The 10 Best Boxers of All-Time

How does one decide who are the top ten all-time anything? It’s a process that’s for certain. Some will look at stats, some will go with showmanship and popularity, others will weigh both of those things. I have been a boxing fan nearly my entire life. I started watching it with my father when I was probably three. Boxing isn’t just two brutes bashing each other it’s the sweet science. Boxing is known as the sweet science because it’s beautiful; the artistic display of athleticism and skill requires strategy and a lot of thinking. You can think of it as a physical chess match.

I know that many people just see the brutality but those are the people who lack the understanding of what boxing truly is and what boxing fans love so much about the sport. You have two supreme fighters who have trained for years for strength, agility, and endurance. These fighters step into the ring and proceed with surgical precision to try and outwit their opponent and cause damage to their body while also defending themselves against attack. It is truly a thing of beauty when you have two great fighters in the ring and that is why deciding who the top ten boxers of all-time is no easy task, but it is the task I have undertaken. I am judging them overall and not separating them by weight class. The best of the best made the list.

So, here is the 10 best boxers of all-time.

10. Julio César Chávez

Known as Mexico’s greatest fighter of all-time, Julio César Chávezhas a record that is super impressive 115 career fights, 107 wins and 86 of those wins by KO. He is a 6-time world champion in super featherweight, lightweight, and light welterweight. He was considered by many the best pound for pound fighter of his time.

9. Roberto Duran

Born in Panama, Roberto Duran had a very impressive career as a lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight and supermiddleweight boxer. His record stands at 119 fights with 103 wins and 70 of those wins by KO. The AP voted Roberto the greatest lightweight of the 20th century but I didn’t need them to tell me that, I’ve seen him fight. If you want to know why Duran is on this list look at his 1980 fight in Montreal with Sugar Ray Leonard or his fight with Jimmy Robinson in 1973 and all the fights between – he had a 40-fight win streak from 1973 thru 1980.

8. Sugar Ray Leonard

Sweet, sweet Sugar Ray. Olympic Gold medalist in 1976 fighting as a light welterweight. Sugar Ray held titles in five weight divisions, the linear champ (the man who beat the man) in three and the undisputed welterweight champ. His professional record stands at 40 total fights, 36 wins and 25 by KO. Sugar Ray beat Roberto Duran in the New Orleans,1980 rematch known as the “No Mas” fight ending Duran’s impressive winning streak that night.

7. Jack Johnson

In 1908, the Galveston Giant, Jack Johnson, became the first African American world heavyweight champion and held the title for seven years. In his prime he was the most dominant fighter of his day. His record is 104 fights, 73 wins and 40 wins by KO. In 1903 he won the world colored heavyweight champion and kept that title until it was vacated when he became world champion.

6. Mike Tyson

Iron Mike was the baddest man on the planet and was the youngest boxer to win the heavyweight title at age 20. He had a tumultuous career but despite some pitfalls it cannot be denied that Iron Mike is a boxing legend. His record is 58 fights, 50 wins and 44 wins by KO.

5. George Foreman

Big George was an Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time heavyweight champion who fought for 8 years, retired and then came out of retirement at age 38 and fought for 10 more years. He won the WBF and IBA heavyweight title belts at age 45, and then he retired again in 1997 at age 48. His record is 81 fights, 76 wins and 68 wins by KO.

4. Sugar Ray Robinson

Born in Georgia but raised in Detroit and then Harlem, Sugar was probably the best pound for pound fighter of in boxing history and it was Sugar Ray Robinson that inspired the term pound for pound because of his performances as both a welterweight and middleweight. His professional record is 128 fights, 125 wins and 84 wins by KO.

3. Rocky Marciano

The Rock from Brocton was an amazing fighter. His career was short only 8 years as a pro, but he was undefeated and held his heavyweight championship for 4 of his 8 years in the ring until he retired. The Rock’s record is an amazing 49 fights, 49 wins and 43 wins by KO.

2. Muhammad Ali

The Greatest, Muhammed Ali formerly known as Cassius Clay is number two though it was a close one for me. I grew up watching Ali fight and singing his song – he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Muhammed Ali wasn’t just a great heavyweight champion and Olympic Gold medalist, he was a showman. He was without a doubt one of the most entertaining and skilled fighters of all time and he remains the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion. And he was pretty, so pretty! His record is 61 fights, 56 wins and 37 wins by KO.

1. Joe Louis

As a Detroit native, it’s proud I am to put Joe Louis as the greatest boxer of all-time. The Brown Bomber was the reigning world heavyweight champion from 1937 until 1949. He defended his title 26 times a world record until Julio Chavez broke it years later with 27. Joe Louis was also the first African American to attain hero status in the U.S. and is widely recognized as breaking the sports color barrier. Downtown Detroit has a very famous monument to Joe Louis – his fist at Hart Plaza. His record is 69 fights, 66 wins and 52 wins by KO.