Top 25 Boxing Prospects for 2009 and Beyond ...
So who will comprise the next generation of boxing superstars? Some current stars are still young enough to remain headliners for years to come: Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams, Ricky Hatton and Kelly Pavlik all appear to have plenty of miles left in their respective tanks. The tougher question is which young fighters will make the difficult transition from talented prospect to true star?
We've compiled our list of the top 25 boxing prospects for 2009 and beyond. To qualify for this list a boxer must be 25 years of age or less and must not have appeared in a WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO title fight. We're sure you'll agree with some of the names on this list. However, we're equally sure you'll think there are other top prospects who have been unfairly overlooked and deserve to be included. Let us know what you think . . .
Comments
I would say that ESPN’s list of the top ten heavyweights of all time is pretty good. Ezzard Charles should not be on the list as he was really only a light-heavyweight. Larry Holmes should be up at the very top of the list. I would say it should be 1.) Muhammad Ali 2.) Joe Louis 3.) Jack Johnson 4.) Larry Holmes 5) Jack Dempsey 6.) Rocky Marciano 7.) George Foreman 8.) Lennox Lewis 9.) Joe Frazier 10.) Gene Tunney You have to include Marciano and Tunney because they retired undefeated. Next to Joe Louis, Larry Holmes had the longest title reign among the heavyweights and a jab at the very least which was the equal of Ali’s. Also, the fact that Holmes got up after being pole-axed by Renaldo Snipes and Earnie Shavers, gets my top 10 vote any day. Ali is number one simply because the Ali of 1964 to 1967 was the greatest fighter who ever lived in any weight category. Jack Johnson has to be in the top 3 as he was forved to fight in the most adverse conditions ever. He had to fear for his life whether he won or not. Foreman destroyed Joe Frazier and Ken Norton easily while both were in their respective primes. That alone earns Foreman my respect. Foreman would be on this list even if he had not regained the title 20 years later. Dempsey was really a light-heavy by today’s standards but he may have been the most exciting heavyweight of all time. Everyone he fought was bigger than him except Carpentier and he blew them all away except for Tunney. Tunney beat the great Jack Dempsey twice and retired undefeated which makes him a mandatoru top ten on my list. Same with Marciano. If you retire undefeated as champion, then you are a mandatory top ten all-time great. Plus, with Marciano, he threw the greatest single knockout punch ever to ko Walcott in the fatal 13th round in Philadelphia in 1951 to capture the title in a fight he was losing badly. I included lennox Lewis because he dominated his era completely and avenged both of his defeats. Lewis deserves credit too for destroying the king of the previous era, Mike Tyson, and the king of the future era, Klitschko. I’m oonly sorry that Klitschko was stopped on cuts vs. Lewis. Had the fight gone one more round, Lewish would have flattened him for the full ten.
I respect ur opinion but, Larry Holmes to me is not a great. Tyson whooped his ass 14 years before he retired. Holmes lost to Holyfied too.
Casey “The Wizard” Ramos 10-0 4kos. Texas Featherweight Champ.