Robinson turned professional in October 1940 and rose to No. Alis last win would come in avenging a stunning upset loss to Leon Spinks, retiring as champion before an ill-fated comeback. Scoring for total points and peak points relied on a base 11-point scale (i.e. If the featherweight won, 118 would be divided by 126 with the win worth 8.42 points for the featherweight and the loss meaning a deduction of 2.81 points for the bantamweight. Group one: anyone who finished in the top 100 of all three scoring categories or whose scoring average was higher than those who did. Among them Sugar Ray Robinsons draw versus Henry Brimm was omitted in the initial findings and is added here and the ranking for Henry Cooper prior to his rematch with Muhammad Ali is updated (it was off by one issue; credit to historian Henry Hascup). He also hosts TV and radio sports talk shows. Lynchs change has the more dramatic outcome because of the way the results were grouped. Moores first win over Jack Chase came when Chase was unranked, though Chases name comes up often from there. 22, 1926), Getty Images/The Stanley Weston Archive / Contributor, Benny Leonard (April 7, 1896April 18, 1947), Oscar De La Hoya Career Record, Fight-by-Fight, Meet the 15 Best MMA Fighters of All Time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fight-by-Fight Career Record, Bernard Hopkins Fight-By-Fight Career Record, Ring Magazine Top 100 Punchers Of All Time. Digging into pro boxing in 1998, Ann boasts one of the most successful He held the welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight titles during a career that began in 1913 and lasted until 1926 when he retired. As an amateur, he made a name for himself by going 86-0 before turning pro in 1940. Draws against ranked opponents were worth half a win; draws against unranked opponents were a six-point deduction. From 1930-1956, nine men would hold the heavyweight crown. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. At number one, Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer of all time, and Louis knocked out seven of them. Results are now current as of January 21, 2022. Lesnevich also posted a win in 1937 over Atilio Sabatino; Sabatino would go on to be ranked for chunks of time at middleweight between 1938 and 1940. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Larry Holmes (69-6, 44 KO) Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to Corrections to the initial findings of Peter Kane, Benny Lynch, and Jake LaMotta changed the position of each. Group two was anyone else who finished in the top 100 for peak score and ranked wins but not overall points (65-69). The change to Lynch pushed him out of the top 100 for wins against ranked opponents, leaving Jack Sharkey as the cut off for group one. During his career, he fought 241 bouts, a remarkably high number by modern standards. A native of Panama, Duran is considered to be the best lightweight fighter in modern boxing history. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Top 10 Lightweights of All Time!Check out the best bookmakers for betting on Boxing! 2 contender spot at light heavyweight in the January 1943 issue. In 2002, the writers of Ring Magazine published a ranking of the 80 best fighters of the previous 80 years. The big punching Ray turned pro in 1933 and would spend most of the second half of the 1940s as a heavyweight contender. From his entry into the Ring rankings until the Saddler loss, Peps record against champions and contenders from bantamweight to lightweight was 22-1-1, included wins over one of the dominant bantamweight champions ever in Manuel Ortiz and future lightweight champion Paddy DeMarco. The most formidable challenger in the war years may have been Jimmy Bivins. As the title To Be the Best suggests, the feature looked back at 100 men who personified that phrase by facing the best opposition of their respective weight classes and eras. The first two wins against Maxim came in 1942 when Maxim was unranked and often competing at heavyweight. BornCassius Marcellus Clay Jr.,Muhammad Ali began boxing at the age of 12 and won a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Their rankings in each category were then averaged into a final score. The inexhaustible Welshman tied the record for defenses of a title at super middleweight with Germanys Sven Ottke. Missing Quality: Lesnevich posted wins in 1936 and 37 over Young Stuhley. Salica posted a win over unranked future bantamweight champion Manuel Ortiz in 1939. Emile Griffith graces the cover of the March 