Best Boxer of All Time

Best boxer of all time is a matter of opinion. The sport of boxing has had many great champions over the years. Although the game has changed over time, the essence of the sport is to have the best fighters from around the world match up against each other to see who is truly the best.

One question true boxing fans dispute is: “who is the best boxer of all time?”

I have formed a list to give insight into my top ten best boxers of all time. Many of these men have done great things inside and out of the ring, but as a boxing pugilist, my criteria are based solely on boxing skills and achievements in the ring.

10. Marvin Hagler

Marvelous Marvin Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KO) from Boston, Massachusetts was one of the most dominant fighters of the 1970s and 80s. Hagler was a true middleweight and campaigned his entire professional career in the division.

He is recognized as one of the “Four Kings” of his era, along with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Tommy Hearns. His only loss in battle among these other great champions was a close split-round decision to Ray Leonard.

The Marvelous one, he looked to “destruct and destroyer” when he stepped to the line, every time

On April 15, 1985, at the Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, Marvin Hagler was victorious in one of boxing’s most exciting fights of all time. On that legendary night, he beat Tommy Hearns by TKO in the third round for the IBF, WBA, and WBC World Middleweight championship titles.

Marvin Hagler’s boxing style is hard for most to duplicate. He was able to fight effectively out of southpaw and orthodox stances. Hagler’s pressure on his opponents in the ring was often too much for them to handle, and lands him on our Best Boxer of All Time list.

9. Manny Pacquiao

Phillipino boxing star Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) is a living legend.

He is a twelve-time world champion in 8 different weight classes.

Pacquiao started his boxing career as a 106-pound light flyweight. By the end of his twenty-six-year career “Pac Man” had fought up to 147 pounds to be crowned a champion of the welterweight division. And he’s still going, so who knows if he might be able to take that another step.

Manny Pacquiao has defeated twenty-two world champions including Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Moesly, and Timothy Bradley.

Mr and Mrs Pacquiao in Saudi Arabia for the Fury-Ngannou Riyadh Season kickoff. Manny has said he wants to continue to fight, to challenge himself

Pacquiao fought in one of the biggest super fights in boxing history when he challenged Floyd Mayweather for the WBA, WBC, and WBO Welterweight titles on May 2, 2015. Click here to read about his US debut.

Manny, No 9 on our best boxer of all time list, ultimately came up short in the fight with Floyd Mayweather. He lost by unanimous decision, which led many boxing pundits to conclude that Mayweather was the best fighter of their era. Despite the loss to Floyd, Manny Pacquiao is still widely regarded when choosing best boxer of all time. And, he’s still going!

The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) voted Pacquiao as the “Fighter of The Decade” for the early 2000s. He was “Fighter of The Year” three times in 2006, 2008, and 2009. The “Best Fighter ESPY Award” also went to Manny Pacquiao in 2009 and 2011.

8. Pernell Whitaker

Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker (40-4-1, 17 KO) from Norfolk, Virginia is one of the best defensive fighters of all time and No. 8 on our NFY best boxer of all time ranking.

He was a highly skilled southpaw fighter who had masterful defensive boxing abilities. Sweet Pea was excellent at using his elusive footwork to move around the ring and time his opponents with sharp counterpunches.

Hardcores knew this guy was special. He defended superbly, made you made, made you pay. PEA

He was a gold medalist in the lightweight division of the 1984 Olympics.

After the Olympics, Pernell Whitaker went on to have a great pro career. He was awarded “Fighter of The Year” by The Ring magazine and the BWAA in 1989. Whitaker also received “Fighter of The Year” in 1993 from the BWAA.

His record actually should’ve been better because he was robbed in a couple of fights against Jose Luis Ramirez and Julio Cesar Chavez. We saluted him in 2019 and now, on our best boxer of all time story.

Pete dazzled with his skill set

7. Floyd Mayweather

Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0-0, 27 KO) had an excellent career that changed the sport of boxing. He was a 15-time world champion. Mayweather started his career as “Pretty Boy Floyd” at 130 pounds in the Super Featherweight division where he would win his first title.

He would go on to win titles at Lightweight, Super Lightweight, Welterweight, and Super Welterweight. Floyd is currently the only boxer to retire with an undefeated record of 50-0-0. Perfection.

His masterful defensive boxing skills and ring IQ set him apart from anyone he seems to step into the ring against. Mayweather was recognized as the “Fighter of The Decade” of the 2010s by the BWAA as he won their “Fighter of The Year” award in 2013 and 2015.

He was also Ring Magazine’s “Fighter of The Year” twice in 1998 and 2007.

Here is a report filed by Michael Woods when Floyd won BWAA honors. He maintains a relevance in the sport which is indicative of his skills, probably. He might be higher on best boxer of all time lists as we move forward in time.

Best Boxer of All Time Continued

6. Andre Ward

Andre “SOG” Ward (32-0-0, 16 KO) from Oakland, California is one of the few boxers of all time to retire undefeated. He hasn’t lost a fight since back in his amateur days when he was about 14 years old.

Ward has accomplished being a gold medalist by winning the light heavyweight division in the 1996 Olympics.

Andre Ward dominated the Super Six tournament and beat Carl Froch for the WBC and Ring Super Middleweight titles. His performance in the tournament would also result in him being The Ring magazine and the BWAA “Fighter of The Year” in 2011.

