# Examples of the best fighting the best in recent years (Update: Looking ahead)



## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

So, boxing gets a lot of flack for not having any real enforcement mechanisms for the crowning of definitive champions. A lot of that criticism comes in the wake of numerous Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiation failures. But I was thinking recently while browsing that mma vs boxing thread in the lounge, that often times, these definitive bouts actually _do_ happen. Eventually, a lot of the big fights that need to be made for establishing divisional supremacy (or help establish it) get made. Let's think of some recent examples.

Wlad-Haye at HW
Ward-Froch at SMW
Rigondeaux-Donaire at JFW
Hopkins/Dawson/Pascal round robin at LHW
Pacquiao/Marquez/Bradley round robin at WW
Mayweather-Canelo at 152
Canelo-Lara at JMW

What others? And which ones have been missing?


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## Drew101 (Jun 30, 2012)

Gonzalez vs Estrada @ Jr. Fly, perhaps...?


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## Danny (May 31, 2012)

Garcia-Matthysse


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Drew101 said:


> Gonzalez vs Estrada @ Jr. Fly, perhaps...?


Oo good one. Also Segura-Calderon a few years back.



Danny said:


> Garcia-Matthysse


Perfect example, can't believe I missed that one.


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## Zopilote (Jun 5, 2013)

Mares-Moreno


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## scorpion (Jun 24, 2013)

Nonito-walters
Bute - Froch
Wlad - Pulev if it happens


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## dyna (Jun 4, 2013)

Kovalev-Hopkins in a few days.


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## One to watch (Jun 5, 2013)

Wlad gets a load of stick but haye,povetkin and pulev could count.


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## dyna (Jun 4, 2013)

One to watch said:


> Wlad gets a load of stick but haye,povetkin and pulev could count.


It's just his recent run of Pienata, Wach and Leapai that's truly horrible.


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## One to watch (Jun 5, 2013)

dyna said:


> It's just his recent run of Pienata, Wach and Leapai that's truly horrible.


Yeah and mormeck is another,if not the worst as he was so much smaller.


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## Drew101 (Jun 30, 2012)

Crawford-Beltran might well qualify when it takes place.


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## dyna (Jun 4, 2013)

One to watch said:


> Yeah and mormeck is another,if not the worst as he was so much smaller.


Totally forgot about that fight, thought it couldn't be more horrible than Leapai because I just looked at the Leapai-Wlad compubox numbers for a laugh.
But then I saw that Mormeck landed less than 1 punch per round.

:lol:

Wladimir is extremely good in keeping down his opponents workrate.


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## Mat Cauthon (May 22, 2013)

Calzaghe Kessler
Haye Mormeck


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## bballchump11 (May 17, 2013)

some of yall have some low standards. Walters was a prospect still before he fought Donaire. The best vs the best would be Walters vs Gonzalez now. 

Rigondeaux vs Donaire was a good one.


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## bjl12 (Jun 5, 2013)

Canelo-Trout/Lara
Sergio-JCC Jr.
Rigo-Donaire
Ward-Froch/Kessler/Abraham


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

bjl12 said:


> Sergio-JCC Jr.


Oh forgot about this, nice one.


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## TSOL (Dec 15, 2013)

how would you guys feel about ward vs. dawson


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## DirtyDan (May 25, 2013)

Not super fights, but they were the best in their respective division during that time.

Bradley-Alexander
Dawson-Ward
Hatton-Malignaggi(best at JWW)
Donaire-Nishioka
Montiel-Hazegawa
Pavlik-Taylor
Marquez-Diaz


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

Drew101 said:


> Gonzalez vs Estrada @ Jr. Fly, perhaps...?


I think Estrada was elevated to that level of respect in retrospect.


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## poorface (Jun 14, 2013)

Drew101 said:


> Crawford-Beltran might well qualify when it takes place.


