Pound for pound best, an impossible determination???

for me it will always be sugar ray robinson. I just can not see anybody matching his kind of record unless boxing changes . To many champs and belts and fighters just dont fight as much as they did back then and theres management avoiding the fights that are to risky.

 

It's impossible to determine a P4P best, just like it's impossible to say who has the best resume, for a few reasons.

1. No two fighters ever fought the exact same opposition

2. No two fighters ever fought the same "version" of common opponents, even. Fighters get sick, fighters get old (for better or for worse), fighters change styles.

3. Styles make fights - many wins are "gimme's"

4. Sometimes weird **** just happens. The Rumble in the Jungle, McCall-Lewis, Tyson-Douglas, there are way too many to name.

5. The 10 point must system is inherently flawed. Just because a fighter won a 120-108 decision doesn't mean he dominated his opponent, and many fighters who won a 115-113 UD on all scorecards demolished their opponents.

6. Judges like to screw people, too. A win/draw/loss isn't always a win/draw/loss, but it goes both ways.

 

Very good points. Also the fact that boxers stop fighting 15 rounds for championship fights. Very difficult to compare.