How is a fighter's legacy measured?

[CutMeMick]

I read this post the other day and gave it some thought as I know I've responded to this very same question before...
I just hope I it stays consistent.

I measure fighters legacys and greatness all the same...
Here are some things I look at:

1. All around skills
2. Quality of opposition
3. Career longevity
4. How the fighter handled adversity
5. Titles

Take my All-Time P4P list, it's changed so much throught the years...
Theres just so many greats around that the more you learn on one you move others down the list...

[eagle]

Pretty much there performances against other good fighters. The more top fighters they have beaten or performed well against the greater their legacy.

[CGM]

Legacy is in the eye of the beholder. A fighter's record is what it is, it is for others to interpret. There are many fighters that look great on paper, for one reason or another, and one person will say it's a great legacy, while another will point out the asterisks.

Take Marciano for example, sure he went 49-0 and retired undefeated as heavyweight champon, but there are some, me included, who think that fact is very misleading, for various resons pertaining to quality of opposition a,ong other things. There are many other such examples. Joe Louis for example, Sure he had lots of title defenses, but unless I am mistaken, the term "bum of the month club" was coined in reference to his opponents. How valid is that comment? How much of a difference does it make? The answer is subjective.

That being said, a fighter's record against other top class fighters is as good a criteria as any, as others have mentioned here.

A good indicatopr of legacy, in an all time p4p context, might be to look for ranking lists that show consensus among people in the know, such as sportswriters, but even there you will find disagreement, and you will see things that you disagree with yourself.

[Plopeater]

I think with modern day fighters its hard as theirs so many belts many fighters never face the best fighters in there division.

A prime example for me would be Calzaghe, fought so many bums in his title defences although i do think if he would have fought the best he would have still ruled the division. These days its such a shame we are always left with so many questions to answer