For me it is no question Evander Holyfield . I love the way he fought and that he didn't duck anyone. Moved up to Heavyweight because he knew that is where the money was and almost always left it all in the ring. I could see him fighting in any era.
Willie The Worm Monroe- 1974 my pop pop took me to the old spectrum in Philly, to see Eugene Cyclone Hart vs Willie. My Pop Pop was a big Cyclone fan, and I was an ornery kid who knew nothing about boxing or anything else...so I cheered for Monroe...just because! Monroe won, and has been my favorite ever since!
Chris John The greatest boxer of my country in its history. Very intelligent boxer and beautiful style of boxing (to be honest I become Loma's fan because he reminds me to John). Defended his title 17x times and even defeated the great JMM. A very humble and friendly man who befriend most of his opponents. Even Daud Yordan considered him as his big brother.
Mike Tyson ... probably my introduction to boxing, and he had a unique persona. Kostya Tszyu ... first boxer I supported and whose fights I watched on a regular basic. That era of Australian boxers (+ Fenech, Harding, etc.) I watched as a teenager while playing 8 ball with mates at our local pub (bar). Tszyu was a class act both in and outside the ring.
I guess it is a bit of a funny question. Although Evander is my easily fav all time, I was also only a kid when he was in his prime so I didn't really know a lot about boxing. I have seen fights from fighters outside of my era, but judging a fighter in hindsight is something I personally don't like to do. It feels more genuine to me when you rate them in an era you actually watched them. It would be interesting to hear from some older fight fans as they have had several good decades of fighters they saw in their primes.
I always find it funny that most people pick a great as their favorites. Most of my favorites in sports in general are guys that do the dirty work, guys that work hard with limited ability that I just seem to connect with “Hard work beats talent, when talent does not work hard”! All my friends loved AI, I always loved Eric Snow and Aaron McKie. I just seem to connect with scrappy guys who may be limited but have that grit to them. Bennie Briscoe, had the misfortune of coming along during the Monzon/Hagler years. Never won a title but man I loved to watch him fight.
Man I wish I had 2!! My favorite of all time will have to be Ricardo Lopez. Why? Perfection. Perfect balance, perfect jab, nobody can imitate him. He’s what every fighter should strive to become like. Morales is my very close second favorite fighter!