Floyd
RJJ
MANNY
And it's dumb close.
Mainly because media warps perception. If you really don't follow boxing closely, it's easy to fall victim to popular narratives. But a lot of those narratives were leverage used in promotion. Meaning a lot of it was bullshit to put other guys over.
Floyd as #1.
The cherry picking and ducking allegations are examples of the bullshit I'm talking about. If Floyd had stopped at 130 he still would be a HOF talent with a HOF resume. The fact that he went on to 140/147/and 154 still while fighting top champions at every weight imo is the definition of p4p.
Floyd #1
RJJ #2 Roy going all the way to heavy and beating Ruiz is always impressive. He could have stopped there as well. The losses to Tarver, Johnson, and calzage don't hurt that run imo..Roy at his best was the best.
RJJ #2
Manny #3
Manny in only #3 imo because of the multiple weight divisions. The catch weights hurt his overall argument.. But he did fight at multiple weights, and they signed contracts so I can't excuse it from history.
I think bhop, Ward, and Pernell are all better boxers, but they didn't fight as many divisions as Manny. Regardless of the catch weights, the resume is too impressive.
Bud resume will always hurt him. He really was on the wrong side of the street for years.. Bud in PBC and he might be #1.
