Basically almost all fighters that made the top 100 Boxers of all-time can be called not just a legend but an ATG. These are first ballot HOFers and their contribution to the sport are unparalleled. But to come up with the list, we need to ensure that each era is evenly represented to minimize bias. I come up with four boxing Eras spanning three decades each. We will be having 25 fighters in each Era. A. Old School - Prior 1920 B. Golden Age - 1920-1949 C. Television Era - 1950-1979 D. PPV Era - 1980-Present I took the year an individual fighter debuted and for this thread we will examine the top 25 fighters in the Old School Era. They are the pioneers of the sport under the Queensbury Rules. We can also refer this era as a "No Decision Era" as boxers will fight until one is out or end in a stalemate. These old school fighters fought in an era similar to MMA wherein there are smaller gloves and a lot of clinching. Here is the Top 25 List along with the year of their debut: 01. Harry Greb 1913 02. Sam Langford 1902 03. Bob Fitzsimmons 1885 04. Benny Leonard 1911 05. Gene Tunney 1915 06. Joe Gans 1893 07. Mickey Walker 1919 08. Jimmy Wilde 1911 09. Tommy Loughran 1919 10. Stanley Ketchel 1903 11. Terry McGovern 1897 12. Joe Walcott 1892 13. Tommy Ryan 1887 14. Packey McFarland 1904 15. Abe Attell 1900 16. Jack Johnson 1898 17. Pancho Villa 1919 18. Mike Gibbons 1907 19. Jack Dempsey 1914 20. Ted Kid Lewis 1909 21. Jack Britton 1904 22. Tommy Gibbons 1911 23. Tiger Flowers 1918 24. George Dixon 1886 25. Freddie Welsh 1905 26. Pete Herman 1912 27. Jack Dillon 1908 28. Johnny Kilbane 1907 29. Young Corbett III 1919 30. Harry Wills 1911
Would you rank Driscoll above Attel, Dixon, Welsh and Kilbane? Not sure with Mike Gibbons, i have him above Tiger Flowers but below Tommy Ryan
Using the date of pro debut to determine their era, really muddles the picture. A boxer clearly belongs to the era, where he did most of his work, or where he really made a name for himself. Take Tommy Loughran… ONE fight in your Old School era (on Dec. 9, 1919 - 3 weeks before the era came to a close!). And then 169 fights from 1920 to 37. How is he not a Golden Age boxer?
