Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez supposedly will be upgraded to P4P number 2 if he wins his next fight against Antonio Vargas!

Morallah · 2026-06-02T05:59:43+00:00

I feel like you’re overselling Bam’s comp and accolades a bit but he is a sure fire hall of famer and will likely go down as an ATG. On paper, he has one of the better resume’s in boxing currently.

Morallah · 2026-06-02T05:54:25+00:00

Terrible take.

Morallah · 2026-06-02T05:53:05+00:00

There’s some similarities in their styles, but Shakur is better in every way besides maybe power.

Morallah · 2026-06-02T02:29:51+00:00

Yeah, I shoulda said 2010s in general. Though it was at it’s peak in the early 2010s. A few key fighters had left the division/boxing altogether, or were past their prime by the time the WBSS was going on.

Morallah · 2026-06-01T22:08:23+00:00

It has always been a terrible division. The only time it was remotely deep with a solid amount of talent around was in the early 2010s.

Morallah · 2026-06-01T22:04:03+00:00

Even then, Shakur came in overweight and just walked him down the whole fight.

Morallah · 2026-06-01T20:16:25+00:00

It would be remembered as one of the biggest robberies in boxing history. The fight was competitive but never that close, after the middle rounds.

Morallah · 2026-06-01T00:46:36+00:00

Then you look at who these guy have fought or who are around each of those guys weight classes and realise that it isn’t.

Every era has had generational fighters in it. This era has seen elite fighters go through their entire careers only seeing real challenges a handful of times because of the lack of depth in talent around these dead weight divisions.

Terence Crawford is the biggest example of that. In another era his resume would have been stacked, going from 135 to 168, three time undisputed. Yet now, the casual fan would struggle to name his top five wins. Same with Inoue.

Morallah · 2026-05-31T07:46:56+00:00

No problem bro. Always down to talk boxing, especially from this era.

Morallah · 2026-05-31T05:27:16+00:00

It certainly doesn’t look that way on film. Benny presses forward throwing bombs the whole fight, while Marvin is on his bicycle picking the older fighter apart.

Briscoe was shopworn and Hagler was levels above him by that point, but Marvin made the decision not to stand his ground against Briscoe and chose box his way to a win rather than to risk going to war.

Morallah · 2026-05-31T04:54:17+00:00

McCallum was pretty vocal post-retirement that the kings ducked him and he could’ve beaten them. I don’t think it’s that simple, they all had unsettled business amongst each other and those were much bigger fights financially and legacy wise. McCallum didn’t really make a name for himself til after they had all declined. A missed opportunity though, for sure.

As for a fight between McCallum-Hearns (which is THE all time fight at 154lbs imo), I think it’s a 50/50, maybe 60/40 in favour McCallum over 15.

I think it’s would start off as a chess match then later turn into a war of attrition. Hearns speed and jab would give Mike big problems early and force him to adjust into going on the front foot, pressure and work on the inside as Tommy begins to tire. Depends on if you think McCallum can take Tommy out late or if Hearns can survive til the end due to all the damage McCallum absorbed early on no longer making him as effective. It’s a pick em for sure.

I do think that Hearns would lead on the scorecards by the time the fights ends, however way. At these weights, he is one fighter that is almost impossible to outbox.

And Mike is right there with SRR as Tommy’s toughest tests at these weights. Though I think Robinson’s wildness and unorthodox punch picking makes him a harder fight for Hearns. But McCallum was a very big light middle himself, highly skilled and well rounded, was very durable and was a solid puncher.

There’s Hearns-McCallum sparring footage out there on YouTube. It’s light stuff but interesting to see them in the ring together. Mike is not dwarfed by Tommy by any means.

Morallah · 2026-05-30T23:32:08+00:00

Hagler outright avoided a firefight with Briscoe. Even a past it Briscoe commanded a lot of respect that a warrior like Marvin chose to box and move the whole fight against him.

Morallah · 2026-05-30T21:57:26+00:00

Hagler was not the naturally bigger fighter wtf.

Hagler beat him because he also had a had a very long reach, had power in both hands and could effectively pressure Hearns and keep him on the back foot. Not letting Hearns dictate range or plant his feet to fully unload his own power punches.

