In a list by the ring magazine of the Top 50 fighters of the last 50 years (1997) Holmes was listed as 17th P4P and Olivares 18th, but which fighter really should be ranked higher than the other? Info given on Holmes: Quality of competition: 8 Bouts v Top 50 fighters: 4 Why he was on the list: He made 20 successful defenses. What he could have done to improve his ranking: Beaten Ali five years earlier than he did. Olivares info: Quality of competition: 9 Bouts v Top 50 fighters; 2 Why he was on the list: He twice won the feather title, even though he didn`t belong at that weight. What he could have done to improve his ranking: Taken better care of his body.
Not sure myself...……..I do think people tend to overlook Olivares' inconsistencies. Though he did have the glossier resume, really. &%$#, I don't know.
Olivares, Olivares, oh how I loved you during my late teens, early 20s. As I have said many times, the late 60s to mid 70s was I would say the finest time to read ( not a lot on Tele then ) about fighters, scrub that, great fighters, Ali, Foster, Monzon, Napoles,Duran, not a truly great FW for me, Olivares, Gonzalez, c,mon tell me they are not in everbodys top 5, some cases No 1, but Olivares, he was my fav, by early 70s he had grown his hair ( hadnt we all ) adding a sort of pop star look to his mein, gone was the short style of the Rose fight, and my how it suited him. Well remember running ( case they sold out ) to my local sweet shop, to get that weeks copy of BN , and if Rocyabye Rubuen had defended during the previous week, then my pace increased. Around that time he was regarded as a sort oy mythical figure, not many Americans or Europeans had seen him in action, so we had only the reports to sustain us, he was a Keyser Soze, a apperition, a fighter that wasn,t normal, no one could hit that hard surely, no one had that many fights with out defeat, yes they did. Fully accept that Jofre, Ortiz, Zarate, may have been his better, but for me it wasnt at that time he was God.
Tough one. I think Holmes is a greater Heavyweight than Olivares was a Bantam...But Ruben does have those Featherweight achievements to help bolster his claims here, albeit I think he was nothing more than serviceable at 126 lb in the grand scheme of things. I also think Ruben's claims as opposed to someone like Holmes are inflated slightly because of the nature of his arrival on the championship seen. He looked unbeatable and indomitable when he tore his way through Rose and Rudkin, which adds an air of legendary status which none of Holmes' victories quite have. But he never quite maintained that same level or aura thereafter (which would have been hard for anyone to maintain, in fairness) Olivares' highest moments are maybe that little bit higher than Holmes', but at the same time he has a couple more disappointing lows than Larry does. Personally, I'd give this one to Holmes but I suspect I'll be in the minority there. Close enough for me to not really grumble if that's the case, though.
I’d think Olivares, but I’m not sure, to be honest. I don’t really know how to rate Heavyweights in an all time, pound for pound sense outside of Ali and Louis.
Iliv I’m the same. Especially when he demolished Alan Rudkin who’d went life and death with Harada and Rose.
