Posted: 02 Mar 2008, 08:41
Hmm what do you define as the difference between modern day fighter. Armstrong/Ross didnt really fight under different conditions than ChavezCarbo wrote:Patently not. However, I was referring to modern day 140 lbers, and I certainly wouldn't count Ross or Armstrong as a modern day fighter. (And Armstrong may have fought at 140, but he was lightweight, welterweight and middleweight champion, was he not?) Nor would I class Dela Hoya or Robinson as a 140 lbers, in the same way I wouldn't class Felix Trinidad or Thomas Hearns as light middleweights.Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:So would you put him above: 1. Sugar Ray Robinson (at the limit 140 for his first 19 including wins over champs of the time) 2. Pryor 3. Benitez 4. Chavez 5. Henry Armstrong 6. Pernell Whitaker (prime at this weight) 7. Mayweather (prime at 140) 8. Delahoya (prime at 140/147) 9. Tyszu. 10 Berney RossCarbo wrote:Listen, I think that if Hatton wins those three fights inside the abovementioned schedule, there'll be a very good argument to made for Hatton to be one of the top five 140 pounders ever..
And in my post, I think I made clear that I included Chavez and Pryor as head and shoulders above Hatton and Tszyu. If that wasn't clear, I explained myself poorly, because that's my belief.
The odd thing about classing people in weight classes is do you rank in terms of who was the very best at the weight class or who had the most prestigous fights? You can't just exclude a fighter though because you also rank him at say welterweight. Delahoya imo has achieved as much at 140 as HAtton despite having only a brief stop there.
Robinson isn't considered a 140lber but he started at lightweight, fought his first 20 or so fights at under 140 beating champions. In todays modern conditions of day before weigh ins Robinson would have made 140 throughout his welterweight career. Without a shadow of a doubt Sugar Ray Robinson is the best light welter of all time (he ducked Burley though)