Who is the best boxer of all time?
July 28th, 2009
By Liam Santiago: This subject always fascinates me. You could ask fifty boxing fans who the best ever boxer is and each one would give you a different answer. Obviously, I am not going to try and say who is the greatest of all time. I will say who I think holds the top spot and put an argument up for each fighter I believe come into this category. Is there anyone fighting today that might be considered to take this title now or in the future?
The most obvious name that comes to mind for most people is Muhammed Ali, who was even known as the greatest. Ali could teach a few modern day fighters about match making ; he stopped Sonny Liston after only 20 fights. He was amazing. Words can’t describe the talent, skill and speed that man had. Since he retired, in 1981, we have not had a heavyweight that comes close to matching his ability, and we probably never will. The six foot three Louisville man looked more like a lightweight than a heavyweight dancing around the ring throwing lightning paced jabs, even predicting the round he would stop his opponent. In Ali’s 20th fight he stopped champion Sonny Liston in the seventh round and in their rematch, the next fight, knocked him out in the first round. He went on to have three all out wars with fellow legend Joe Frazier and beat George Foreman using the ‘rope a dope’ tactic, in which Ali basically stayed on the ropes letting Foreman unload on him and use every bit of energy he had ; then Ali knocked him out in the eighth round. At that time George Foreman was 40-0-0 .
Muhammed Ali had every single requirement needed to make the perfect fighter. He had a granite chin, lightning speed, power, amazing footwork and he had a great boxing brain. Not only did the warrior from Louisville have the talent, he was also the biggest ticket seller of his time.
You can’t write an article on the greatest ever fighter and not mention Rocky Marciano. Here we have another heavyweight, standing at only five foot 10, finishing his career 49 fights undefeated with 43 knock-outs. In 2002, The Ring Magazine numbered Marciano at #12 on the list of 80 best fighters of the last 80 years. Does that seem generous or harsh? To go undefeated for such a long time and retire undefeated is not easy. Considering Marciano did not take up boxing until he was past 20 years of age that’s not a bad achievement.
Marciano has impressive names on his record such as Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott and Archie Moore. In 1952, 1954 and 1955 he was named ring fighter of the year which is an amazing achievement that only the very best can manage. Many boxing critics compare Rocky Marciano with Joe Calzaghe. Not in terms of talent or skill, they compare the undefeated records. Calzaghe retired undefeated after 46 bouts, also with impressive names on his record such as, Mikkell Kessler, Chris Eubank and Bernard Hopkins. Calzaghe will only get the respect he deserves in years to come, like Marciano did. Currently, Joe is being bombarded with criticism on who he fought throughout his career. Marciano also had his critics in his day. They said he was too small for a heavyweight with no finesse or reach. The question is does Calzaghe deserve to be mentioned in this category? I believe he does. He beat Chris Eubank in only his 22nd fight and defended his titles for the next 24 fights. Joe’s talent is unquestionable and even now, at the age of 37, I doubt there is anyone out there who could beat him.
Don’t worry. I’m not forgetting the Panamanian legend Roberto Duran. I will use one word to describe this man. Warrior. And I don’t use that word lightly. Duran was every boxer’s worst nightmare, constantly piling pressure on you, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at you. Yet, he also had a boxing brain. He could box as well. He wasn’t just this crazy lad that keeps coming at you, if he needed to he could change his style.
Duran had an incredible 119 fights, only 16 of which were defeats and 70 wins coming by way ok knock-out. In his early career Duran only found out many of his bouts were taking place on the morning of the fight, acting as something of a journeyman yet always winning and usually by knock-out. If his opponents promoters were looking for an easy win over Duran then that’s some dreadful match making. In his 29th bout he knocked-out Scotland’s Ken Buchanan in a classic fight, in which Ken Buchanan famously took a knee to the groin from Duran. The Panamanian legend went on to defeat Esteban De Jesus, Sugar Ray Leonard and Juan Carlos Giminez. Like many fighters in those days, Duran went on to have to many fights late in his career which has tarnished his record.
One of my personal all time favoutites has to be Randolph Turpin, the Leamington licker. The english mans greatest achievement was probably giving Sugar Ray Robinson a boxing lesson and beating him on points in 1951. The pair rematched only 2 months later in a bout which Robinson won but, watching the fight it seems a miracle he did, The Leamington man seemed to dominate Robinson but that’s boxing for you. According to Randy’s brother Jack, Randy was told by American businessmen before the fight that if he signed a contract they could gaurentee him victory over Robinson. Turpin rejected the offer.
Sugar Ray Robinson is many boxing fans all time favourite. Robinson had an incredible 192 bouts, only 19 of them defeats with 108 wins coming by way of knockout. There is a lot of fighters I could go on to name in this article that were top class fighters, yet Sugar Ray beat them. Muhammed Ali himself once claimed Sugar is the best fighter ever. His speed, power and footwork made him untouchable. However, his first defeat came at the hands of legendry warrior, Jake LaMotta.
