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Where do todays Super Middleweights rate on this list?


WelshDevilRob

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This is an old article and its just before Calzaghe vs Kessler. Its by Ring magazine writer Steve Farhood.

 

Top Ten: Super Middleweight

 

Steve Farhood rates the leading fighters in the relatively short history of a division turned bigtime mainly to European boxers

 

A question that has puzzled philosophers dating back to Socrates, Confucius, Aristotle, and Don King: How can a division that has flaunted world titlists such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roy Jones, Iran Barkley and James Toney be dominated by fighters from the UK and the rest of Europe?

The super middleweight class is 23 years old, and there have been 41 different champions, of which only 13 have been American.

The heart and soul of the super middleweights have been the fighters who committed to the division, made or at least solidified their reputations at 12st, and scored their most significant triumphs at the weight. For multi-division titlists like Leonard and Hearns, super middleweight was a mere pit stop. But Joe Calzaghe, Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Steve Collins turned a division into a prime battlefield.

On 3 November in Cardiff, Calzaghe will clash with fellow unbeaten Mikkel Kessler in a unification bout featuring titlists with a combined record of 82-0. The outcome will impact the pound-for-pound rankings, the super middleweight rankings and the all-time division rankings.

At a press conference announcing the fight, I asked both titlists to identify the best super middleweight of all. Calzaghe said he was number one, with Roy Jones second. Kessler said he was number one, but acknowledged that he'd have to beat Calzaghe to prove it.

Here, then, from a writer on the wrong side of the pond (Farhood is American), are the Top 10 super middleweights in division history.

 

1 ROY JONES

 

Jones occupies the highest perch for three reasons: 1) He won his share of the title by masterfully outboxing James Toney, who at the time was ranked second, pound for pound; 2) He made five defences, all by stoppage, and never lost at the weight; 3) He won the title at age 25 and vacated at 28, or to put it more simply, he reigned when Roy Jones was Roy Jones, a breathtaking, unique, overwhelming talent.

Toney aside, Jones's opposition at super middleweight wasn't memorable; his victims were Bryant Brannon, Vinny Pazienza, Antoine Byrd, Tony Thornton and Eric Lucas. Nonetheless, his performances were special. Against Paz, he won a round without absorbing a single blow.

A bout vs fellow titlist Nigel Benn would've been intriguing, but at that point in Jones's career, he wasn't going to lose to Benn or anybody else.

 

2 JOE CALZAGHE

 

A 10-year title run and 20 successful defences is the stuff of legends, and the Welsh southpaw is still rolling. Should he convincingly defeat Kessler, I'll place him above Jones.

To place the numbers in perspective, consider that among today's titlists, Calzaghe's reign is seven years longer than that of the runners-up, lightweight Juan Diaz and strawweight Yutaka niida.

Calzaghe has been uneven. He's suffered several injuries, struggled through mediocre performances, and bested forgettable challengers, including Will McIntyre, Rick Thornberry and Tocker Pudwill. Moreover, 18 of his 20 defences have come in the UK. But the positives are sparkling: He won his first title by dethroning an itimidating presence and established titlist in Chris Eubank, rose from a devastating knockdown to stop Byron Mitchell, and schooled Jeff Lacy, who was 21-0 and labeled a mini-Tyson.

At this point, Calzaghe is defined by his dominance over Lacy, who is dismissed as having been overrated only because of the thoroughness of Calzaghe's victory. If the left-hander defeats Kessler, we'll have to reconsider his credentials for the second time in 20 months.

 

3 NIGEL BENN

 

With "The Dark Destroyer", there was balance: A former belt-holder at middleweight, Benn followed nine successful defences at 12st with losses in three consecutive title bouts. Title fight wins over Mauro Galvano (twice), Lou Gent and danny Perez don't score a lot of points, but his rematch defence against arch-rival Eubank (D 12), fought before 42,000 fans at Old Trafford, was the division's most significant bout to that point, and his tragic off-the-floor stoppage of fearsome puncher Gerald McClellan was as savage a bout as any in the '90s.

The majority of observers thought Benn nicked Eubank in their 1993 unification showdown. In fact, a point deduction for punching low cost Benn the verdict.

 

4 CHRIS EUBANK

Sadly, what McClellan was to Benn, Michael Watson was to Eubank. In one of the best fights of the decade (and one of the most dramatic turnarounds in history), Eubank won a vacant title by rising from the first knockdown of his career and immediately dropping Watson. He finished his rival early in the next round, and Watson, severly injured, never fought again.

