BoxRec

Not just a 'would he beat whoever' thread, but how would their entire careers have gone given todays climates and trends?

SRR might not have had his 200 fights, but if we take some lead from his career he could have had his 6 fights (Jake LaMotta) with DLH, moving up the weights, or PBF, starting lighter. He could have gone to London (Randy Turpin) and fought Nigel Benn, lost an upset and won the rematch.

So....

1. What were the stand-out features of SRR's career, irrespective of opponent? I would say the multiple title wins, the move up in weight, the 6 fight rivalry, and the comebacks. Feel free to add some more

2. What year would his career have started in (this will obviously dictate the opponents he faced as they changed weight, started and retired).

3. Is this a stupid idea?

Although it does sound a bit stupid it's actually a good way of putting someone's career into a contemporary context and giving us a yard stick by which to look at today'sa fighters and what they'd have to accomplish to make the very top tier of the sport.

Todays guys cant compare. Its far easier to become a multiple weight champ with careful match making, as we have seen more than once.

For instance, Roy Jones can move up to the light heavies, but its not like he had to mix it up with a Archie Moore or Joey Maxim. He even steps up and wins a heavyweight belt, impressive but still only PR, as Ruiz was a champ by promotional ties and debatable whether he was even a top 5 heavy, certainly not top 3 at the time.

Oscar de la hoya got a tarnished middleweight belt without even having to fight the real middleweight champ.

Hopkins steps up to light heavy and beats an uninspired possibly waning Tarver, when its debatable whether Tarver was the top dog.

If there were no sanctioning bodies and one champ per division, so many of these title fights would only be eliminators of sorts. It would have been very interesting to see who truly could have been a multiple weight champ by the old school standards.

overhand_right wrote:Todays guys cant compare. Its far easier to become a multiple weight champ with careful match making, as we have seen more than once.

For instance, Roy Jones can move up to the light heavies, but its not like he had to mix it up with a Archie Moore or Joey Maxim. He even steps up and wins a heavyweight belt, impressive but still only PR, as Ruiz was a champ by promotional ties and debatable whether he was even a top 5 heavy, certainly not top 3 at the time.

Oscar de la hoya got a tarnished middleweight belt without even having to fight the real middleweight champ.

Hopkins steps up to light heavy and beats an uninspired possibly waning Tarver, when its debatable whether Tarver was the top dog.

If there were no sanctioning bodies and one champ per division, so many of these title fights would only be eliminators of sorts. It would have been very interesting to see who truly could have been a multiple weight champ by the old school standards.

Just to add that moving up inweight is also easier now due to the improved nutritonal expertise available. Fighters jump and down classes now almost at will...

Ezzard wrote:Just to add that moving up inweight is also easier now due to the improved nutritonal expertise available. Fighters jump and down classes now almost at will...

You also have twice as many weightclasses today.

m1kee50 wrote:Not just a 'would he beat whoever' thread, but how would their entire careers have gone given todays climates and trends?

SRR might not have had his 200 fights, but if we take some lead from his career he could have had his 6 fights (Jake LaMotta) with DLH, moving up the weights, or PBF, starting lighter. He could have gone to London (Randy Turpin) and fought Nigel Benn, lost an upset and won the rematch.

So....

1. What were the stand-out features of SRR's career, irrespective of opponent? I would say the multiple title wins, the move up in weight, the 6 fight rivalry, and the comebacks. Feel free to add some more

2. What year would his career have started in (this will obviously dictate the opponents he faced as they changed weight, started and retired).

3. Is this a stupid idea?

I'd say the 10 year run where he only lost to LaMotta is the standout feature.

agree, but (and i should have been clearer) i meant features that we could 'map' onto existing fighters as it were, SRR going 95 unbeaten is a standout, but it doesnt neccesarily involve anyone specifically else.

dont worry dec, it was a hypothetical