The Ipswich Express Top 100 Fighters of All Time List

11.


Archie Moore

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Best Wins: KO3 Carl Bobo Olson, W10 & W15 Nino Valdes, W10 x 3 & TKO14 Harold Johnson, W15 x 3 Joey Maxim, W10, TKO9 x 2 & KO8 Jimmy Bivins, W10 x 2, KO9, W15 Jack Chase, KO11 Holman Williams, KO8 Cocoa Kid, TKO10 & W 10 Lloyd Marshall.

Good Losses: D10 Willie Pastrano, KO9 Rocky Marciano, L10 Harold Johnson, KO8, L10 x 2 Ezzard Charles, L10 Williams, D12 & D10 Eddie Booker, L10 Teddy Yaroscz.

So much remains unknown about "The Old Mongoose". His date of birth in not agreed on and he claims to have fought many more fights that he is credited with, often under other names.

What is known is that Moore captured the Lt Heavyweight title, beating Joey Maxim (who had just disposed of Ray Robinson) by decision. He achieved his dream 16 years after his career began and at 39 years of age. After years of being avoided he had finally got his hands on the title. He would hold on to it for nearly a decade.

Despite losing at cracks for the Heavyweight crown against Marciano (he had the Rock on the deck) and Floyd Patterson, Moore was nearly unbeatable at Lt Heavyweight. He defended his title 9 times and fought some top fighters such as Maxim, Johnson and Durelle.

His first fight with Durelle was an all out war, with Moore being dropped 3 times in the first round and once in the fifth, before turning the tides on the Canadian challenger and dropping him in the seveth and stopping him in the eleventh.

Moore fought nine world champions and seven Hall-of-Famers. He had multi-fight series with some of the game's top fighters, something I hold in extremely high regard. He has the most knockout victories of any fighter in the history of the game.

 

Maxie deserves his spot. As I said, overlooked by many.

 

10.


Gene Tunney 80-1-3 (48 ) (Includes Newspaper Decisions)

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Best Wins: W10 x 2 Jack Dempsey, KO12 Tommy Gibbons, W15 x 2 & W10 Harry Greb, W15 Jeff Smith, KO15 George Carpentier, W12 Battling Levinsky, W12 & W6 Leo Houck.

Good Losses: UD15 & D10 Harry Greb

"The Fighting Marine" went from Middleweight to Heavyweight and fought the best of a generation on the way. He was near unbeatable at Light Heavyweight. His series of fights with Harry Greb are considered some of the greatest battles boxing has ever seen.

Tunney moved up to Heavyweight and studied films of Dempsey. He also got in some of Dempsey's old opponents as sparring partners, trying to learn as much as he could about the ferocious champion. This proved to be highly successful, with Tunney annexing Dempsey's title in front of 120,000 fans.

The rematch is forever tainted in controversy due to the "long count", however Tunney won the fight with a masterful display of boxing. He possessed a flawless technique, combined with respectable power and tremendous handspeed.