So a champion reigns count towards the overall streak. Let's say Tire Iron Jones was champion for one year then ranked for ten after it, he has a score of 11. It's probably Archie Moore... But just drop some others for the sake of it. It has to be back to back- you can retire and comeback like say Ali but your streak is broken the second you leave the top ten.
Bernard Hopkins can be found in The Ring's end of year rankings 24 years in a row (1992 to 2015). Don't think anyone comes close to beating that!
In 20 years time, B-Hop will be much more respected than what he is. He always seems to be relegated to third out of Roy, Toney and himself when he may arguably be the greatest out of all them, due to a ridiculously long level of being elite/world class.
There are prehistoric creatures frozen in amber for shorter periods than Hopkins was a contender/champ. It wouldn’t be shocking if they found a mastodon frozen in the arctic midway through Bernard’s run.
It looks like Moore was rated for about 18 years straight, from to 1945-1962. It appears that he was knocked out a few times after he first popped up in 1940. Hopefully my math isn't off.