Compiled March `96: No.1 Nate Miller No.2 Al Cole No.3 Washington No.4 Wamba No.5 Dominguez No.6 James Toney No.7 May No.8 Hearns No.9 Keene No.10 Gurov How do you feel tis lacklusture list compares to today`s Top 10 cruisers?
I'm not very familiar with any of those names apart from Toney and Hearns. It was a bad period for the division back then, picked up a little in the early 2000's with Jirov and Toney then faded back into obscurity, had a mini revival with Haye and Mormeck and now the division is probably the best it's been since Holyfield, Qawi back in the 80's.
the Cruisers lacked the Glamour of today……..but not the Talent. miller and cole were both very talented and would have given any Cruiser today a run for their Money. whashington was less talented, but he was rock hard. wamba was one of the greatest cruiserweights of all time. tall and elegant, i´d favour him over all but usyk. domingez was a Cruiser Version of Jorge castro. he´d lose to usyk ….but the rest, tough call. toney was at his lethargic worst in 96....but we all got to see what he had when he fought jirov a few years later. that toney would probably have beaten every Cruiser today! hearns was shot by this time. keene was a second rater……..but what a fun fighter to watch. like a cruiserweight gene fullmer. watch his fight with terry ray on YouTube. that was FUN! keene would have lost to todays elite…….but they all would have been in a fight. and gurov, the euro champ had a weak chin…….but he could ko alot of People. may won Gold in 92 but never overcame his Amateur style.
Completely different division back them with the 190 weight limit. The only right thing that has happened to boxing in the last 30 years is bumping up the limit to 200 so talent lingers there longer as they work their way up to fighting the big boys. In any event, Miller and Wamba were venerable, I was a Cole fan, and James Toney is the man. A lot of those other guys I don't remember well, or, to be honest, at all.
Those were the Glory Days of the division. Torsten May was a Saxon Beast. Kenny Keene is what Marciano would have been had he played in the 90's. Anaclet Wamba was brutal athleticism. The division was slightly better a few years before. Giants like Tyrone Booze, James Warring and Bash Ali?
I don`t think Toney fought that well above middleweight, he was quite good vs a shot Holyfield at heavy but far too slow.
ralf was an absolute paper champ. he won the wbo belt at a time when it was worth as much as an ibo or gbu belt today. and he only won it cause Thompson dislocated his shoulder. the guys he defended against were aboslute scrubs before losing widely to Thompson in a rematch. i can understand why he isnt included.
I must admit I used to pay little attention to the Cruiserweight division as it was full of guys who could make weight at 175 pounds weight limit, and for the most part, had no business at heavyweight. Sometimes they move up for a payday in the 1990's and it was usually a short night for them. But that was then and this is now. Now the fighters have a home with the weight limit being moved up to 200 pounds, meaning they can walk around at 210 pounds and make weight. This is the way heavyweight boxing used to be, with relatively big men in shape going at it. And because the money and fame aren't great currently for great for the division, the best fights are made quickly. I could be wrong about the purses. The cruiserweight tournament was excellent! Usyk won it, and the inaugural Ali trophy. The talent in the division now is very good.
