TOP TEN BOXING POUND FOR POUND

/ December 17, 2013

TOP TEN BOXING POUND FOR POUND

With so many great fighters in the last 100 years it is not so easy to accurately pick the top ten in order. Most important when comparing boxers from different generations is their style of fighting, certain styles don't work well together and a supposed superior fighter will lose 9 times out of ten because of their particular style. Its the reason Roberto Duran said No Mas to a Sugar Ray, and a big reason it took Marquez 4 times to land a big shot and beat Manny Pacquiao.

1. Joe Louis

Record: 66-3, 52 KO

Years Active: 1934-1951

Championships: World Heavyweight

“The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis' reign as heavyweight champion is legendary. He held the title for 140 months and successfully defended it a record 25 times.

2. Rocky Marciano

Record: 49-0, 43 KO

Years Active: 1948-1955

Championships: World Heavyweight

Rocky Marciano is one of the few fighters to retire from the sport without a loss. He is in fact the only heavyweight champion in history to accomplish this feat.

Marciano won the title from Jersey Joe Walcott in The Ring's 1952 Fight of the Year. He would defend it six times, including wins over Walcott, Ezzard Charles (twice) and Archie Moore.

 

3. Muhammad Ali

Record: 56-5, 37 KO

Years Active: 1960-1981

Championships: WBA Heavyweight (4X), WBC Heavyweight (2X)

“The Greatest” is the best heavyweight of all time. Ali fought with a style and a flamboyance that made you either love him or hate him. But regardless of where you come down, nobody can deny his place in boxing history or as a cultural icon.

 

4. SUGAR RAY ROBINSON

Sugar Ray Robinson (born Walker Smith Jr.; May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989) was an American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create “pound for pound” rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

 

5. WILLIE PEP

Guglielmo Papaleo (September 19, 1922 – November 23, 2006) was an American professional boxer, better known as Willie Pep. Pep boxed a total of 1,956 rounds in the 241 bouts during his 26-year career, a considerable number of rounds and fights even for a fighter of his era. His final record was 229-11-1 with 65 knockouts. Pep, known for his speed and finesse, is considered to be one of the best fighters of the 20th century and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Pep was voted as the #1 featherweight of the 20th Century by the Associated Press[1] and ranked the #1 featherweight of all-time by the International Boxing Research Organization in 2005.[2]

 

6. JACK DEMPSEY

William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey (“The Manassa Mauler”) (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983) was an American professional boxer and cultural icon of the 1920s.[1] He held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history.[2][3] Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million dollar gate. He is listed #10 on The Ring's list of all-time heavyweights and #7 among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers. In 1950, the Associated Press voted Dempsey as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years.[4] He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame; he was inducted into The Ring magazine's

 

7. SUGAR RAY LEOARD

Sugar Ray Leonard (born May 17, 1956) is a retired professional American boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. He was given the birth name Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles. Leonard was the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, won world titles in five weight divisions, and defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Wilfred Benítez, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Durán, and Marvin Hagler.[1][2] Leonard was named “Boxer of the Decade” for the 1980s.[3]

 

8. JAKE LAMOTTA

Giacobbe “Jake” LaMotta (born July 10, 1921), nicknamed “The Bronx Bull” and “The Raging Bull”, is an American retired professional boxer and former World Middleweight Champion. He was portrayed by Robert De Niro in the 1980 film Raging Bull.

 

9. JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ

Julio César Chávez (born Julio César Chávez González on July 12, 1962) is a retired Mexican professional boxer. Chávez is considered by many people for their sport statistics the greatest fighter ever to come out of Mexico.[3]
He is a six-time world champion in three weight divisions,[4] and for several years he was considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.[5] In a career that spanned over 25 years, Chávez won five world titles in three weight divisions: WBC Super Featherweight in 1984, WBA Lightweight in 1987, WBC Lightweight in 1988, WBC Light Welterweight in 1989, IBF Light Welterweight in 1990, and WBC Light Welterweight in 1994.
He holds records for most successful defenses of world titles (27), most title fights (37), and he is after Joe Louis with (23) for most title defenses won by knockout (21). Chávez also has the longest undefeated streak in boxing history, 13 years. His record was 89-0-1 going into his first official loss to Frankie Randall and had an 87 fight win streak until his draw with Whitaker. Julio César Chávez was known for his outstanding punching power, devastating body attack, remarkably strong chin and the relentless stalking of his opponents.[4] He ranks #24 on ESPN's 50 Greatest Boxers Of All Time.[6] On December 7, 2010, he was inducted in the prestigious International Boxing Hall of Fame for the Class of 2011.[7][8] He is the father of prospect Omar Chávez and former WBC Middleweight Champion Julio César Chávez, Jr.[9][10

 

10. LARRY HOLMES

Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin.
Holmes, whose left jab is rated among the best in boxing history,[1] was the WBC Heavyweight Champion from 1978 to 1983, The Ring Heavyweight Champion from 1980 to 1985, and the IBF Heavyweight Champion from 1983 to 1985. He made twenty successful title defenses, second only to Joe Louis' twenty-five.
Holmes won his first forty-eight professional bouts, including victories over Earnie Shavers, Ken Norton, Muhammad Ali, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon and Marvis Frazier, and fell one short of matching Rocky Marciano's career record of 49-0 when he lost to Michael Spinks in 1985. Holmes retired after losing a rematch to Spinks, but made repeated comebacks and was unsuccessful in three further attempts to regain the title, the last in 1995. He had his last fight in 2002 and ended with a career record of 69-6. [2] He is frequently ranked as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time[3] and has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

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