The legendary 175 lbs champion competed at heavyweight too, but not with much success. He was usually taller than his opponents at heavyweight and was physically a rather large man, but it didn't help him against Doug Jones or Zora Folley. Does his campaign at heavyweight affect his all-time legacy, how much, and why?
No. He's one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time, and failing at a higher division doesn't affect that. If Hagler failed at 175, would it impact his standing as a middleweight?
In my opinion, no. However, many seem to disagree, considering the likes of De La Hoya, Canelo, Floyd, Mosley etc. who have struggled above their best weight. Had they stayed in their best weight classes (like Foster or Hagler) they would be appreciated even more than now
Floyd is considered by most casuals to be the GOAT. What more appreciation does he need? Canelo kept outgrowing weight classes. In the end, it seems his optimal and natural division was always 168. I'd say he's pretty appreciated at 168. Oscar, like Canelo, kept outgrowing divisions. Oscar's natural weight class was 147. At 147 he proved to be an excellent fighter, but not a dominant fighter. I'm not seeing what your angle is here...
I'm just trying to find the consistent logic from here. Mosley, like Foster, was dominant in his best weight class, often because of his superior physical talent. Mosley, like Foster, went up in weight to seek for challenge. Mosley, like Foster, had trouble with the naturally bigger men (Forrest, Doug Jones) even if they weren't that much larger. When we evaluate Mosley's worth as a fighter, Forrest bouts definitely will come up. Doug Jones bout doesn't. Why is this, and would Mosley be more appreciated had he stayed at @135 and then retired?
I said just two days ago in the overrated to underrated thread that Mosley has become underappreciated. That people have an image in their minds of the old man Canelo beat up, instead of the dominant lightweight that he was. Still, Foster dominated light heavy for a few more years than Shane dominated lightweight, and with wins over guys like Tiger and Rondon, it puts him ahead of the lightweight Mosley.
