Four Of The All-Time Greatest Boxers

Plenty of pugilists are worthy of the title of the greatest boxer of all time, and it is hard to compare across eras when the fundamentals have changed so much, not to mention different weight categories and other designations. 

Still, through the statistics as well as just some plain personal judgments, it is possible to narrow it down and come up with a list of the greatest boxers to ever hit the ring. Read on for four of the all time greatest boxers.

Tony Canzoneri

With 137 wins, 24 losses, and ten draws, not to mention his 44 KOs, Tony Canzoneri was clearly not to be messed with. He was still a teenager when he became the World Featherweight Champion in 1928, and he is one of the few people to have simultaneous world championship titles in three different weight categories.

All in all, he took home the world title five times between four different weight categories. His career is full of highlights, but one that arguably stands out above all the others is when in 1930 he KO’d Al Singler for the lightweight championship. Among his other significant wins were when he beat  Jimmy McLarnin and Kid Chocolate. 

Barney Ross

Barney Ross was not quite undefeated, but with only four losses and three draws, there were few who could touch him. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, either, as Ross won 72 matches and delivered KOs 22 times. His courage in the ring was always apparent, and it was not unearned, given that he was another rare boxer to become world champion in three different weight classes. In 1933 alone he took home the title for both the junior and lightweight classes.

Ross, who was never KO’d himself, saw one of his greatest moments when he was defending the welterweight title. Henry Armstrong was giving him a serious run for his money as he was being utterly brutalized. Ross was no quitter, though, and though he ended up losing, he managed to stay up the entire time, never falling to the mat. As if Ross’ boxing career wasn’t enough, he ended up fighting in WW2 and received numerous honors for his service.

Julio Cesar Chavez

Born in Mexico, Julio Cesar Chavez became internationally renowned as one of the world’s greatest boxers. He had an incredible streak of 87 wins in a row, and over his career he totaled 108 wins, 87 of them being KOs, and had only six losses and two draws. In 1987 and 1990, he was lauded Fighter of the Year, and it was no surprise when Chavez was given a spot in the hall of fame.

Chavez has spent nearly two decades in retirement, and since that time he still holds many records which nobody has been able to top. The records include the largest number of successful defenses of world titles, the largest number of title fight victories, the largest number of title defenses won by knockouts, and even the biggest audience for an outdoor match, with over 136,000 people showing up to watch him fight Greg Haugen in 1993. 

Ted Lewis

Two time World Welterweight Champion Ted “Kid” Lewis was a prodigious boxing talent, winning the British featherweight title at 18 and then becoming the European champion just four months after that. The British boxer, whose birth name is Gershon Mendeloff, had a career that saw a whopping 173 wins, 71 being KOs, with 30 losses and 14 draws, and he eventually had a much deserved entry into the Hall of Fame.

Jack Britton was among Lewis’ greatest foes, and Lewis beat him in the world welterweight title fight in 1915. The two of them had 20 matches with each other and were constantly trading the title. There was no decision in twelve of their fights, showing that the two were stunningly well matched.