Who are the pound for pound best boxer of all-time?

Question

1. Sugar Ray Robinson
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Joe Louis
4. Jack Johnson
5. Marvin Hagler

Answer 1

theworld title I disagree with you, Johnson for the reason Scott M said, and Marciano was small, but so were most of the heavyweights of his era. Marciano is overrated and its ridicolous to have him on a pound for pound list.

#1 is Sugar Ray Robinson hands down. He was the man and i don't think i have to go into to much detail as of why. He's the only fighter that ranks above Ali in any list.

#2 is Ali, he moved like a lightweight with the speed of a welterweight, and the power of a heavyweight.

Marciano = Overrated

How can Tyson even be on anyones pound for pound list?

Duran, Leonard, Hagler, and Hearns all belong somewhere on the list.

To Ant C - De La Hoya captured belts in all those weight classes but look how many weight classes there are now compared to when Ray Robinson was fighting.




Scott M you made some good points, but Pound for Pound does have a meaning. Its a way of comparing fighters skills regaurdless of their size. I mean, Shannon Briggs would knock out Aaron Pryor if they fought, but are you going to say Briggs was a better fighter? No.



I know your all going to hate me for saying this, but Mayweather will go on the list if he comes back and beats Shane.

Answer 2

1. joe gans 131-8-15 (89) 2. joe walcott 100-32-23 (58) 3. jack johnson 92-14-11 (51) 4. tiger flowers 134-15-8 (55) 5. joe louis 69-3 (55) 6. henry armstrong 149-21-10 (101) 7. ike williams 125-24-5 (60) 8. sugar ray robinson 173-19-6 (108) 9. sandy saddler 144-16-2 (103) 10. kid gavilan 108-30-5 (28) 11. archie moore 185-23-11 (131) 12. joe brown 105-46-13 (47) 13. muhummad ali 56-5 (37) 14. jose napoles 79-7 (55) 15. carlos monzon 87-3-9 (59) 16. roberto duran 103-16 (70) 17. antonio cervantes 91-12-3 (44) 18. sugar ray leonard 36-3-1 (25) 19. marvelous marvin hagler 62-3-2 (52) 20. bernard hopkins 47-4-1 (32)...all in historical order

Answer 3

First of all ant c, you know Oscar didnt deserve the decisions at 147 (Whitaker) and 160 (Sturm). He was a very courgaeous fighter but he lost way too many times to be even considered among the best of all time.

In their primes:

Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Roy Jones Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Willie Pep
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Robinson
Ricardo Lopez
Donald Curry
Bernard Hopkins
Roberto Duran

Answer 4

The pound-for-pound issue may make for some interesting debates, but what does it all mean?

Nothing.

I think we would all agree that Muhammad Ali in his prime would have beaten the much smaller Marvin Hagler in his prime. But so what? The fact is that we can't bring the two fighters back in their primes and "adjust" their weights to make them the same size.

The P4P "title" is the invention of promoters trying to hype fights, just as they did by creating new weigh classes. A super welterweight is the same size as a junior middleweight. The only differences are the sizes of the purses paid to the fighters, the sanctioning fees paid by the fighters to participate in a "championship" bout, and the promoters' take from the fights.

Look at the rankings of the various sanctioning bodies. Take the WBA, the WBC and the IBF. Why is one organization's "champion" rated number 7 by another organization (or maybe not ranked at all)?

Why are so few champions trying to unify their titles? It's simple: More titles mean more money for everyone invloved. But when almost every fight is a "championship" fight, what is the value of a title?

BTW, Jack Johnson is highly regarded by boxing "authorities." But, aside from the fact that he ducked Sam Langford, he walked around the ring like he was on stilts and he did not throw combination punches (nor did any fighters of his era).

I think Muhammad Ali was the greatest fighter of all time as measured by his dominance in fights against his contemporaries.

UPDATE (06/24/07): I think it was ant c who said Ali doesn't count because he got whipped by Larry Holmes. But Ali was way past his prime when he fought Holmes.

If you look at some of the great fighters listed here, you'll notice that many of them had more than a few losses on their records. But look at how many of those losses came when they were well past their primes and were just fighting for the money.

Answer 5

The greatest Pound for pound fighter has to be Sugar Ray Robinson!
2.Muhammed Ali was a legend in his own mind!He said he was the greatest but I disagree because he got whipped by Larry Holmes who put him in the condition he is today!
3.Joe Louis should be ahead of Ali as far as heavyweights go
4.Jack Johnson another big strong fighter who should be ahead of Ali.
5. Marvin Hagler,no,he should've knocked out Ray Leonard but he didn't,so he doesn't get my vote!
*Rocky Marciano retired undefeated as a heavyweight but he fought heavyweights past their primes especially Joe Louis.
*Henry Armstrong should be up there because he won three titles in different weight classes where there weren't lights,juniors,supers,alphabet title classes like WBC,WBA,OBF,etc,etc!

Answer 6

Sam Langford- a middleweight who knocked out great heavyweights. Jack Johnson didn't duck him for nothing.

Harry Greb- beat....no, SHELLACKED more hall of fame fighters and champions than any battler in history. And he usually did it numerous times.

Ray Robinson- no description needed.

Henry Armstrong- see above comment

Roberto Duran
Benny Leonard- had a resume similar to Greb's.
Bob Fitzsimmons- first multi-division champ(back when that actually meant something).
Ezzard Charles- greatest light heavyweight ever.
Muhammad Ali
Joe Gans

Answer 7

Joe Louis

Answer 8

Marciano EASY. Who in the hell ever lived at 185 could stay in the ring with that guy? Nobody! He gets punished because P4P at heavyweight includes anybody over 175 (now 190). If they had Cruiserweight back then, Rocky would be all-time P4P over Robinson.

Answer 9

rocky marciano , marvin hagler ,muhammad ali,joe louis,roy jones,oscar delahoya,mike tyson
best one all time Rocky Marciano hands Down

Answer 10

1.Muhhamad Ali
2.Sunny Lister
3.Mike Tyson
4.Sugar Ray Robinson
5.ROCKY BALBOA