Most entertaining fighter per....

.... Decade? Per Weight? I tell you what, it may be a big ask, but it's a fun one.

Here's some templates:

HW:
CW:
175:
168:
160:
154:
147:
140:
135:
130:
126:
122:
118:
115:
112:
108:
105:

1950s:
1960s:
1970s:
1980s:
1990s:
2000s:
2010s:

 

Try to only use each guy once. Make it harder.

 

For me, it goes like this.

HW: Evander Holyfield
CW: Carl Thompson
175: Saad Muhammad
168: Nigel Benn
160: Frank Fletcher
154: Fernando Vargas
147: Gaspar Ortega
140: Arturo Gatti
135: Ray Mancini
130: Bobby Chacon
126: Danny Lopez
122: Daniel Zaragoza
118: Kelvin Seabrooks
115: Sung-Kil Moon
112: Charlie Magri
108: Myung-Woo Yuh
105: Katsunari Takayama

1950s: Carmen Basilio
1960s: Gaspar Ortega
1970s: Saad Muhammad
1980s: Bobby Chacon
1990s: Daniel Zaragoza
2000s: Erik Morales
2010s: Orlando Salido

 

Probably more reflective of my ignorance of the real lower weights than the fighters themselves but here's my first attempt.

HW: Holyfield
CW: Carl Thompson (good shout, George)
175: Saad Muhammad
168: Carl Froch
160: Frank Fletcher
154: Thomas Hearns
147: Carmen Basilio
140: Aaron Pryor
135: Mando Ramos
130: Cornelius Boza-Edwards
126: Danny Lopez
122: Erik Morales
118: Alfonso Zamora
115: ?
112: Chartchai Chionoi
108: Michael Carbajal
105: ?

1950s: Carmen Basilio
1960s: Joe Frazier
1970s: Matthew Franklin / Saad Muhammad
1980s: Cornelius Boza-Edwards
1990s: Arturo Gatti
2000s: Israel Vasquez
2010s: ?

 

You’re both in agreement that Frank Fletcher is the more exciting Middleweight of all time?

 

Just off the top of my head, Gil Turner should win the award for both WW and the '50s as a whole.

 

I find Jackson the most exciting middleweight of all time.

Not because he was in a lot of wars, but because when he hit guys they reacted like they had been hit in the face with a sawed off shotgun.

 

Weirdly, yes. Was the first name that came to me and I genuinely didn't see George had put him down. Then when I went through the list, saw it matched. If I gave more thought to it, could probably come up with a bunch of other names. From a Uk perspective, Nigel Benn is up there at 160. Julian Jackson was also a consideration for me at both 154 and 160 but I chose Hearns instead at jnr middle.

But could only choose one and went for The Animal.

 

I can see WW, but overall 50s? More than Basilio?

 

I would say yes. Out of just the fights I've seen, he had thrilling battles with Gavilan, Giardello, Joe Miceli, Basilio, Bobby Jones, Johnny Saxton x2, Fullmer, and Akins. Then he had countless other fights that were described as exciting, such as vs. Fullmer x2, Bobby Dykes, Ramon Fuentes, Rocky Castellani, Pierre Langlois, Joey Giambra, and others. Plus his record is a "who's who" of top WWs and MWs of that era.