P4P: How do you rank Pernell Whitaker, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr or Floyd?

No doubt Floyd must be last, maybe with RJJ because he's f*cking his own legacy

 

Even at 154 when he beat the best out there he still looked like he was fading.

The thing is, i'm just not sure anyone would have beaten him aside from tito and only then from 95 onwards.

 

I'd have to rewatch the rivera fight but i'm sure the first time I saw it I had it a draw at best for pea. But I had him winning the rematch. During this time it's quite possible that tito would have beaten him but judging off the fights with oscar i'm not sure it's so clear cut.

Tito overwhelmed pea who still looked brilliant at times in the fight but from the jump to 154 onwards he was fading, just that I believe a faded pea was still better than the others.

 

Ray Leonard
Pernell Whitaker
Roy Jones
Floyd Mayweather

 

Oh he was a faded force by the time he got to Rivera no doubt. That being said I always think someone like Rivera would have been a tough task for him, a well school, rangy boxer whose real weakness is his durability down the stretch. He hung with a prime Mosley and when he was past it a prime Vargas before he was dispatched. He was by all means a capable boxer and Pea didn't have that pop to wear him down like the larger Mosley and Vargas did. It shows his versatility that by the time Pea was past it, he was able to beat a man who was quite a tough stylistic match-up for him in some ways.

Tito did look brilliant by the time he got round to fighting Whitaker and certainly achieved a much clearer win over Pea than Oscar did from how I see it. That being said we both agree that Pea wasn't himself by Rivera, so he had even less by the time he got to Oscar and then Tito was an extra two years of fading. I think Tito really messed up here, he should have got to Whitaker a lot earlier than he did as Whitaker was the other man in the division, yet he has that period where he doesn't go for either JMR, Quartey or Whitaker. I'll give Tito the benefit of the doubt to beat the Whitaker that Oscar fought or the Whitaker that Rivera fought, but he really should have got that fight earlier.

 

I think at the point tito destroyed carr he probably was the best ww out there but his opposition level had dropped by the time pea had rematched rivera so during this time tito had a great chance to build momentum and establish his p4p prowess 3 years before he did do because by the rivera rematch I can't rightfully rank tito as the best ww due to opposition level.