1965 issue of The Ring. The Ring recognized only four men as light heavyweight champion from August 1941 to March 1962: Gus Lesnevich, Freddie Mills, Joey Maxim and Moore. A loss to the champion was a one-point deduction sliding to 11 for a loss to the No. [California Jackie Wilson MD 10 (3) 147, Henry Armstrong UD 10 (3) 147 10/43, Vic Dellicurti UD 10 (10+) 160 01/45, Georgie Abrams SD 10 (3+) 160 07/47, Bernard Docusen UD 15 (1) 147 08/48, Steve Belloise RTD 7 (2+) 160 10/49, Robert Villemain UD 15 (3) 160 07/50, Robert Villemain TKO 9 (5) 160 02/51, Joey Maxim RTD by 13 (C+) 175 08/52, Rocky Castellani SD 10 (2) 160 09/55, Carmen Basilio L 15* (C-) 147 10/57, Carmen Basilio SD 15* (C) 160 04/58. That championship is sorely missing from his resume. 30 Terry McGovern. His success continued well after he moved up the scale. Moore would also have a lengthy stint as the No. Photo / THE RING archives. It would be more fair if his place was debated more like versions of Van Halen. Career Record: 31-6-1 (22 KO) First Ring Ranking: #10 Light Heavyweight Moore had slipped from the middleweight top 10 after a knockout loss to Eddie Booker. The final average score was used to order the fighters in each group for those who made the top 100. Mayweathers most impressive run may have come in his first weight class with five wins over ranked opposition in title fights at junior lightweight. Had The Ring maintained its title policy through the 1990s, Pacquiao would likely have a fourth Ring title at flyweight for his win over Sasakul. In other words, Angott was The Rings No. How tough? 1-contender rankings at junior featherweight and welterweight along with a No. Charles was Rings 1949 and 1950 Fighter of the Year. Scoring results key: Most of the fighters listed in the Scoring Results section were in The Rings ratings at the time the examined ranked fighters of this feature faced them. He remained active in boxing, refereeing frequently until dying of a heart attack while officiating at a match in 1947. 2-ranked bantamweight defeated the No. In a pro career that began in 1968 and lasted until 2001, he won titles in four different divisions: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. A formula based on body weight percentage differences between divisions of ranked fighters, rather than scale weights of the fighters, was applied. Michael Spinks (737.4 points; 31-1-0) Considered to be one of the best light heavyweights of all time, Michael Spinks (known as Jinx) held world championships in both the light heavyweight class (he was the undisputed champ from 1983 to 1985) and the lineal heavyweight class (from 1985 to 1988). Thanks for signing up! Anything that ends in a list that ranks fighters across eras is going to be open to debate, and the approach used to generate this list is no different. Missing Quality: The welterweight top 10 of the early 1940s was tough to crack. The as of date for the rankings in the August 1944 issue was likely incorrect and the results were amended accordingly. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. McCallum was forced to vacate prior to a planned unification with IBF titlist James Toney. Lewis also defeated future, but then unranked, heavyweight champion Jim Braddock that year in the first of their two contests. A 1956 silver medalist at light middleweight for the United States, Torres fought most of his first six years at middleweight, peaking at a number six ranking. By the time he retired in 1925, he had a record of 89-6-1 with 70 knockouts. The 1926 and subsequent annual rankings prior to the introduction of monthly rankings included more than 10 fighters so the first 11 were all factored in. Milton McCrory TKO 10 (7) 154 KO 08/87, Career Record: 77-10-3, 2 No Contest (47 KO), First Ring Ranking: #7 Middleweight (May 1991), Last Ring Ranking: #9 Heavyweight (September 2007), Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 10-6-2, 1 No Contest (5 KO), Ring Magazine Championships: None (See Missing Quality). Mayweathers junior lightweight run came during the era where The Ring didnt render championships. For instance, champions havent automatically secured the top spot in every era of Ring rankings. Combining sanctioning body and lineal and/or Ring championships, Pacquiao is the only fighter with title claims in eight weight classes. 2 fights and surely would have filled a vacancy had The Ring resumed recognizing champions again before either fight. Bivins would be Louis final victory. He won 11 straight matches in 1933 and then 22 consecutive bouts in 1937. 