Rate the Light Heavyweight Golden Age Fighters, 75 - 85

Every month for about 10 years, Ring Mag, Boxing Illustrated, International Boxing, World Boxing, etc had a photo and a feature on 1/2 of the 15 mentioned above, duking it out at some world renown location, and CBS, NBC, or ABC carrying the fight on HOME TV.

 

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Mate Parlov. Ahumada was part of the beginning of that as well. That division was monstrous!!!!

 

Ahumada "beat" (drew with?) and aging Bob Foster, and was just a slight notch below Galindez "head to head" being they fought 3-4 times in their careers. I think Mate Parlov was from Yugoslavia or somewhere like that.

 

My top 10 of this era (which has some overlaps of the end of one era and the start of another):

1. Michael Spins
2. Matthew Saad Muhammad
3. Dwight Muhammad Qawi
4. James Scott
5. Victor Galindez
6. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (great era for Muslim 175-pounders)
7. Marvin Johnson
8. John Conteh
9. Yaqui Lopez
10. Mike Rossman

Head to head, Rossman is probably lower but he had a brilliant night against Galindez the first time and thus rates IMO above some contender types who didn't have that big win, even if they might have beaten him head to head.

 

He still loses to Galindez.

 

Quite a wear and tear factor going on when you look at things. For all his accolades, Mike Spinks did not go through minefields like most of the other guys did. His title defenses were almost at the level of Virgil Hill. A guy like Galindez fought everyone and very often multiple times even. And when Vic got old, the new crop of guys was coming up like Saad and EMM. A couple years after that, Qawi and Spinks.

Just the wear and tear factor alone of consistently beating tough top ten opposition for like 5 years is incredible. Who wouldn't have diminished reflexes/washed up after that?

Even more respect for the Fouries and Yaqui Lopez and Kates type contender guys. They fought a bunch of tough hombres all the time to stay in the picture and they weren't even champs. What a tough tough time to continually having your hand raised at the end of a fight.

 

It's okay.

 

Maybe.

 

Victor Galindez
Michael Spinks
John Conteh
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad *
Matthew Saad Muhammad
Marvin Johnson
Mike Rossman

*Had the potential to be the very best.

 

What are Galindez and Conteh's best performances? The fights that really show them at their peaks?

 

Great post

Spinks and Qawi did peak later than the rest.

Spinks beat previous Saad victims (twice each) Lopez and Johnson to position himself for a title shot and a lot of his defenses were against weak guys, but his title winning victory over Mustafa Muhammad, unification of the title over Qawi and fact that he was never beaten at 175 lbs. cement his # 1 status for me.

 

Yes, Scott has to be included on this list.

Only the fact he was in prison could deny him a title shot. He certainly did more than enough to earn one.