Jake LaMotta was a great all round fighter. He probably had one of the best chins in boxing history. Even the defeats he did suffer at the end of his career he finished standing up. However, he didn’t just produce his legacy by having a good chin, he had a bit of everything ; power, movement and most of all, heart. He would never give up. The word quit just did not exist to LaMotta. LaMotta would be a worst nightmare for many modern day fighters.
I can’t finish and not mention Mike Tyson. ‘The baddest man on the plannet’. If there is a fighter that could intimidate the most mentally strong man on the planet, it would be Tyson. Fighters feared Tyson. In the amateurs they would lose in tournaments so they didn’t have to fight him. However, Lennox Lewis was by no means afraid of him and went on to knock him out in the 9th round with a devasting straight right. Lewis was one of the most intelligent, calculated fighters out there but that doesn’t make him the greatest. He was great, but not in the class of the greatest.
Julio Cesar Chavez’s talents still amaze me today. Julio was a Mexican legend, who went 13 years before losing to Frankie Randall. Apart from this defeat, the only othere losses to his name is Kostya Tszyu, Oscar De La Hoya, Grover Wiley and Willy Wise out of 115 fights. Chavez always showed the heart and desire that is common to so many Mexican boxers. To make Chavez quit you would have to take both legs away from him. There is no shame in accepting defeat to fellow Mexican Oscar De La Hoya. I’m a huge fan of Oscar and like many of his fans was disappointed to see him drain himself to make the weight to fight Manny Pacquiao in his final fight. De La Hoya should should have stayed at middleweight or held his head high and retired. He has some great names on his record such as Felix Trinidad, Arturo Gatti and Chavez.
The Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, is also a man who is up there with the greatest. Although he came back well past his prime and lost embarrassing bouts, his talents are unquestionable. Louis was famously blasted through the ropes in an 8th round knock-out by Rocky Marciano in his final bout.
Everyone has a different opinion on this subject, I can only give you mine. They are as follows :
1. Roberto Duran
2. Muhammed Ali
3. Sugar Ray Robinson
4. Rocky Marciano
5. Julio Cesar Chavez
6. Joe Calzaghe
7. Mike Tyson
8. Oscar De La Hoya
9. Joe Louis
10.Lennox Lewis
104 Responses to “Who is the best boxer of all time?”
Leave a Reply
please use above banner to link back to us!
I’d have to say that Sugar Ray Robinson holds position 1-5. No one will be what Sugar Ray Robinson was. He fought absolutely everyone. Fought almost 4 times as many fights as Pacquiao. DId it in different weight classes in an era where there were more top tier boxers than the current era. Yeah, he is the best hands down.
BTW I’m a huge Pacquiao fan. Even if he knocks Clottey out similar to how he did Hatton, and goes on to beat both Mosley and Mayweather, he’d still be a distant second to Sugar Ray Robinson IMO.
i have just one word Tyson.
Julio Cesar Chavez is the only one with so many victorys by ko that is imposible that another boxer is going to broke that record Chavez is going to be in bible of boxing like the best.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JUNIOR=UNDEFEATED!
I hate people when they manny pacquiao is the best boxer ever you cannot compare him to Ali,Robinson,Duran,Tyson,Chavez.all of this fighters fought the best not like pacquiao only has fought boxers past there prime like Morales,barrera,De la hoya,Cotto got brutal beaten by Margarito.Or second class fighters like David Diaz Ricky Hatton instead he didn’t fight Juan diaz,Timothy Bradly,Paul Williams instead his going to fight Clotty.The only fighter that manny pacquiao fought in his prime is Juan Manuel Marquez and he lost both of the fights on the last fight he got outbox Marquez landed more punches.one more thing people say pacquiao is the best boxer because he has won seven world titles.People get ur facts right he has won seven titles but only five are world titles.Oscar de la hoya has won more world titles a ten time world chapion in six weight division.But his not the best boxer ever so people learn about boxing.
pacquiao is the best ever in boxing….!
