The fine line of greatness.

Are you high man?
Marquez would have destroyed the one dimensional limited Gamboa

 

Gamboa accomplished nothing as a pro. A huge one dimensional disappoint with a soft jaw and crummy defense. Hand speed is all he had. C+ level fighter at best. He'd make a good sparring partner for Marquez.

 

Sub par pro who got exposed for the one dimensional limited fighter he is.

 

The problem with that comparison is that Duran in his prime took care of business. He dominated the the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions for about 7 or 8 years. When Toney beat Nunn that was a great start. He was young and should have been poised to control the middleweight division. It was a disappointment. He blamed the weight and that became a pattern. By the time he got to 75 I didn't recognize him as a fighter. His fire was gone.
I think James Toney was a very talented boxer who could have been great.

 

In his prime no less. The prime he ate his way out of.

 

Look think whatever u want ..Gamboa had one impressive performance against Salido...Where is he now?? What will his legacy be? Will he even be remembered as anything in 20 yrs?? Marquez legacy is cemented. Now u want to favor him against Morales....WTF I'm done talking to you. You like this guy clearly which is kool but your trying to make him out to be something hes not.
I'm done here your too unreasonable to talk too.

 

Richly deserved praise. Whether it's just happenstance that we like similar fighters, but I find that your posts are always fair at worst but far more often you hit the nail on the head with the odd gem thrown in. Are you absolutely sure you're an Aussie?

 

Problem here is, Toney moved up in weight because he couldn't control his weight. Sound familiar bud? While moving up in the wrong way, he has spottier results, which is what you'd expect to see and do see with other fighters. I agree he ate his way out of divisions, but you can still see the greatness none the less. You don't beat Nunn and Mike unless that was the case. No way that could be done. You seem to be ranking him on what he could've done but didn't... I'm ranking him based on what he did do and what I see with my own eyes.

 

If you think McCallum is treading the line of greatness then you know nothing about boxing. McCollum is easily in the top 15 P4P of the last 50 years

 

top 15 the last 50 years? That would almost mean he was the top fighter in boxing for 3 years in a row or at least 2 years, and he was not. Not that being top fighter makes a fighter top 15 in the last 50 years.

 

When I think of Mike I think about his win over Curry, and coming back and beating Kalambay after losing to him. The Toney fights, which he was great in regardless. The Watson fight was devastating. One of the better natural fighters around with his combinations and body punching. Just a natural flow to him.

 

He's clearly above Frazier Zarate and Cervantes.

The only fighter of the last 50 years clearly equal or above McCallum are Ali JCC RJJ Monzon Leonard Duran Foreman Spinks Holyfield Hopkins Pacquiao FMJ Lopez. Absolute worst case is he is #14.

 

Not sure he's clearly above Frazier. Could agree on Cervantes.

Over the last 50 years, there's a solid bunch of potential ATGs...

(In no particular order)
Muhammad Ali
Joe Frazier
George Foreman
Bob Foster
Larry Holmes
Michael Spinks
Lennox Lewis
Evander Holyfield
Andre Ward
Joe Calzaghe
Roy Jones
Bernard Hopkins
Oscar De La Hoya
Felix Trinidad
Pernell Whitaker
Azumah Nelson
Julio Cesar Chavez
Marvin Hagler
Ray Leonard
Wilfred Benitez
Thomas Hearns
Carlos Monzon
Dick Tiger
Emile Griffith
Jose Napoles
Eusebio Pedroza
Salvador Sanchez
Eder Jofre
Wilfredo Gomez
Carlos Zarate
Ruben Olivares
Alexis Arguello
Floyd Mayweather
Miguel Cotto
Manny Pacquiao
Juan Manuel Marquez
Erik Morales
Marco Antonio Barrera
Miguel Canto


The order of that list and where McCallum sits within it (and I think he does belong there) are a different questions altogether...