Top Fives

[Crease]

Probably the impossible question. I don't think that it has been done before in it's own thread. Obviously, everyone will have different opinions - this is the place to voice them.
QUICK NOTE: Due to the sheer amount of guys who have won World titles in various weight divisions, people may put a fighter in different divisions. For example, some may have Sugar Ray Robinson as a Welterweight, others may have him as a Middleweight.

In no particular order

Heavyweight: Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, George Foreman, Joe Frazier
Cruiserweight: Evander Holyfield, David Haye, Juan Carlos Gomez, Johnny Nelson, Carlos De Leon
Light Heavyweight: Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Gene Tunney, Michael Spinks, Bob Foster

Super Middleweight: Joe Calzaghe, Roy Jones Jr, Steve Collins, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank
Middleweight: Carlos Monzon, Marvin Hagler, Jake LaMotta, Harry Greb, Bernard Hopkins
Light Middleweight: Thomas Hearns, Wilfred Benitez, Terry Norris, Winky Wright, Julian Jackson

Welterweight: Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Kid Gavilan, Pernell Whitaker, Ted Kid Lewis
Light Welterweight: Julio Cesar Chavez, Kostya Tszyu, Aaron Pryor, Oscar De La Hoya, Duilio Loi
Light Weight: Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran, Benny Leonard, Ike Williams, Joe Gans

Super Featherweight: Azumah Nelson, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Flash Elorde, Kid Chocolate, Manny Pacquaio
Featherweight: Willie Pep, Alexis Arguello, Sandy Saddler, Terry McGovern, Salvador Sanchez
Super Bantamweight: Wilfredo Gomez, Erik Morales, Wilfredo Vazquez, Daniel Zaragoza, Marco Antonio Barrera
Bantamweight: Eder Jofre, Carlos Zarate, Ruben Olivares, Panama Al Brown, Fighting Harada

Super Flyweight: Khaosai Galaxy, Jiro Wantanabe, Johnny Tapia, Gilberto Roman, Sung Kil Moon
Flyweight: Jimmy Wilde, Frankie Genaro, Fidel La Barba, Benny Lynch, Pancho Villa
Light Flyweight: Michael Carbajal, Humberto Gonzalez, Jorge Arce, Jung-Koo Chang, Myung-Woo Yuh
Minimum Weight: Ricardo Lopez, Ivan Calderon, Rosendo Alvarez, Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, Eagle Den Junlaphan

[Crease]

I started off at Heavyweight and worked my way down. I started this a few days ago, and I kept taking a break between weight classes, so I kept forgetting that I had already used a fighter (I did it with Pernell Whitaker when I considered putting him in as a Lightweight) and someone light Oscar De La Hoya is a credible candidate for at least 3 weight divisions.

Looking through my list I'm actually amazed that I didn't find a place for Sam Langford or Hector Camacho.

[Ambling Alp II]

First of all, cool idea. You are never going to find two people with the exact same lists, but I would only make a few changes. I agree with about 90% of your picks.

You do need to find a place for Sam Langford. I would put him at cruiserweight. Obviously they didn't have the weight class in his day, but he should not be penalized for that. Not sure who you take out; certainly not Holyfield.

You also need to get Fitzsimmons and Walker in there and Super Middleweight is weak. Fitzsimmons could go in at Super Middleweight.
Move Greb up to Super Middleweight as well. Most of his most impressive wins were when he was over 160 and against bigger fighters anyway. Would also put in someone else at Super Middle, maybe Lloyd Marshall. Would take out Collins, Benn and Eubank.

Since Greb is moving up, you could put Walker at middleweight.
Replace Tszyu at 140 with Barney Ross.

There are several close calls where someone will want a different guy in. Hopefully if someone says that so and so should be in, they will say who has to come out.

This was fun. Great job!

[Scypion]

Good lists. I would have no problem putting boxers on more than one weight class, like having Robinson also on the middleweight top 5 someplace, and Roberto Duran as a top 5 welterweight.

Duran won all of his welterweight bouts except the infamous "no mas" fight. He not only beat Leonard, but also Palomino, Jimmy Heair (a great performance by Duran), and about 3 other guys.

Duran beat himself in the "no mas" fight and Leonard's handlers beat him when they offered Duran's people so much money (about 8 million I think) to take the rematch with Leonard so soon. Duran was forced to lose so much weight that it was impossible to get in any kind of shape for the fight. I know that I would have gotten sick if I lost so much weight taking drugs and whatever and then having a big meal before the fight.

Of course, Duran's handlers were not going to turn down the 8 million and they would have shot Duran if he did. Duran should have taken a couple of easy fights before fighting Leonard again, and maybe should have fought him at 154. The trouble is, not many would turn down 8 million dollars. The advantage of being Sugar Ray Leonard (being able to offer so much money).

[Scypion]

Good lists. I would have no problem putting boxers on more than one weight class, like having Robinson also on the middleweight top 5 someplace, and Roberto Duran as a top 5 welterweight.

Duran won all of his welterweight bouts except the infamous "no mas" fight. He not only beat Leonard, but also Palomino, Jimmy Heair (a great performance by Duran), and about 3 other guys.

Duran beat himself in the "no mas" fight and Leonard's handlers beat him when they offered Duran's people so much money (about 8 million I think) to take the rematch with Leonard so soon. Duran was forced to lose so much weight that it was impossible to get in any kind of shape for the fight. I know that I would have gotten sick if I lost so much weight taking drugs and whatever and then having a big meal before the fight.

