1. Sugar Ray Robinson 2. Henry Armstrong 3. Sam Langford 4. Harry Greb 5. Ezzard Charles 6. Roberto Duran 7. Muhammad Ali 8. Joe Gans 9. Willie Pep 10. Bob Fitzsimmons 11. Joe Louis 12. Benny Leonard 13. Archie Moore 14. Mickey Walker 15. Joe Walcott 16. Barney Ross 17. Sugar Ray Leonard 18. Sandy Saddler 19. Ike Williams 20. Tony Canzoneri 21. Julio Cesar Chavez 22. Gene Tunney 23. Alexis Arguello 24. Floyd Mayweather 25. Terry McGovern 26. Carlos Monzon 27. Jose Napoles 28. Pernell Whitaker 29. Eder Jofre 30. Roy Jones Jr 31. Stanley Ketchel 32. Ruben Olivares 33. Holman Williams 34. Marvin Hagler 35. Charley Burley 36. Manny Pacquiao 37. George Dixon 38. Kid Gavilan 39. Emile Griffith 40. Wilfredo Gomez 41. Thomas Hearns 42. Jimmy McClarnin 43. Packey McFarland 44. Lloyd Marshall 45. Salvador Sanchez 46. Evander Holyfield 47. Michael Spinks 48. Jimmy Wilde 49. Billy Conn 50. Tommy Gibbons 51. Jack Britton 52. Bernard Hopkins 53. Carlos Ortiz 54. Fighting Harada 55. Tommy Ryan 56. Ted Kid Lewis 57. Jack Johnson 58. Jack Dillon 59. Rocky Marciano 60. Duilio Loi 61. Abe Attel 62. Dick Tiger 63. Wilfred Benitez 64. Tiger Flowers 65. George Foreman 66. Tommy Loughran 67. Luis Manuel Rodriguez 68. Mike Gibbons 69. Joe Frazier 70. James Toney 71. Bob Foster 72. Oscar De La Hoya 73. Azumha Nelson 74. Mike McCallum 75. Marco Antonio Barrera 76. Erik Morales 77. Battling Nelson 78. Carmen Basilio 79. Juan Manual Marquez 80. Young Corbett II 81. Lou Ambers 82. Carlos Zarate 83. Young Griffo 84. Miguel Canto 85. Manuel Ortiz 86. Jimmy Bivins 87. Young Corbet III 88. Harold Johnson 89. Larry Holmes 90. Felix Trinidad 91. Lennox Lewis 92. Panama Al Brown 93. Pascual Perez 94. Freddie Walsh 95. Freddie Steel 96. Vicente Salidvar 97. Cocoa Kid 98. Dwight Muhammad Qawi 99. Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey 100. Shane Mosely
This is my first draft and will be making changes to it so any constructive criticism is welcome. List is more difficult then I thought, credit to the guys who have done this before. Couple things I know people will pick on first Ike Williams being in the top twenty firstly he likely has the third best resume at lightweight after Gans and Leonard. Additionally I’ve read all the info I could find on his series with Gavilan and most feel it should have been 2 – 1 to Ike with Kid winning the third. A lightweight getting the better of a top 10 possibly top 5 welterweight of all time in their prime is huge. Whitaker being outside of the top 25. The main reasoning for this is I don’t rate Pernell resume as highly as others. His two biggest wins Nelson at lightweight and Chavez at welterweight (he won that) aren’t as great as many suggest. Nelson did nothing at lightweight likewise with Chavez who achieved nothing at that weight and was past his best. Four months later he was losing to Randall. Lloyd Marshal being top 50 when most have him nearer the 100 mark. Fell many underrate him his resume is amazing wins over Burley, Charles, LaMotta, Sheppard, Williams (although he lost the trilogy) and Yarosz. I’ve probably missed out a few people feel free to bring to my attention.
Ketchel seems a bit high, and McFarland a bit low. Could you explain why you placed them there? Walcott quite high too. Not saying you're wrong, I'd just like to see your reasons.
Owen Moran was a good fighter, fought Abe Attell to some draws, beat a past it Battling Nelson, despite being much naturally smaller, in a pretty impressive display. Philidelphia Jack O'Brien, and Kid McCoy were both very good, very good at lower weights and did well against larger fighters. Young Peter Jackson and Jeff Clark had some impressive wins, though were inconsistant. Some to consider.
Didn't put Rocky Marciano in your top 5? No Gerald McClellan? Terrible list But for real, good list. If I had any actual problems it'd be: 1. Gans too high 2. Marciano way too low 3. Duran too high 4. Foreman too low 5. Benny Leonard too high 6. No Battling Nelson? Also by Joe Walcott do you mean Barbados or Jersey (probably a stupid question)
Really good effort. I like it a lot. I've shaded them above as This content is protected , This content is protected and This content is protected If you're interested. Remember that everyone has an opinion and most of the opinions you run into will be from guys who have thought about it less than you - but also that the opinion is worth interrogating to see if it's reasonable.
I actually had Owen Moran on the list and got rid of him just before posting it. Yeah Clark definitely worth a thought has some big name on his resume even he wasn't to consistent.
For a second thought you were serious about McClellan I know your a huge fan. I mostly rank off resume and Fell Gans, Leonard and Duran are the best lightweights ever and have quality wins above the weight like beating Joe Walcott, Jack Britton and Ray Leonard etc. I think you rate heavyweights higher then most on p4p list I'm kind happy with Rocky and Foreman may drop Jackson after thinking about it. Nelson is at 77. Its the original Joe Walcott not Jersey even though Jersey Joe my second favorite boxer after Charles couldn't find a place for him.
Didn't think he warranted a place resume doesn't have enough depth and lost to the best guys he fought.
I re-read your list 5 times and still somehow missed Nelson, maybe I need to get my eyes checked lol. About McClellan, I was just poking fun at my own list I must ask, what did Lloyd Marshall do to rank over Marciano?