BoxRec

So far, some great and distracting reviews have we made in the past months. Especially, when we discussed the top 25 welterweight greats. We have discussed about the top 25 all time great middleweights, super welterweights, welterweights, Jr.welterweights and lightweights. I skipped the Jr. lightweights this time to discuss one of the most entertaining weight classes in boxing history...The featherweights!

Lots of all time pound per pound greats have come from this weight class through the years. Names like Willie Pep, Henry Armstrong, Alexis Arguello, Kid Chocolate, Vicente Saldivar, Salvador Sanchez and Sandy Saddler among them gave the sport some colorful careers. Who is the greatest featherweight ever? Let's look at the list below. Let's debate with class and respect to one another, please. Every body does not have the same mentality. Greatness comes in degrees. Of the 100 greatest boxers of all time, 17 of them in my view of my list are featherweight boxers...Amazing. Is there another weight class that has more all time greats than the featherweight class? It's hard to tell.

These in my view are the top 25 greatest featherweight boxers of all time:
1. Willie Pep
2. Henry Armstrong
3. Sandy Saddler
4. Kid Chocolate
5. Salvador Sanchez
6. Abe Attell
7. Freddie Miller
8. Eusebio Pedroza
9. Vicente Saldivar
10. Alexis Arguello
11. Azumah Nelson
12. Batting Battalino
13. Terry McGovern
14. George Dixon
15. Johnny Dundee
16. Juan Manuel Marquez
17. Johnny Kilbane
18. Jim Driscoll
19. Baby Arizmendi
20. Chalky Wright
21. Young Corbett II
22. Fidel LaBarba
23. Chris John
24. Ernesto Marcel
25. Naseem Hamed

Honorary mention:
Danny Lopez
Marco Antonio Barrera
Erik Morales
Ruben Olivares
Petey Sarron

Let's start the debate.

Looks like a pretty good list to me.

Barrera and Morales should be in there higher than Naz

You have Chris John above Ernesto Marcel. You lose.

King Carlos wrote:You have Chris John above Ernesto Marcel. You lose.

You cannot argue with Chris John's 18 title defenses. And he also beat the great Juan Manuel Marquez in a title defense

Is Armstrong's resume at featherweight all that impressive?

elmersalsa wrote:

King Carlos wrote:You have Chris John above Ernesto Marcel. You lose.

You cannot argue with Chris John's 18 title defenses. And he also beat the great Juan Manuel Marquez in a title defense

No way is John top 50 in this stacked division.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:

King Carlos wrote:You have Chris John above Ernesto Marcel. You lose.

You cannot argue with Chris John's 18 title defenses. And he also beat the great Juan Manuel Marquez in a title defense

No way is John top 50 in this stacked division.

Let's look at his accomplishments at 126lbs. John was very impressive

Jpreisser wrote:Is Armstrong's resume at featherweight all that impressive?

Heck yes!

elmersalsa wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

elmersalsa wrote: You cannot argue with Chris John's 18 title defenses. And he also beat the great Juan Manuel Marquez in a title defense

No way is John top 50 in this stacked division.

Let's look at his accomplishments at 126lbs. John was very impressive

No they weren't. Solid fighter, nothing more.

I have never said that Chris John was a pound per pound all time great. Eighteen title defenses is a great accomplishment

I agree Chris John shouldn't be in. One good win against Marquez, that's really it. I don't really consider Juarez or Gainer to be particularly notable wins. 18 defences would have been good if they had been for lineal title, not so impressive for WBA. Solid decent fighter but not top 25.

I would have Hamed higher. Won WBO, WBC & IBF belts and knocked out Vasquez who was WBA champ. Cleaned out division and dominated it for five years in some spectacular fights. Would have given Barrera a far better fight if he had sorted out managerial and trainer issues, was falling out of love with the sport when that fight came about.

elmersalsa wrote:I have never said that Chris John was a pound per pound all time great. Eighteen title defenses is a great accomplishment

Ratanapol Sor Vorapin had 19 title defenses. Do you consider him a "very impressive" fighter?

I had Marquez beating John, anyway.

dr_devious wrote:Barrera and Morales should be in there higher than Naz

Why would Barrera be above him? Including his Pacquiao stoppage loss and controversial points win over Morales he had 6 fights at featherweight in his entire career. Hamed was unified champion with 17 fights all at world level. Barrera might have beat him but he was past his prime by that stage and retired the following year.

Barrera might be higher on the all time P4P list and a better all round fighter but his accomplishments at featherweight don't exceed those of Hamed.

MAB clowned Naz at featherweight, albeit an under par version. He very much looked the superior fighter

dr_devious wrote:MAB clowned Naz at featherweight, albeit an under par version. He very much looked the superior fighter

Paul Pender beat SRR twice for world title.. doesn't mean he should be higher rated at Middleweight.

