Remember when Amir Khan passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Prescott happened.
Remember when Michael Spinks passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Tyson happened.
Remember when Naseem Hamed passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then American/Mexican fighters with a pulse happened.
Remember when Lucas Matthysse passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Danny Garcia happened.
Remember when Jermell Charlo passed everyone "eye test"?
Then Tony Harrison happened.
Remember when Deontay Wilder passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Tyson Fury happened.
Remember when Jeff 'Lights Out' Lacy passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Joe Calslappy happened.
It's time to stop doing that. STOP. There's one measure that matters: "Did the guy beat NAMED, PPV drawing, Hall of Fame quality fighters CLEARLY, and how many of them?"
Lomachenko cannot say that about anyone he fought except Rigondeaux, two weight classes up. Even Loma himself doesn't rate the win.
Crawford can't say that about anyone he fought except Gamboa, even now, and that's a stretch.
Both those guys are in their 30's.
Canelo's early resume is padded by a lot of no-hopers, and I'm not even looking at that. I'm looking at what he did over the last decade. He's had 18 fights where the level of opposition he faced was not only superior to Loma and Crawford, they were superior to the opponents of those two by far. Canelo only ever lost to The Best to Ever do it, but even if you set that aside.
Let's ask ourselves. If Timothy Bradley came back and fought Loma at 140, do you seriously think Loma has a chance at beating him?
If Tim Bradley got over his "buddy" mantra and faced Crawford at 140, do you seriously think Crawford walks through him? I'm not sure he beats Crawford, but he would be made to look average by Tim, for one main reason: resume. Tim's resume EVEN NOW blows Crawford's out the water.
Resume. WHO DID YOU FIGHT, WHO DID YOU BEAT, and are they PPV caliber opposition? If you did lose, did you go down looking like a champion? Did you only ever lose to top tier, top flight? Did you beat future Hall of Famers?
I can say that about Tim Bradley.
I can say that about Canelo Alvarez.
I can say that about Jeff Horn, even.
I can't say that about Terence Crawford.
I can't say that about Vasiliy Lomachenko.
I'd like to. I can't. And until I see those guys fight that caliber of talent, there's simply no way they are above Canelo Alvarez.
Then Prescott happened.
Remember when Michael Spinks passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Tyson happened.
Remember when Naseem Hamed passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then American/Mexican fighters with a pulse happened.
Remember when Lucas Matthysse passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Danny Garcia happened.
Remember when Jermell Charlo passed everyone "eye test"?
Then Tony Harrison happened.
Remember when Deontay Wilder passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Tyson Fury happened.
Remember when Jeff 'Lights Out' Lacy passed everyone's "eye test"?
Then Joe Calslappy happened.
It's time to stop doing that. STOP. There's one measure that matters: "Did the guy beat NAMED, PPV drawing, Hall of Fame quality fighters CLEARLY, and how many of them?"
Lomachenko cannot say that about anyone he fought except Rigondeaux, two weight classes up. Even Loma himself doesn't rate the win.
Crawford can't say that about anyone he fought except Gamboa, even now, and that's a stretch.
Both those guys are in their 30's.
Canelo's early resume is padded by a lot of no-hopers, and I'm not even looking at that. I'm looking at what he did over the last decade. He's had 18 fights where the level of opposition he faced was not only superior to Loma and Crawford, they were superior to the opponents of those two by far. Canelo only ever lost to The Best to Ever do it, but even if you set that aside.
Let's ask ourselves. If Timothy Bradley came back and fought Loma at 140, do you seriously think Loma has a chance at beating him?
If Tim Bradley got over his "buddy" mantra and faced Crawford at 140, do you seriously think Crawford walks through him? I'm not sure he beats Crawford, but he would be made to look average by Tim, for one main reason: resume. Tim's resume EVEN NOW blows Crawford's out the water.
Resume. WHO DID YOU FIGHT, WHO DID YOU BEAT, and are they PPV caliber opposition? If you did lose, did you go down looking like a champion? Did you only ever lose to top tier, top flight? Did you beat future Hall of Famers?
I can say that about Tim Bradley.
I can say that about Canelo Alvarez.
I can say that about Jeff Horn, even.
I can't say that about Terence Crawford.
I can't say that about Vasiliy Lomachenko.
I'd like to. I can't. And until I see those guys fight that caliber of talent, there's simply no way they are above Canelo Alvarez.
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