Which boxer really accomplished the most in the 80's?

My first thought was that it's between Mike and Ray, and encouragingly the poll reflects that...so far.

What's scary is how far ahead of the rest of the pack they are...just imagine if Tyson had burst on the scene at the turn of the decade instead of the middle...or if Leonard had stayed away from the blow and fought regularly (at least twice a year) throughout that hump against the good opposition that was available?

:scaredas:

Yikes.

 

Sugar Ray Leonard

 

I'm not going to select a vote for any one man, due to the fact that you had several guys who's accomplishments really can't be rated over the other.... Sugar Ray Leonard probably defeated the best collection of great men... Spinks dominated an entire division, then moved up and became the first in his category to snag the heavyweight crown.. Hearns won titles in more divisions than anyone.. Tyson became the youngest champ in history and in so doing, established a very dominant reign. Chavez established the longest winning streak in history. Holmes reached the mark of 48-0, and compiled 19 title defenses.....

Not easy to choose and frankly I don't know that any one man can be fairly accredited as being the sole super acheiver. The only thing that I will say however, is that there are some guys who probably aren't even in the running... Hagler, Holyfield, Arguello, Pryor and Camacho don't even belong on that list, as great as they were.

 

Hagler belongs on the list every bit as much as the likes of Hearns or Spinks.

 

Hagler is on the list. So is Spinks. Hearns isn't. :blood

Did you mix up Hagler and Hearns? If so, I'm not sure what to make of a statement like "the likes of Hagler..." in seemingly derisive tones...

edit: just realized that you were replying to magoo. Ignore me. :good

 

:shock:

I'd said Spinks earlier, but I think it might actually be Hagler. Hagler was fighter of the decade.
Hagler is definitely one of the main and obvious candidates.

 

I was responding to Magoo.

 

^ :yep

 

For the decade i'm actually gonna go with Spinks.

He was active from 1980-88. Beat an underrated Marvin Johnson. Then won the championship in 81 over a very good fighter in Mustafa Muhammad.

From 1981 to 1985 he made 10 title defenses in a talent rich LHW division beating Qwai, Davis, and Sutherland along the way.

He then moved up to beat ATG champ Holmes really putting a stamp on his legacy. Made a few title defenses before getting KO'd by a peak Kid Dynamite. Great legacy. I only wish he would have fought Saad Muhammad.

Leonard was outstanding but there were things you could nit pick about. He arguably lost to Hagler, looked so-so against Howard. Hearns knocked him into retirement for a couple years. He never gave Hagler the rematch, and waited years to give Duran his rubbermatch.

I might be playing Devil's Advocate here but Jinx was every bit the fighter Leonard was.

 

I don't think that Hagler's accomplishments really eclipse that of the top list I mentioned, but if you think he belongs on there, then stick him in..

 

Based on what? His biggest fights in the 80's came against past prime fighters, rising in weight, and he even lost to one of them. I agree that his reign was very dominant, but I can't see his 1980's accomplishments as eclipsing that of Ray Leonards, Mike Tyson's or even a few of the others.

 

i think its cause Son of Gaul has a love thing going on with camacho

my vote went to hagler

 

you have Camacho and no Thomas Hearns? I cannot vote in this poll without Hearns since I would have voted for him. Hearns won the most titles in the 1980's than anyone did. He was involved in superfights and Camacho was not. Holyfield was more a 1990s guy than an 1980s. As a matter of fact Hearns would have to be near the top of the 1980's like numbers 1-3 no doubt. I do not understand how you left him out. That is like leaving Roy Jones and Delahoya out of the 1990s.