1-rated lightweight, as of the September 1941 issue, when Robinson beat him by unanimous decision in a lightweight bout. A 1963 win over ranked welterweight Ralph Dupas was outside the study scope. He would remain recognized as Rings champion until his retirement following the only knockout loss of his career to heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Chatchai Sasakul KO 8 (2) 112 03/99, Medgoen Singsurat TKO by 3 (UR) 112 Holiday/99, Agapito Sanchez Tech. Results placed between brackets [ ] denote fights that were covered in the same issue (an interesting detail that shows how often some of the earlier fighters were in action). Calzaghe rose to number one for the first time in the September 1999 issue and fell no lower than fourth until holding the number one spot from the November 2003 issue until being crowned champion after his win over Jeff Lacy. An illustration of Willie Pep adorns the July 1949 issue of The Ring. A consistent factor at welterweight and middleweight from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, Griffith won five world championships against a bevy of tough competition. In nine fights against the Mexican trio of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao was an impressive 6-2-1 and rebounded from a devastating knockout loss to Marquez in the last of those fights to add seven more wins over ranked opponents before what appears to be his farewell loss to Yordenis Ugas. It took over five years to climb to number one in the February 1940 issue, a spot he held for almost a year before sliding as low as four. The shortest resume to make the top 100, the lack of volume for Puerto Ricos Chegui was offset by a collection of highly rated wins and no bad losses while in the rankings. 10 contender. Genaro Hernandez RTD 8 (1) 130 Holiday 1998, Gregorio Vargas UD 12 (10) 130 06/00, Diego Corrales TKO 10 (1) 130 05/01, Jose Luis Castillo UD 12* (1) 135 08/02, Jose Luis Castillo UD 12 (1) 135 02/03, DeMarcus Corley UD 12 (5+) 140 09/04, Carlos Baldomir UD 12* (C) 147 02/07, Oscar De La Hoya SD 12 (5+) 154 07/07, Juan Manuel Marquez UD 12 (C) 135 11/09, Robert Guerrero UD 12* (3) 147 07/13, Canelo Alvarez MD 12* (C) 154 11/13, Career Record: 85-24-2, 1 No Contest (23 KOs, 2 KOBY), First Ring Ranking: #10 Welterweight (May 1960), Last Ring Ranking: #8 Middleweight (April 1976), Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 36-19-2 (6 KOs, 2 KOBY), Ring Magazine Championships: Welterweight (1961, 62-63, 63-66), Middleweight (1966-67, 67-68). Ring career: 1897-1928 Record: 77-13-14 (48 KOs) and 19 no-decisions. WebThe Ring enlisted the services of various historians and writers, including Farhood, Muhammad Ali. Photo: The Ring Magazine/ Getty Images. Genius is a word easily abused, but not when it comes to Peps best years at featherweight. Hernandez would go on to be ranked, and win a belt, in the 130-pound class in the years after that fight. The entirely subjective nature of any list comparing fighters across different weight categories and different eras is bound to be fodder for debate. Mike McTigue was the light heavyweight champion for the inaugural rankings in 1925 and was rated fourth. He was a damn good boxer and a great man thanks for your time in the ring. Muhammad Ali graces the cover of the December 1972 issue of The Ring. An asterisk * is used to note a Ring championship title change or a vacancy being filled. Romero was ranked intermittently at light heavyweight from 1937-38 and for most of 1943. Fernandez had been ranked at welterweight and then middleweight between 1959 and 1962. A bronze medalist at the 1996 Olympics, Mayweathers first win over a Ring-ranked opponent was also his first for a title (the WBC 130-pound strap). Some other small corrections have been made to results and summaries but they didnt change the final results. Pep regained the crown from Saddler after two quick tune-ups in his most memorable win and added four more victories over ranked opponents in 15 more wins before losing the title to Saddler for the second time. George Costner was not ranked in a Ring top 10 when Robinson first beat him, neither was Artie Levine or Carl Bobo Olson the first two times the future middleweight champ lost to Robinson, but all three would become fixtures of the ratings. Note: With some fighters of the more-distant past, there is often disagreement about their final records. Bud [Terence Crawford] is the best fighter in boxing, said Stevenson during an interview with BoxingInsider.com. Alvarez, now 31, seemingly solidified his placement as the best fighter in the world following his recent run at 168 pounds. After Charles also posted an early career win over Teddy Yarosz just one month after Yarosz exited the Ring rankings for the last time. Replace Marvin Hagler with Benitez and one still has a four-man, nine-fight series which included a near flawless masterpiece of skill in Benitezs lopsided decision over Duran. Both men were well removed from the rankings but had been ranked at cruiserweight in earlier years, Cunningham as one of the most prominent fighters in that division for the better part of a decade. 