Your fifteen most talented fighters of the past thirty years...

In no particular order...

1. Roy Jones Jr.
2. Mike Tyson.
3. Manny Pacquiao.
4. Pernell Whitaker.
5. Shane Mosley.
6. Oscar De La Hoya.
7. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
8. Lennox Lewis.
9. Ray Leonard.
10. Tommy Hearns.
11. Marvin Hagler.
12. Roberto Duran.
13. Wilfred Benitez.
14. Meldrick Taylor.
15. Julio Cesar Chavez.

 

Duran at 12? Behind Oscar? ::

Lewis in the top 10? Mosley at 5?

The top 3 are correct and interchangable, the rest of your list is absurd.

 

No especial order

MA Barrera
Wladimir Klitschko
Royston Jones Jr.
Sugar Ray Leonard
Meldrick Taylor
Alexis Arguello
Joe Calzaghe
Ricardo Lopez
Floyd Mayweather Jr
Pernell Whittaker
Roberto Duran
Mike Tyson
Vitali Klitschko
Azumah Nelson
JMM Marquez

 

He said "in no particular order".

 

pointless topic, especially if we're not going to specify order. 30 years is too big a range for one thing. May as well say the last 100 years.....shiiiiiiiiit.

 

Nope. The talent gap widens considerably after a certain point, I would say that the earlier side of 1950 you see talent being constituted more by toughness, conditioning and raw power than by any universal degree of sophistication.

Its not that they weren't capable- its that they weren't taught to be so.

There are exceptions, Pep, Louis, Corbett, Conn, Choynsky

Don't get me wrong, I have seen talent overwhelmed and beaten into the dirt by sheer effort and spirit and balls, but we aren't talking about the greatest fighters of the last 30 years but rather the greatest talents of that period.

It is debatable whether Ricardo Lopez could have survived for 30 rounds or more with a guy like Jimmy Wilde, who was a freakishly well conditioned flyweight. But Wilde could never match the guy for artistry, economy of effort, overall fluidity and slickness. It is a wonder if Marvin Hagler could have done too much with a genuine 170lbr like Stanley Ketchel who had the punch, not to mention the temerity, to bowl over Jack Johnson.

Game is different today, it is regimented strictly, there's almost none of this "to the death" mullarky of yesteryear.

 

No particular order.

Roberto Duran
Sugar Ray Leonard
Mike Tyson
Roy Jones
Manny Pacquiao
Floyd Mayweather
Wilfred Benitez
Ricardo Lopez
James Toney
Tommy Hearns
Aaron Pryor
Juan Manuel Marquez
Erik Morales
Pernell Whitaker
Azumah Nelson

 

Oscar more talented than Duran & Leonard?:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

Well in all fairness he could fade in the late rounds better than either guy.:dunno:

 

Mine IS in specific order. IMO, and this is based on TALENT remember:

1. Jones
2. Leonard
3. Tyson
4. Manny
5. Duran
6. Whitaker
7. Floyd
8. Hearns
9. Pryor
10. M.Spinks
11. Lopez
12. Curry
13. Mosley
14. Benitez
15. Holy & Hopkins tied


Honorable mention: Toney, Hagler, Chavez, Camacho, Taylor, Norris, Oscar, Marquez, Nelson, Mark Johnson, EM Muhammed, Barrera, Hamed, Rosario, Nunn, McCallum, Lummox, Tszyu, and Bowe.

 

Would it be pointless if everyone ranked Floyd #1?

 

Pac
Wlad
Lennox
Ottke
Calzaghe
Roid
Leonard
Ruiz
Oquendo
Whitaker
Norris
C. Spinks
Campas
Hearns
Pryor
Hamed

 

If this same poll was made over at Eastisde.... Calzaghe would be top 5, and Khan & Haye would make everyones top 10.

 

off the top of my head (very little concentrated effort; personal preferences abounding):

JMM
McCallum
El Finito
Duran
Pacquiao
ODH
RJJ
Mel Taylor
Toney
Nunn
Sal Sanchez
Benitez
PBF
Holmes
SRL

 

Well here we got Sven Ottke mentioned... so i wouldn't be to proud...


Ah shit Ugo also has Oquendo and Campas, so he was prolly just stirring... ::

 

I can't distinguish talent from quality. :dunno:

 

talent = speed and flashy style

 

this is the only list so far that has a firm grasp on the topic at hand. well done.

 

For a guy with no power and no real speed or obvious physical advantages such as height, reach, or strength, Ottke has a ridiculous resume which includes him never losing a pro fight and beating, in the amateurs, JC Gomez, Chris Byrd, Antonio Tarver, Michael Moorer and Zsolt Erdei.

The guy clearly had talent. Was he protected at home? Sure, to a degree, but nowhere near as much as the latter-day Bernard Hopkins. Once I decided to exclude Hopinks, Ottke also had to be excluded for the same reasons.

But Ottke was definitely a very talented fighter who was beating a lot of guys years ago who remain pertinent to this day, like Glen Johnson, for instance.

 

Being black is also helpful. But not from africa. hippety hoppety-style...

 

not sure what being 'talented' being means these days.

to me, it's having great athletic or strategic ability and actually applying it consistently to your best advantage.

someone like naseem hamed comes to mind as far as pure talent concerned. before his reflexes and skills have begun to deteriorate, he was at least able to dominate his foes and knocked them out in a brutal fashion. he did so even during his early-to-mid title reign when he wasn't as fast as he was at one point.

someone like zab judah, does not. despite his fast hands, power, and overall speed, they've only been displayed in spurts. he surely lacked in the discipline and consistency department and sometimes wasn't able to execute his plans or lack there of against opponents who were far inferior on paper. his defense and stamina also were in question when pitted against guys who could take his shots and back him up.

to me, judah was a very fast, once a very good fighter who's always had chinks in his armor. not the most talented.

some detractors say roy jones was a great talent, but not a great boxer, but that's much more difficult to argue considering he wasted all of his opponents w/ near perfection until he got old.

 

Oops, missed that bit. In that case he shouldn't have numbered them, it automatically makes it seem like an ordered list.

 

:giggle:

 

1. Jones
2. Leonard
3. Whitaker
4. Duran
5. Mayweather
6. Pacquiao
7. Benitez
8. Hagler
9. Hearns
10.Toney
11. Hopkins
12. R. Lopez
13. De La Hoya
14. JM Marquez
15. A. Nelson

 

Why did nobody mention Zab Judah, yet???

 

Because this is a thread about most talented, not most ghetto.

 

Because every fighter I listed was more talented than Zab.

 

Or most gold teef

 

Zab Judah has an IQ of 135

 

I don't believe he has an IQ of 35.