Eubank mad 14 successful defences. Like most long-reigning titlists, his resume includes some forgettable challenges (Mauricio Costa, John Jarvis, Sam Storey), but his draw with Benn and his points win in Germany over former and future titlist Graciano Rocchigiani, who was 35-0 at the time, elevate him over almost all other super middles.

It was before Calzaghe's title-fight win over Eubank that the division developed its reputation as a British stronghold. And even though they fought each other only once at the weight, Eubank and Benn are responsible.

 

5 JAMES TONEY

It can be argued that at his best, Toney was a better fighter than both Benn and Eubank, but his stay at super middle was relatively short, and his horrendous points loss to Jones deserves penalty.

What to make of Toney's title-winning stoppage of Iran Barkley? "The Blade" had twice beaten Hearns, but had also suffered a first-round KO at the hands of Benn. That aside, Toney, who always struggled to make 12st, defended against Tim Littles, who was 24-0, and comprehensively defeated Prince Charles Williams, who had reigned with distinction at light-heavyweight.

Suffice to say that when we consider Toney's career in its entirety, only a small portion of the focus is applied to his days in this division.

 

6 STEVE COLLINS

Timing is essential, and for that reason, the Irishman, despite having twice beaten both Benn and Eubank, ranks below them.

Collins caught Eubank toward the end, and both his wins over Benn, the result of injury (First fight) and curious surrender (rematch), were less than comprehensive. The back-to-back losses were the last fights of Benn's career.

One other thing: As tough as Collins was, he wasn't the fighter his more celebrated rivals were.

Collins made seven successful defences. Remove the three that came against Eubank and Benn and his challengers (Cornelius Carr, Neville Brown, Craig Cummings) were underwhelming. He did, however, retire with the belt, something neither Eubank nor Benn can claim to have done.

 

7 SVEN OTTKE

The German never lost a fight (34-0), but don't even suggest comparisons with Rocky Marciano, which would be grotesque and absurd.

So how does a titlist make 21 defences, retire with two belts, and rank only seventh? Lots of reasons. For one, Ottke never defended outside of Germany. That's a lot of home cooking, which partly explains four wins by split or majority decision. For another, there's nothing special about Ottke's list of challengers. There are some quality wins (Byron Mitchell, Charles Brewer, Mads Larsen, Glen Johnson, Silvio Branco) , but nothing that suggests entry into the pound-for-pound listings.

And let's not forget that in December '03, Ottke was given an early Christmas present when he outpointed Robin Reid.

 

8 FRANKIE LILES

The long lefty makes the list based on longevity; he made seven successful defences and reigned for the better part of five years.

I'd argue that Liles is a bit underrated, partly because his style was often negative and partly because his reign overlapped with higher-profile titlists like Jones and Benn. Moreover, Liles lacked a defining fight. Instead, he was the consistent type, defending mostly against good fighters like his arch-rival Tim Littles.

Liles's best win came in his first defence, against fellow southpaw and two-division titlist Michael Nunn in Ecuador. Nunn had only two losses at the time.

That Liles, who was never the best fighter at his weight, cracks the Top 10 speaks volumes of the relative immaturity of this division. Twenty-three years isn't enough to establish a solid list of exceptional champions.

 

9 CHONG PAL PARK

The second titlist in this division's history, Park was an oddity, only because there are very few Koreans fighting in the heavier weight classes. (Interestingly, another Korean, In Chul Baek, reigned at super middleweight in the late-'80s.)

As a two time titlist, Park made a combined nine successful defences. Eleven of his twelve world title fights took place in his homeland. He was a strong super middle, but the quality of his title fight opponents was relatively weak. For instance, Roy Gumbs and Emmanuel Otti were both coming off back-to-back losses, Indonesia's Polly Pasireron was 4-2, and Jesus Gallardo was a novice without a notable win.

The only impressive name of Park's list of victims is Lindell Holmes, and Park barely edged the American, who was a future world titlist.

 

10 MIKKEL KESSLER

Obviously, "The Viking Warrior" will ultimatly be measured by his performance against Calzaghe. At this point, including him in the Top 10 is based more on talent and potential than accomplishment.

