Should Canzoneri really rank ahead of Jimmy McLarnin?

Where would you have him Pea?

Jimmy easily makes top 50 for me...I think I have around the late 30's.

Tony is about 15 or so spots higher.
Since you pushed me to justify that, I have to say Im really not sure what splits them by that margin. I do my best to look past the prettier record of Tony but the fact he went that long with so many more wins than losses is a plus for him.
I guess in the end Tony's ability to be the better man in most of series he against the top fighters he faced in his prime and his sheer amount of quality wins push him that high.
The records are so stellar that I wouldnt really have a problem where somebody ranks them, or in what order, just as long as its inside the top 40, at least the top 50. Depends what emphasis you put on their signature wins in the end I would say.

 

I remebered when Jimmy died there were a few articles floating around where authors voiced their dismay at the lack of recognition for this man, one saying he was a bit disillusioned about the lack of coverage in Canada .

I wasnt in Canada at the time, so I dont really know how they reacted but I dont recall a huge deal made about it on the net.
Maybe that sums up the point your are getting at Pea, maybe the fact he wasnt American doesnt help his cause either.

 

I have quite a gap between them, 22 spots, but i can't really justify that. McLarnin has a stellar record, and probably should be a lot closer to Tony, and in fact, if someone was to put McLarnin ahead, it wouldn't be ridiculous.

I will say though, that Canzoneri's win against McLarnin whilst weighing about 7 pounds less should be somewhat significant in ranking them.

Also Canzoneri did well against Jackie Kid Berg, who was somewhat naturally bigger than Tony, and those wins are quite significant.

Tony was unable to get a win against Ross like Jimmy did, but he also faced Ross at his best weight, something Jimmy didn't.

 

Ross, Canzi, and than Mclarnin is how I put them.

Jimmy about makes my top 25. And the other 2 are top ten imo.

 

McLarnin is probably top 35 for me. I think the reason Canzoneri and Ross are ranked higher is they won titles at lower weights while Jimmy was also very good at lower weights they won more titles and fought more. Plus Jimmy was normally the bigger man when he fought those two.

 

Canzoneri and Ross rate a lot higher than Jimmy because they won titles in more divisions, same sort of logic that helps
Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong and Roberto Duran.

 

McLarnin's resume is something else. I always though that for some reason the general mass ranking thing was because people generally think of Canzoneri as one of the best of all time and McLarnin as one of the best of his era. Thats the impression i got, not my viewpoint though.

While we're on the subject, anyone who hasnt viewed Ross McLarnin 3 in length needs to.

 

2-3 in title fights...

 

I have McLarnin ahead of Tony.

When McLarnin was basically shot and Tony still considered good, McLarnin still managed to beat him once, plus decisively beat Lou Ambers who was coming off two decisive wins over Tony. Throw in also that he has one win over Ross, who Tony was officially 0-2 against.

On top of that, I think he was the better all-around fighter.

 

McLarnin was in better shape than Canzoneri for their rematch. It was Tony who was really on the decline, and never did anything of merit again after losing to Ambers quite clearly, which was just before the rematch with McLarnin that Jimmy won.

When Tony beat McLarnin it was Tony's last good performance. Not so with McLarnin when he beat Canzoneri.

McLarnin finished his career with a flurry, obviously.

 

Yes, but does that necessarily mean that Canzoneri was the more deteriorated, or is that the result of McLarnin being the better fighter?

Canzoneri was very highly regarded and continued to show very good form right up until he was upset by Ambers in the rematch, just before McLarnin beat him. Not so with McLarnin, who had faded over the course of the three fights with Ross, and looked very badly faded in his loss to Canzoneri a year after that - much moreso than Canzoneri did. Canzoneri meanwhile had turned in a near-vintage performance against Ambers not long before that. When McLarnin and Canzoneri fought the first time, Tony was still very highly regarded while McLarnin was considered well into his decline - and they both performed accordingly. When McLarnin beat Tony a year later, Canzoneri was not suddenly in worse shape, but was simply closer to McLarnin's level.