Right, seems like a very hard division to rank once the top 5ish are ranked. Probably due to the fact that its a newer division. I haven't ranked fighters such as Barney Ross etc due to the fact that it wasn't a division back then. Anyway, what does everyone's list look like? I've just done one and it looks something like this. 1. Julio Cesar Chavez 2. Aaron Pryor 3. Niccolino Locche 4. Antonio Cervantes 5. Duilio Loi 6. Kostya Tyszu 7. Wilfred Benitez 8. Hector Camacho 9. Ricky Hatton 10. Carlos Ortiz Really hard to rank after the top 5 or 6. What do you think?
Actually, it did exist back then, although it wasn't widely recognised. My pick for best is Jose Napoles. Consider Eddie Perkins.
Julio Cesar Chavez Aaron Pryor Nicolino Locche Antonio Cervantes Kostya Tszyu Duilio Loi Wilfred Benitez Eddie Perkins Carlos Ortiz Ricky Hatton Frankie Randall Tim Bradley I don't rank the 30's guys either, I treat those as LW fights back then.
I know it did exist, but it wasn't really recognised. The general consensus is that JCC is the best LWW. However Pryor also seems to be some peoples top pick.
Napoles doesn't have the official status at the weight to be labelled the greatest (accomplishments) there, but I think there's ample evidence to suggest he might have been the best (ability). He beat a few excellent fighters in the 140lbs class and went on to reign supreme in the above division in which he was a bit out sized.
10 Floyd Mayweather Jr 9 Ricky Hatton 8 Oscar de la Hoya 7 Meldrick Taylor 6 Julio Cesar Chavez 5 Nicolino Loche 4 Kostya Tszyu 3 Aaron Pryor 2 Wilfred Benitez 1 Antonio Cervantes Mentions: Pinkey Mitchell, Jackie Berg, Mushy Callahan, Tony Canzoneri, Barney Ross, Carlos Ortiz, Duilio Loi, Saoul Mamby, Patrizio Oliva, Roger Mayweather, Buddy McGirt, Pernell Whitaker, Frankie Randall, Juan Martin Coggi, Vince Phillips, Zab Zab Judah and Sharmba Mitchell