The combat sport boxing is one the oldest sport that we have. The sport gained popularity between the 16th and the 18th centuries, and thus fighters from various fields came and joined it. Over the years, there have been many talented boxers who have made their name as the best boxers of all time in the field.
Boxing is nothing different than any other sport and has its championship in various different categories. The boxers who have made the list of the best boxers of all time gave their everything when they entered the ring in the hope of knocking down their opponents and taking home lucrative titles. Without any further ado, let’s get on with the list.
Top 10 Best Boxers Of All Time
The listicle puts together a list of ten boxers who have made their place in history with their amazing talent. Here we have the best ten who have graced the ring ever.
Muhammad Ali
I do not think there is any introduction required for Muhammad Ali. The Olympic gold medalist is the most famous boxer of all time and a former heavyweight champion as well. He was confident, which sometimes reached a point of cockiness, and that was something that made him popular.
Back in his time, he was very well-known in the boxing world for the stands he took, like he refused to fight in the Vietnam War, which temporarily banned him from boxing.
Sugar Ray Robinson
“Sugar” Ray Robinson fought in various categories like welterweight, light heavyweight, lightweight, and middleweight. Back in the 50s, he was declared as the fighter of the decade. He has won the World Middleweight Champion five times.
He was acknowledged by many. Mohammad Ali, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Joe Louis, many have said that he was the greatest the boxing world has ever seen. It was because of him that the pound-for-pound ranking system was developed to give him his credit. He fought 61 matches and won 56 of them.
Joe Louis
The “Brown Bomber,” Joe Louis, is among the dominant boxers of all time. He has the record for holding the heavyweight title for more than eleven years. He took part in 27 heavyweight championships, which is another record he holds.
Throughout his career, he has fought 72 times and has won 69 of them. Out of those 69 wins, 55 of those came by knockouts. There were only three instances when he was beaten, and one of those was by Rocky Marciano.
“Iron” Mike Tyson
Who was the most feared boxer of all time? Well, it would undoubtedly have to be Mike Tyson. He was the heavyweight champion for more than two years. Tyson is even more popular because of the controversies he got involved in within and outside the ring.
He was convicted of rape and was also disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield’s piece of ear off. Tyson fought 58 matches and won 50 of them and 44 of those were by knockout. He got involved in 2 no contests and lost just six times in this timeline.
“Sugar” Ray Leonard
“Sugar” Ray Leonard is another Olympic gold medalist, and back in the 1980s, he was given the title of the fighter of the decade. He won 36 matches out of 40, and 25 of them were by knockout. He made a draw in one match and lost three times.
His stats might not seem that impressive, but if we see from the perspective that he fought against some of the stalwarts like Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler, and Roberto Duran, then it appears to be a lot more impressive.
Roberto Duran
Roberto Duran, popularly known as the “Hands of Stone,” was one of the most amazing boxers back in the day. He was the second boxer in history who fought in five different decades and retired at the age of 50 in the year 2002. Roberto had world titles at four different weights, welterweight, middleweight, lightweight, and junior middleweight.
He fought 119 matches, won 103 of those, and knocked his opponent 70 times. Over his entire career, he has just lost 16 fights. His first loss was after his thirty-second fight, and the next was after his seventy-fifth one. And that was against “Sugar” Ray Leonard.
“Big” George Foreman
George Foreman made the list as another Olympic gold medalist and was the most feared boxer back in his time due to his huge size. But there was another reason behind this, and that was his punching power. He had that deadly look that likely knocked over his opponents.
He took part in the Rumble in the Jungle and The Sunshine Showdown, two of the biggest boxing matches, and against Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, respectively. The record he made of becoming the oldest heavyweight champion when he won it at the age of 45 back in 1994, twenty years after he lost it to Muhammad Ali.
He fought 81 matches, won 76, and knocked out his opponents 68 times. He lost just 5 of the matches in his entire boxing career.
Rocky Marciano
Well, Rocky Marciano was the only one in boxing history who retired undefeated. That is just about enough to get him a place on the list of the best boxers of all time. He was knocked just two times in his entire career, and that was against Archie Moore.
He fought 49 matches in his career, won all 49 of those, and knocked out his opponents 43 times.
Archie Moore
Archie Moore is the one who had the longest career in boxing history. He fought against some of the best boxers in history, like Cassius Clay and Rocky Marciano. Overall, he has played somewhere around 221 matches, and more than 194 of those, and knocked out his opponents 145 times. This is still a record in the boxing world. Throughout his boxing career, he lost only 26 matches and drew eight matches.
Ray Jones Jr.
Jones is a legend in the boxing world, and back in the ’90s, he was named fighter of the decade. He mostly boxed in light heavyweight or middleweight. Also, he was the first person to win a heavyweight title in 2003 who held the title of middleweight before in 106 years and proved that he could do it even if he fought in the heavyweight category.
He fought 56 matches, won 52 of them, and knocked out his opponents 38 times. In his career, he has lost just four matches, and his first loss came after his 35th match.
Wrapping Up!
While discussing the best boxers of all time, we have seen that Muhammad Ali is leading the list. But choosing the best ones could be a subjective topic, as there are several odds to consider, like their accolades and achievements. Current boxing icons like Naoya Inoue, Gervonta Davis, and Canelo Alvarez are some potential names on their way to making the lust if they keep winning more fights and titles.
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