I've seen quite a few people rank him highly P4P, and logically so. He has a terrific record, if only we had footage! Where do you rank him all time? Do you think he's an ATG?
Very highly. At WW he's my #13 of all time. He went about 35-0-7 in fights in & around this weight, including 2-0-1 during his 4-year world title reign. At & around this weight he beat Billy Smith x 3, NP Jack Dempsey & Danny Needham. At MM he's my #9 of all time. He went about 45-2-6 at & around this weight, including 12-1 during his 8-year world title reign. His only defeats were by DQ and to the great & much bigger Kid McCoy, who he also drew with twice (once when the police stopped the fight, with some reports suggesting Ryan was on top). He beat Jack Bonner x 2, Tommy West x 2, Charley Johnson, Jack Moffat, Kid Carter x 2 & Dick Moore. In the days of 7-weight divisions and 1-world champion per division, he was a world champion for 12-years from 1894 to 1906, two thirds of which time he was champion at MW, despite never being anything other than a natural WW. Imo he's one of the most underrated and underappreciated boxers of all time, he's my #22 p4p of all time, based purley on what he achieved in his own era.