Of course, Duran's handlers were not going to turn down the 8 million and they would have shot Duran if he did. Duran should have taken a couple of easy fights before fighting Leonard again, and maybe should have fought him at 154. The trouble is, not many would turn down 8 million dollars. The advantage of being Sugar Ray Leonard (being able to offer so much money).

It looks like Mike Trainer, who was Sugar Ray Leonard's lawyer, got Roberto Duran again in Leonard/Duran 3. Here is part of an article written by a boxing writer named Pedro Fernandez about Mike Trainer, known as "Top Cat" by the Leonard camp, and the 3rd Leonard/Duran fight:

"TOP CAT" BEGINS PLOTTING AGAINST DURAN....AGAIN!


As we both left the post fight press gathering, Trainer said he would try and make the third-Leonard-Duran fight for late summer. That timetable didn't hold true and neither did Duran's conditioning as he was soft and pudgy when he and Ray met in December of that year in the freezing Nevada desert at the opening of the Mirage Hotel. Trainer, utilizing the same negotiating plan he did for the second Leonard-Duran fight, he waited until Duran blew up to well over 200 lbs., and demanded the fight take place in three months. Just like the second fight, the "no mas" debacle, Roberto wasn't in any kind of shape. Even though he would fight until 2001, the last time Roberto showed up ready for a fight was against Barkley, thus this truly was Roberto Duran's Last Stand As Champion.

Pedro Fernandez


The offer was 7 million dollars, so Duran's people had to agree to Trainer's terms, or no fight. Included in the terms for the 2nd fight was a bigger ring for Leonard to run around in, and I am sure that this was the same for the third fight between the two boxers as well (I saw that fight and the ring did look pretty large). I think that the gloves were bigger too, as in the Leonard-Hagler fight, and for 12 rounds. Nice being Sugar Ray Leonard when you have the money to offer to get things the way that you want it in his fights.

Also, included in the contract was a "catchweight" of 162 lbs., even though the fight was for the WBC Super Middleweight title, which was normally fought at a limit 167 or 168 lbs.

I have to admit that Trainer's timing was pretty good. Duran had just come off a very big win for him against Iran Barkley, and was really celebrating.

[Ambling Alp II]

So you hijacked his thread with crybaby Duran excuses. Nice.
He named his top 5 fighters covering 17 weight classes. That's 85 fighters in over 130 years of boxing. And you are going off a poor Robert Duran tangent.

If you want to explore the always fascinating subject of Duran excuses, do it on another thread.

It looks like you have ruined what could have been be an interesting good thread.

[Scypion]

So you hijacked his thread with crybaby Duran excuses. Nice.
He named his top 5 fighters covering 17 weight classes. That's 85 fighters in over 130 years of boxing. And you are going off a poor Robert Duran tangent.

If you want to explore the always fascinating subject of Duran excuses, do it on another thread.

It looks like you have ruined what could have been be an interesting good thread.

Wow, you really hate this guy Duran.

No Duran excuse here. Leonard's people have been very open about how they got Duran to lose so much weight so fast and how it affected him, although I didn't know about the 3rd fight until recently. Not that big a deal I guess because Roberto was past it anyway by then.

Sorry that I ruined this thread for you, but this is information that I think that some will find interesting (apparently not you). Go ahead and post some more about the top 5 in each weight class if you want to. Nobody is stopping you.

BTW, Roberto Duran doesn't need excuses. He has had a great career, and might still be fighting if not for a car accident (oops, another Duran excuse).

[tiny_acres]

So you hijacked his thread with crybaby Duran excuses. Nice.
He named his top 5 fighters covering 17 weight classes. That's 85 fighters in over 130 years of boxing. And you are going off a poor Robert Duran tangent.

If you want to explore the always fascinating subject of Duran excuses, do it on another thread.

It looks like you have ruined what could have been be an interesting good thread.

BTW, Roberto Duran doesn't need excuses. He has had a great career, and might still be fighting if not for a car accident (oops, another Duran excuse).

Quite possibly the dumbest post of the day.
You do realize that Duran will be 64 years old come June?
Car accident or not he would not of been fighting

[Scypion]

So you hijacked his thread with crybaby Duran excuses. Nice.
He named his top 5 fighters covering 17 weight classes. That's 85 fighters in over 130 years of boxing. And you are going off a poor Robert Duran tangent.

If you want to explore the always fascinating subject of Duran excuses, do it on another thread.

It looks like you have ruined what could have been be an interesting good thread.

BTW, Roberto Duran doesn't need excuses. He has had a great career, and might still be fighting if not for a car accident (oops, another Duran excuse).

Quite possibly the dumbest post of the day.
You do realize that Duran will be 64 years old come June?
Car accident or not he would not of been fighting

So you hijacked his thread with crybaby Duran excuses. Nice.
He named his top 5 fighters covering 17 weight classes. That's 85 fighters in over 130 years of boxing. And you are going off a poor Robert Duran tangent.

If you want to explore the always fascinating subject of Duran excuses, do it on another thread.

It looks like you have ruined what could have been be an interesting good thread.

BTW, Roberto Duran doesn't need excuses. He has had a great career, and might still be fighting if not for a car accident (oops, another Duran excuse).

Quite possibly the dumbest post of the day.
You do realize that Duran will be 64 years old come June?
Car accident or not he would not of been fighting

I wasn't serious about that. It was a car accident that made him retire though.