Rocky Grazino's Record ...

It would be easy to dismiss Billy Arnold as a hype-job - which he undoubtedly was - but it could also be said that Graziano's brute abilities ruined the youngster and Billy was never the same again. Either way, credit to Graziano, who was a huge underdog.

Maybe Graziano wasn't a top forty all-time middleweight, but I can guarantee that anyone's #40 in that division is an exceptionally good, probably GREAT, fighter.

Also, I 100% agree that Graziano largely feasted on welterweights, but it should be noted that he himself weighed in the 150-154 range for those fights, a few decades later that would be dismissed as a junior-middle.

 

I don't know enough about Backus to compare his record.
Leon Spinks is probably unfairly over-criticized, but I think Graziano clearly has the better record.

 

Somebody sure hates Italians.

 

He grant, just as a side note but assuming you saw Backus fight he was a legit contender, could box and punch and took a decent shot, was tough as nails to boot. Since you brought him up twice, he had a decent record against top welters and was fighting evenly with Napoles in their first go when Jose was stopped on cuts, I have no qualms with him having been a deserving world champion and a cut above for instance Leon.

 

I never said that Rocky Graziano was a complete great MW.
But he was a paralyzing puncher once he had you hurt. The record books are only statistics, it does not SHOW the caliber of
the fighters of the 1940s Rocky's times, compared to todays times, so for you he, to say that a Ward or Gatti COMPARE to
a Tony Zale even after the WW2, and a Rocky Graziano at his best is utterly misguided...Both Zale and Graziano would have flattened Ward and Gatti, brave as they were...A Marty Servo would be 5-1 favorite over Ward and Gatti, and look at what Graziano did to Servo.

 

I've never made a top 40 list of middleweights. Most people seem content to stop at a top 10, as evidenced by the division p4p thread stickied above. Though aside from expanding that, I'd also be in favor of adding the other weight classes like super middle, junior middle, etc.

Lately, I've had a couple of discussions that make me want to start keeping a top 20 list of various things. Like how Cotto and Mosley don't really fit in a top 10 p4p of the 00s, but should be in any discussion of that period. Or how Broner shouldn't be considered a top ten but is probably still a top 20 fighter.

 

I recall once reading a few thoughts on Graziano uttered by his buddy Jake LaMotta. LaMotta felt Graziano was a tough guy who he'd easily "lick"on sheer skills alone, going as far to state that Rocky's KO ratio was essentially formed against journeyman welterweights who were beyond their best or not in top shape.

LaMotta was borderline dismissive of Graziano's chances....in a playful sort of way.

I know one thing, Graziano would not play hard to get with today's crop of cherry pickers if he were the World middleweight champion.

 

Whatever. You couldn't be much more transparent.