Ezzard Charles who IMO was a better all time P4P than Joe Louis and also won nearly every round when they fought for lineal HW title, however I would still say Louis should be higher ranked than Charles at heavweight as he achieved more at that weight. Same applies with Hamed and Barrera.

TBEwasLangford wrote:

dr_devious wrote:MAB clowned Naz at featherweight, albeit an under par version. He very much looked the superior fighter

Paul Pender beat SRR twice for world title.. doesn't mean he should be higher rated at Middleweight.

Ezzard Charles who IMO was a better all time P4P than Joe Louis and also won nearly every round when they fought for lineal HW title, however I would still say Louis should be higher ranked than Charles at heavweight as he achieved more at that weight. Same applies with Hamed and Barrera.

So Hamed was completely shot when Barrera beat him?

No not "entirely shot" but wasn't same fighter of 2-3 year prior. He was weight drained, 2-3 stone heavier than the limit 2 months prior to the fight, suffered training and management issues and was clearly not 100% in the week prior before the fight...on the night he even dispensed with his usual over the rope entrance.

However this is irrelevant, I'm of the belief he would have struggled to beat Barrera at his peak, although 97-98 Hamed would have given him far better fight...but this is beside the point, Hamed's achievements at the particular division excel what Barrera did so I think he should be ranked higher in an all time list of featherweights.

The best version of hamed would have given barrera a better fight, is as far as I would go.

There is little evidence to say that peak Naz would have beaten MAB

King Carlos wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:I have never said that Chris John was a pound per pound all time great. Eighteen title defenses is a great accomplishment

Ratanapol Sor Vorapin had 19 title defenses. Do you consider him a "very impressive" fighter?

I had Marquez beating John, anyway.

Anybody that has 19 title defenses whatever the weight class gotta be a at leas a very good and impressive fighter. The question becomes if the likes like Rattanapol Sowvorapin, Orlando Canizalez, GGG and Chris John deserve to be in the all time greats pound per pound boxers ever.

TBEwasLangford wrote:

dr_devious wrote:MAB clowned Naz at featherweight, albeit an under par version. He very much looked the superior fighter

Paul Pender beat SRR twice for world title.. doesn't mean he should be higher rated at Middleweight.

Ezzard Charles who IMO was a better all time P4P than Joe Louis and also won nearly every round when they fought for lineal HW title, however I would still say Louis should be higher ranked than Charles at heavweight as he achieved more at that weight. Same applies with Hamed and Barrera.

I agree 100% in all that you wrote about Prince Naseem Hamed. The great Marco Antonio Barrera only had 6 fights at 126lbs

elmersalsa wrote:

King Carlos wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:I have never said that Chris John was a pound per pound all time great. Eighteen title defenses is a great accomplishment

Ratanapol Sor Vorapin had 19 title defenses. Do you consider him a "very impressive" fighter?

I had Marquez beating John, anyway.

Anybody that has 19 title defenses whatever the weight class gotta be a at leas a very good and impressive fighter. The question becomes if the likes like Rattanapol Sowvorapin, Orlando Canizalez, GGG and Chris John deserve to be in the all time greats pound per pound boxers ever.

I agree to the extent they must be a good solid fighter but certainly by no means does it imply top 25 all time in a particular division or to be mentioned in P4P debates, especially with the proliferation of "world title" belts. The example given of Ratanapol Sor Vorapin..just look at some of the poor opponents he fought in his five year reign. I know it's difficult to find meaningful opposition at that weight but some of his opponents were total jokes. When he stepped up in level Will Grigsbsy thoroughly outclassed him and Lopez stopped him easily in 3 rounds.

Sanctioning bodies, especially at the lower weights, are happy to keep putting in absurd mandatories as long as the champion stays active such as Sovrapin or John.. it's all sanctioning fees for them.

elmersalsa wrote:

King Carlos wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:I have never said that Chris John was a pound per pound all time great. Eighteen title defenses is a great accomplishment

Ratanapol Sor Vorapin had 19 title defenses. Do you consider him a "very impressive" fighter?

I had Marquez beating John, anyway.

Anybody that has 19 title defenses whatever the weight class gotta be a at leas a very good and impressive fighter. The question becomes if the likes like Rattanapol Sowvorapin, Orlando Canizalez, GGG and Chris John deserve to be in the all time greats pound per pound boxers ever.

Nobody in the world believes John or Vorapin are among the all time greats.

King Carlos wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:

King Carlos wrote: Ratanapol Sor Vorapin had 19 title defenses. Do you consider him a "very impressive" fighter?

I had Marquez beating John, anyway.

Anybody that has 19 title defenses whatever the weight class gotta be a at leas a very good and impressive fighter. The question becomes if the likes like Rattanapol Sowvorapin, Orlando Canizalez, GGG and Chris John deserve to be in the all time greats pound per pound boxers ever.

Nobody in the world believes John or Vorapin are among the all time greats.

I second that