top ten all time in prime all weights
Ali
Lenox
frazier
rocky marciano
frank bruno
barry maguigan
alan minter
david haye
amir khan
In my opinion manny pacquiao is good boxer but not one of the greatest.he only fought boxers past there prime like Cotto,de la hoya,barrera,Morales.The only boxer in his prime is Juan Manuel Marquez he beat manny pacquiao in there last fight.I’m not hating on manny I like how fights but he hasn’t fought top notch boxer in there prime like Floyd mayweather,Paul Williams,Timothy Bradly or even Shane mosley
There are a lot of very good boxer in this world,like Ali,Marciano,jones,Tyson,Duran,Dela Hoya,Mayweather,Hatton,Cotto,etc..but for me MANNY PACQUIAO is the world greatest boxer of all time and the only boxer to become a 7 division champion in 7 different weight division.but i know there are still a lot of people doesn’t want to agree with me.but this is just my opinion base on where he came from and how he become a champion.i saw him boxing from the time he was just in 106lbs in the strawweight division and to become the P4P the best in the world in 147lbs in the welterweight divisions. and he never change.thanks for coach Friedie Roach who never stop teaching Manny in the art of boxing. His previouis opponent 2 w/ Barerra,2 w/ Marquez,3 w/morales this guys are mexican legend,1 w/ Dela hoya, KO hatton in the 2nd round, TKO Cotto in the 12th round.He previously ruled the International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight WBC light weight, WBC super featherweight, International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight, WBC flyweight and RING Magazine’s featherweight divisions champion and the current World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion of the world.
Here your man will says that pacquiao is the best boxer in the world ryt then he said mayweather is at the very bottom , Has Mayweather been beating yet ? Hes 40 & 0 so the least you can do is show the man some respect! If your the best boxer in the world you dont get beat do ya ? No u dnt! people just hate Floyd cause hes cocky but he sticks to his word and dose the job , people like you m8 are jus jealoues!
Come on Floyd Mayweather! Mossely NEXT!
the best 3 in the world are joe calzaghe and manny pacquiao and ricky hatton (ricky fatton)
1.Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather JR.
PACQUIAO IS THE #1 AND EVERY OTHER BOXER IS IN THE BOTTOM SPECIALY MAYWEATHER
1. Muhammad Ali
2.Mike Tyson
3.Manny Pacquiao
4.Roy Jones JR
5.Joe Fraizer
6. Sugar Ray Leonard
7. Bernard Hopkins
8.Oscar De La Hoya
9.Shane Mosley
10.Floyd Mayweather
manny pacquiao
My Top Ten All Time in regards to the following:
Skill, Ability, Heart, and Integrity
1) Sugar Ray Robinson
2) Rocky Marciano
3) Julio Cesar Chavez
4) Joe Lous
5) Roberto Duran
6) Joe Calzaghe
7) Oscar De La Hoya
8.) Salvador Sanchez
9.) Muhammed Ali
10.) Sugar Ray Leonard
ithink the best of all time is julio cesar chavez
1. ROCKY MARCIANO
2. MUHAMMAD ALI
3. MIKE TYSON
4. OSCAR DE LA HOYA
5. EVANDER HOLYFIELD
6. LENOX LEWIS
7. SUGAR RAY ROBINSON
8. ROY JONES JR
9. JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ
10. MANNY PACQUIAO
you can have your own lists of top boxers…for me no one can beat the world record made by a southpole…an asian…from poor to rich…from a lighter weight to a much heavier weight where he proved that he’s the no.1 pound for pound king!ali is great…tyson is best…pacman is the greatest and the no.1 boxer in the history og boxing…in fact he made the guiness book of world records being the only boxer who holds 7 division…pacman has everything.. talent,courage,and faith in god…pacman,the good samaritan…
Sugar Ray Robinson won 3 of 8 of the original world title. Manny Pacquiao won 4 of 8 of the original world title. That’s haft of the original world titles. Manny Pacquiao won 4 linear titles and 7 world titles in different division today. Is there anyone who accomplish this? No one. Its Manny Pacquiao only. I will put him number 1! I will also give him the credit of THE FACE OF BOXING because of his “Humanitarian” giving his blessing to the poor people and for being a gentleman in the sports.
I think Muhammad Ali is the best Boxer as CONSIDERED by MOST.other boxers are always debatable.but please give respect to other opinions.everyone has his own opinion.we are not children anymore… RESPECT MEN.Watch our words…
best of the best boxers ever in history. it’s
No.1 – Sugar ray Robinson <– the beast power boxer.!!!
2.muhamed ali.
3.
4.
5.
6.
.9.10 ~~~~ to 50.mayweather then pacquiao.!