1 contender was worth 10, etc. A move to middleweight started with a loss to Sumbu Kalambay, McCallums first, but McCallum rebounded to win the vacant WBA belt against Herol Graham. 2023 RING TV LIVE. The final average score was used to order the fighters in each group for those who made the top 100. Those were treated as that months rankings and, if needed, were reordered as champion and top 10 to maintain consistency. 28 Jack Britton. James Toney downs 1996 Olympic champ Vassily Jirov to win the IBF cruiserweight title in 2003, the year he earned his second Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year award. a champion and the top 10 contenders). Lynch was credited with one too many. He would never be unknown by anyone again. Ali was Rings 1963 (as Cassius Clay), 1966 (retroactively), 1972 (with Carlos Monzon), 1974, 1975 and 1978 Fighter of the Year. Returning to the ring in 1955, Robinson was never quite as consistent again but still added critical victories against Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio to further cement his legend. Lesnevich retired after a losing crack at the NBA heavyweight title versus Ezzard Charles. Pep won his first 62 fights with four wins against Ring-ranked opposition, including his featherweight title win over Chalky Wright, before his career was three years old. Missing Quality: Basilio took a hard road to contention, picking up some losses along the way including decision defeats to a ranked Chuck Davey and Bill Graham. Boxing icon Muhammad Ali has brushed aside fierce competition to be voted the best boxer of all time by fans. The 'Greatest' is widely celebrated for his legendary achievements inside the squared 34 Marcel Cerdan. Toney had wins over former titlists like Steve Little and Adolpho Washington after they exited the rankings and suffered four losses after his final exit from the rankings. From that win over Genaro Hernandez to his farewell against mixed martial artist Conor McGregor, Mayweather would face 23 men found in the Ring rankings across 33 fights. Between reigns at lightweight, Canzoneri would hold the top contender slot from the August 1933-April 1935 editions. 29 Bob Fitzsimmons. For instance, champions havent automatically secured the top spot in every era of Ring rankings. Conversely, some scoring luck in Alis second reign against Jimmy Young and Ken Norton contributed to his placement here. The following year, he bulked up to fight for and win the world welterweight title, then slimmed down and captured the world lightweight belt. Toney would briefly rise to number one after a draw in the first of three fights with Mike McCallum, only to fall to number two after a controversial win over Dave Tiberi. The study tried to respect the varying standards The Ring has used to rank fighters over the last century. Calzaghe defended the WBO belt he won versus Chris Eubank 21 times. A formula based on body weight percentage differences between divisions of ranked fighters, rather than scale weights of the fighters, was applied. Yall musta forgot Antonio Tarver shocked the boxing world in May 2004. Kane and LaMotta were each missing a result. Alejandro Lavorante KO 5 (10) Hvy 09/62, Floyd Patterson TKO 12 (1) Hvy 12/65, Karl Mildenberger TKO 12 (3) Hvy 9/66, Cleveland Williams TKO 3 (3) Hvy 01/67, Oscar Bonavena TKO 15 (3) Hvy 02/71, Floyd Patterson RTD 7 (3) Hvy 11/72, Larry Holmes RTD by 10 (C) Hvy 10/80, First Ring Ranking: #9 Heavyweight (February 1935), Last Ring Ranking: #6 Heavyweight (March 1952), Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 31-3 (24 KOs, 2 KOBY), Ring Magazine Championships: Heavyweight (1937-49). Draw 6 (10) 122 02/02, Marco Antonio Barrera TKO 11* (C) 126 03/04, Juan Manuel Marquez D 12 (1) 126 09/04, Erik Morales L12 (2+) 130 Vol. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. 