Hot take: Fighting a great fighter that's a weight class below shouldn't be an issue

Let's take Islam vs Volk 1, for example. I'd consider that prime Volk, one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) featherweight ever and they had a great match. It was close-ish, but Islam clearly took 3 rounds imo. People were shitting on him for having such a close fight with a 'featherweight' but this is Volk, not just a fw. Dude would've probably beat most of the top LW contenders. To me, that's as valid a win as any over any of the top 5 LW contenders would be. We're seeing a similar thing with the potential Islam Ilia fight. People saying "oh he's just another fw". Fam, that is not your average featherweight clearly. Dude is a fucking savage. I don't blame the guy for wanting the title fight at LW after a crazy FW run and two historic wins. If that fight happens and Islam wins, it should be as legitimate a win as any other. If he loses, he lost to an incredible fighter who was better on that night. It's honestly that simple - credit shouldn't be taken away from the bigger fighter if they beat a smaller fighter. submitted by /u/Open_Address_2805 [link] [comments]