1. pacquiao
2. sugar ray robinson
3. hagler
4. hearns
5. duran
6. ray leonard
7. ali
8. arguello
8. armstrong
10. foreman
Pound for Pound
1)Lennox Lewis
2)Larry Holmes
3)Rocky Marciano
3)Floyd Mayweather Jr
4)Manny Pacquiao
5)Joe Calzaghe
6)Julio Cesar Chavez
7)Muhamed Ali
8)Mike Tyson
9)Chris Arreola
10)Joe Lewis
Top 10 greatest boxers of all time:
1.Joe Bugner
2.Marco Antonio Barrera
3.Lennox Lewis
4.Prince Naseem Hamed
5.Muhamed Ali
6.Julius Francis
7.Frank Bruno
8.Mike Tyson
9.Joe Calzaghe
10.Sugar Ray Robinson
I know not everyone will agree with my number 1 but it was a calculated choice. Special mentions to Floyd Mayweather,Ricky Hatton,Frank Bruno,Robin Reid and Roberto Duran.
sorry, headline should b:
top10 boxers of all time
p4p – best boxers of all time:
1. roy jones
2. ali
3. archie moore
4. ray robinson
5. joe louis
6. gene tunney
7. mike tyson
8. marvin hagler
9. roberto duran
10. pernell whitaker
..although i perceive ali as the greatest ever, i have to acknowledge roy jones as more gifted & all in all even better.
at all times opinions will differ. but independent of the perspective & considering the past century, each 1 of these 10 has 2 b part of any reasonable top30. (at least i think so:)
joe frazier is da best and has the best power punch ever
modern boxing fans forget past ring greats show their lack of knowledge for convenient reasons by foolishly ommiting such immortals as harry greb,and aprime jack dempsey. harry greb at 160 lbs.beat the likes of gene tunney,tommy gibbons, tommy loughran ,battling levinsky , jack dillon ,gunboat smith.billy miske, bill brennan,etc,time and time again, in a 300 fight career.these great fighters outweighed greb by 15 to 50lbs.Plus he fought most of his bouts with the sight of ONE EYE.He demolished his larger opponents, dodging no one.Modern fans,who can even come close to the immortal harry greb? As for jack dempsey, in his prime,before knockimg out willard,who outweighrd him by about 50 lbs/ he scored about 25 first round knockouts,many againstmuch larger men.He was considered a killer, before his 3 year layoff going hollywood.the dempsey of willard would certainly ko,d gene tunney,and probably everyone after that because of bobbing, weaving style, combined witha viscious killer attack, on a panther like body. Next to dempsey,and in his clasws i rate the murderouys punching joe louis.I saw the first ali/frazier fight at msg in 1971.It was agreat event that night,but a prime dempsey or louis,becauso of their handspeed,and tremendouys punching power,would have been too much for ali…Look at what henry cooper did to ali almost koing him.If cooper almost flattened ali dempsey or louis would have did the trick….
I agree Tyson in 86-87 was great but it was vs no names and nobodies. I will grant you that he left Rooney and that he had many whores and a bad life style as he got older and that may have caused his rapid decline. OK please quickly, name me one great fighter, (i.e. one who would get into the HOF), that he fought at his peak?
Now go check his record against big guys who were not scared or could box and had a chin. Tyson was an exciting fighter but he is overhyped and his re was based against guys whose names were not even known when they had on a name tag.
for your info mr. santiago oscar dela hoya lost to tito trinidad!!!!!!!!! do you know something bout boxing?????
What about Salvador Sánchez he should be at least in the top 4 he was a complete boxer fast,agile,had power, and a great chin he could outbox Márquez and K.O. Pacquiao in the same night whit out braking a sweat. Chávez would have killed De la Hoya if they both were in there prime but De La Hoya was what? about 11 years younger than old past his prime Chávez.
JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ
show me a faster fighter dude was as fast as rjj and hit harder than joe fraiser his freakin angles were insane the guy had the best hook uppercut combo ever!!! tyson started to suck 3-4 fights before he got in the ring with buster douglas watch the tapes if this guy would have stayed with rooney and laid off the booze and whores he would have retired undefeated! noone not holyfield not big daddy bowe not that overrated bum lewis no one could have stood with this guy!!! watch the old tapes than comeback and call me a liar!
top ten fighters of all time:
1. mike tyson (circa 1986-87)
2-10 everyone else!
tyson in 86-87 form beats anyone hands down
THE BEST TO ME ARE BOXER ARE THE ONES UP AND COMING NOW… WE HAVE YET TO SEE WHO IT MIGHT BE…
HERES THE TRUUE TOP TEN BOXERS OF ALL TIME
1.ALI
2.ROBINSON
3.ARMSTRONG
4.LEONARD
5.DURAN
6.WHITAKER
7.LAMOTTA
8.HOLYFIELD
9.JONES JR
10.MAYWEATHER JR
RAY ROBINSON VS. MAYWEATHER FOR SUPREMACY
OK. He’s good. classy. but cotto beat him and marg beat cotto mosely beat marg etc etc….hes nowehere near p4p.. if he is then so is cotto, froch, khan and JERRY FU CKING HACKNEY (CHECK THAT GUY ON YOU TUBE).
MOSLEY FOR ME WOULD BE ABOUT NUMBER 20. IM SORRY BUT ITS MY OPINION.
