Boxing: Many legendary boxers ruled the boxing ring with their sheer strength and power. Every era had its legendary hero and villain who dominated the ring. There is no doubt many of them are still remembered up to this day due to their talent inside the squared ring. Today, let us see the top 20 greatest boxers of all time. Follow Combat News Updates with Insidesport.IN
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Boxing: Top 20 Greatest Boxers of All Time
1. Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is regarded as the GOAT of the boxing world. After winning the Olympic medal in the light heavyweight division in 1960, Ali stepped into professional boxing. Surprisingly, Ali made a significant impact in the boxing world winning the world heavyweight title in 1964. With excellent boxing style and amazing skills, he became the face of the boxing industry defeating formidable foes. Despite being a heavyweight, Ali was known for his speed and special tactics to defeat his opponents. He also came up with ‘Ali-shuffle’ knocking many of his opponents. Muhammad Ali had a professional record of 56-5-0, 37 KOs.
2. Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson has always topped the list as he was one of the dominant fighters in the boxing ring. With a career span of 4 decades, the ‘Sugar’ became the greatest fighter of all time. Before Muhammad Ali’s debut, Sugar Ray Robinson made a significant professional record by winning more than 150 fights. His longest winning streak included 40 consecutive wins until his defeat in 1941. However, following his first loss he remained undefeated for the next 8 years. Being a natural fighter, Sugar Ray Robinson quickly adapted to his opponent and overpowered him in the ring with his boxing style. Sugar Ray Robinson had a professional record of 175-19-6, 106 KOs.
3. Joe Louis
Joe Louis also known as the Brown Bomber is the only boxer in the world to have 25 title defenses. Debuting at the young age of 20, Louis became a center of attraction winning his first 27 fights consecutively with 23 KO finishes. Soon, the Brown Bomber became a strong fighter in the boxing world and won the world heavyweight title in 1937. This started a big streak of notable title defenses for the next 13 years. He is widely known for his strong in-ring mind presence and boxing skills to punish his opponents through counterattacks. Being a deadly fighter, Joe Louis had a professional record of 68-3-0, 54 KOs.
4. Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson is one of the greatest fighters of all time. The Baddest Man on the Planet quickly made a buzz in the boxing world with his presence following his debut in 1985 at the young age of 18. He is also the youngest heavyweight champion who went on to become the undisputed heavyweight champion winning the WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. Many feared Iron Tyson as he was one of the deadliest fighters in the ring to encounter. He was widely known for his power, aggression, and ‘peek-a-boo’ boxing style who dominated the opponents finishing the fights in the first five rounds. Mike Tyson has a professional record of 50-6, 44 KOs.
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr
In the modern era of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr is regarded as the GOAT. From winning the Olympic medals to winning world titles in boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr dominated the boxing world with his presence. His father Floyd Mayweather Sr and Uncle Roger Mayweather trained him to become the best fighter. In his professional career, Mayweather changed weight classes several times from the Roger Mayweather division to the welterweight division and won the world title in each weight class. Despite having a shorter reach, Mayweather made a tremendous impact in the boxing ring by moving quickly and overpowering his opponent. He is also named the best pound-to-pound boxer twice in a decade. Floyd Mayweather has a professional record of 50-0, 27 KOs.
6. Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield won the Olympic medal in 1984 before his professional boxing debut in 1985. He won the WBA world title at the age of 22 defeating Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Many fighters became famous in the upper weight classes while Holyfield became a formidable fighter in the cruiserweight division. He became the Undisputed World Cruiserweight champion defeating Ricky Parkey and Carlon de Leon winning the WBA and IBF titles. However, this didn’t stop there. Later, he moved to the heavyweight division becoming the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He is also one of the fighters who defeated Mike Tyson in a championship match. Evander Holyfield has a professional record of 44-10-2, 29 KOs.
7. Roberto Duran
Roberto Duran also regarded as ‘Hands of Stone’ competed in four different weight divisions. Known for his technical fighting style, Duran made a tremendous impact in the boxing world. He made his professional debut at the age of 16 and spanned his career to five decades. Duran won his first world title in 1972 with an undefeated record and later on, had 12 successful title defenses. After leveling up the middleweight division, Roberto Duran won the WBA light middleweight title and the WBA middleweight title. His fight with Sugar Ray Leonard is regarded as one of the best fights in his welterweight division. Roberto Duran has a professional record of 103-16, 70 KOs.
8. Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is one of the top boxers in the world. Following Muhammad Ali’s retirement, Sugar Ray Leonard took the boxing world by storm with his utter dominance. He won the Olympic medal in 1976 and made his professional boxing debut in the same year. He won the middleweight title in 1979 and had two big matches with Roberto Duran with a 1-1 record. In the following years, he shifted to the welterweight division. Being a top fighter, Sugar Ray Leonard become the Boxer of the Decade in 1980 and Fighter of the Year in 1981. Sugar Ray Leonard had a professional record of 36-3-1, 25 KOs.
9. Henry Armstrong
Henry Armstrong started his boxing career with consecutive losses. Although after failing to win his initial matches, he remained determined to his goal and became the future champ. He is the only boxer to win the world title simultaneously in 3 different weight divisions. He won the world lightweight and welterweight titles in 1938 continuing his winning streak. Despite having a rough start in his career, Henry Armstrong improved himself and became a muti-champion. He is also listed in The Ring’s list of best boxers. Henry Armstrong had a professional record of 52-21-9, 101 KOs.
10. Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis is one of the fighters who faced legendary fighters such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Vladimir Klitschko. After winning the Olympic gold medal, he made his professional debut the following year. Lewis was widely known for his boxing style against taller opponents who he overpowered in the ring. In 1992, he won the WBC heavyweight title and later on, he went on to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. He was the last Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in the heavyweight division. Lennox Lewis had a professional record of 41-2-1, 32 KOs.
11. Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano is a former world heavyweight champion. Although being for a brief period in the boxing, he remained undefeated in his career. He is one of the few heavyweight fighters who retired undefeated. Many considered Rocky Marciano a slow fighter in terms of his in-ring moments, he had a top-notch punching ability. During his boxing career, he defeated some of the famous boxers and other Hall of Famers. Apparently, his career ended, and took early retirement following back pain issues. Later on, he switched to live commentary and referee in boxing matches. Rocky Marciano has a professional record of 49-0-0, 43 KOs.
12. Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Charles is a former world champion who also participated in World War II. Although starting his career in the middleweight, Charles moved up to the heavyweight division for world title shots. After leveling up to the heavyweight division, he defeated the likes of Archie Moore, Jimmy Bivins, Lloyd Marshall, and Elmer Ray. He was also among the 3 fighters who were successful to defeat Joe Louis. In 1950, he won his first world title against Jersey Joe Walcott. Being a dominant fighter, he was among the few fighters who used counterattacks and used opponents’ weaknesses against them. Ezzard Charles had a professional record of 89-25-1, 51 KOs.
13. George Foreman
George Foreman known as ‘Big George’ became a big name in the boxing world due to his impressive professional record. His majority of wins were knockout wins with a 90% accuracy of knockout finishes. His first world title bout lasted only 2 rounds after he knocked out Joe Frazier to win the world heavyweight title. He also stood as one of the top opponents against Muhammad Ali where he faced his first loss. Forman is also the oldest boxer to win a heavyweight title at the age of 45 who retired in 1997. George Forman has a professional record of 76-5-0, 68 KOs.
14. Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey is regarded as the cultural icon of the 1920s as he brought a powerful punching power and aggressive fighting style to the front of the audience. Nicknamed ‘Kid Blackie’ and ‘The Manassa Mauler’ became one of the most popular boxers in the world. Despite having a boxing career for around a decade, Dempsey became one of the best boxers of the time with big fight wins. He also held the world heavyweight title for a long time between 1919 to 1926. His fight with Luis Angel Firpo is the best match of his career as he knocked out Luis in 57 seconds of 2nd round in front of 80,000 fans. Jack Dempsey had a professional record of 61-6-8.
15. Gene Tunney
Gene Tunney was a military veteran who was a part of World War I. The US Marine became an incredible boxer who debuted in a big fight to kickstart his professional boxing career. In his first fight, he defeated Bobby Dawson via TKO. He started in the lightweight division heading straight to the world light heavyweight title after consecutive wins. His only loss occurred in the light heavyweight against Harry Greb. Following his first loss, he moved to the heavyweight division and dominated the division winning the world heavyweight title before retiring in 1928. Gene Tunney had a professional record of 61-1-1, 45 KOs.
16. Archie Moore
Archie Moore was a top boxer with over 200 fights. The former light heavyweight champion made a huge buzz for his title victory. He also holds the record for the longest reign as the world light heavyweight champion. During his boxing career, Moore competed against the biggest names in the boxing world such as Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, and Yvon Durelle. Archie Moore had a professional record of 184-24-10, 130 KOs.
17. Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier was one of the top competitors in the boxing world. After winning the Olympic medal in 1964, he moved to pursue a professional boxing career the next year. The powerful puncher also nicknamed Smokin Joe who defeated the legendary Muhammad Ali. Frazier vs Ali took place 3 times and is considered the biggest fight in boxing history. He also won the WBA heavyweight and defended the title 6 times featuring a successful title defense against Muhammad Ali. Joe Frazier had a professional record of 32-4-1.
18. Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao is the top boxer of the modern era. Nicknamed Pac-Man, he earned a lot of accomplishments winning several titles. He stood as one of the most influential and top boxers aside from Floyd Mayweather. Manny Pacquiao also holds the record to hold world titles at 8 different weight classes and is also the only boxer to shine as the world champion for four decades between the 1990s to 2020s. Manny Pacquiao had a professional record of 62-8-2, 39 KOs.
19. Jack Johnson
Jack Jackson is one of the notable names in the boxing world which encouraged many black fighters to dominate the sport. He was the first Black American to win a world heavyweight title and defended it against many big boxers. Although he was heavily criticized due to racial discrimination, he stood tall fighting hard until the age of 50 making a unique path for other young aspirants. Jack Johnson had a professional record of 77-13-14, 48 KOs.
20. Benny Leonard
Benny Leonard known for his strong punches and quick jabs dominated the lightweight division. He fought over 200 fights with only 5 losses in his professional career. He is regarded as the best lightweight boxer due to his quickness and bg bouts with well-known boxers. Following his retirement in 1932, he worked as a referee in professional bouts. Benny Leonard 85-5-1, 121 ND, 69 KOs.
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