It seems like that's where the consensus is headed since everyone appears to regard it as lineage-creating, but I strongly disagree with that consensus in this case due to the presence of Abril and an IMO unwarranted dropping of Vazquez after a controversial loss. Of all the recent fights that could be said to create a true champion, this one feels most out of place, and that's not just a result of the weakness of 135 at the moment.


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## bballchump11 (May 17, 2013)

TSOL said:


> how would you guys feel about ward vs. dawson


That's good. Lineal champ at 168 vs champ at 175


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## Collie (Aug 16, 2013)

I think Garcia-Matthysse and Rigo-Donaire are the clearest recent examples as you are likely to find where the two guys who fought each other were clear, consensous either #1 and #2 in their divisions at that time, not using any retrospect (interestingly, the slight-but-clear underdog won both those match-ups).


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## Drew101 (Jun 30, 2012)

poorface said:


> It seems like that's where the consensus is headed since everyone appears to regard it as lineage-creating, but I strongly disagree with that consensus in this case due to the presence of Abril and an IMO unwarranted dropping of Vazquez after a controversial loss. Of all the recent fights that could be said to create a true champion, this one feels most out of place, and that's not just a result of the weakness of 135 at the moment.


Abril's one fight a year schedule probably isn't doing him any favors when it comes to rating the guy. It can be argued that Beltran eclipsed Abril in the interim. Vasquez's demotion, but he didn't look great against Bey, even if he probably should have gotten the nod. Lineage is being created by default in this case; but Beltran and Crawford are the lightweights who seem to be in the best form going into this fight.


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## rocky1 (Jan 6, 2013)

Hernandez vs Cunningham back in 2012?


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## Vysotsky (Jun 6, 2013)

rocky1 said:


> Hernandez vs Cunningham back in 2012?


No Huck, Wlod, Lebedev were all way more established he was really just a prospect and all he is now is a protected German stereotype titlist.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

DirtyDan said:


> Not super fights, but they were the best in their respective division during that time.
> 
> Bradley-Alexander
> Dawson-Ward
> ...


Nice, good list.


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Vasquez - Marquez (all of them)
Pac - JMM (all of them)
Valero - DeMarco
Linares - DeMarco
Froch - Kessler
Froch - Kessler second fight
Omar Figueroa - Nihito Arakawa
...there are too many to mention.




Don't stick that c*nt Mayweather into the equation...


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

Trail said:


> Valero - DeMarco
> Linares - DeMarco


Hadn't Demarco only beaten Diamond before Valero and wasn't JMM still at 135?

Linares had been starched at 130 also.

Awful time for lightweight, JMM-Diaz aside.


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Flea Man said:


> Hadn't Demarco only beaten Diamond before Valero and wasn't JMM still at 135?
> 
> Linares had been starched at 130 also.
> 
> Awful time for lightweight, JMM-Diaz aside.


Anthony Vasquez beat DeMarco.

Linares was done by Sergio Thompson and DeMarco.

Linares got beat by Juan Carlos Salgado too.


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

Trail said:


> Anthony Vasquez beat DeMarco.
> 
> Linares was done by Sergio Thompson and DeMarco.
> 
> Linares got beat by Juan Carlos Salgado too.


Not really the best fighting the best then?


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Flea Man said:


> Not really the best fighting the best then?


You do have a point...my mistake.


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

Trail said:


> You do have a point...my mistake.


You were lucky to be around for the days when the best fights DID happen!


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

For an idea, in NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER OF 1982;

We had Arguello-Pryor 1 (lightweight champ Vs light welterweight champ)
Chacon-Limon IV (WBC Super featherweight title, true no.1 matchup as Serrano was wank)
Benitez-Hearns (junior middleweight WBC belt)
Gomez-Pintor (lineal super bantamweight title fight between 122lb king and 118lb WBC champ)
Dokes-Weaver 1 (WBA title, no.2 Vs no.3 ranked fighters with only Larry Holmes ahead)

This is in the space of TWO FUCKING MONTHS.

We can't even get Wilder-Stiverne this year.


