis win he'd pop up more as well. There'd be plenty of gullibles claiming he had Joe Louis's number and Joe would never have beaten him. It would also impact Louis a little in a negative way.

 

Holyfield
Jones
De La Hoya
Chavez
Holmes

Really, to be honest, almost all of them. Every fighter thinks he left one to early, when in fact, they all leave one too late.

 

Eder Jofre's is slightly worse off if he doesn't come back and beat Legra and Saldivar (along with some other decent featherweight contenders) in the '70s.

Yes, he lost his precious 0, but Ali is probably more of a question mark/H2H monster than a true ATG contender without his post-exile work.

 

What do you think about Duran’s placement p4p all-time if he retires after Leonard 1?

He makes most top 10s already even with his yo-yo performances in the 80s. Without the lows of Leonard 2, Benitez and Kirkland Laing and then amazing comebacks in ‘83 and ‘89, would his overall ranking be better or worse?

 

Great question Jel.

I'm really not sure. My guess is that without Barkley, Moore, Cuevas and the close(ish) loss to the top 3 all time MW Hagler, those whose rankings are heavily correlated with depth of record may rank him a little lower, whilst others who are more influenced by dominance and seeming infallibility, would have him a little higher.