You can't have an ATG without an elite level of competition. Not just after having built a career off of beating bums. This progression needs to begin early on. You do not coddle a fighter for the first 30-40 fights of his career and then start crowing about his being an ATG (or anything else, for that matter). The best, most respected fighters, are those who begin fighting good competition early on, many times even by their 10th fight.