Ward became the unified IBF, WBO, and WBA Light Heavyweight Champion of the World after defeating Sergey “The Crusher” Kovalev in 2016 and successfully defended the titles in their 2017 rematch. He was ranked the #1 Pound-For-Pound by Ring Magazine upon his retirement.

5. Sugar Ray Leonard

“Sugar” Ray Leonard (36-3-1, 25 KO) from Palmer Park, Maryland was also one of the “Four Kings” of the 1980s.

He won the gold medal in the Light Welterweight division of the 1976 Olympics.

During his pro career, Ray Leonard won championships in five weight classes (Welterweight, Super Welterweight, Middleweight, Super Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight).

This “Sugar Ray” didn’t make people forget the original…but Ray Leonard blew up after the ’76 Olympics, he’s an all-time all-star

When matched up against the other “Four Kings”, Leonard’s only loss was to Roberto Duran in their first fight.

He would quickly avenge that loss in the legendary “No Mas” rematch where he outboxed and embarrassed Roberto Duran to the point of Duran quitting the fight in the eighth round.

Sugar Ray was granted the BWAA “Fighter of The Year” award twice in 1979 and 1981. His popularity spread beyond the sport, marketers liked his grin and grit. As do we, on our best boxer of all time ranking.

4. Muhammad Ali

The name Muhammad Ali (56-5-0, 37 KO) is royalty in boxing and on this best boxer of all time piece.

Ali’s legacy has been known as the greatest boxer, if not the greatest athlete ever. This comes from a mixture of legendary moments that he had in the ring, and also from his role in society and contribution to civil rights during such a pivotal time in American history.

Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay, was a gold medalist in the light heavyweight division of the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

Four years later, on February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston for the WBA and WBC World Championship. Becoming the heavyweight champ of the world is a major accomplishment in itself. But Ali did it by beating Sonny Liston, who is regarded as one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time.

Ali would go on to be the first heavyweight boxer to win the title on three separate occasions. He also had 19 successful title defenses throughout his career.

Muhammad Ali inspired people, with his in ring dazzling skills and even more as a sweet soul outside the sweet science

Ali was self-proclaimed as “The greatest”, and with his ring resume it’s hard to argue. Muhammad Ali defeated great fighters like Joe Fraizer and George Foreman in the prime of their careers to solidify himself as one of the best boxers in the history of the sport. He is atop many a best boxer of all time list.

Muhammad Ali was The Ring “Fighter of The Year” six times in 1963, 1966, 1972, 1975 and 1978. He was also the BWAA “Fighter of The Year” three times in 1965, 1974, and 1975. His influence was boundless.

3. Joe Louis

It’s never easy to rank the best boxer of all time because the sport has had so many great champions over the years. But Joe Louis aka “The Brown Bomber” (66-3-0, 52 KO) from Detroit, Michigan is easily one of the top 3 boxers of all time.

Joe Louis had the longest reign as a champion in the sport of boxing. He went on a historical championship run of 25 world title defenses. Twenty-one of those victories ended with a devastating knockout.

Louis was one of the best punchers the sport has seen, hence the name “The Brown Bomber”. He won The Ring magazine’s “Fighter of The Year” award on four different occasions in 1936, 1938, 1939, and 1941. Joe Louis also received recognition as “Fighter of The Year” from the BWAA in 1941.

2. Henry Armstrong

Only a dangerous man could be called “Homicide Hank.”

That is what boxing writers and spectators called Henry Armstrong (149-21-10, 99 KO) from Los Angeles, California.

His aggressive boxing style was dominant in the ring. From the opening bell of his fights, Armstrong would pressure his opponents with a slew of punches and “perpetual motion.”

Armstrong was the first professional boxer to hold championship titles in three weight divisions simultaneously (Featherweight, Welterweight, and Lightweight).

This was long before boxing had multiple championship belts in each weight class, so the only possible way to hold multiple belts back in those days was to be a champion in multiple weight divisions at the same time.

Henry Armstrong fought in 26 world title fights during his career. In 1937 The Ring magazine named him “Fighter of The Year.” He was also named “Fighter of The Decade” for the 1930s.

So who tops the list as the best boxer of all time?

1. Sugar Ray Robinson

“Sugar” Ray Robinson (174-19-6, 109 KO), the original “Sugar” man in boxing, is the best boxer of all time. Ray Robinson was so dominant in the sport of boxing that he‘s the only boxer in history to be recognized as the BWAA “Fighter of The Decade” two times (1940s and 1950s).

The BWAA even honored Ray Robinson’s greatness by naming their annual award for the best boxer the “Sugar Ray Robinson: Fighter of The Year” award.

From 1943 to 1951 Ray Robinson went on one of the longest-recorded win streaks in boxing history with 91 victories. During that time Ray Robinson beat Kid Gavilan for the World Welterweight title in 1949 and Jake LaMotta for the World Middleweight title in 1951.

Sugar Ray Robinson’s fighting style made him the most complete boxer ever. He could move around with ring generalship and outbox his opponents. He could fight while moving in any direction, and he had knockout power while doing so— one-punch knockout power.

Sugar Ray was able to put together his legendary 199-fight professional career because he would fight multiple fights per month, sometimes even a few fights a week. This is something that is unheard of in modern-day boxing as boxing fans will now be lucky to see their favorite fighter perform three to four times a year.

Boxing has produced many great champions, but Sugar Ray Robinson is in a class of his own as pound-for-pound the best to ever do it.