Kessler is only 28, and he's the reigning titlist of two organisations. He's made four successful defences, and while there have been no creampuffs, the level of his title fight opposition hasn't been sterling. For instance, Markus Beyer was 35, and Eric Lukas, who hasn't fought since, had gone 2-2 in his previous four bouts.

What makes Calzaghe-Kessler so appetising is not only the combined record of 82-0, but also the fact that they're so clearly the two best fighters in their division. Two European champions fighting for global dominance - just as it should be at super middleweight.

http://www.boxingmonthly.com

 

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While I'm sure many will have had a different order for the list. What is your Top 10 now including the current fighters?

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nice article.

 

amazingly weak division historically, though its still rather new so that's part of it. the other problem with SMW is, like farhood wrote, the two best talents at SMW (jones and toney) didnt stay there very long. plus hopkins completely skipped over it.

 

calzaghe is undoubtedly the best SMW ever, but that's not saying much. im sure if farhood made the list today he would have him at #1, but the rest of the top 5 would be relatively unchanged. id have it the same way i think.

 

tbh, the list really falls off after #5. before the super 6 tournament, i always viewed SMW as a euro-division mlol/

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Personally, I find it ludicrous to place someone at the top of the list based on 'could ofs' and 'would ofs'. No doubt Jones was an immense talent, but saw bigger money in US based opponents at other weights.

 

Personally, I think these fighters skipped through SMW fast because they didn't want to fight the likes of Calzaghe or Benn. Not because they didn't think they would win, but because it would have been to riskier fight for a relatively small pay day, compared to skipping through to slightly bigger, but a touch slower, US based fighters.

 

Perhaps i'm being a bit too pro-british, cynical here. Perhaps ;)

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Jones was immense at his peak, but that was only briefly at SMW.

I would have to have Calzaghe as the best SMW ever, despite his relatively poor opponent record, because he did it so well and for so long.

There's a difference between remaining unbeaten in the manner he finished his career, and the way Ottke carried out much of his career.

 

I would have Froch in there quite highly, especially if he can overcome Johnson. If he goes on to beat Ward too, then I think Calzaghe could be toppled....

 

As for the rest, Dirrell and Ward are still relatively young, so they have plenty of time to achieve whatever they want in boxing.

Bute is probably the current number 1, but only through default, as his opponent list makes for pretty poor reading, much like Calzaghe's did for a good while.

Again though, he's got some opportunities coming up to finish his career on a big high, and if he takes them, he's right up there.

It all depends how they finish it all off...

Jones has only tarnished his reputation by fighting on and losing to people he would have blown away at his best.

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Nice article by Steve. It's been a somewhat weak division for it to have been around as long as it has and not have more than a few top names, but at least it's not the Cruisers grin// It was re-posted with the intent of asking where the current SMW's might sit, and they all figure well off the list at this point with Kessler holding the #10 maybe even being in question following his subsequent loss to Ward. I think he'd be the only one of the current lot that I'd have on there, at least at this point, so it kind of seems fruitless to make a All Time SMW list. Would anyone really put Bute, Froch, Ward, etc. on here at this point?
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Froch, at least in terms of ability would be nowhere near ANY divisional greatest lists.

Based on the risks he's taken and the opponents he's faced and beaten, I'd have him top 10 easily, right now.

He's already achieved 10 times what Ottke did, in a much shorter space of time. One blemish, which was a hotly contested and wafer thin loss to Kessler is nothing to be ashamed of.

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I think Steve Collins is too high on the list and he is not one of my favourite fighters. He kind of beat fighters at the right time.

 

Parks reign was pretty shallow while Lilles is probably underated. Ottke has some quality names on his ledger but also some controversial or close wins and stayed at home.

 

Its hard for me to figure where the current SM's are and hopefully match-ups involving Froch, Ward, Kessler and Bute will make things alot clearer.

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Bute is overrated, was magee any better than when he got beat by robin reid? calzaghe, kessler and froch are damn lucky benn and eubank werent there at the same time as they were, or am i just being nostalgic............;)
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Oh dear not another pop at Joe forgive me but didn't Joe beat Kessler who beat Froch & Eubank who beat Benn & beat everyone put in front of him,Benn had stamina problems & if he didn't get Joe out early he would have been another name on the Calzaghe record, Watson took everything Benn had & wore him down as did eubank Joe would have done the same to stand head & shoulders above all previous title holders.

In the division's fairly short history IBF 1984,WBA & WBC 1987,WBO1988 Joe's record stands comparison with all.

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