OK. He’s good. classy. but cotto beat him and marg beat cotto mosely beat marg etc etc….hes nowehere near p4p.. if he is then so is cotto, froch, khan and JERRY FU CKING HACKNEY (CHECK THAT GUY ON YOU TUBE).
MOSLEY FOR ME WOULD BE ABOUT NUMBER 20. IM SORRY BUT ITS MY OPINION.
Aww dude, are you really saying that Mosley aint a good fighter or just trying to wind a few people up? lol Surely you cant deny that he is a classy boxer, maybe you dont want him in your top 10 but do you really think he isnt a good fighter?
Awww dude, you cant deny Mosley is a class fighter. You might not wanna put him in your top 10 but do you really feel that he isnt a great boxer?
The truth hurts tardo boy blah blah…….. HOW MANY FUC**NG TIMES. ITS AN OPINION. Just because me and you have a different opinion and no1 and 3 doesnt mean you have the right throw all this abuse at me.
But now were on the subject of Mosley..haha…do i need to go on..lol…pls dont make me do this…he cant be a choice becuase…HE’S SHANE MOSLEY and what has he ever done?
ali
tyson
calzaghe
roy jones
mayweather
del a hoya
kessler
hopkins
pacman
marquez
off the top of my head
all you idiots saying whoever mentioned mosley get real nah you get real you retarded probaly ufc fans, sook my big stick. pac and oscar and not shane, my sides are actually splitting, and turpin santiago you are a complete fool, for a start you have sugar ray robinson the greatest that ever did lace em up at 3 now for that itself you deserve to be hung drawn and quarterd. you are obviously a pac lover who once again as usual on these shitty articles spouts utter nonsense. get a grip and start appreciating boxing for what it is, a warriors sport not one for guys who give up against flyweights and can bring in big money the true greats like shane care about legacy not fighting over rated club fighters as your shit pac does.
Just wanted to reply to the guy who responded to my post , he was anon by the way. I never said Ali wasnt a great fighter i just said he was over rated….. by that i mean he is automatically granted god like status whenever his name is mentioned… i wouldnt put frazier above him in the list , was just pointing out that he wasnt so god like against frazier and a few others…. almost got his ass handed to him by Henry Cooper for christs sake. And the whole thing about Bruce Lee studying his moves? Big deal, Bruce studied many different martial arts, also fencing and dancing. But this subject is not about Bruce Lee and how dedicated a martial artist he was. If it was i would put him at the top of my list.
Should we have an offical boxingnews24 p4p ranking from ‘Yesteryear’.
amir khan are u crazy he would not stand a chance against any of the top fighters marquez pacman diaz even the hitman he should not even be getting talked about sorry for talking ALI ROBINSON LOUIS DURAN DEMPSY TYSON
HANDS OF STONE MY MAN. ITS MY OPINION that is yours. if we all fought willie pep was the best and joe cal was the worst how boring would it be?
salvador sanchez one of mexicans greatest of all time but his life was cut short i think he was 23 yrs old
Joe Calzaghe!!All time great??
I think you’ve been taken in by the unbeaten record!!
I’m surprised you’ve not included the “Great” Sven Ottke in there as well?
He retired undefeated 34-0,21 defenses of the IBF Super Middleweight title,got to be an all-time great with a record like that….surely!!
Sorry Liam,I can’t take this top 10 list too seriously when you’ve not even got fighters like Willie Pep,Henry Armstrong or even Sugar Ray Leonard or Marvin Hagler in there with Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis in there instead!
And Oscar De la Hoya,well,didn’t he lose all his most meaningful fights?
He was at his best when his opponents were half his size or way past their best like Chavez & Whittaker who would’ve whipped his ass if he’d have met them in their prime!!
(HEAVY WEIGHT)
Ali, lennox lewis, Tyson.
(CRUISER WEIGHT)
?????? erm… david haye
(LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
michael spinks, roy jones,
(MIDDLE WEIGHT / SUPER MIDDLE.WEIGHT)
bernard hopkins, marvin hagler, joe calzaghe, jake laMotta, tommy hearns
(WELTER.WEIGHT / LIGHT.WELTER.WEIGHT)
floyld mayweather, osca de la hoya,
shane mosley, sugar ray robinson, Henry Armstrong
sugar ray lenard, pernal witakar,
(LIGHT WEIGHT)
Julio César Chávez, robert duran, Manny Pacquiao
(below light weight)
prince naseem, BARRERA, MORALES, MARQUEZ
Eliel. You named 9 boxers. how could i replace all but 1. who wud u take out. ali? ray?
and none of them would even make number 12.
11. turpin
12. la motta
28. roy jones – thats not a joke.