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Flea Man said:


> For an idea, in NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER OF 1982;
> 
> We had Arguello-Pryor 1
> Chacon-Limon IV
> ...


The first I can't hold a candle to. The second, again, the third was a faded Wilfred. The latter is a fight we'd kill for these days...


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Flea Man said:


> You were lucky to be around for the days when the best fights DID happen!


Holy - Bowe?
Tyson - Holy?
Hagler - Hearns?
Any of the Four Kings?


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

Trail said:


> The first I can't hold a candle to. The second, again, the third was a faded Wilfred. The latter is a fight we'd kill for these days...


Benitez was on a six-fight winning streak which included a KO of Maurice Hope and a comfortable win over Duran (who would go on to win the WBA title at 154). He was the champion.


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Flea Man said:


> Benitez was on a six-fight winning streak which included a KO of Maurice Hope and a comfortable win over Duran (who would go on to win the WBA title at 154). He was the champion.


Good points. I still can't get by Benitez being 17 and a world champion. Unbelievable. Beats Mike Tyson...


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## Flea Man (Jun 2, 2012)

Trail said:


> Good points. I still can't get by Benitez being 17 and a world champion. Unbelievable. Beats Mike Tyson...


Chang wasn't far off as well (18/19 I think) and while Hilario Zapata is not quite as good as Cervantes he was leagues better than Berbick.


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## 941jeremy (Jun 12, 2013)

Lomachenko vs Russell
Gamboa vs Crawford
Martinez vs Williams
Hopkins vs Kovalev


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## rocky1 (Jan 6, 2013)

Vysotsky said:


> No Huck, Wlod, Lebedev were all way more established he was really just a prospect and all he is now is a protected German stereotype titlist.


May'be, I think it's difficult to really work out who was the best out of those 5 at that time as they pretty much all seem to have wins and losses and a lot of close fights against each other between 07-12.


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## Kingboxer (Jul 31, 2012)

Despite the very average Toshiyuki Igarashi holding the lineal title at the time after beating the man that beat the (badly shot) man, Brian Viloria and Tyson Marquez were clearly the two best flyweights going into their war back in 2012.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Wilder-Stiverne, two of the next-best guys going at it. 
Porter-Brook was two of the best second-tier champs squaring off.
Floyd-Manny might actually happen.

What else is lined up for 2015?


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## The Body Snatcher (Jun 27, 2014)

These are the only recent ones I can convince myself of:*

Gonzalez-Estrada
**Inoue-Hernadez/Narvaez:* Mindblowing that he's doing this this early in his career with under 100 amateur fights. Seriously.
*Mares-Moreno**
Rigondeaux-Donaire
Burns-Crawford: *Burns had to know he had no chance going into this one and did it anyway.
*Garcia-Matthysse
**Alvarez-Lara/Trout/Mayweather:* Back when it looked like JCC Jr. and Alvarez were on a cash cow collision course and had never fought anyone, I REALLY didn't like Alvarez. But the fights he's taken...how can you complain about that stuff?*Ward-Dawson:* 168 Lineal vs. 175 Lineal. Don't see that very often.
*Hopkins-Dawson/Pascal/Kovalev: *If anybody 'earned' the right to not fight the best it was Hopkins...but over the last few years he just went for it. I predict he rematches Pascal or goes for Beterbiev (I'm serious) next.*
Wlad-Povetkin/Pulev: *Hard to count these, but...that really was the best vs. the best.
Nothing at 147 or 160, since Floyd and Sergio were ducking the true top guys for the last however many years.


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## jonnytightlips (Jun 14, 2012)

The Body Snatcher said:


> These are the only recent ones I can convince myself of:*
> 
> Gonzalez-Estrada
> **Inoue-Hernadez/Narvaez:* Mindblowing that he's doing this this early in his career with under 100 amateur fights. Seriously.
> ...


Saying Martinez was ducking Golovkin is abit of a stretch. While Martinez was beating Pavlik and Williams, GGG was beating Lujan Simon and a few other dire opponents in Eastern Europe. They were worlds apart in fairness.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Bump.

