Where Does Archie Moore Rank p4p?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by SwarmingSlugger, Nov 23, 2025 at 8:01 AM.


  1. SwarmingSlugger

    SwarmingSlugger Active Member Full Member

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    Archie Moore was def a great fighter and needs to be in the conversation but where do you rank him and why?
     
  2. Ioakeim Tzortzakis

    Ioakeim Tzortzakis Irresistibly tempting Full Member

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    Top 10. Clearly higher than Ali, Louis, and Duran in my mind. I don't even find it arguable, his body of work so far eclipses theirs that it's comical.

    Yes, he has losses. Yes, he lost to quite a number of the best fighters he faced like Charles, Burley, Marciano and Ali. He's also got a winning resume that most top 20 worthy fighters couldn't even dream of.

    He's :

    4-1 vs Jimmy Bivins
    4-1 vs Harold Johnson
    2-0 vs Lloyd Marshall
    3-0 vs Joey Maxim
    2-0 vs Bert Lytell
    4-1-1 vs Jack Chase
    1-0 vs Bobo Olson (he moved up, but still)
    1-1 vs Holman Williams with the loss being a SD and the win being a KO

    Are we gonna pretend that the above isn't just pure insanity ? Or are we just gonna ignore it entirely and pretend SRL's 5-1-1 over Duran, Hagler, Hearns and Benitez is better ?

    And those are just the more notable wins. He's quite underrated as a Heavyweight. He went 2-0 vs Nino Valdes who at the time was the number 1 Heavyweight contender in the world, and he took his spot. He beat multiple Heavyweight contenders too. Some of them past it, some of them when they were ranked. Clarence Henry, Curtis Sheppard, Bob Dunlap etc. Hell, he even stopped the number 4 Heavyweight in the world (Alejandro Lavorante) when he was 46 years old, it's why the Ali fight happened. Oh, and he drew with Willie Pastrano, the Light Heavyweight champion like a year prior. Many thought Moore won.

    And his Light Heavyweight exploits ? Forget about it. All the following guys were ranked at the poundage at some point:

    Jimmy Slade
    Bob Satterfield
    Oakland Billy Smith
    Leonard Morrow
    Charley Williams
    Yvon Durelle
    Henry Hall
    Alabama Kid
    Nate Bolden
    Yolande Pompey
    Eddie Cotton
    Tony Anthony
    Guilio Rinaldi

    Moore beat them all, quite a few of them multiple times. Smith x3, Durelle x2, Williams x3, Bolden x2, Alabama Kid x2. In fact, outside of Ezzard Charles himself, Moore NEVER lost to someone he didn't beat at Light Heavyweight.

    Oh, and he also won the title at 36 years old. Still became the longest reigning Light Heavyweight champion of all time, and still holds the record for most defences of the lineal Light Heavyweight title.

    Yeah, he's top 10. Probably closer to the top 5 than the top 10.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2025 at 9:10 AM
  3. he grant

    he grant Historian/Film Maker

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    I don't know where he rates except to agree that this is a terrific post and he was an exceptional fighter.
     
  4. Lonsdale81

    Lonsdale81 Active Member Full Member

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    Should be a staple of everybody's top 20 fighter's of all time.. i have him top 15.
     
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  5. Mandela2039

    Mandela2039 OFFICIAL THREAD DIDDLER Full Member

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    He's not higher on people's list because they don't WANT to put him higher
     
  6. DJN16

    DJN16 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    He's definitely top 20, maybe top 15 and and an argument for top 10. Hey, depending on criteria he could be top 5.

    Legend
     
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  7. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Pretty easily top 20 on resume. But he was beatable at every point in his career, so if you're talking about pfp as in h2h, then I'm not sure if was better than someone like Andre Ward.
     
  8. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    He's in the top twenty, not quite inarguably any more, but something like it. I imagine a list without him in the top 25 would look weird but maybe not be indefensible.
     
  9. Yorbals

    Yorbals Active Member Full Member

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  10. Mandela2039

    Mandela2039 OFFICIAL THREAD DIDDLER Full Member

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    Which LHW's (or someone around that weight) do you think would've beaten him? aside from Ezzard Charles
     
  11. Drew101

    Drew101 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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  12. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I don’t have an actual ranking list (and if I did, it would probably change every time I did it, haha) but I cannot see me doing such without Archie (always) being in my top 10 or 12.
     
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  13. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    I think the list of fighters who would split or win a series against him is really long, especially if cruiser is counted.

    per Gemini (ChatGPT created garbage):
    Opponent Series Record (Moore's Wins - Losses - Draws) Details
    Ezzard Charles
    0 - 3 - 0 Moore lost all three of their fights, including one by knockout.
    Joey Maxim 3 - 0 - 0 Moore won all three fights, including the bout where he became the World Light Heavyweight Champion.
    Harold Johnson 4 - 1 - 0 or 4 - 2 - 0 Moore is credited with four wins and one or two losses against Johnson. One source mentions 4 wins, 1 loss, and another 4 wins, 2 losses, and a split of two decisions.
    Jimmy Bivins 4 - 1 - 0 Moore is credited with four wins and one loss against Bivins.
    Yvon Durelle 2 - 0 - 0 Moore won both fights, defending his title twice against him.
    Willie Pastrano 0 - 0 - 1 Moore had one draw with Pastrano.
    Lloyd Marshall 2 - 0 - 0 Moore is credited with two wins against Marshall.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
  14. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

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  15. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

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    Same here. I haven’t tried to construct a list in forever and much like yourself it would likely change if I did. I think Archie Moore has a good case for top 10-15. He beat a practically endless list of hall of fame claimants and for a long time held the all time knockout record. That is until somebody showed me the record of some obscure fighter from Britain who beat it. But I can’t remember his name. Anyway, the Mongoose is up there