[v1tal1]

Originally Posted by Jofeljoh!

Dekkers wasn't the best in his weightclass, allthough he probably was amongst them. In his prime he probably was pretty the most dominant in Thaiboxing, at least European/modified rules. On full Thai rules, especially in the beginning in his carreer he got 'outclassed' by the Thais... with that I mean they were just better on those rules, Dekkers wasn't used to them also... Especially the elbows and clinches bothered them, and those are ofcourse important aspect in Thailand. Dekkers speciality was his boxing, which doesn't score as much.

Many people claim that he was robbed several times in Thailand, being it home-decisions etc... those are not true, at least most of them. It was just the rules. Allthough there are fights which he completely dominated with his boxing combinations, dazzled his opponent several times, but still lost. Alltough that doesn't seem right, it actually is, according to the rules. Sucky, but that's the way it is

Besides all that, there always is serious betting going on in Thailand, so you'd better not screw with decisions, because you then screw with the bets and the people! You don't want pissed off people losing all their money so to speak

About Hoost, well, you can pretty much say he's the best in the heavyweights, along with Aerts. Aerts is a bit underrated with Hoost, but both are extreme good technicians, with knockout power in every available technique (at least in their primes). Both have highkick, lowkick, punch and knee-knockouts... Hoost ofcourse didn't get the Mr Perfect nickname for nothing, and allthough he has 4 K-1 GPs won, and Aerts 3, I just want to place them on the same level of skill and achievement. Aerts actually won from Hoost when I consider them both in their primes (98).

It's always hard to compare fighters pound for pound. In lighter weightclasses you generally have less KO's, but more fast, technical actions. In the heavyweights it's the other way around. That's why Dekkers has such an incredible record: over 200 fights, 175 wins, 90 KO's. That's an extreme accomplishment. Even today his sparringpartners say he hits almost like a heavyweight. Dekkers in his beginning of his carreer was a relentless fighter, later on he became more of a relaxed tactician in the ring, just chosing he chances. See his comeback fight against Ludwig for example, of his former farewell fight against Marino DeFlorin. Just calm, picking his (incredible powerful) shots.

I don't want to pick none of them as the best P4P, and besides that, you just forget there were so many other great(er) fighters in Dekkers weightclass before... (Sakmongkong, Jomhod, Jongsanan, and the list goes on and on...)

This is pretty damn accurate. Instead of rewriting it and explaining my position futher, I'll just quote.

There's nothing incorrect about anything said above, I just don't put the same emphasis on the same things he did. I don't have the same criteria for P4P greatest.

Ramon Dekker is simply P4P a better fighter than Hoost. In a sport dominated by thais, who devote entire lives from 4 years old until they are crippled by the sport, Ramon thrived. Hoost fought HW, Yes, he could be considered the best in his weight class, however that talent pool is exponentially smaller. I am not implying there is no HW talent, but its a simple matter of numbers. Ramon fought in the thick of the Thai average weight.

Ramon is a far superior boxer; crisper, faster punches. He has better combinations with the hands without question. IMO kicking is more or less the same. Also Ramon is not considered the best in his division because of the lack of emphasis Thai Boxing places on punches. I personally think in his prime, fighting European style rules, Ramon is the best in his division.