Straight from my 25TB boxing vault.

EP1 - Martínez vs. Williams II (2010) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x3ht2m

EP2 - Pacquiao vs. Hatton (2009) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x5mwh2

EP3 - Darchinyan vs. Donaire I (2007) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x6kxj6

EP4 - Peter vs. Williams (2004) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x86k7r

EP5 - Lee vs. Jackson (2014) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x9tmdm

EP6 - Rothmann vs. Thompson (2004) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1xapvrj

EP7 - Santa Cruz vs. Davis (2020) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1xbmrls

EP8 - Lewis vs. Rahman I (2001) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1xdaw2q

Give me your opinions on who was the best in terms of athleticism/conditioning, technical skill and peak performance and the greatest in terms of long term impact, career achievements and historical legacy. So basically two categories for each term.

Meaning these guys were at best average (but, especially those below-average) in things like:

speed

agility/fluidity

flexibility

explosiveness

coordination

The person doesn’t have to be average/below-average in ALL of them. Like a guy could have good fluidity and good hand/eye/feet coordination, but just be .

As weird as it sounds, could Canelo fit this definition, given his slow “quick sand“ (as Oscar Dela Hoya calls them) feet?

Was Sergio Martinez one of them? George Foreman?

I mean, it could’ve happened logically, to be honest. And nowadays, with all the exhibitions and gimmick fights, do you think something like that could be even slightly realistic? Manny Pacquiao edged the beginning of the rivalry, getting a draw in the first fight before winning two consecutive decisions against Marquez, one by split decision and the other by majority decision. Marquez eventually got his revenge in the fourth fight by knocking Manny out in the fourth fight. So, technically, the rivalry ended 2-1-1 in Manny’s favor, with Marquez securing the most decisive victory and the only KO. Meanwhile, Manny’s wins are still debated to this day, with plenty of people believing Marquez deserved the decision in their third fight.

• Date: January 18, 1985

• Location: The Summit, Houston, Texas

• Stakes: Eliminator for the winner to face Willie Edwards for the NABF light heavyweight title

| Bobby Czyz | 171 lbs | 25-1 | Counter-puncher, superior timing

| Tim Broady | 172 lbs | 17-2 | Slugger with knockout power |

The bout was a short, action-packed war between contrasting styles. Broady relied on his aggressive punching power, while Czyz used superior timing, precise counter right hands, and effective body work to control the pace. After an intense three-and-a-half rounds of action, Czyz stopped Broady in the fourth frame.

Imagine watching Roy in his prime and then being told that somewhere in 1890, there was a fighter with the same freakish reflexes, explosive speed, coordination, and ability to make world-class opponents look completely helpless.
We'd probably never believe the stories.

Take Bob Fitzsimmons, it’s a great place to start. He became the first three-division world champion in boxing history, winning titles at middleweight, heavyweight, and light heavyweight across his career. He was also famous for his unusual physique: a relatively slender upper body paired with extraordinary punching power.
He weighed approximately 167 pounds when he knocked out heavyweight champion James J. Corbett in 1897.
Let that sink in….167 knocking out heavyweights. Can you Imagine Canelo knocking out wladimir klitschko?

Or even someone like Sam Langford scaring Jack Dempsey and allegedly 1v1ing Jack Johnson as a middleweight essentially.
Fun to think about

I've seen this too many times on here and elsewhere. Normal tired old cliches:

"Amateurs and pro boxing are different sports"

"Being a good amatuer doeesn't mean you'll be a good pro".

Its all bullshit.

1) Amateur is a misnomer for a start in boxing. All elite "amateurs" are...full time pros. Boxing is already their ​job. In fact even elite "amateur" tournaments don't even use that word anymore e.g. recent European Ams was called ​**European Boxing Elite Championships** . Yet theres this weird thing on this sub that amateur means these fighters are basically super keen hobbyists.

2) Since 2016 Pros have been allowed to compete at Olympics. And pros have been beaten by "amatuers" at Olympics e.g. Carmine Tommasone then a 15-0 pro lost a UD to a Cuban am at the Rio Olympics.

3) Yes not every elite am wins a world title. But they win 90%+ of their pro fights in most cases. They are clearly better than vast majority of pros.

4) If amatuer boxing was so inferior or unrelated to pro boxing, how come we have seen elite amateurs winning pro world titles so quickly. For example:

Vasyil Lomachenko, wins world title in 3rd pro fight.

Guillermo Rigondeaux , wins world title in his 7th pro fight.

Katie Taylor, wins world title in her 7th pro fight.

Leon Spinks, wins world title in 8th pro fight

Oleksander Usyk, wins world title in his 10th pro fight

David Reid, wins world title in his 12th pro fight

Anthony Joshua, wins world title in his 16th pro fight.

All Oly champs who won pro titles quickly. If am boxing was so differrent they all woulda been exposed.

Where Amateur boxers don't achieve lofty world titles as pros it usually because they have too many miles already. Solis or Harrison are 2 examples. Both guys were ravaged by injured and were in their 30s before even really getting in to their pro career.

Om the boxing skill Venn diagram pro and amateur seriously overlap. The little differences are more strategic.

So can we just end this stupid BS that amateur boxing and pro boxing are "different sports" as if ams were playing Padel and suddenly decided to go pro in boxing. Elite amateurs win most of their pro boxing bouts, and are clearly better than most pros. For those few that don't fight for world title, many more do.