Your ranking: Barrera, Pacquiao, Marquez, Morales, Hamed at 126?

1) Marco Antonio Barrera (1989-2009)

Record: 65-7, 43 KOs
Featherweight Titlists/Champions Faced: 4 (Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed, Johnny Tapia, Kevin Kelley)

I think Marco Antonio Barrera stands out as the best Featherweight of the group as a result of the competition that he both faced and defeated. Only Manny Pacquiao was able to defeat Marco at 126lbs, and undefeated P4P rated opposition in Erik Morales and Naseem Hamed were both defeated. Other notable performances were against former world champions in Enrique Sanchez and Johnny Tapia. Titles never defined Marco, as evidenced by his refusal to accept Eriks' WBC title after defeating him in 2002.

2) Naseem Hamed (1992-2002)

Record: 36-1, 31 KOs
Featherweight Titlists/Champions Faced: 7 (Cesar Soto, Kevin Kelley, Steve Robinson, Tom Johnson, Wilfredo Vasquez, Manuel Medina, Marco Antonio Barrera)

Naseem Hamed certainly wasn't the second best fighter among these four, but it's hard to argue with his credentials at 126lbs. He made a staggering 15 title defenses of his WBO strap, and captured the WBC and IBF belts somewhere along the way. He was very dominant until he came against Barrera, and unfortunately never recovered. Got a lot of work done at this weight, his achievements are there. Victories over Robinson, Medina, and Bungu are respectable.

3) Juan Manuel Marquez (1993-Present)

Record: 50-5-1, 37 KOs
Featherweight Titlists/Champions faced: 4 (Manuel Medina, Chris John, Derrick Gainer, Freddie Norwood)

Juan Manuel Marquez success at 126lbs was often overshadowed by his contemporaries in Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and with good reason. The level of competition he often faced there during his prime was below that expected of Marquez's level of talent in my view. He was shamelessly ducked by long reigned British puncher/showmen Naseem Hamed, who would go on to lose to Barrera. He ultimately lost to two of the Titlists he faced, and drew in his biggest performance.


4) Erik Morales (1993-Present)

Record: 48-6, 34 KOs
Featherweight Titlists/Champions faced: 4 (In-Jin Chi, Kevin Kelly, Guty Espadas Jr, Marco Antonio Barrera)

Depending on how you scored his second with Barrera, Erik could be higher on your list. He got quite a lot of work done at 126lbs, and his victory over In Jin Chi in a a very entertaining battle is particularly noteworthy, as was his showing against Marco Antonio Barrera. Won the WBC title on two different occasions.

5) Manny Pacquiao (1995-Present)

Record: 50-3-2, 38 KOs
Featherweight Titlists/Champions Faced: 2 (Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez)

It's true, Manny Pacquiao dismantled the man who tops my list but when were ranking fighters in the context of all their achievements at 1 weight, a single great win doesn't cut it. Outside of that, he managed to throw away a huge lead against Marquez to earn himself a draw in a fight I felt he lost narrowly. He had three fights in total at this weight, and that's why he is bringing up the rear. Had the potential to establish himself as the best but moved up instead.

Not all of the information might be dead accurate but I think the point is well made. When considering opposition faced and defeated, there is a clear distinction between Barrera and the other combatants. I think Hamed gets a good placing because of the work he got done in the weight class and the titles he attained during that time.

What is your ranking and why?

 

For what reason was Marquez the best at 126lbs?

 

Lol.

Just being real, Boxed Ears. Marquez didn't do anything spectacular as a Featherweight.

 

We're rating them at 126 and we only consider what they did at that weight. Care to elaborate, Russell?

 

Nah, Russell ain't that stupid is he?

 

I'm throwing Manny into the mix because he is listed among the top 10 Featherweights of all time by the Classic Forum. I'm including Manny because on a recent poll in the General Forum, Manny was voted the greatest Featherweight of the decade. I'm including Pacquiao because he was rated by Ring Magazine as the second greatest Featherweight of the decade.

Stop with your conspiracy theories, and give me your ranking. That's all I want from you.