Top 10 fighters of past 30 years from light to middle.

I guess the beer is kicking in, because I certainly did not see the bit where de la Hoya defecates in the Hopkins fight... but whatever turns you on my friend:good

 

1. Roberto Duran
2. Sugar Ray Leonard
3. Julio Cesar Chavez
4. Marvin Hagler
5. Pernell Whittaker
6. Thomas Hearns
7. Alexis Arguello
8. Salvador Sanchez
9. Roy Jones Jr
10. Wilfred Benitez

Honorable mention: Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Kostya Tszyu, Oscar De La Hoya, Tito Trinidad, Wilfredo Gomez, Floyd Mayweather, James Toney, Nigel Benn and Aaron Pryor.

 

My bad I wondered why nobody had mentioned Sanchez or Gomez. The reason I put Chavez over Whittaker is he was regarded as the p4p best for longer and had a larger winning streak although its tough to seperate the top guys.

 

Wow....Leonard, Duran, and Chavez weren't on every list?

 

That tells the whole story about ESB polls.

Here's my list.

1. Duran
2. Whitaker
3. Leonard
4. Chavez
5. Jones Jr.
6. Arguello
7. Hagler
8. Hopkins
9. Mayweather
10. Hearns

 

1 - Julio Cesar Chavez
2 - Thomas Hearns
3 - Roberto Duran
4 - Sugar Ray Leonard
5 - Marvin Hagler
6 - Roy Jones Jr
7 - Bernard Hopkins
8 - Pernell Whitaker
9 - James Toney
10 - Floyd Mayweather Jr

 

Well the criteria is vague, I only rated fighters who turned pro post 75, thus Duran and The Marvelous One were not on my list.

 

Well all our lists are ridiculous, in that we are trying to rate pro fighters who weighed 100lbs in 1977 against pro fighters who weigh 300+lbs in 2007, with everything in between....

The can be virtually no consistency in that, because it is so ridiculous. So IMO, everybodies opinion is as worthy as the next.

 

You are asking people to write either greatness or best lists, you are also creating a bias to any fighter who turned pro before 1977 with your criterion....

But hey, it is an intresting debate, all I am suggesting is with things like this there are no definitive right or wrong answers.

 

Someone known by the nickname Sweet Pea had to find "terrible... ridiculous" one Top 10 list wherein Pernell is rated numba 8 and JCC first - I am not about to make it personal but if the original post mentioned longevity, record, domination, quality of opponents of the last 30 years, why shouldn't I have JC Chavez at the top - ( 115 fights, 107 wins, 86 by kayo), 6 world titles in 3 different divisions, 89 bouts undefeated, beat Ramirez, Lockridge, Taylor, Mayweather, Fuentes, Camacho, Haugen, Laporte, Lopez and Randall amongst others... Then Sweet Pea definitely didn't beat Chavez that night in San Antonio in my view... Consistency (terribly inconsistent)? - That's my number two Thomas Hearns - 1st man to win 4 world titles at 4 different weight classes - 147 to 154 to 175 to 160, Duran comes next ( 1967 pro debut, 12 successful lw title defenses with 11 kayos until 1979, former welter, junior-middle, middle champ - 5 world title belts, 69 wins by knockout)... Leonard comes after Duran ( 2-1 to Leonard doesn't make it inconsistent, it's a different criteria) and Hagler after Leonard ( yeah, cause Leonard beat Hagler in the fight which had Marvin out of boxing), still rate MMH above RJJ for his 7 years reign as mw champ ( 1980 Minter -1987 Leonard), RJJ undefeated from 1989 to 2004 ( except bs disq against Griffin which was emphatically avenged) with mw, smw, 3 times lhwt, hwt championships... Bernard with 20 mw title defenses, 10 years and 8 months holding on to the undisputed unified mw W comes over Pernell and Sweet Pea over James Toney, Lights Out is a former mw, smw, cruiser world champion and a hwt top contender & WBA, WBC titles challenger so why should I consider him below PBF ( 5 division world champ)? I still give credit to Floyd in these weight classes - 130 to 154 pounds - over ODLH, SSM, MAB, Buddy McGirt, Arguello, Benitez and Azumah, so WTH r you braggin about??? I don't even believe in P4P ratings so if u want me 2 say Sweet Pe(e)(a) is the best P4P of the last 30, I'll concede just as long as you don't reply to my posts with words such as ridiculous, inconsistent and terrible cause that is clearly picking up with me and I never claimed boxing genius, Peace!

 

Hmm, here goes:

1. SRL
2. Marvin Hagler
3. Pernell Whitaker
4. Roberto Duran
5. Roy Jones Jr.
6. Thomas Hearns
7. Bernard Hopkins
8. Julio Cesar Chavez
9. Alexis Arguello
10. Mike McCallum

 

Thnx, TBooze, I know there r people who see themselves in the boxers they highly rate and defend... I don't feel any passion or love affair with boxers such as JCC, SRL, RJJ, PBF, Duran, Sweet Pea or any other BUT BOXING=LIFE 4 ME still... Sweet Pea was robbed against Chavez? Beats me but if he was, I still don't give a s*** about it! Floyd fans feel bad about me rating him at number 10? Couldn't feel less bothered about it! Holyfield gonna be a 5 time world hwt champion? Don't give a Damn if he is... Cotto beating Shane or the other way around, Floyd retiring undefeated and with a lopsided decision against Ricky or Hatton affecting PBF's legacy forever more, it's the same to me. I am willing to respect fighters and fans, ESB members but only just.