The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
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elmersalsa
- Heavyweight

- Posts: 15646
- Joined: 02 Feb 2003, 03:50
The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
In your view, since 2001, who is the greatest boxer pound per pound of the last 25 years?
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
Once I close the book on Bernard Hopkins and Canelo Alvarez I'll have a final and definitive answer to this.
Out of the other 8 names mentioned, the best is Manny Pacquiao.
I can't imagine when I close the book on Canelo and B-Hop my answer will be different, but it's possible since Canelo is still going and you can never say never. However seeing as how Pacquiao is also still going it makes it that much more difficult or possibly that much easier, depending on the result of their next bouts.
Out of the other 8 names mentioned, the best is Manny Pacquiao.
I can't imagine when I close the book on Canelo and B-Hop my answer will be different, but it's possible since Canelo is still going and you can never say never. However seeing as how Pacquiao is also still going it makes it that much more difficult or possibly that much easier, depending on the result of their next bouts.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
Mayweather.
The other worthy candidates are Usyk, Crawford, Inoue, Lewis. The rest can't be in the list.
The other worthy candidates are Usyk, Crawford, Inoue, Lewis. The rest can't be in the list.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
As much as I dislike his persona, has to be Mayweather.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
Pacquiao is ahead all of those guys including Mayweather. He's ahead of Lewis and Usyk by a wide margin.
Remember that the first Championship that Mayweather ever won. The 130 pound Championship, is the 4th that Pacquiao won.
Pacquiao had already beaten Top 10 P4P ranked fighters before ever even having his first fight above 130, and the fact that he continued to beat fighters of that caliber as he went up the scale is a feat that nobody in Boxing's history aside from maybe Henry Armstrong can match.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
I can see the argument for Pac. Likely in accomplishments alone her wins. But for me it's Usyk overall. I just think he managed his fights so well. Whenever an opponent looked close tot aking voer he could find something to change the flow back in his direction.
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Sweet Dick Willie
- Super Bantamweight
- Posts: 1107
- Joined: 22 Mar 2021, 13:44
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
1. Hopkins
2. Floyd
3. Inoue
4. Usyk
5. Lennox
6. Bud
7. Pacquiao
8. Canelo
9. Fury
10. De La Hoya
2. Floyd
3. Inoue
4. Usyk
5. Lennox
6. Bud
7. Pacquiao
8. Canelo
9. Fury
10. De La Hoya
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
Roy Jones Jr. still great up until late 2003. Of course, he went to crap after that. I'm leaning towards Usyk followed by Mayweather but wouldn't argue if they were flip flopped.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
Going in this with Usyk. mayweather protected his 0 too much and Pacqiao took too many losses. Plus Usyk is heavyweight, it will always mean more than welterweigths. if it was about last 30 years, probably Lewis.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
You guys keep giving so much to the fact that Usyk is unbeaten, but Pacquiao beat more great fighters, and fought more great fights.
Usyk's list of great victories
Tyson Fury 2x
Anthony Joshua 2x
Daniel Dubois 2x
Murat Gassiev
Mairis Breidis
Marco Huck
Krzystof Glowacki
and if you prefer to think of him as a great win, he's certainly a very good one. Then Tony Bellew and Derek Chisora as well.
Manny Pacquiao's list of great victories
Marco Antonio Barrera 2x
Erik Morales 2x
Juan Manuel Marquez 2x
Ricky Hatton
Miguel Cotto
Keith Thurman
Oscar De La Hoya
Then you got Broner, Matthysse, Bradley 2x, Algieri, Mosley. All World Champions
As far as his losses, the loss to Jeff Horn was extremely closeL and really not embarrassing when you consider that he's a guy that started at Featherweight who's now competing as a Welterweight. The "loss" to Tim Bradley in their 1st bout was complete bullsh*t, he didn't lose that fight.
Pacquiao is the greatest fighter I've seen in my lifetime. He's the greatest fighter since Muhammad Ali in my opinion.
Pac has a few crushing defeats as a Flyweight but the first one was due to inexperience, and the 2nd due to I'd assume having trouble making weight because believe it or not the worst ass kicking he ever took in his career was when he lost his Flyweight title. In spite of going all the way up to 154, nobody ever beat him up worse than Boonsai Sangurat. That's a fact jack.
I'd like to finish with. I want to be clear I have all the respect the world for Oleksandr Usyk, and I expect his reputation will continue to grow as I think he'll make at least 2 more title defenses if not 3 so I think the world of the guy, I just want people to realize you're never going to see another Manny Pacquiao in your lifetime.
A Flyweight Champion who grows into a Welterweight Champion. That doesn't f*cking happen. Only Manny Pacquiao did that. Manny Pacquiao is the Henry Armstrong of our time. People always say Henry Armstrong is one of the Top 5 P4P of all time, and that's fair. Manny Pacquiao and Sam Langford in my opinion are his only company as far as men who could jump up so far in weight and maintain their excellence. It's not just a rare feat. It's the rarest of feats. It's a once in a lifetime kinda thing.
Usyk's list of great victories
Tyson Fury 2x
Anthony Joshua 2x
Daniel Dubois 2x
Murat Gassiev
Mairis Breidis
Marco Huck
Krzystof Glowacki
and if you prefer to think of him as a great win, he's certainly a very good one. Then Tony Bellew and Derek Chisora as well.
Manny Pacquiao's list of great victories
Marco Antonio Barrera 2x
Erik Morales 2x
Juan Manuel Marquez 2x
Ricky Hatton
Miguel Cotto
Keith Thurman
Oscar De La Hoya
Then you got Broner, Matthysse, Bradley 2x, Algieri, Mosley. All World Champions
As far as his losses, the loss to Jeff Horn was extremely closeL and really not embarrassing when you consider that he's a guy that started at Featherweight who's now competing as a Welterweight. The "loss" to Tim Bradley in their 1st bout was complete bullsh*t, he didn't lose that fight.
Pacquiao is the greatest fighter I've seen in my lifetime. He's the greatest fighter since Muhammad Ali in my opinion.
Pac has a few crushing defeats as a Flyweight but the first one was due to inexperience, and the 2nd due to I'd assume having trouble making weight because believe it or not the worst ass kicking he ever took in his career was when he lost his Flyweight title. In spite of going all the way up to 154, nobody ever beat him up worse than Boonsai Sangurat. That's a fact jack.
I'd like to finish with. I want to be clear I have all the respect the world for Oleksandr Usyk, and I expect his reputation will continue to grow as I think he'll make at least 2 more title defenses if not 3 so I think the world of the guy, I just want people to realize you're never going to see another Manny Pacquiao in your lifetime.
A Flyweight Champion who grows into a Welterweight Champion. That doesn't f*cking happen. Only Manny Pacquiao did that. Manny Pacquiao is the Henry Armstrong of our time. People always say Henry Armstrong is one of the Top 5 P4P of all time, and that's fair. Manny Pacquiao and Sam Langford in my opinion are his only company as far as men who could jump up so far in weight and maintain their excellence. It's not just a rare feat. It's the rarest of feats. It's a once in a lifetime kinda thing.
Re: The Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years
I agree that Pac has the best record for sure. If that's the only criteria he wins.