This, of course, will be a much longer list than the opposite one. And some fighters that belong on the list are more important I think than others as far as demonstrating the degree to which the sport has been watered down over the years. Can you imagine Ponce De Leon being champion of anything in the 1960's? Let alone managing several defenses of his belt on television?
Obviously if you take out the variations of titles that came after the 1960's many of today's champions wouldn't be back then.
I know. But some examples are more revealing than others of just how marginalized the term, "champion" has become. Wouldn't you agree. Maussa is a perfect example. The guy was a punching bag with the coordingation of a puppy dog.
Maybe we should narrow down the list to unified champions or Ring beltholders. Baldomir Briggs Spinks
All of those guys got legit title shots and won. More titles or boxing changing had nothing to do with those guys winning championships. (Although Briggs obviously got a gift)
Yeah, but that argument can go both ways. I think this thread is better suited for fighters who won meaningless belts. Not guys who received legit title shots for real championships and won them in the ring. IMO, of course. Examples like Vivian Harris, Mazonke Fana and Ponce De Leon all work a little better.
It's kindof pointless to compare a guy who isn't really the champ to a guy who was a real champ of yesteryear.
Maybe I'm missing the point. (I doubt it:nono:) I read this thread as follows: You could win one title in the olden days. You can win four now. What current fighters who have titles would not have won a title back in the day when it was harder to win one?
Margarita wouldnt get a snift of the Welterweight title in the Leonard/Hearns/Duran era. Juan Diaz would barely be relevant in the 80's lightweight division. Wlad would barely be relevant in the early 90's heavyweight division.
Neither would Mayweather. And Klitschko holds a belt in any era he competes in, IMO. He's alwys going to be a champion in a four belt era. He's a very good fighter and hard to beat.
It sorta depends on how we're dealing with this subject...if we're taking prime Klitschko and putting that version into the early 90's era, I think he'd have had a good shot against early 90's unified champions Douglas and Holyfield.
