You make some good points... and most definitely there's no one out there who constantly fights "best after best" without taking a breather now and then. But you have to look at the whole of a fighter's career, IMO. The Trinidads and the MABs of the world (you could throw in literally dozens and dozens of great champions) mostly sought out the best on a fairly consistent basis without having the benefit (nor wanting the benefit) of an entire computerized hype system where every opponent is carefully timed, calculated, and chosen when the computer spits out 2% chance of a loss against that opponent.

Why do you think basically ALL of boxing's ATGs have at least one loss on their record (sometimes 5 or 6)? Because they threw caution to the wind. They took on dangerous opponents at their peak. They traveled to other people's countries to take their titles away from them. Hell... I think Orlando Salido is a cheating bastard. But I respected when he came to Puerto Rico to take Juan Manuel Lopez's title away from him in impressive fashion. Talk about going into the lion's den.

Ok, you mention the Wallins and the Schwartzs of the world. THAT is what frustrates me about Fury. He fights absolute nobodies in between big fights and that is infuriating to many fans. But the Trinidads and the MABs hardly ever did that. Even their "break" fights were fairly decent. Again... it's all about looking at the whole career of fighters. None of the guys mentioned before... not Fury... not Trinidad... not Barrera... not ANY great champion past or present... have had their path carefully preordained since Day One. Ok... there IS one exception. But he himself broke through that anointment and went on to great things. I'm talking about DLH, who you mention. I was never a DLH fan, but respect his resume of opponents, and... although he was always a media darling... he always took on tough, dangerous fights.

The Canelo Phenomenon is something unlike anything we've ever seen. Go back and look at all the bullet points I listed after mentioning Trinidad. Every single one of those things have been involved in Canelo's career. Why? Because since Day One, it was decided that a handsome, redheaded, rugged Mexican fighter was going to be the future Face of Boxing. Every single one of those bullet points have been a staple of Canelo's development. The traveling part is usually not a big deal... but gets magnified with the Redheaded One. The ONLY time he EVER left the friendly confines of his Las Vegas-Texas-Southern Cal Safe Zone was when he went to MSG to pick off Rocky Fielding for an easy gimme trinket. Really? Can no one ELSE see through that sham?

I believe the bar HAS been lowered. There may not have been Internet back in the day... but after all the hype jobs in the world, and all the selling by the Don Kings, Bob Arums, and Frank Warrens of the world.... the "proof was in the pudding", like they say... and what mattered was what happened in the ring. Even then fans were able to process and understand if a fighter was merely padding his record with bums... or was sincerely trying to fight the best out there. Back in the day there were ATGs with as many as 10 losses on their records. It didn't matter. Many avenged losses which added to their legacies and greatness.

Speaking of legacies, here is the problem and hence the bottom line for me:

In the past (including recent past), legacies were built by actions and decided on by fans and knowledgeable press members. With the likes of Canelo, his legacy was preordained, and carefully being protected and constructed by the likes of the WBC... a groveling, sniveling media... and casuals hungry for a "Rocky-like" figure in real life.