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The 28-year-old from Scotland is the complete package. From his orthodox stance, "The Tartan Tornado" can box. He moves fluidly around the ring, and throws slashing punches from various angles that leave his opponents dizzy.
Just missed: Chris Eubank Jr., Jared Anderson, Arnold Barboza Jr., Michael Conlan, Alberto Puello, Ilunga Makabu, Mairis Briedis, John Riel Casimero, Frank Martin, Zach Parker, Michel Rivera, Ryota Murata, Gustavo Lemos, Daniel Dubois, Chris Colbert,
Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, Rashidi Ellis, Jonathan Gonzalez, Knockout CP Freshmart, Petchmanee CP Freshmart.
The consensus best fighter of the smallest division is Mexican legend Ricardo Lopez, who reigned as champion at his weight for a decade and earned 22 world title defences before
retiring undefeated at 50-0-1. Nicaraguan great Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez is another who achieved success at minimumweight before moving up divisions and slick Cuban Ivan Calderon too.
Naseem was soundly defeated in 2001 by the great Marcos Antonio Barrera, with many pointing to a bad training camp which began with Naseem extremely overweight and Naseem's increasing lack of focus on his boxing career as his downfall, though others believe he was simply exposed by a better boxer (Barrera was is a legend himself after all). He fought just once more, a year later at the age of 28, winning in an uninspiring performance while looking completely disinterested and lethargic.
This is all subjective. After all, most of the fighters on this list will never face each other, sometimes even when they're competing in the same weight class. That's the reality of today's more-fractured-than-ever boxing landscape. But we can still try to determine who deserves to stand above the rest across global boxing, taking into account accomplishments, current form, talent level, potential, and most of all, the vaunted eye test. Some fighters just look the part.
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THE PAST: The southpaw boxer-puncher earned a reputation with some impressive performances on ShoBox against Amos Cowart (UD 8), Abel Ramos (RTD 8) and Joel Diaz Jr. (TKO 2). Built on those wins by stopping former unified 140-pound titleholder Julius Indongo (TKO 2) and dominating former lightweight titleholder Terry Flanagan (UD 12). Won the WBA title by taking apart Kiryl Relikh (TKO 6). He lost for the first time in an action-packed encounter with Taylor. The 35-year-old old bounced back with three wins and stopped tough Mexican Jose Zepeda (TKO 11) to win the vacant WBC title. Has defended it in a homecoming though wasn’t impressive against Danielito Zorrilla (SD 12). He lost his title when he was dropped and dominated by Haney (UD 12).
Unfortunately, in addition to being robbed of opportunities for a world title, Langford suffered extensive eye injuries over the course of his career and fought much of his later bouts partially blind, before he lost his eyesight completely in a fight in 1926 and retired as a result.
The middleweight division is deemed to have started around the 1840s, during the bare-knuckle era. The first middleweight championship belt in that form would be awarded to Tom Chandler in 1867, after beating Dooney Harries.
Leonard utilized his speed, superior reflexes and crisp technique to lap the field in his day, beating the best of his era time and time again before retiring from the sport in 1925 at the age of 28. He held wins over the likes of Lew Tendler, Johnny Kilbane, Rocky Kansas, and Pinky Mitchell; he also challenged welterweight champ Jack Britton for his world title in 1922 and was winning the fight before he was disqualified for hitting Britton when he was down in a fight many suspected was a fix.
From the lower division of the junior featherweight division at 122 pounds to the electrifying super middleweight division at 168 pounds, the boxing world has been gripped by a whirlwind of hyperactivity. In others, the silence of complacency is deafening, with only a few fighters actively participating.
A few hundred years ago, boxing was quite different than it was today. No rounds, no rings, no gloves and no weight classes would make for a very different sport indeed. The introduction of Broughton’s Rules though began to distinguish between fighters of different sizes.
Additionally, pound-for-pound talent Inoue, who currently competes in the junior featherweight division, has been making waves with his exceptional skills and power. After his anticipated bout against WBA junior featherweight champion Marlon Tapales for the undisputed championship, the potential matchups between Inoue and fighters like Ramirez, Lopez or Wood would be nothing short of explosive.