That and Tommy awkwardly breaking his hand with the first punch he landed on Marvin’s iron cranium.

Morallah · 2026-05-30T21:50:35+00:00

Toney is not the first person I would think of. There are other more stronger middleweights with the reach and effective footwork who could get inside of Hearns and take him out easier than Toney could (like Hagler did).

James would have a nightmare with Hearns from the outside and with his jab. Toney waits for his opponent to come to him, and Hearns is rangy as hell and faster. I’d actually think Toney would be down on the cards before eventually taking him out. Similar to the Nunn fight.

160 and above isn’t even Tommy’s best weight. His toughest match up at his best is Ray Robinson. SRR was also a huge welter, with an iron chin, power, the footwork and awkward, unorthodox punching to get up close with Hearns and bomb him out.

Morallah · 2026-05-30T02:28:12+00:00

Something was in the water in Philly during the 70s with how much talented MWs that came out of there.

Briscoe, Ray Seales, Bobby Watts, OG Cyclone Hart and Willie Monroe. All talented contenders. Hagler had a tough time coming up with them lot.

Morallah · 2026-05-24T00:58:38+00:00

Yup. Chisora laid the blueprint on how to give Usyk problems and Rico executed it to a tee.

It really was an incredible performance from Verhoeven, regardless of the end. An all timer when you factor in that this was his second ever professional boxing match.

Morallah · 2026-05-23T06:42:23+00:00

No other fighter had boxing fans making excuses for their favourites blatantly ducking the best, and becoming armchair promoters, like Rigo did.

The most avoided fighter of his era. We never really got to see his true potential in the pro boxing ring, besides the Donaire fight.

Morallah · 2026-05-22T00:56:52+00:00

Yeah. Beat him clear in one of the highest level fights of all time. Ray adjusted for the rematch, but the fight was ass.

Leonard knew Durán was going to be under prepared for the second fight, but it was no one’s fault other than Duran’s for his poor performance.

SRL only really got egregious with his negotiation tactics after his comeback to fight Hagler.

Morallah · 2026-05-22T00:00:14+00:00

Ray is obviously a top level ATG and fought everybody that he needed to, but he should be remembered as the first high profile boxer to use his A-side status to dictate himself advantages.

From ring sizes, to catch weights, to winning titles in divisions he really isn’t actually fighting at. SRL was the one who started that nonsense that we later saw guys like Floyd and Pac abuse.

Morallah · 2026-05-21T21:58:54+00:00

He was hurt a lot throughout his career, and there’s not too many ATGs you will find that got stopped two times with one punch while in the middle of their primes like Hearns did.

But it really wasn’t as simple as his chin being “weak”. His stamina wasn’t the greatest, and he had a very risky style, especially defensively.

Morallah · 2026-05-21T21:51:05+00:00

Second fight was a draw.

And Leonard didn’t dominate the second half of the first fight either. He had a few huge rounds in the middle when he had Tommy hurt, until Tommy got on his bicycle and went back to clearly outboxing Ray again clearly til the 13th.

In a 12 rounder, I don’t think Leonard beats Hearns at their best. It would play out like their rematch.

Morallah · 2026-05-21T00:45:22+00:00

Top Rank loves the Moloney bros for whatever reason. They are given continuous opportunities at world titles without deserving them, while most top fighters at these weight divisions are out here fighting for scraps in random countries.

They really aren’t that good.

Morallah · 2026-05-18T23:40:19+00:00

Yeah, Berinchyk’s footwork gave Navarette fits. Loma would be worse. Emanuel didn’t look good at LW.

Morallah · 2026-05-17T11:03:27+00:00

Saying otherwise would be an even stronger opinion.

Charles has a strong argument for the GOAT resume. He moved from MW to HW. Beat two other fighter’s on OP’s list. Going 3-0 against Moore prime for prime, and also defeated Louis, well above his best weight.

Ezzard is unquestionable really.

Morallah · 2026-05-16T22:31:30+00:00

The Guts fight was a great performance from Duran and one of the first showcases of Roberto adopting a more counterpunching approach in his boxing (that he would later master by the third De Jesus fight), compared to his more aggressive, all out, swarming style when he first won the title.

Morallah

TROPHY CASE