These top 10 greatest boxers of all time are chosen not only because of their household names but also because of their solid affirmation of their supremacy during the time of their reign as champions.
1. Sugar Ray Robinson; 179 W, 19 L, 6 D, 2 NC, 109 KO
Born Walker Smith Jr., May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989 made his professional debut on October 4, 1940. Sugar Ray Robinson is admittedly the hands down choice of of greatest boxer of all time and to this date, no one comes close of surpassing or even equaling his achievement as a boxer.
2. Muhhamed Ali; 56 W, 5 L, 37 KO
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He had an unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer relying on foot speed and quickness to avoid punches and carried his hands low. Muhammad will come down in boxing history as one of the greatest human being that has fought in the square canvas.
3. Henry Armstrong; 150 W, 21 L, 101 KO
Henry Jackson Jr., born December 12, 1912 was the only boxer to hold three world championships at the same time. These titles included the Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight crowns. He also defended the Welterweight championship more times than any other fighter.
4. Julio Cesar Chavez; 104 W, 5 L, 2 D, 80 KO
Julio Cesar Chavez was born on July 12, 1962 in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. He is the ultimate Mexican champion of all time. He began boxing as an amateur at the age of sixteen and had demolished practically all the top fighters during his time. He went on to fight for 13 years with a unblemished record.
5. Joe Louis; 68 W, 3 L, 54 KO
Joseph Louis Barrow born May 13, 1914–April 12, 1981 nicknamed the Brown Bomber, he is considered to be one of the greatest in boxing history. Among his numerous victories Louis coined two of boxing’s most famous quotes: “He can run, but he can’t hide” and “Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.”
6. Roy Jones; 49 W, 3 L, 38 KO
Born January 16, 1969. His selection may raise not a few eyebrows as there are a lot of skeptics on the circumstances of his being propelled to championship status. Jones started his rap music career in 2001 with his successful album, titled Round One: The Album and the debut single, “You all Must’ve Forgot”.
7. Archie Moore; 181 W, 24 L, 9 D, 1 NC, 145 KO
December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998. If only for his impressive and superhuman career record, the Old mongoose could well have been the greatest. His fighting career spanned all four decades and has knocked out more fighters than any of the other great fighters in this top 10 list.
8. Marvin Hagler; 62 W, 3 L, 2 D, 52 KO
Born in Newark, New Jersey, May 23, 1954. Because he felt that he did not receive enough credit for his accomplishments, Hagler legally changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest middleweights of all time. Later in life he moved to Italy, where he made low budget movies.
9. Sugar Ray Leonard; 36 W, 3 L, 1 D, 25 KO
Born May 17, 1956. He is an epitome of a scientific fighter and a genius on top of the ring. He can get into the minds of his opponent to inflict the most serious jabs to bring them to submission. One of the most memorable of all is the infamous “no mas” episode with Roberto Duran.
10. George Foreman; 76 W, 5 L, 68 KO
Born January 05, 1949. This fighter has always been haunted by his own ghost. After his triumphal rise to fame, his crashing defeat in the hands of Ali has left him devastated more on the spirit than on his physical side. He has named all five of his sons George because: “In this career, you have to prepare for long term brain damage.”
Hi!. Thanks for the blog. I’ve been digging around for info, but i think i’m getting lost!. Google lead me here – good for you i guess! Keep up the great information. I will be popping back over in a few days to see if there is updated posts.
Yo people! I have always had an interest in boxing. I also have fought in boxing clubs. But, it appears i have one beef with this post. Where’s Rocky Marciano? Now i know many people may not have heard of him he died close to his Birthday. But the man was undefeated, only knocked to the canvas once in his career. He had 49 fights with 49 wins.. meaning UNDEFEATED Heavyweight Champ. 43 Knockouts. The man was an Iron Horse. A true sportsman and hero to boxing. A whole lot more of a fighter than Ali. I would argue he would be at the number one spot. His heart was what kept him standing that or his Right Fist. I just thought id share my opinion. I do agree with you on one thing though, after Foremans fight with Ali, he never was the same Big George. But he was a great fighter. Thats all, thanks for the info
Hey, is that Chavez picture or Jr?
In one of the most debatable, subjective lists of them all because of the time or era differences and weight divisions, different belts WBC,IBC etc. The strength of their divisions when they fought, I thought your list was as good as one could be made. When Roberto Duran,Thomas Hearns, Sugar ray leonard, Marvin Hagler and one or two I can’t think of were all fighting each other for the welter weight crown it was great. My only thing with this is I think Mike Tyson at his best was as good as any Heavy weight, I would love to see him and George Foreman (before Ali took his manhood from him) lock horns, they were both feared by all others because they destroyed their opponents with incredible power. Until.
where is Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao? He is one of the greatest boxer today aside from that he is the only boxer who has 7 titles in different weight division..
to leave duran &argueiio of all time list should not happen
joe louis and marven hagler was great boxer and mike tyson
how can you evan mention boxing without talking about joe calzzage who beat both hopkins and roy jones and i am pretty sure that the pacman should get a mention as the best in the world at the mo.
Manny Pacman Pacquiao should be mentioned and should be at the top half of the list… the only person to have 7 world titles in as many weight divisions, fought in three weight divisions in just 1 year, 2 is championship titles
Fighter of the decade, and fighter of the year three times, MANNY PACQUIAO
where the hell is mike tyson
Ummm I’m not sure why George Foreman is on this list… I’d have put Roberto Duran before Chavez or Foreman…
manny pacquiao should be in the list, he is the only boxer won 7 in 7 different weight classes. the only boxer defeated many great fighter and most of all the only fighter fought all hall of famer in his weight class period.PACMAN hands down…
i agree with ivan duran should definitely be up there
Manny Pacquiao is absent here man
where is he?
