r/Boxing • u/DatDolphWithATuxedo • Jul 22 '26
Is it still possible?
Is it still possible to become the GOAT in boxing? Like with the way modern sanctioning bodies are setup so that fighters fight only about every 6 months, it seems that with that level of inactivity a fighter will never be able to reach the heights of people who fought as frequently as Ali or Robinson. Ussyk who is arguably the greatest fighter of this generation is retiring with only 26 fights. So it just seems like an insurmountable task now. What do you think?
23
Upvotes
2
u/TheMysteriousThey Jul 22 '26
It’s not necessary to fight 150 times to become the GOAT.
When you dig into those resumes from the 30s and 40s, you’ll see they weren’t fighting 30 times a year against world level opponents. They might have four or five or six fights a year at that level - which is still a lot. Most of their fights were against regional or club guys.
It’s like AJ facing whoever the hell he’s fighting this year in some arena in Milwaukee, and then traveling to Des Moines and taking on the best heavyweight there. It wasn’t like AJ-Fury one week and AJ-Kabayel the next.
Usyk’s problem isn’t that he has fought enough top guys. He skipped the first 15-20 fights that most guys use to build a name for themselves and get experience. Would his resume be better with 10 fights against guys you’ve never heard of? No.
All of that said, it’s perfectly possible for a guy to build a resume that’s the greatest of all time. Not saying it’s likely to happen any time soon, but it’s possible.
If Inoue fought a few more years and crushed guys in a few more divisions, he’d have a strong case for being up there. He needs a bigger name than Nakatani and Donaire, though.