15 Vitali Klitschko. The second Wilson win came shortly after that. Hall of famers James Toney (right) and Mike McCallum are Nos. (1-64). Sasakul was the man who beat the man dating back to Miguel Canto. WebThe Super Fight was a fictional boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali shot in 1969 and released in 1970. 27 Abe Attell. Historians recognize Canzoneri as a three-division champion. Moore suffered defeats to Teddy Yarosz and Shorty Hogue as well before breaking through at middleweight with a win over Ron Richards. Wins and losses to opponents in higher and lower divisions were included. If the featherweight won, 118 would be divided by 126 with the win worth 8.42 points for the featherweight and the loss meaning a deduction of 2.81 points for the bantamweight. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Six of the nine fights in the Benitez version took place before Duran-Hagler added the Marvelous one to the mix. Toney was ranked number one at super middleweight from his IBF title win over Barkley through the loss to Roy Jones Jr., fell out of the light heavyweight rankings in 1997 after a loss to Drake Thadzi, and then returned to the cruiserweight top ten in 1999. A thrilling boxer-puncher with exceptional physical strength and stamina, Griffith was No. He stood as number one contender after his first loss to Dick Tiger but slipped from the post after the rematch and fought only twice more in his career. It cost him a fourth divisional crown from the publication. The entry of Lomachenko and Buchanan bumped Fidel LaBarba and Lou Brouillard out of the top 100. Just as the men who ranked from #20 to #11 were beyond mere hall of famers, each individual in the top 10 is a bonafide all-time great the man the world knows as THE GREATEEST and the Sweet Scientist that The Greatest and most boxing historians called the G.O.A.T are among the near-mythical legends and modern icons in this group. Missing Quality: On the way to Nunn, Toney defeated a Merqui Sosa who would later be ranked at super middleweight and light heavyweight. 1 contender spot at middleweight from the November 1949 issue until he won his first of five middleweight crowns in the storied St. Valentines Day Massacre versus Jake LaMotta. Saddler and Pep would face off one more time, Pep losing the series to his archrival 3-1 with all three losses inside the distance. It references the cover story to the February 2022 issue of The Ring, which celebrated the magazines 100 years of publication. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. However, in editing the remainder of the study, the Armstrong knockout of Davis was also found in the results of the August 1944 issue. He also avenged pre-war losses to Jimmy Bivins and Lloyd Marshall multiple times apiece while winning all three battles with Archie Moore. Benitez deserves remembrance as the fifth king. Along with his five world title wins, Griffith also posted wins over No. Digging into pro boxing in 1998, Ann boasts one of the most successful careers, with a 24-1-1 record. This is a project intended to be kept up for as long as Ring continues to issue rankings and there is thought to publishing all of the findings of the study, in an expanded format, later on. The Yonker fight was for an interim WBC belt and set up McCallums shot at Jeff Harding to win the title outright. Willie Pastrano TKO 9* (C) 175 05/65, First Ring Ranking: #4 Light Heavyweight (January 1933), Last Ring Ranking: World Light Heavyweight Champion (January 1940), Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 16-9-4 (4 KO, 1 KOBY), Ring Magazine Championships: Light Heavyweight (1935-39). A 1938 win over Lou Brouillard missed credit by a single issue. Rankings from 1925-1928 had no monthly movement. Two issues later, Robinsons defeat of former welterweight champion Fritzie Zivic resulted in Robinson being ranked the No. Left-handed Pernell Whitaker made a name for himself by winning gold medals at the 1983Pan American Games and 1984 Summer Olympics. On The Ring magazines list of all-time heavyweights, Dempsey holds the 10 th position and 7 th position among the Top 100 greatest punchers. The points scale shifted for those years. He turned pro in 1911, still a teen. Everyone who finished in the top 100 of preliminary research for those three categories was moved into a final pool of what came out to 150 fighters. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. In a 111-fight career, nearly half of Griffiths opponents could be found ranked in the pages of Ring Magazine. WebHe is a two-time heavyweight world champion, and also held the unified WBA, WBC, Heavyweight. Nicknamed the "Brown Bomber", Louis'