For those who care, here's Nat's 1947 list (as quoted in Dink Carroll's, "Where Will Louis Rank?," The Gazette, Dec. 5, 1947): 1. Jack Johnson 2. Jim Jefferies 3. Bob Fitzsimmons 4. Jack Dempsey 5. Jim Corbett 6. Sam Langford 7. Joe Louis 8. Tom Sharkey 9. Gene Tunney 10. Tommy Burns
Apparently very similar to his later 1968 list, except: a) Louis and Langford changed spots (6 and 7). b) Tunney moved up to #8 c) Tom Sharkey and Tommy Burns were replaced by Schmeling and Marciano in the bottom two spots https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/nat-fleishers-top-ten-heavyweights-1971.559230/ The Sharkey-Tunney-Schmeling-Burns action seems kind of interesting, since their careers were all long over by the time of the first list.
A different article actually quoted Fleischer as having Louis at 8, below Tunney, and Tom Sharkey at 10. Not sure which author got it wrong.
Louis is too high. In fact he shouldn't be on there at all. Other than that, excellent and totally unbiased or undated list.
This content is protected His final list: June 1968 issue of Ring Mag. 1.Jack Johnson 2. Jim Jeffries 3. Bob Fitzsimmons 4. Jack Dempsey 5. Jim Corbett 6. Joe Louis 7. Sam Langford 8. Gene Tunney 9. Max Schmeling 10. Rocky Marciano. Louis moved up a notch. So did Tunney. Sharkey and Burns out, Schmeling and Marciano in. So Nat could change his mind a little. Personally, I think Fitz and Corbett are rated too highly, but you could argue both could rate in 1968. The omission of Sony Liston to me is the biggest problem with Fleischer. I also really wonder just how good the champions were before Joe Louis. Nat wasn't a racist, he called them as he saw them, and he saw them all...yet he like many others just don't consider Louis as special as 5 before him. With bad film and a lack of film in general, it's too hard to tell how good the older timers really were, but this was typical of those alive and watching boxing from 1890-1960. Louis shot up the ranks once the boxing people who saw the old guard died out. Louis had plenty of film left, the old guard mostly stories.
