Quote Originally Posted by JazMerkin View Post
Quote Originally Posted by 0james0 View Post
You cannot argue that a Klitshcko doesn't tick off all of those traits. But they'll go down as greats.

I'm guessing you mean boxers not as great or legendary. Someone like Paul Mckloskey, the guy will always turn up for a fight and train everything he can. The adaptability tends to go hand in hand with most greats.

I still class the brilliantly one dimensional fighters as proper boxers. Love them actually.

Maidana, Katsidis, Rogan. All true boxers through and through. Head down and swinging, take pretty much anything you throw at them!
You could certainly make an argument that the Klitschkos don't take risky fights, but I'd agree they probably meet the criteria, although I personally don't consider them truly great in the way guys like Pac, Floyd & B-Hop are.
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huh? Who have they ever avoided apart from each other? Ok Vitali was inactive for a few years but they have both fought and beat the best opposition available to them. How could they have taken any riskier fights?

Also, I object to the veneration of Ivan Calderon as if he did something amazing in ebating Hugo Cazares and then getting battered by Segura.

He was a decent little fighter in a weight class hopelessly devoid of talent. Segura was hardly a big man either. 108 lbs, that's like the weight of an average 5 year old American child.

Plus Calderon started out his career at 107 so it's not even true he climbed up trhough divisions.

When you have Manny who went from 104 to 154 and smashed everybody up and Ivan gets battered by a man who even I look physically imposing against I just donn't see how he can be considered just short of great.

If Calderon had been 147lbs he would just be another Malignaggi, a decent fighter, maybe capable of winning a belt, but not of challenging the top guys in the weight class.

He fought in a division with about 300 pro fighters, versus the 1000/1500 in most of the others. None of them are fulltime professionals, in football terms it's like being top of the Isthmian League and then struggling when they got promoted to the Conference South.

Sure he was skilfull and elusive, but he also had a crippling lack of power and phsyical strength that would have been considered far more of a weakness had he not operated in such a weak talent pool.

Hey, my view may not be popular but's it the truth.