Hey Liam why are you so controversial? What happen with the best of all time Roy Jones Jr. and with Felix Trinidad who beats chicken “rollerblades” De La Hoya. What happen with Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez (44-3-1-42) or Wilfredo “El Radar” Benitez, Willie Pep(230-11-1-65ko),Henry Armstrong(151-21-9-101ko) Only boxer to hold world titles at three different weights simultaneously. … Won featherweight crown in October 1937. … Added welterweight title in May 1938 and became lightweight champion three months later. … Challenged for middleweight crown in 1940, and held champion Ceferino Garcia to a draw. I didnt see on your list Marvin Hagler,Carlos Monzon or Finito Lopez and where the hell is Miguel Cotto if he was at the times of Ali he had ascended to the heavyweight and kick his ass. am sure of that.
in there primes
(heavyweight)
ali/tyson 50/50 ?
(lightheavyweight)
roy jones jr
(middleweight)
roy jones jr/ sugar ray robinson 50/60
(welterweight)
sugar ray lenard
(light weight)
manny pac man
(pound4pound)
roy jones jr
again, audley harrison has a little more to do before i can rate him in this category. id like to see him beat at least one more jorneyman… lol jokes on me.
Adam Laiolo. Thanks alot mate.
Thanks guys for all toning down on the abuse. at last.
AGAIN I SAY IT…. if mayweather is wanting to squirm his way into this list he must beat all of these…
1.cotto, 2.pacquiao, 3. mosely. 4. paul williams 5.marquez 6. matthew hatton (joke on number 6)
***naughty Roy*** sorry
Again I say…Roy Jones was heavyily on steroids. he came off them and was pretty basic. no p4p for naught joe. id sooner give it to carl froch.
Henry Amrstrong I would have at number 11 or 12. simple.
Duran may have lost many fights, but Im talking about only his prime years. Try matching that Duran against Pacquiao….Discuss that between yourselves.
Duran was past his prime at that time and above his natural weightclass. You have to consider him at lightweight in the 70s, where he was way more impressive than Hagler, Hearns or even Leonard. There’s a reason he ALWAYS is considered higher p4p than the other three. Even though Leonard was amazing. Funny how no one has even mentioned Henry Armstrong here. After all he is considered #2 at ring magazines p4p list.
1.Ian Brown
2.Paul Weller
3.Liam Gallagher
4…..
hold on a minute , have i got the wrong website?
By the way i reckon number 1 all time great is …..
……….
1. Roy Jones …he was un-touchable in his day…
i agree with a lot of that but i respectfully disagree with duran being in there. he lost more big fights than he won, out of the legends of the eighties (hagler, hearns, leonard, duran) hes got be 4th, so one of them should take his place in the list, id say leonard or hagler, i can never decide who was better out of them.
1. sugar ray robinson
2. muhammad ali
3. roberto duran
4. julio cesar chavez
5. rocky marciano
6. mike tyson
7. roy jones jr.
8. joe louis
9. louis armstrong
10. pernell whitaker
11. manny pacquiao — climbing
Wlad Klitschko can and could beat all of them in same shape as he is now
(cont)if they could fight ,you would see best from East Europe
best is Wlad.Klitschko
In previous years nobody from East Europe could fight in heavyweight div., if
Liam i dont agree with most of it, but its an unbiased, objective well written article. of course people are gna disagree, thats what p4p lists are for. this arguement is for drunken nights and loud arguements that will never be settled, well written mate. i enjoyed it
Not a fan of Sugar Ray Leonard. That is just blasphemous. I will pray for you. LOL
A lot of you have mentioned big Audley Harrison. He has a bit more to prove at the top level. But who knows what the future holds. LOL. Joke.
Marvin Hagler…. He was good in the rocky film. I know that. Balboa went the distance with him though. LOL.
Im going back to Calzaghe cus thats where im getting most flak.
Compare who he has fought to Marciano. Calzaghe’s opponents have been tougher fights. Its an old legacy that people love.
For all you Dawson haters. I know he hasn’t fought the best yet. But thats not his fault. He’d fight Cazgahe tonight in my front room if he could. He’s talented and deserves that spot.
No i am not on crack whichever idiot asked that.
Mosley is not on because…. do i really need to say this…because he’s shane mosley. I’d soon but Cotto on.
For Ali haters. How is he overrated? check his record and watch one of his fights.
As for Calzaghe. He beat Eubank in his 22nd fight and became champ. Where are modern day fighters in there 22nd fight. He defended it for 24 more. If he came back and beat Froch, Dawson and the winner of super six (probably Kessler (again) ) then I would put him as number 1.
For all you Vitali haters. Vitali is untouchable at the moment. He is better than Wlad. Better chin, power etc. Thats why he’s there, he’s untouchable.
ANDREW. READ THE ARTICLE. it say…. it is an opinion, yours will not be the same but that is mine. No the best fighters artn always at lower weights. Ali fought like a lightweight. RJJ was on steroids in his prime which disqualifies him. lol.
