I have been planning something like that for over a year now. The problem is that is what I'd consider a "big effort" episode, and I've had other ideas I've been more interested in trying first. But sooner or later, I'll get to that.
Which active fighters currently interest you the most? So in a sense, I'm not just asking who you are a fan of, but what interests you generally.. for example, many don't care a whole lot about the much lighter weight classes.
In terms of active fighters, I tend to be more interested in the guys who have been featured on HBO in recent years - Ward, Kovalev, Golovkin, Lomachenko, Canelo, Crawford, Wlad. It probably is an inherent nostalgia kind of bias on my part, as my earliest days as a die hard boxing fan started with HBO boxing, and I have always enjoyed and admired their excellent broadcast presentations. So for me these days, it really has less to do with the boxers than it does with me affiliating HBO with elite level boxing. Unless it's in regards to a specific fight I have particular interest in, I tend to watch the HBO cards more consistently than those from other networks on the whole, too.
Rumski, what do you think about Michael Moorer as a Light Heavyweight? And I agree about B-Hop definitely.
I think when we discuss the list, I think I would rate Moorer over Tarver. 6 title defenses, but I could see how he would be overlooked in the late 80's early '90's especially having the newly 'respected' WBO strap, opposed to the other 3 original sanctioning bodies such as the WBC, WBA, and IBF. But I'd be inclined to say Double M was a better fighter H2H, Than Tarver ever was, but I understand how you're doing your ranking system, which is fair, going by the overall Rankings of the Ring Magazine.. I guess I'm just a little biased towards Moorer as he's one of my favorites. Great video as always, and I'm waiting for your MW, AND WW top 20 list!! And as always, you clearly DKSAB!
The reason Michael Moorer didn't fare well stems from the fact that he was only ranked as a top 3 light heavyweight by ring twice - in 1989 and 1990 - and he was ranked 3rd both years, giving him 4 points for 2 showings. With 9 title defenses, that gave Moorer a grand total of 13 points, which landed him in a 4-way tie with Jose Torres, Paul Berlenbach, and Glen Johnson. I tend to agree with what you're saying. I'd have him ahead of Tarver and a few other guys as well.
Youre Right, he had 9 defenses of the newly MADE WBO title! Do you think that his rankings by the ring magazine had anything to do with him holding the WBO title belt at all, Rather Than The Major titles?
Possibly, but not necessarily. I do think Ring was slow to recognize the WBO belt (like when Dariusz held it), but so was most of the American public throughout the 90s. It still wasn't really considered a "major title" until the 2000s, IMO. At least in the States. With Moorer, I think the problem was that the 2 guys ranked ahead of him in 1989 and 1990 - Virgil Hill and Charles Williams - were both regarded as the top 2 at 175 in both 1987 and 1988. So what we have is, two guys ranked ahead of Moorer before Moorer "broke through", but he never did enough in their eyes to surpass those 2. I believe he would have, or at least could have, had he remained at 175 rather than jumping to heavyweight. But considering the success he had at heavy, it's easy to understand why he did that.
Good post Rumski! And I tend to agree with it.. Moorer had alot of natural ability and could have solidified himself as one of the best LHW'S ever had he stayed there, but like all great fighters they move up and want to test themselves. It really is a compliment to how good he really was, because he was one of the top HW's imo once he beat Holyfield(Obviously) for the first time, and was still relevant all the way to when he beat Jirov and leading up to the Tua fight, though on a lower scale(A named fighter).
I thought the same thing, but wow he got blasted out pretty quick, but gained some traction after he beat Jirov. He also lost to that Cuban guy Castillo who was highly touted before Wlad beat him.
