What Makes a Fighter Elite? Which Fighters Were Close To Elite But Didn't Make It?

Elite by definition is somebody superior in terms of ability or qualities, What makes a fighter elite? having superior ability and qualities to everybody else, simple as that there's nothing complicated about it.

 

It means you're in the top 1% of your field.

 

Top of the tree and you’re only elite if everyone accepts that so in Crawford,Lomo and Golovkin case it’s by consensus that believe this and not just the thought of a few deluded fans.

 

gamboa could have been a great fighter at his natural weight lol but typical lazy cuban and signing with 50 cent ended his career he could have be a special fighter

 

Definition spot on.

An elite fighter has proven their skills offensively and defense- Floyd Mayweather.
However- guys who don't possess the speed, or chin somehow manages to keep winning- Could we then say Wladimir was an elite HW? Time will bury the arguments of how great or weak his era was. Known only to hardcore fans.

Bhop was never the fastest, the most powerful, nor talented, but he ruled MW like Monzon to Hagler. He could be called an elite fighter. I do.

But if we flip the script, Sven Ottke retired undefeated, and I've lost track of how many crap over his resume.

20 -50 years from today, how could someone say Sven wasn't elite? WBA & IBF champ? 34-0. Time may forgive him of who he defended against and where, judges and all get lost by the masses. Only hardcore fans could say no way in hell was he elite!

 

I agree lots of guys deficient in many areas can still be elite....Chavez Sr, Carl Froch, SSR etc... it’s about winning regardless of skill level.

 

a small group who beat all except perhaps those in that small group, excluding incidents like obvious one-offs, a novice loss, losses when injured etc.

Guys on the rise can be classed "possible elites" until they rise to the level they prove they are elite.

eg golovkin proved he was elite when he drew with elite Clenelo, supported with wins over world class Jacob and the other guy, and noone beating him before that.

Its a cumulative effort, rather than just one fight.

Sven Ottke doesnt come into the equation, he was beaten several time sby world class opps.

 

Exactly.

I used Sven as an example to compare with (not knowing) exactly who cats like Benny Leonard fought or Charley Burley- I get my ballz busted for not putting Burley in my top.
Not because I disagree, but because I got like 10 minutes of footage I've ever seen and 5 of those minutes are in slow motion!

He may have been ducked by SRR, or calld murders row...but I can't just claim nostalgia as a reason to rank anyone as elite. Was it Benny that was said to have won a round without throwing a punch? Yeah some will invoke U don't know boxing if you don't put in fighters from 50s and previous. I'm old, but not that old.