Top 10 Fights Competed at the Highest Level

Of all the fights we have complete on film, which have shown the combatants at the combined highest level of ability?

Here's my list:

1. Roberto Duran vs. Ray Leonard I

2. Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali I

3. Kid Gavilan vs. Billy Graham III

4. Fighting Harada vs. Eder Jofre II

5. Ray Leonard vs. Tommy Hearns I

6. Donald Curry vs. Marlon Starling II

7. Tony Canzoneri vs. Kid Chocolate

8. Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor

9. Carmen Basilio vs. Ray Robinson I

10. Salvador Sanchez vs. Azumah Nelson


Just missing out:

Toney-McCallum I

Whitaker-McGirt I

Saldivar-Winstone II

Harada-Jofre I

Chang-Zapata I

Gavilan-Turner

 

I think #3 and #4 are pretty good choices. I like Jofre/Harada I better than the second fight. Watch Chavez/Taylor I in slow motion to really see how slick Chavez is; same with McGirt/Simon Brown. What a clinic!

 

Would Mosely vs DLH be close?

 

Maybe Whitaker vs Nelson? Holyfield vs Bowe I?

 

Marco Antonio Barrera vs Erik Morales I
Michael Spinks vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi

 

Del Flanagan/Sandy Saddler was cool...Flanagan fought like Pep, but, unlike Pep, was strong enough to hold his own in the clinches. There was a lot of skill in the Palomino/Muniz fights...
A little different than the usual 'greatest ko' question...give me a minute.

 

umm what? Del Flanagan couldn't hold Willie Pep's jockstrap. No one fought like Pep, he was special. Pep didn't need to be strong enough in the clinches, he had a gift in using leverage and he used it perfectly against Saddler along with use of angles/movement/jab/combinations...Pep beat Saddler by outboxing him and won the majority of rounds in the 3rd and 4th fights as well.

 

You are misunderstanding. Saddler, I've always thought, beat Pep because he could make him mad and get him out of his game plan. Make him trade dirty tactics and fight; one of the ways he did this was by manhandling Pep in the clinches, which he was able to do because he was bigger and stronger. Flanagan, while he was no where near the fighter that Pep was, happened to be a large lightweight, even moving up to fight Giardello later in his career. He was as strong as Sandy Saddler. Saddler was not able to roughhouse him in the clinches.
Styles make fights, my friend.

 

Ok, my mistake. You make good points. I actually think Del Flanagan was quite a good fighter too.

 

Given a 15 round fight, I still think Saddler would have got to Flanagan. I had Del taking their fight by a point, and of course Saddler was above his best fighting weight and shape when they fought, but he probably still would have got the job done over the long haul.

In a pound for pound sense, Saddler would have probably manhandled Del like he did Pep.

 

Duran vs Leonard I
Leonard vs Benitez
Harada vs Jofre I and II
Whitaker vs Chavez
Canzoneri vs Kid Chocolate
McCallum vs Curry
Leonard vs Hearns I
Hagler vs Duran
Napoles vs Cokes I

 

. Kid Gavilan vs. Billy Graham III

I really forgot how great this was

Kid G is probably one of the most undercelebrated talents in boxing history!

 

A few more to consider:

Chucho Castillo's fights with Ruben Olivares
Chucho Castillo vs Lionel Rose
John Conteh vs Matthew Saad Muhammad I
Sumbu Kalambay vs Mike McCallum II
Alexis Arguello vs Aaron Pryor I

 

The Sanchez-Nelson choice is interesting, as detractors will brush aside this victory for Sanchez as merely fortunate timing, with Nelson being too green. At times, it's almost like they want to detract from Sanchez's ranking for what happened that day.

Here, refreshingly, it is ranked among the best in terms of overall concentration of ability.

 

I never really bought into the 'Nelson was green' talk.

He may have been somewhat inexperienced, but physically I think that's about as good as he ever got.