In 2015 we saw:

Mayweather-Pacquiao
Cotto-Canelo
GGG-Lemieux
Jacobs-Quillin
Wlad-Fury
Postol-Matthysse
Miura-Vargas
DeGale-Bute
Quigg-Frampton
Linares-Mitchell
LSC-Mares

All of those fighters were either the best in their division, one of the best against a top contender, or two guys a tier just below the best. 

The fights we need to see soon:

Rigondeaux-Frampton
Thurman-Porter
Kovalev-Ward/Stevenson
GGG-Canelo
Gonzales-Estrada 2 
Danny Garcia-a top welterweight
Brook-a top welterweight
Wilder-Povetkin
Fury-Wlad 2/Wilder/Haye


If we can get most of those this year I'll be pretty happy.


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## JeffJoiner (Jun 5, 2013)

We ended up with a nice run in the second half of 2015. Most of the fights you listed took place in October through January. It was a good time to be a fan.

I just watched Miura/Vargas again Saturday night. I had to show it to a buddy who missed it.
Degale vs. Bute was another war.

My personal highlight of the year was attending LSC/Mares.

This year if we get Ward/Kovalev (the rapist ain't going nowhere near him) I'll be happy. If we get GGG/Canelo, I'll be stoked.

Lots of great fights at the lower classes already lined up including Loma/Walters and Vargas/Salido.


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

JeffJoiner said:


> We ended up with a nice run in the second half of 2015. Most of the fights you listed took place in October through January. It was a good time to be a fan.
> 
> I just watched Miura/Vargas again Saturday night. I had to show it to a buddy who missed it.
> Degale vs. Bute was another war.
> ...


I watched Vargas - Miura a few times, I still think, and I always thought that fight was/is vastly overrated.


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## Lester1583 (Jun 30, 2012)

Bogotazo said:


> Oh forgot about this, nice one.


Martinez - Chavez jr. was the best fighting the best money/risk reward ratio fighter.

It arguably backfired on him.

Same with Cotto.


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## JeffJoiner (Jun 5, 2013)

Trail said:


> I watched Vargas - Miura a few times, I still think, and I always thought that fight was/is vastly overrated.


It is a great comeback, actually two. Looked to be over in the first, then looked to be Miura's night, then Vargas with the stunner. There are lulls, no doubt, but it is highly entertaining and the winner looked like he got hit by a truck. Most beat up winner I've seen in a while.


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## pipe wrenched (Jun 4, 2013)

I'm goin back a bit (2007 alone was insane)..
Pavlik - Taylor
Calzag -Kessler
Raf Marquez - Izzy Vazquez
Floyd - PAC Monster 
Marquez -Pac
:conf


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## Zopilote (Jun 5, 2013)

Calderon-Segura back in '10.

Calderon was the champ at 108lbs, and Segura was the number one ranked.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

On track for the second half of this year:

Crawford-Postol: Best at 140
Wlad-Fury 2: Best at HW
Wilder-Povetkin: Next best at HW (aside from Haye)
Thurman-Porter: two of the best weltwerweights
Ward-Kovalev is on track with an agreement at LHW
And hopefully, Canelo-GGG at Middleweight.

Bonus: DeGale-Jack is probably next, and HBO seems interested in Gonzales-Estrada 2

http://www.boxingscene.com/roman-gonzalez-juan-francisco-estrada-ii-on-hbo-radar--103759


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## DrMo (Jun 6, 2012)

Lebedev vs Ramirez later this month isnt #1 vs #2 at cruiserweight but I think its the first unification (IBF + WB *) since Haye vs Enzo back in 2008


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Update at the start of 2017:

