Self explanatory. Rank these 6 in terms of who you believe was best-to-least in their respective amazing primes. Roy - Mid-to-late 90s version Floyd - Early-to-mid 00s version Leonard - Early 80s version Whitaker - Late 80s, early 90s version Ali - Mid 60s version Duran - Mid-to-late 70s version Very, very hard to rank em, but I'd say: 1. Jones - Point blank, 90s Jones was the best fighter I've seen in my life. Sadly, he suffered the biggest fall from grace of anybody on this list... but also had the most dominant prime. 2. Duran - This one was indeed difficult, but at the end of the day, he dominanted lightweight perhaps more impressively than any fighter has dominanted one weight, and he then moved up and beat the consensus #2 welter of all time. I do believe that on a P4P level, lightweight Duran was a bit better than Leonard and Ali. 3. Ali - It's a close one indeed between early 80s Leonard and mid 60s Ali, but in the end I'm going with Ali. A lot their attributes are similar - handspeed (probably equal P4P), power (maybe a slight edge to Leonard), finishing ability, both unreal stamina... you could say that Leonard was the better total package, but one thing Ali definitely had over Ray was better defensive reflexes, and probably a very slightly higher ring IQ. 4. Leonard - The best total package on the list. I consider these 4 to be a bit better than the lower two guys. Ray's only downfall that separates him from the top 3 is suffered a loss in his prime, and just so happens, to the man at #2. Still, he was better than Whitaker and Floyd. 5. Whitaker - Incredibly dominant prime, and in the eyes of most, the second best lightweight of all time behind Duran. Although he's the lowest on this list in terms of offense, he's the best defensive fighter (fuck what the mainstream TMT propoganda says). What he edges him over Floyd's prime is simply due to the fact that I can't see a prime Whitaker arguably lose to Castillo. Which brings us to #6.. 6. Floyd - To his credit, the best junior lightweight I've ever seen. Also to his credit, the best longevity of anybody on this list. However, I feel his prime was a tad bit lower than these guys... he's the only one on this list who arguably lost in their primes to a non-great fighter, and he just looked more beatable during his prime than the 5 men above him. Thanks to careful match making, and mainstream crossover fame, he has casual fans convinced he's the better/greater than these 5 men... which is false. Your turn, rank em. I already know what Sly's ranking is gonna look like. His list will be: 1. Floyd 2. Roy 3. Ali 4. Leonard 5. Whitaker 6. Duran
An almost impossible task if course, since you could argue that every guy either showed weakness (Leonard vs Duran and Hearns) or was not tested (Roy, Floyd). Usually I have given the nod to Jones but had there been a slickster (such as Griffin but better) or a huge banger against him, we might know more. Leonard was the most proven. Pee Wee and Floyd are very difficult to see losing too. Duran, clearly, is the weakest link
Nice topic. I think the best way to rank this is to look at dominance over formidable opposition. Guys with virtuoso performances over proven opposition must rank the highest. With that in mind I have to rank Roy, Floyd, Ali and Whitaker above Leonard and Duran. Roy dominated previously undefeated Toney, and Toney had proven himself a great fighter with wins over Nunn and Jirov among others Ali dominated Liston in that first fight and was virtually untouchable in his first reign. Mayweather dominated Corrales when Corrales was undefeated and a Titlist and Corrales went on the beat Freitas, Castillo, casamayor. Whitaker dominated previously unbeaten Chavez. Leonard and Duran always made hard fights of it when they met an opponent that was expected to challenge them. Now out of the top 4, you can argue that Liston was past prime and Chavez was on the slide. So that leaves Roy and Floyd at the top. Between Roy and Floyd, dominating Toney is more impressive than dominating Corrales. So my order, based on unquestioned objectivity is: 1. Roy 2. Floyd 3. Ali 4. Whitaker 5. Duran 6. Leonard The Sly One has Spoken!!
Ali imo is definitvely the weakest one, but it's pretty much impossible to rate the other ones. Gun to my head, I would put Leonard first, cause the number of ATG he beat is just staggering.
Ali and Floyd are both better than Leonard. Leonard struggled with every good fighter he faced....he only had virtuoso performances against mediocre fighters...plus you HAVE to penalize Leonard heavily for losing, in his prime, to s fighter that was slightly past prime and came up two divisions to face him. A prospective GOAT is made of different stuff. If Floyd was naturally two divisions bigger than a Duran he would have beaten him soundly....you know it and so does everyone else. Picture a 122lb Duran moving up and challenging a 130lb Mayweather....nigga please.
I'll once again point out, that Leonard dominated the previously undefeated Benitez to win his first title. That win alone shits on Floyd's cherry picking career, including the Corrales win. You shouldn't even be allowed in this thread, as Floyd's cock is too far down your throat for you to give an objective opinion.
Xplosive only ranks Floyd at the bottom because it is fashionable to do so and he wants to stay popular with the likes of Other Mayweather haters. The fact of the matter is that Floyd hasn't tasted defeat through 50 fights...never even been knocked down and hardly ever in a competitive fight and he's done this through 5 weight classes and approximately 30 championship fights over many current and future hall of famers. It's hard to make a case against this guy
Please. I'm objective where Floyd is concerned...you're just a hater. I'm a bigger fan of some other fighters but the fact is that Floyd, as unlikeable as he is, has proved his point with his career
I think Floyd was a much better fighter than Ali and it's not even close. Ali basically got KO'd by Cooper, lost to Frazier, lost to Norton (several times), should have lost to Young. Apart from Frazier, they were the calibre of fighters Floyd would have dominated. The only fight of Ali's career I've been truly impressed with is the Foreman fight, he showed he's a tough bastard and did what it took to win, but Foreman did fight like an utter retard. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Ali at all. He could be really good to watch, but jesus fucking christ is he overrated. It's sacrilegious to suggest such a thing as he's such a legend, and a big, influential part of history, but it's the truth - every other fighter on this list is a significantly better fighter than Ali.
Anyway, my list is 1) Duran 2) Leonard 3) Floyd 4) Roy 5) Whitaker 6) Ali Roy in his prime was phenomenal, I can understand someone ranking him #1 - but for me the skills, intelligence and chin of the top 3 clinch it.
Fuck yes imo. Was Floyd more skilled than Ali? Yes. More skilled than Roy as well. But their immense, once in a lifetime talent made them better fighters than Floyd at their peaks.
