Over the past 25 years which boxers would you accredit the status of legend?

:good

 

Tags like "Great" or "Legend" are often to vague and seems any popular fighter can fit into them depending on who the poster is.

 

Pick any fighter who's been a successful world champ while having defeated some major fighters the last 25 years and you got your answer. And by successful i mean more then just one or two defenses.

 

Chavez, Barrera, Morales, Pac, Lewis, Holyfield, RJJ, Hopkins, Tito, DLH, Whitaker, Mayweather

 

Great list. :good

I would remove Tapia, Hamed, and Calzaghe though.

 

Roy Jones Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mike Tyson
Lennox Lewis
Evander Holyfield
Erik Morales
Marco Antonio Barrera
Bernard Hopkins
James Toney
Manny Pacquiao
Pernell Whitaker
Oscar De La Hoya
Felix Trinidad


Removed Hearns/Leonard/Benitez/Hagler/Duran/Pryor/Arguello as the author of the thread asked.

 

IMO, the tag legend and great is thrown around WAY to much.

You can still be a VERY good fighter, with a great career, a certain HOFer; but imo, this doesn't automatically make you a "legend".

I don't like seeing HUGE lists for this question... But don't have a problem with it. It depends on your criteria for legend... Mine's a bit stricter than some, I think.

That's not to say that all the names mentioned weren't EXCELLENT fighters.

 

Very true.

 

Whitaker, Chavez, RJJ, Lewis, Holyfield.

I don't think Tyson or Mayweather quite have the resume for 'legend'.

And that's the only 7 guys who should even be debated as being up for legendary status.

(Hearns, Hagler, Leonard, belong to the early 1980s, I wouldn't include them in this time-period. There's maybe a case for Hearns but that's all, Hagler+Leonard+Duran all did most of their best work pre-1983)


Remember, LEGEND is a massive word to bestow on someone. Only a very special fighter should be discussed here.

If I can actually see the names Tapia, Hamed and Calzaghe in the post before this one, I ****ing give up. Seriously.

 

Roy Jones Jr in his prime was bigger than boxing. He was an event all by himself.

 

It's a fair point, I wouldn't argue with you. I mentioned Tyson and Mayweather as even though I wouldn't necessarily attribute them legendary status, I wouldn't argue with anyone who thought they did deserve this. Both guys achieved a lot, and were magnificent h2h at their weights.