Heavyweight: Fury retired, Wlad fighting Joshua is the next biggest fight
Cruisweight: Usyk just beat Glowacki, Gassiev just beat Ledbedev. The two could fight.
Light Heavyweight: Ward and Kovalev are rematching, Stevenson fighting the winner of Alvarez-Bute
Super Middleweight: Jack and DeGale are fighting
Middleweight: Golovkin is fighting Jacobs and is negotiating with Canelo
Junior Middleweight: Charlo just beat Williams and Andrade is calling him out
Welterweight: Thurman is fighting Garcia
Junior Welterweight: Crawford has beaten most top guys at 140 and aiming for Pacquiao
Lightweight: The winners of MIkey Garcia/Zlaticanin and Linares/Crolla 2 scheduled to fight
Super Featherweight: Lomachenko just beat Walters and is targeting Salido again (who beat Vargas)
Featherweight: Frampton is rematching LSC and Mares just beat Cuellar
Super Bantamweight: Donaire and Magdaleno looking to rematch, Rigo back against Flores
Bantamweight: Yamanaka rules
Super Flyweight: Gonzales rematching Cuadras while Inoue lurks

All in all I must say it's a good time to be a boxing fan.


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## JeffJoiner (Jun 5, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> Update at the start of 2017:
> 
> Heavyweight: Fury retired, Wlad fighting Joshua is the next biggest fight
> Cruisweight: Usyk just beat Glowacki, Gassiev just beat Ledbedev. The two could fight.
> ...


Really nice when you see them listed together. This Spring should be great.


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## Muff (Jun 6, 2013)

Very excited for the beginning of the year. Gotta try to make it to a couple fights.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Wig said:


> This is a really good fight, says a lot about the state of boxing that I'm surprised when two of the genuine top dogs in a division face off..


Behold Wig, the promises of 2017


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## Mexi-Box (Jun 4, 2013)

I wouldn't really call Stevenson/Alvarez best against the best. Alvarez is on the level of Chilemba. I would call him a bottom top 10-type of fighter. I'm convinced that Beterbiev, Kovalev, and Ward are the cream of the crop at LHW.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Mexi-Box said:


> I wouldn't really call Stevenson/Alvarez best against the best. Alvarez is on the level of Chilemba. I would call him a bottom top 10-type of fighter. I'm convinced that Beterbiev, Kovalev, and Ward are the cream of the crop at LHW.


Stevenson (who is basically 3rd) fighting the winner of Bute-Alvarez is the next tier down below Ward-Kovalev, although you're right that Beterbiev needs to be in the mix.


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## Trail (May 24, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> Update at the start of 2017:
> 
> Heavyweight: Fury retired, Wlad fighting Joshua is the next biggest fight
> Cruisweight: Usyk just beat Glowacki, Gassiev just beat Ledbedev. The two could fight.
> ...


That's a good list right there. Going to bookmark this. Then I'm going to get down on my knees and pray that the fights that need to get made in 2017, get made.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Lomachenko fighting Corrales to unify the WBO and WBA belts at 130.

Andrade fighting Culcay in March despite calling Charlo out and Lara calling him out. :conf


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Spence is fighting Brook at welterweight, in a move no one truly anticipated.


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## Kurushi (Jun 11, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> Spence is fighting Brook at welterweight, in a move no one truly anticipated.


I mean, it's really good that the fight is getting made but it's a stretch to call Spence the best before he's really proved himself at top level.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Kurushi said:


> I mean, it's really good that the fight is getting made but it's a stretch to call Spence the best before he's really proved himself at top level.


After Thurman-Garcia, it's the best fight to be made at welterweight. Out of those 4, there is yet to emerge a true leader, and I'm also including fights between consensus top 4 fighters.


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## Kurushi (Jun 11, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> After Thurman-Garcia, it's the best fight to be made at welterweight. Out of those 4, there is yet to emerge a true leader, and I'm also including fights between consensus top 4 fighters.


What about Pac, Bradley, Khan and Porter? Spence looks great and it's been a hugely anticipated fight but if Spence loses there's a sort of 'out' for him to never really have been considered the best of the division whereas Garcia, Thurman, Bradley, Pac and Brook have individually achieved 'best' status regardless of whether or not they lose to each other.