PBF unproven. After beating, Mosely, Pacquiao, cotto, marquez and paul williams i will CONSIDER him, but that is all, CONSIDER.
Never been a huge fan of leonard, again my opinion.
If you are making a list of the 10 BEST BOXERS why the hell do you bother to include heavyweight fighters. The best boxers have and always will come from the lower weight divisions.
In addition why isn’t Sugar Ray Leonard on that list , or Roy Jones Jr , or PBF ……….
Benn himself said that he thought that if Calzaghe was around in their day that he would have beaten them all, always thought that was quite interesting. As for the greatest ever has to be a toss up between sugar ray robinson, ali and duran but i would put calzaghe and rjj up there just not at the top.
mr Rich – u talk about uneducated boxing fans that dont think calzaghes great but you called ALI overated? god talk about being uneducated. you lost all credibilty when u said that, yet at the same time u think frazier is so great and should be on the list for beating ali once out of 3 times.
ali = 3 time heavyweight champion in the toughest era in heavyweight history. he beat frazier twice, norton twice, Foreman, liston twice, patterson twice. shavers, lyle. and most of these victories when after a suspension which robbed him of some of his prime.
also olympic gold medalist.
how can any body call him overated? you need to educate yourself.
man… even bruce lee studied him to emulate the way he fought!
dont think chavez or duran belong in top 5, but they are great fighters. calzaghe and lewis dont belong on any top p4p list imo there best victories are against past it fighters, and not very convincing victories at that.
to the writer – calzaghe fought eubank who was old and eubank fought on like 2 weeks notice. hopkins win was debatable, and jones is shot any top 5 fighter in light heavy would have beat him when calzaghe fought him.
What about Marco Antonio Barrera and/or Eric Morales? Surely two of the finest Mexican boxers of all time
Im a massive calzaghe fan but i he does not make my top ten although if he cam back and beat the winner of supper 6, chad dawson and maybe win a title a cruiserweight , he would be in my top ten then , for me Manny pacquiao is on the verge of being in the top 3 but my top ten fighters now go like this
Sugar ray robinson
Muhammed Ali
Sugar Ray Leanord
Roberto Duran
Pernall Whitiker
Joe Louis
Marvin Hagler
Oscar del la hoya
Julio ceaser chavez
Roy jones jr
specail mentions to Jake la motta , jack johnson , marco antonio barrera , Floyd mayweather jr , Manny Pacquiao, archie moore, alexis arguello
GUYS, everbody has there own list. But you have to compair boxers at there peak. would a peak joe louis have lost to the rock , would the iron mike who blasted out spinks have lost to lennox.And i would have liked to see Joe C fight a peak Benn,Watson,Eubank and Collins. I dont think he would be 43.0.
good article, eventhough Id go for Robinson to top the list who even Ali refeered to as “the king my master, my idol” I cant agree with Marciano bein in the top 5 tho, yeah he beat Joe Louis but come on Joe was way past his prime. no too sure after that theres loads to choose from – duran, lamotta, hagler, leaonard, ali etc. However I would say the greatest heavyweight of all time is Tyson – not the Tyson people think of bein beaten by Kevin McBride , Im talkin about that raw, 1985-1988 Cus D’Amato Tyson who WAS unstoppable. shame things turned out the way they did for him coz he would of ruled for years.
Tyson and Lewis would be just outside this list in my opinion. Personally the fighter i’ve grown up with is Calzaghe but Marciano and the way he was in and out the ring is what got me interested in boxing in the very first instance albeit by chance! I’m glad to see both of them on the list the only 2 i’d add would be Hagler and Shane Mosley
# boxingfan Says:
July 29th, 2009 at 2:14 am
at least from the last 20 years, since i start whatching boxing
1. Roy Jones JR.
2. Bernard Hopkins
3. joe calzague
4. fraud gayweather
5. pernell whitaker
lol how could ugly boy fraud be on this list?
bonzo, i dont mean the amount of wins i mean the names on the record.
mr rich i couldnt agree more with ur comments mate i dont care what any one says calzaghe deserves to have his name up there with the greatest’s, i told him not so long ago to get back in the ring kick froch’s ass and fight 3 more bums and beat marciano’s record lol but he said i dont think so hhahaha. liam good views think you made a good list obviously everyone has their own personal favs but to me you cant really name the best boxer of all time, you can have a go but thousands will tell you wrong. its safer to just put 50 of the best boxers of all time and write a list and dont number them lol. regarding ur list mate i wouldnt have put lennox tyson or de la hoya in mine, i have never thought much of lennox lewis. tyson just didnt like him. as a great of a boxer de la hoya was i still dont think he would be in my list of the greatest boxers. here is my list
joe calzaghe
roberto duran
jake lamotta
manny pacquiao
floyd mayweather
muhammad ali
joe fraizer
roy jones jrn
manuel marquez
and
de la hoya
No Marciano has better record 49 wins
and 43 knockout.
