Had the eye injury not intervened, we are likely talking about a top five all-time fighter. Leonard may not have deserved the decision over Marvin Hagler, but even being competitive against a heavily favored middleweight after essentially a five-year layoff showed the vast tool box the charismatic star possessed.
In an era when fighters were far more active than they are today, Leonard's numbers stand out. The longest-reigning lightweight champion from , Leonard ended his career with 69 knockouts. Three losses came before his 21st birthday, a fourth occurred at the hands of Hall of Famer Jimmy McLarnin after Leonard emerged from retirement and the fifth came because of a disqualification in a welterweight title fight he was likely winning.
In between, the slick 5-foot-5 boxer-puncher was peerless. The longest reigning heavyweight champion, Louis ruled boxing when it stood atop the American sports hierarchy. The vicious puncher won the belt in and defended it a record 25 times, beating the likes of Billy Conn and Jersey Joe Walcott. He also knocked out the five previous heavyweight champs, including Max Baer and Max Schmeling. After Schmeling beat Louis in , "The Brown Bomber" floored the German two years later in what was probably the most anticipated fight in boxing history.
Late-career losses to Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano do not detract from one of the sport's defining legacies. One of the most ferocious competitors in boxing history, Duran ruled the s lightweight scene. While "El Cholo" finished over a year career, he was in the '70s. A warlord at , Duran's signature work came at welterweight. He made Sugar Ray Leonard brawl with him in their first fight, taking Leonard's belt in an underrated classic — underrated because of the "No Mas" rematch going rather poorly for a suboptimal Duran.
His triumph was one of the greatest wins in boxing history, however, setting the tone for a second act that featured junior middleweight and middleweight titles. Pernell Whitaker's top competition for boxing's defense GOAT, Pep deployed a silky smooth style that bedeviled featherweights for years.
En route to a mark, Pep won his first 63 fights. Already residing as the world's top-ranked featherweight, Pep took the pound belt from Hall of Famer Chalky Wright in and kept it for four years. Unfortunately, injuries from a plane crash sapped some of Pep's wizardry, leaving him vulnerable. Sandy Saddler took Pep's belt in , but Pep managed to recapture it in 's Fight of the Year and further his claim as one of the sport's giants. Regarded by many ring experts as the best middleweight ever, Greb cleaned out multiple divisions in the s and '20s.
He is the only man to have beaten eventual heavyweight champion Gene Tunney; this happened once, and, per most press in attendance, their first rematch should have gone Greb's way. A pound champ with a rugged, oft-labeled dirty, style, Greb regularly fought and beat light heavyweights and defeated heavyweights who'd beaten Jack Dempsey.
Greb dispatched fellow all-time great Mickey Walker at middleweight, rounding out one of the sport's most diverse resumes. Perhaps joined by Babe Ruth's or Usain Bolt's , Armstrong's nine-month run from from November to August is in the discussion for greatest sports year ever. The next year the relentless attacker captured Barney Ross' welterweight belt and won the lightweight strap. Boxing had eight weight divisions in ; Armstrong held three titles at once.
Many felt he should've won the middleweight belt in a draw. He nonetheless beat 16 champions and made a record 19 welterweight title defenses. A virtuoso talent. Had the Vietnam War not occurred, Ali probably submits a historic, uninterrupted run of brilliance.
No heavyweight could do what s Ali did, his movement picking all comers apart. In , he became the only boxer to defeat future heavyweight champion Gene Tunney — the man who dethroned the great Jack Dempsey. The current boxing champions across all the belts and weights. Leonard won the world lightweight title in and retired as champion in , making him the longest-reigning lightweight champion in history.
After more than seven years he returned to the ring, winning 18 of his 19 bouts. Indeed, at one stage he had gone fights without defeat. Of five losses, three were in his formative ring years, one was on a foul when challenging for the welterweight championship and one was the final contest of his career to fellow legend Jimmy McLarnin. He later became a referee and collapsed and died in the ring while refereeing a bout. The 10 best UFC fighters in history.
Named Fighter of the Decade for the s by the Boxing Writers of America, Pacquaio is the first boxer to win world titles in eight divisions — starting with the WBC flyweight title.
He has now won twelve major world titles, as well as being the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes. A huge hero in the Philippines, his homeland comes to a standstill to watch their hero in action. The diets of some of the top athletes out there including Anthony Joshua. But the Noble Art is about hitting and not being hit and Mayweather fits that mould perfectly. The 10 greatest athletes in the world. Won the lightweight World title from Ken Buchanan in and then proceeded to dominate the division for seven years with his ferocious intensity and smart boxing skills.
Louis knocked Schmeling down three times before his trainer threw in the towel after just into the first round. Schmelling, who symbolized Nazi Germany, threw only two punches. Mike Tyson Mike Tyson was the youngest ever heavyweight champ ever and won his first 37 fights before being upset by James "Buster" Douglas in In he was convicted of rape and served three years in prison. He won two titles upon his return but fell to Evander Holyfield and then lost the rematch.
He got a title match with Lennox Lewis as well but lost. Kieran Mulvaney is a freelance writer based in Washington, D. He covers boxing for ESPN. Join the conversation about boxers No. Download Toolbar Shop. TV Listings. ESPN Zone. Play Your Way. Team ESPN. Coaches Fundraising. Fan Profiles. Fantasy Games. Page 2. ESPN Corrections. Join Our Team. NFL Front Page. NFL Insider. RealTime Scores.
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