Flipping backing a couple of pages I see that you've set the criteria to also include best vs top contender so I guess I can't argue that if the question is a little broader than I thought but, I don't know, feels like saying that Brook vs Spence is a best vs best fight is diluting the spirit of the question imo.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Kurushi said:


> What about Pac, Bradley, Khan and Porter? Spence looks great and it's been a hugely anticipated fight but if Spence loses there's a sort of 'out' for him to never really have been considered the best of the division whereas Garcia, Thurman, Bradley, Pac and Brook have individually achieved 'best' status regardless of whether or not they lose to each other.
> 
> Flipping backing a couple of pages I see that you've set the criteria to also include best vs top contender so I guess I can't argue that if the question is a little broader than I thought but, I don't know, feels like saying that Brook vs Spence is a best vs best fight is diluting the spirit of the question imo.


Porter got beat by Thurman and Brook. I think Garcia has more of an "out" than Spence does, Spence is a destroyer who is naturally big, Garcia was the best at 140 but hasn't looked great since moving up. But he's still unfiying titles with Thurman. If you asked me who I think could beat all the others, I think Pacquiao is still the best fighter of the group, but Pacquiao is semi-retired, I don't really consider him in the mix because his decision-making at this point isn't really about being the best welterweight possible, he's on a farewell tour. Bradley is arguably better than any of these guys but his recent resume is a loss to Pacquiao, a win over Rios, and a win over Vargas.. People have been begging him to fight someone like Spence or Porter or Thurman, and he knows it, but for whatever reason it hasn't happened.

When it comes to the phrase, "best fighting the best" to me means more than just the very 2 top guys facing off. Many people favor Spence over Thurman and Garcia so he's not far behind those two. Plus I'm just also trying to highlight how much better this year is looking.


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## Kurushi (Jun 11, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> Porter got beat by Thurman and Brook. I think Garcia has more of an "out" than Spence does, Spence is a destroyer who is naturally big, Garcia was the best at 140 but hasn't looked great since moving up. But he's still unfiying titles with Thurman. If you asked me who I think could beat all the others, I think Pacquiao is still the best fighter of the group, but Pacquiao is semi-retired, I don't really consider him in the mix because his decision-making at this point isn't really about being the best welterweight possible, he's on a farewell tour. Bradley is arguably better than any of these guys but his recent resume is a loss to Pacquiao, a win over Rios, and a win over Vargas.. People have been begging him to fight someone like Spence or Porter or Thurman, and he knows it, but for whatever reason it hasn't happened.
> 
> When it comes to the phrase, "best fighting the best" to me means more than just the very 2 top guys facing off. Many people favor Spence over Thurman and Garcia so he's not far behind those two. Plus I'm just also trying to highlight how much better this year is looking.


That Garcia moved up and hasn't looked great isn't a huge issue for me. Ward moved up and looked less than spectacular at 175. He hadn't really proved much at all at LHW but we all knew that Ward vs Kovalev was a best-vs-best fight. As you say, Garcia had at one time been #1 LWW so that's why I say he had already achieved 'best' status even if he goes on to lose to Thurman. Just as Ward had proved he was the best at SMW even if he had lost to Kova. I deliberately didn't include Porter in the second part of my post because he hasn't really proven to be the best but I mentioned him at the start of my post simply to show that there are WWs that could be considered higher ranked than Spence (same with Khan who shares Spence's best win and who was 'best' at 140).

I get what you're saying about Pac and Bradley being somewhat in limbo or, at least, lacking a certain momentum but I still think any combination of Bradley/Brook/Garcia/Pac/Thurman (other than Pac vs Bradley 4) qualifies as a better example of a best-vs-best fight than Brook vs Spence.