Bulsh*t! Where is pacman you should in manny he is d best boxer of alltym
This list is crap.
No Tyson? Tyson in his prime, before Don King f’ed him up, could have taken anyone on this list. Tyson didn’t simply have power, he had quickness, he was agile, and he was intelligent (relative to boxing anyways).
No Marciano? No Pacman?
Pacquiao should be on the top 3 list. the first and only 7-division world champion, 3-time fighter of the year (2006, 2008, 2009), fighter of the decade (2000-2009).
well i guess his full story isn’t written yet as of now, because he is gunning for a record 8th division championship.
maybe by then you would put him on the very top of the list.
where is manny pukyaw?
That’s chavez jr. not sr.
where is manny pacquiao?? admin please review your “Top 10 Boxers of All Time”
where is manny pacquiao? he is the only boxer in history to hold 8 division championship…
they are best boxer in the all time,but muhhamed ali best fighter in the world
Please update the list. The 8 Division Champion must be on the list.
There is no update.?pacman should already be in the list because he is the only boxer who won 8 world titles
So I guess somebody was reading a lot of encyclopedias and back issues of sports illustrated and came up with a list. Hell I could come up with one too, but like this one, its not going to be credible.
come on. where’s Floyd meaweather. He doesn’t get the respect but he just be everyone. Never lost. Manny is great but he’s never fought a slick philly style fighter. Floyd is the man.
whoever thinks pacquiao is a one of the greats has no idea what they are talking about u all just agree with eachother,,if he was a great y wouldnt he fight mayweather???
manny is the man..8 world titles…what are you looking for…. mayweather is just a simple shit…
tyson
mayweather
marciano
This is a good list considering the span of years. I was surprised not to see Rocky Marciano on the list but as for many of the “younger names” then I’m not surprised they are missing and suspect many of the advocates just want to see their generation on the list.
Tyson, hands down. That’s why the status quo set him up and took him down. Just like Charlie Hustle will always be the best modern baseball player, Iron Mike is the best modern boxer.
I think it should be by division because its a lot of boxers that should be up on the list. Where is Pacman, Duran, Tyson and the only two undefeated fighters, The Rock and (until he meets the Pacman) Mayweather?
Rocky Marciano=GOAT why not listed?
Sugar Ray Leonard got 2 “gifts” from judges. The 2nd Hearns fight, Tommy put Leonard on his ass twice, and outboxed Leanord. Judges gave him a gift draw. He did NOT beat Hagler… was given a gift decision based on personality & popularity, taking away Hagler’s championship. These 2 fights are the reason why I am no longer a boxing fan.
You say nobody comes close to Sugar Ray’s record for the number one spot, I guess you’re right because Archie Moore surpassed it. He had 145 ko’s over 181 fights over 4 decades. Don’t know what compares to that besides Rocky Marciano’s undefeated time in the ring and his ability to keep his back (or even knee for that matter) off of the canvas.
Vitaliy Klichko!
Vladimir Klichko!
wow i agree with the first 3 but Julio Cesar Chavez and Roy Jones on that list? man ” Hands of Stone” Duran should be up there , Chavez fought decent fighters , Duran fought against some of the greatest , i dont know what these pacman fans are smoking , in Duran , Sugar Ray time , pacman would have been a good breakfast for those guys lol
I agree if Muhamed Ali is the top 10 of boxers all time!!
Pretty good list.
Glad to see Jones here. Totally agree. Incredible!
Leonard should be higher and Duran should be here.
Leonard – Duran 1 was epic.
Leonard – Hearns bouts unforgettable!
Larry Holmes in his prime would have beaten the crap out of Foreman.
If not for the blatant atrocity of stealing his belt and giving it to a light heavyweight (Spinks) who basically survived by avoiding him, Holmes would be top three here by breaking Marciano’s record.
Marciano’s record was/is sacred at all costs.
One of the travesties of all time in boxing history.
As was Referee Steele stopping the Meldrick Taylor – Chavez bout with two seconds left.
I wonder if Chavez could have withstood Hearns? I doubt it.
Duran yes and Larry Holmes also.
This is a very childish game. The game conflates two criteria. (1) Objective records and (2) impressions fans have built up either on their own or by being hoodwinked by pundits. Combining these two criteria is like combining apples and oranges to see which is ‘REALLY’ the best fruit. It is a silly business, and all conjectures concerning who would have beaten whom among fighters who never met is only a reflection of one’s prejudices.
Still, for what it is worth, I point out that Robinson’s greatness rests on his welterweight days. He was only a very good middleweight but lost too often. Going strictly by objective criteria, Monzon ranks #1. I don’t give a damn whether in fanciful matches, you can “prove” he is not even among the top twenty.
Boxing is just like wrestling….an exhibition. It is not and never has been on the up and up. Remember the Rumble in the Jungle? There was Seconal in Foreman’s water bottle,otherwise Ali would have been put to sleep in a couple of rounds. Remember when Henry Cooper knocked Ali out and was saved by the bell and Dundee cut the glove to get him an extra couple of minutes to recover. Henry Cooper was a good fighter but he wasn’t a George Foreman. Remember when Mike Tyson knocked out Mike Spinks with a shot to the shoulder? Boxing is a joke!
You should of kept it to Heavy Weights….Rocky Marciano should be there and Mike Tyson to….
Whaaaa? No ROBERTO DURAN, to me the most unstoppable viscious boxer of all time.
You’re compiling a list of the ten greatest boxers of all time and not only to you fail to have Iron Mike Tyson at the top of the list, you neglect to name him at all?
This omission by itself robs not just this list, but ALL of your lists of any credibility.
I’m out of here.