Best middleweight boxer of all time?

Question

Who was the greatest at 160 lbs, and why? I think it should be a tossup between Hagler, Monzon and Hopkins-- but you might throw other names in there for flavor.

Answer 1

I don't think any of those men were THE greatest. Sure, they may be in the top five, but not number one. Sugar Ray Robinson was not only the greatest middlweight of all time, but according to The Ring magazine, he was THE greatest of all time. It is not hard to believe because he was the one who virtually revolutionized the way that boxing is done. He had an excellet record to back up his greatness, too. Not only that, he also influenced the term, "the greatest boxer pound-for-pound."

Answer 2

In my opinion Sugar Ray Robinson 175-19-6 108 kayo's is the greatest middlewewight of all time. It's a very close second here with Marvin Hagler and Carlos Monzon who were obviously great champions too. Any of these guys could have fought each other on a given night and won in my opinion. I give the nod to Robinson who had very fast hands, outstanding footwork, a great chin, and ring generalship. He also fought in an era of boxing where the middlweight competition was great facing such fighters as LaMotta, Basillio, Graziano, Turpin, Fullmer, Olson among others. Note: I also have a great deal of respect for Hopkins too but I don't believe he is quite as good as the big 3.

Answer 3

I'd say Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He was middleweight champ for seven years and took on all comers and pretenders to the middleweight title. During his reign, he defeated the best fighters of the era, including future hall of famers Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran in classic bouts. In other words, he fought good competition during his time. Monzon and especially Hopkins didn't have much of a competition during their reign. Sugar Ray Robinson, the greatest pound-for-pound, was once middleweight champion but he's a legitimate welterweight and fought most of his bouts at that division.

As a fighter, Hagler was one of the strongest in the middleweight class. He had tremendous power in both hands. His stiff jab alone rocked his opponents. Most of all, he could easily shift from orthodox to southpaw while fighting that had his foes confused and soundly beaten. His loss to Ray Leonard was questionable although by then he was obviously on the decline. But that did not diminish his greatness.

Answer 4

In my honest opinion i would say it is a virtual toss up between Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvellous Marvin Hagler for the top Middleweight of all time, others like Monzon, Leonard and Hopkins may well come into other peoples reckoning but for me Robinson and Hagler are the two most dominant Middleweights ever and not just for the period of time they ruled the division for but also because of the competition they were ruling over. If i had to pick between the two i would go with Hagler but that is because i remember seeing his fights in the early 80's and he fast became my favourite boxer of all time so i am slightly biased towards him, it is probably because i wasnt around in the Era of Sugar Ray to watch his fights that i dont feel the same bond towards Robinson, although i do watch his fights on tape over and over again to watch a true master at work and seeing that every top boxing analyst or writer ever has him top of their pound for pound list of all time you have to sit up and take notice. For me though i honestly believe that the greatest period in Middleweight history was the early 80's with Hagler, Hearns, Duran and Leonard fighting it out for supremacy and i think that Hagler was the truly dominant force, i know a few would probably throw Leonards name at me at this point but all i would say that Leonard fought a great fight that night and Hagler fought a pretty terrible one, if that fight was fought between the two say 10 times for instance i would say that Hagler would win 8 times, if you look at Haglers demolition jobs on fighters that give Leonard not only defeats but some of the worst beatings he ever took (Hearns destroyed him but got unlucky twice and Duran did the same in the first fight) then i think you might be able to understand where i am coming from when i say that Hagler was the dominant one even though Leonard did beat him. So for me Hagler is the greatest Middleweight of all time with Robinson a very close second.

Answer 5

Sugar Ray Robinson, Carlos Monzon, Marvin Hagler. Not in any order. They were the best middleweight fighters.

Answer 6

The answer would be Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He was so robbed by the Leonard decison.

Sugar Ray Leonard, who won a controversial split decision in Las Vegas on 6th April 1987. Leonard's punches were ineffective in deterring the champion's forward momentum. Hagler landed the harder shots and controlled the pace from the fourth round on. The decision remains a subject of debate today among sports fans.

Answer 7

Sam Langford
Stanley Ketchell
Sugar Ray Robinson
Harry Greb
Mickey Walker
Bob Fitzsimmons
Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey
Emile Griffith
Carmine Basilio

Answer 8

Yes, Marvin Hagler gets my vote too.
The decision against Sugar Ray was a joke, I watched the fight live and even Leonard fans were booing the decision at the end. How anyone could give that fight to Leonard and not wake up in the moring with a brown envelope stuffed with hundred dollar notes is a mystery.
Hagler was never phased by anyones reputation and never ducked anyone, and in my opinion never TRULY lost a fight.

Answer 9

Hagler

Answer 10

II would say it has be either marvelous marvin or sugar ray leonard. they were both great fighters, although leonard was more of a showman than hagler. These two were great fighters. The best middleweight fight I ever saw had to be leonard v. duran 1, that was a war and as close a fight as it could be.