There's a certain weight attached to best-vs-best and it comes from having previously accomplished that status which all of those guys have done and which Spence hasn't yet. In terms of emphasising great matchmaking this year though then, yes, Brook vs Spence is a fight that should be appreciated immensely.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Kurushi said:


> That Garcia moved up and hasn't looked great isn't a huge issue for me. Ward moved up and looked less than spectacular at 175. He hadn't really proved much at all at LHW but we all knew that Ward vs Kovalev was a best-vs-best fight. As you say, Garcia had at one time been #1 LWW so that's why I say he had already achieved 'best' status even if he goes on to lose to Thurman. Just as Ward had proved he was the best at SMW even if he had lost to Kova. I deliberately didn't include Porter in the second part of my post because he hasn't really proven to be the best but I mentioned him at the start of my post simply to show that there are WWs that could be considered higher ranked than Spence (same with Khan who shares Spence's best win and who was 'best' at 140).
> 
> I get what you're saying about Pac and Bradley being somewhat in limbo or, at least, lacking a certain momentum but I still think any combination of Bradley/Brook/Garcia/Pac/Thurman (other than Pac vs Bradley 4) qualifies as a better example of a best-vs-best fight than Brook vs Spence.
> 
> There's a certain weight attached to best-vs-best and it comes from having previously accomplished that status which all of those guys have done and which Spence hasn't yet. In terms of emphasising great matchmaking this year though then, yes, Brook vs Spence is a fight that should be appreciated immensely.


Porter could be ahead of Spence and it wouldn't bother me, but losing to Brook and Thurman while beating Broner in between might not be arguably as good as an undefeated fighter totally thrashing Bundu and Algieri. I'd put him ahead of Khan on the Algieri performance too. I agree that Spence isn't as proven so it's only best vs. best in terms of the most appropriate contender Brook could fight. He's been his mandatory forever and the future lies with them, not the alternatives.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Update: 

Brook and Spence have fought
Ward and Kovalev have rematched 
Golovkin is fighting Canelo
Chocolatito is rematching Rungvisai on the same card as Cuadras fighting Estrada with Inoue also lurking on the undercard


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## JeffJoiner (Jun 5, 2013)

Nobody has mentioned Floyd vs. Conor, ha ha? Shocker.


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## rjjfan (May 17, 2013)

JeffJoiner said:


> Nobody has mentioned Floyd vs. Conor, ha ha? Shocker.


Best bullshit artists?


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## dyna (Jun 4, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> Update:
> 
> Brook and Spence have fought
> Ward and Kovalev have rematched
> ...


Cruiserweight super 8.

Usyk
Briedis
Gassiev
Dorticos
Huck and Wlod
Kudryashov in too.

All confirmed.

Still waiting for wild card Mike Perez or American Andrew Tabiti.

It isn't just a case of the best fighting the best.
It can very well decide the new cruiserweight greatest of all time.


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## Lester1583 (Jun 30, 2012)

dyna said:


> Still waiting for wild card Mike Perez or American Andrew Tabiti.


Would be nice, but nobody knows who Tabiti is.


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## Dealt_with (Jun 4, 2013)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/882960417969938434


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## Lester1583 (Jun 30, 2012)

Dealt_with said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/882960417969938434


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Loma-Rigo signed for December 9th. Definitely going.


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## SJS20 (Jun 8, 2012)

Bogotazo said:


> Loma-Rigo signed for December 9th. Definitely going.


I'm about £4000 in front of my savings target for the year, I was going to try and go to the Cotto farewell, and didn't even consider this one...


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## poorface (Jun 14, 2013)

Bogotazo said:


> Loma-Rigo signed for December 9th. Definitely going.


Does this mean if this thread existed in 2009, Mayweather-Marquez would also qualify for inclusion? :smile


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## paloalto00 (Jun 7, 2013)

It's not recent, but ortiz vs berto was a modern day hagler vs hearns


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## Chatty (Jun 6, 2012)

This year must be in contention for the most top five ranked guys fighting each other. Well in modern times anyway.

