BoxRec

who are the most overrated boxers in recent past? lets say the last 15 years...

From a resume stand point it is Ricardo Lopez, hands down.

I am going out on a limb and opening up myself for abuse but, Floyd Mayweather, for me, is vastly overrated. Don't get me wrong he is very, very good, but nowhere near as good as he and some of his fans think he is. You could also apply that, to a degree to Manny Pac. Although his resume destroys Mayweather's.

Vic Darchinyan, Don Curry (though I loved his versatility), Moon Sung-kil, Vinny Paz, Livingstone Bramble, Herol Graham (though vastly skilled), Joe Calzaghe, Sven Ottke.

I think Joe Calzaghe is actually underrated in America.

Fair enough Seamus, but he is pretty overrated here, in the UK.

BarryWashington wrote:

bengulnaci1 wrote:Fair enough Seamus, but he is pretty overrated here, in the UK.

i'm he is. nationalism/local favoritism will always be a factor w/rating a fighter. like i said earlier it's kind of impossible to say who is and isn't overrated because there will always be those (media informed sheep, hype-machine companies & local/national favoritism) who overrate a certain recognized fighter.

I have to agree.

Lennox Lewis doesnt belong in this thread yet, but hes getting there.

Mike Tyson belongs.

Shane Mosley belongs.

Roy Jones is probably the single greatest example of the designated period.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Lennox Lewis doesnt belong in this thread yet, but hes getting there.

Mike Tyson belongs.

Shane Mosley belongs.

Roy Jones is probably the single greatest example of the designated period.

That's a short list by you, quite surprised by that.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Lennox Lewis doesnt belong in this thread yet, but hes getting there.

I would say that Lewis is there already. I dislike the way that some people talk about Lewis as a dominant omnipresent titan who could move montains with his muscles.

(I exhaggerate of course, but a lot of people do massively overrate him)

Terry Norris. I don't even think he was very good.

bengulnaci1 wrote:I am going out on a limb and opening up myself for abuse but, Floyd Mayweather, for me, is vastly overrated. Don't get me wrong he is very, very good, but nowhere near as good as he and some of his fans think he is. You could also apply that, to a degree to Manny Pac. Although his resume destroys Mayweather's.

Vic Darchinyan, Don Curry (though I loved his versatility), Moon Sung-kil, Vinny Paz, Livingstone Bramble, Herol Graham (though vastly skilled), Joe Calzaghe, Sven Ottke.

I do believe that Curry was overrated during the mid 80s. As Honeyghan said…he was being put next to haggler and he really hadn’t earned that right.

But these days I reckon he might just be underrated. I think he’d have a good chance of taking Floyd.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Lennox Lewis doesnt belong in this thread yet, but hes getting there.

Mike Tyson belongs.

Shane Mosley belongs.

Roy Jones is probably the single greatest example of the designated period.

Jones is underrated these days because his chin was exposed at age 35 or whatever it was when he was first KO'd. The previous 15 or so years worth of wins mean nothing

Jones is stupifyingly over-rated in my experience.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Jones is stupifyingly over-rated in my experience.

Me too.

I don't see Norris as overrated. More people, including myself, rave about him from an entertainment standpoint more than calling him a great fighter. But I'd probably rate him in the lower portion of a 154 top 10.

Huge punchers tend to get massively overrated. Bob Foster comes to mind, though he doesn't fit the time frame here. But neither does Donald Curry, not that I think he is overrated anyway. At the time when people wanted to see him fight Hagler, he was one of the best fighters in the world. He would have gotten his ass kicked, but so did Tommy. Curry didn't have a long run, but he could hold his own through historical bouts in my estimation. Terrific blend of speed and power.

Jeff Lacy

Jermaine Taylor

Kelly Pavlik

Ricky Hatton (by Brits only really)

BarryWashington wrote:

Seamus wrote:I think Joe Calzaghe is actually underrated in America.

definitely. especially amongst the casual fan and i think he had some pretty good skill just didnt get to showcase it due to quality of opposition

Correct. Definitely had ability but unfortunately has one of the worst resumes of any long term champion in the sport's history.

In the UK the casual fan thinks of him an all time great world beater.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Jones is stupifyingly over-rated in my experience.

How did you come to that conclusion?

During his prime he barely lost a single round

bollox wrote:

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Jones is stupifyingly over-rated in my experience.

How did you come to that conclusion?

During his prime he barely lost a single round

Well, Irene said "...in my experience", so maybe he actually fought Jones sometime in the past.

Or maybe your interpretive skills with English are mediocre, John.

bollox wrote:

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Jones is stupifyingly over-rated in my experience.

How did you come to that conclusion?

During his prime he barely lost a single round

I routinely hear things like Jones is the most talented/athletic boxer ever, that hes a top-10 all-timer, that guys like Charles & Moore &Spinks would all just be victims

Goodnight, Irene wrote:

bollox wrote:

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Jones is stupifyingly over-rated in my experience.

How did you come to that conclusion?

During his prime he barely lost a single round

I routinely hear things like Jones is the most talented/athletic boxer ever, that hes a top-10 all-timer, that guys like Charles & Moore &Spinks would all just be victims

From this perspective yeah maybe. Although I've been watching the sport for over 30 years and his athleticism was simply amazing. Don't thik I've seen anything quite like it. Most talented? Nope

But when it all comes down to it he was the best fighter of his generation. I hate it when a fighter becomes old and starts losing then people come on saying they were crap to begin with He was virtually untouchable for a good 10 years yet that bit is somehow forgotten by history revisionists

Joe Calzaghe

It's a common misconception that overrated has to mean that fighter, movie, politician, sandwich, etc.. is utter garbage. Many times you're talking about something great, just not as great as others want to pretend it is.

Two of my favorites from the 80's & 90's were Pryor and Julian Jackson. They are both insanely overrated. Especially Jackson, I swear he would knock out Marvin hagler if he fought him on a message board.

bollox wrote:

Goodnight, Irene wrote:

bollox wrote: How did you come to that conclusion?

During his prime he barely lost a single round

I routinely hear things like Jones is the most talented/athletic boxer ever, that hes a top-10 all-timer, that guys like Charles & Moore &Spinks would all just be victims

From this perspective yeah maybe. Although I've been watching the sport for over 30 years and his athleticism was simply amazing. Don't thik I've seen anything quite like it. Most talented? Nope

But when it all comes down to it he was the best fighter of his generation. I hate it when a fighter becomes old and starts losing then people come on saying they were crap to begin with He was virtually untouchable for a good 10 years yet that bit is somehow forgotten by history revisionists

He wasn't better than Whitaker. And I don't think he was better than Hopkins, Floyd, Manny or Holyfield either. But he is certainly well within the discussion.