Re: Where would you rank these guys all time?
I def wouldn't have Hopkins as high as all you guys, my reasoning below.
His biggest fights;
Loss to RJJ
Beats Trinidad (smaller guy moving up)
Beats ODLH (as above)
Loss to Taylor x 2 (could've one both)
Beats Tarver (demolishes bigger guy)
Beats Wright
Loss to Calzaghe (close)
Beats Pavlik (smaller guy - new kid on the block)
For me this isn't a top 20 career, his best wins were against smaller guys, picking on the names moving up. His reign at Middle contained an awful lot of average guys - his or his era's fault?
Tarver is never an opponent to have to point to when securing your legacy.
Hopkins title run gets praised as much as Calzaghe's gets hammered - both are equally shoddy in my eyes.
Neither he nor Calzaghe would be anywhere near that high for me.
And the fact that he's old and still doing it is a reflection on his competition not how great he is in my eyes.