I think so far these fights have featured both guys ranked in the top five of their weight class:

Degale v Jack
Ward v Kovalev
Gonzalez v Rungsivai x2
Brook v Spence
Thurman v Garcia
Estrada v Cuadras
Broner v Granados
Crawford v Diaz
Crawford v Indongo
Berchelt v Vargas
Joshua v Klitscho
Lebedev v Gassiev
Golovkin v Jacobs
Golovkin v Canelo
Linares v Crolla
Garcia v Zlatichanin
Franoton v Santa Cruz

Scheduled

Lomachenko v Rigondeaux
Wilder v Ortiz
Joshua v Pulev
Santa Cruz v Mares

Weight junpers top five in respective division

Garcia v Broner


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## UK fight fan (Apr 22, 2016)

Chatty said:


> This year must be in contention for the most top five ranked guys fighting each other. Well in modern times anyway.
> 
> I think so far these fights have featured both guys ranked in the top five of their weight class:
> 
> ...


Broner-Granados was a wetlerweight fight mate. Can't make a case for either being in the top 5 in that division.


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## Chatty (Jun 6, 2012)

UK fight fan said:


> Broner-Granados was a wetlerweight fight mate. Can't make a case for either being in the top 5 in that division.


Oh shit yeah, I forgot they changwd the weights cause Broner couldnt be arsed to make LWW.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Damn it's been a while. Time to update.

GGG and Canelo fought. The rematch is signed.
Lomachenko and Rigondeaux fought. Linares now negotiating with Lomachenko.


Estrada is fighting Rungvisai after each defeated Cuadras & Chocolatito.
Usyk is fighting Gassiev
Joshua is fighting Parker and Wilder is fighting Ortiz
Oscar Valdez is unifying with Scott Quigg. LSC is rematching Mares.
Thurman is injured but fighting Spence is a matter of time. Porter-Garcia also possible. Crawford is unifying with Horn.
Lara is fighting Hurd and aiming for a Charlo fight.


Stevenson is fighting Badou Jack which isn't best vs. best but it's something while Kovalev is taking another comeback fight. It's unclear whether they'll ever meet.

Any other relevant top-level or unifying match-ups in any divisions I missed?


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## FloydPatterson (Jun 4, 2013)

Jermall Charlo vs Julian Williams reminded me of one of those fights of the 80s and early 90s welter/middleweight bouts


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## 2manyusernames (Jun 14, 2012)

I wouldn't say Joshua v Parker is the best fighting the best, same for Wilder v Ortiz. Joshua v Wilder would fall into that category though.


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## Mexi-Box (Jun 4, 2013)

2manyusernames said:


> I wouldn't say Joshua v Parker is the best fighting the best, same for Wilder v Ortiz. Joshua v Wilder would fall into that category though.


Really? Even though he's looked like shit, and could be argued to be 0-2 against Ruiz Jr. and Fury, he's fought better dudes than Wilder.


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## Kurushi (Jun 11, 2013)

Mexi-Box said:


> Really? Even though he's looked like shit, and could be argued to be 0-2 against Ruiz Jr. and Fury, he's fought better dudes than Wilder.


I've got Parker as no. 2 in the division.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

2manyusernames said:


> I wouldn't say Joshua v Parker is the best fighting the best, same for Wilder v Ortiz. Joshua v Wilder would fall into that category though.


When the 4 best are fighting each other and the 2 best are calling each other out, it's relevant enough to include.


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## turbotime (May 12, 2013)

Brook vs Spence, Garcia vs Thurman


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

turbotime said:


> Brook vs Spence, Garcia vs Thurman


Yep got those. The top 4 aside from Porter, hope Garcia fights him.


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## Bogotazo (May 17, 2013)

Usyk has just fought Gassiev. 
Wilder and Joshua aren't fighting yet but Wilder will fight Fury.
Hurd fought Lara.
Canelo and GGG will finally rematch.
Porter and Garcia, the next-best at the weight, will fight.
Excluding MIkey, Linares and Lomachenko just fought.
Runvisai and Estrada will rematch at some point, delay because of a breakup.
Bivol looking for the winner of Kovalev-Alvarez.

Thurman,Crawford, and Spence don't look likely to mix it up yet.


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