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

Roy Jones after the first Tarver fight.

 

Roy Jones should have retired after he beat Ruiz. Then there would never have been any questions nor doubts about his chin and a case could have been seriously made as a pound-for-pound, best of all-time candidate, (not that everyone would have agreed, but a case could have been made and he would have been in the discussion).

The night Tarver landed that right hand on his chin changed that. Then when Glen Johnson KO'ed him, it further damaged his reputation.

It does feel unfair and sad to to say that, given how impressive he was for so long, I don't know where to rank him now.

 

I think its unfair that losses in your decline hurt what you akready have accomplished till that point. RJJ is judged too harshly for his post Ruiz career imo.

 

What about the mighty Jack Dempsey?
What if he had retired after his victory over Firpo. Financially he was set with his movies, exhibitions etc…so retiring wouldn’t exactly have left him destitute. He would then have avoided those two Tunney defeats and losing his title in the ring while never regaining it.

Would that have pushed Dempsey up a few places on people’s ATG lists?

I believe Tunney was the only loss he never avenged, something that has an affect on many peoples’ rankings of ATGs…though Dempsey did come very close with the “long count” and all that.

 

Leonard after Hagler and Duran after Leonard one.. Hagler after Hearns. Holmes before Spinks. Tyson after Spinks.

 

I think he would have definitely been in with ATG like Robinson, he won belts all the way from middle to heavyweight, also a Silver medal in the Olympics, had only one loss a dq to Montel Griffin, which he avenged by a first round kayo.

 

That’s an excellent example. And even today, leaving Foreman with all that he did besides, I can imagine some very strong conviction behind a Frazier victory if a match between he and George remained in the realm of fantasy. Unless it actually happened as it did, I think it certain that no one would calculate on paper Foreman destroying poor Joe as he did in reality. Something that truly had to be seen to be believed.

 

I’m not too harsh on fighters IF the negative results that followed were clearly past their prime. I personally don’t let it detract too much from their achievements whilst in their prime.

Otherwise, some fighters records might’ve looked better if they pulled up stakes whilst in their prime leaving an untarnished or relatively untarnished record.

However, that could still leave them open to the question of their having retired prematurely and not cleaning up all eligible challengers whilst in their prime.

For example, a guy like Jim Jeffries might do better in peoples eyes if he hadn’t returned. But then he would still be left with the mark of not having faced Johnson before retirement in 1905.

Also, as it was the public wanted Jeff back in 09/10.

IF Jeff had declined - which was completely justifiable - it still might’ve been viewed as his avoiding Johnson - bringing his earlier avoidance of Johnson (before his first retirement) into even sharper focus and associated negative context.