Calzaghe 46 wins and 32 knockout.
i was somehow disapointed not seeing Ali on the top, because just like what you said,we have not had a heavyweight that comes close to matching his ability, and we probably never will. Unlike Duran and all the boxer you had mentioned, their achievement and skills are very possible to surpass or equalize. I’m not saying Ali’s skills and achievement isn’t but for the past 29 years since he retired, no one really came closed.
Michael
I respect your opinion but in my own opinion
He is not an overrated boxer, He will not reign for almost 2 decades in the heavyweight if he is what you think he is.
Sure Mike Tyson possibly may knock him out just like what cooper did to Ali, but comparing their skills their achievement and boxer they fought, Ali is way above Tyson.
Sorry Michael, I was just a huge fan of Ali.
ye like i say though, that rspect will only come in about 50 years time. if you look calzaghe has a better record thanmarciano.
Im quite supprised that you put 5 heavyweights in your top 10 to be honest, its not a division known for its boxing skill. But its kinda like picking your top 10 films or top 10 songs, you will make a list and then after youve done it you’ll be thinking why didnt i put this or why didnt i put that. Im glad that Joe Calzaghe made it into your list, he’s still so under rated by the uneducated boxing fans lol
Mr Rich – true mate. But whoever mentioned Mosely, come on get real.
Me again? i think you confusing me for someone else Liam Santiago. And the thought of putting Amir Khan on the list disgusts me lol
By the way, never once used you as a verbal punch bag, i was just pointing out that Ali is over rated, a great boxer but over rated. I dont think he was over rated because he was black like Michael was saying…. that was just a weird comment to make. Good topic anyway, but you definatly should expect some fighting talk out of this topic mate as you know fight fans are very passionate people.
Mosley now i cant fit all thse on!
So come on guys, stop using me as a verbal punchbag.
i would definatlly have roy jones and mosley on the list
Guys, come on lay of the abuse. Likw I said.. Its an opinion. I said you lot will have ‘different views to me’. So comments such as :
‘Mr. Writer!!! it should be goes like this…’ – REX GEACOMO
‘How comes Joe frazier never gets a mention?’ – MrR RICH (YOU AGAIN)
Like I said there is only 10. If Frazier, khan, hagler, jones, ray leonard and pacquiao were on the list 6 that are wouldnt be. and id take flak for that.
muhamhud ali is the worst boxer ever overrated only becuase he is black every one thinks hes the best not me rocky marciano 49-0-(43) – i love it when he knock joe luis out the ring gud not stop the laughting joe luis got put to sleep ali boring to watch even mike tyson would have killed ali in the 1st round ahahahahahahaha
How comes Joe frazier never gets a mention? He won the 1st fight against Ali. The 2nd fight was spoiled by Ali because all he did was hold because he was scared of Frazier’s power after the 1st fight. And in the 3rd they both nearly killed eachother in the ring and if it had gone another round somebody may well have died. One more thing i’d like to point out is that laying against the ropes getting the hell beaten out of you is not what i’d call and neither should anyone else call good boxing. Luckily for Ali he was an inteligent man and had a good idea and said he was doing the rope-a-dope. After all that being said its too hard for me to pick who is the best ever, maybe Sugar Ray Leonard.
What the heck is Joe doing up there? Wheres Sugar Ray Leonard? or Marvin Hagler? or the new phenom the smallest but greatest in this era Manny Pacquiao? your just making me laugh Mr. Writer!!! it should be goes like this…
1) Sugar Ray Robinson
2) Jack Johnson
3) Roberto Duran
4) Muhammad Ali
5) Manny Pacquiao
6) Sugar Ray Leonard
7) Marvin Hagler
9) Big BEAR
10)Dwight Howard (If he change to Boxing)hehehehe
at least from the last 20 years, since i start whatching boxing
1. Roy Jones JR.
2. Bernard Hopkins
3. joe calzague
4. floyd maywheather
5. pernell whitaker
Thanks alot Jack P
Liam Santiago, are you creating these mythical lists so your articles get more hits? Hmmm…
Wouldnt have Tyson in there and especially not above Lewis who absolutely destroyed him. Tyson was only effective when his opponent was scared of him, when he faced guys who werent intimidated he lost.
Clazaghe is a good shout too.
Amir Khan is the best boxer of all time. Freddie Roach will say so anytime now and what he says is fact.
Pretty good list but come on calzaghe.I’d rather see hopkins instead of calzaghe and where is evander the real deal holyfield
Thanks alot Buncey.