What's your top 5 BEST boxers ever?

1. Robinson
2. Duran
3. Leonard
4. Jones
5. Whitaker/Napoles

 

1- Ali

2- Sugar Ray Robinson

3- Marcel Cerdan (never forget the influence he had on France Boxing and for the colony of France including Vietnam,Cambodia, Laos, 80% of Africa, and some South America Countries...).

4- Marvin Hagler

5- Sugar Ray Leonard

 

1. Mayweather
2. Whittaker
3. Usyk
4. Chocolatito
5. Toney

 

Robinson
Duran
Leonard
Napoles
Chaves

 

Guys I’ve seen? (So forgive me I haven’t seen everyone…) Based purely on boxing ability?

Jose Napoles
Henry Armstrong
Willie Pep
Benny Leonard
Miguel Canto


You’ll notice Ezzard Charles isn’t there as we only have film of him as a HW bar a loss… like James Toney he’d slowed down It seemed like a “getting by” effort with him.
Ray Robinson ain’t up there because his skills were mighty but he also was very tall for his era at 147lbs and did things only he or other intensely blessed individuals could pull off well the above are all wonders themselves but there pure boxing was absolutely special.

I’ll suppose honorary mentions… everyone is so close besides Napoles to me, Napoles was the ceiling of pure boxing his physicality (blessed as he was) was his only limit, you could put Eder in my top 5 or Duran etc and it wouldn’t matter to me the only constant is Napoles he’s just the little bit better then all the best of them.

JCC Snr
Ruben Olivares
Roberto Duran
Carlos Monzon
Sugar Ray Robinson
Eder Jofre
Emile Griffith
Luis Rodriquez
Archie Moore
James Toney
Barney Ross
Gene Tunney

 

SRR
Duran
Ezzard
Archie
Napoles


Chocolatito,Jofre and Harada might be honorable mentions.

 

Duran
SRR
Canto
Monzon
Arguello

 

Addressing this part - "The kind of fighters you'd pick to beat ANYONE who dared to be in their way, regardless of anything?"

1. SRR @ 147lbs
2. Muhammad Ali @ 1967
3. Roberto Duran @ 135lbs
4. Roy Jones @160lbs
5. Wilfredo Gomez @ 122lbs

Notes - this is a quick off the top of my head list.

*When talking H2H i never ever ignore fighters that fought prior to a divisions concept. This is why i have listed RJJ at 160 and not 168. Around 1946 i'd back Ezzard Charles to make 168 without any negative implications whatsoever if he needed to. Charles would be an awfully large question mark hanging over the head of Jones. It also brings in guys like Archie Moore and others. Jones otherworldly pole axing of Tate was his fight prior to totally schooling Toney at 168 so it's safe to assume Jones was already about as good as he ever was - a ridiculously fast developer heavily reliant on incredible speed and reflexes as well as a stupendous innate sense of instinct.

*To continue the theme imagine throwing in someone at the confines140lbs when Roberto Duran exists. The massive majority of non title fights he had while holding the crown at 135 were between 135-140. Imagine this freak around the time he moved up to 147 whipping himself into top shape to fight at 140. There might not be another fighter in history that would beat him at that weight. A guy like Napoles also looms large at 140.

*Wilfredo Gomez would be a surprise to some but at that exact weight how hard is he to beat? That is after including such 118 pounds beast as Jofre, Olivares and co. He already stomped on one of the greatest ever bantams, one who had the frame to rise up in weight effectively you'd think? His alleged illness muddies the water but we only have what actually happened to go on, via clear film. Jeff Fenech would be incredibly dangerous but Gomes has so much power, can fight violently on the inside and loves a foulfest as well. So Gomez has nabbed himself a rare piece of limelight from me.

*I was heavily tempted to have Charles at 175lbs and perhaps should have, but i wanted to change it up a bit. A guy like Spinks is a real smoking gun at 175 tho Ezzard did beat a helluva lot of smoking guns there. It would be a strange fight as both loved to do just enough, Spinks until he got hit hard or simply felt like it, Ezzard more out of style.

 

#1a: Ray Robinson
#1b: Roberto Duran
#03: Ray Leonard
#04: Roy Jones Jr.
#05: Pernell Whitaker

 

Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather 130lbs

Henry Armstrong 126lbs

Roberto Duran 135lbs

Sugar Ray Robinson 147lbs

Roy Jones 160lbs