NBCSports.com chose the top 5 boxers of all time. If you think we got it wrong, then tell us! You can send in your own top 5 and tell us who should have made the list!
Who is the greatest boxer of all time?
Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:27 PM EDT
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robinson is definitely the best. jones doesn't even belong in the top 10. bob foster would easly have knocked out roy. archie moore would have won a unanamous decision, much too slick for jones. the other four belong. in the top 10 should be eder jofre, hank armstrong and tyson. just because a guy is terrible as a human doesn't mean he wasn't a great fighter. robinson was a wonderful fighter but a lousy human. foster by the way gave away 41 pounds to ali, and still took the great ali 15 rounds.
Bob Foster was definitely tough. Agreed about Roy Jones. I never understand why such a talented fighter never fought Gerald McClellan, Michael Nunn, Nigel Benn, and Julian Jackson then they were all in his weight division.
Greatest boxer? My criteria is pound for pound; my vote is for Rocky Marciano. Then Joe Louis, then Ali, and then Hagler. For Marciano, he had to fight guys like Jersey Joe and he still retired never being beat in 10 years as heavy weight champion.
Jersey Joe Walcott was 39 when he won the title. Marciano took the belt from an over-the-hill champion at a time when the heavyweight division was weak. Marciano never had to fight any truly great heavyweights. Not only that, he was listed at 5-10 (probably more like 5-8) and he only weighed 187 pounds. Great fighter? Hard to say. I have to think Ali, Holmes or even that arrogant Englishman Lennox Lewis with their long reaches and jackhammer left jabs would have beat him senseless before he got close enough to land a telling blow.
Roberto Duran. Pound for pound as good as it gets. Why wasn't he on the list? Top 5 easily.
Duran probably wasn't picked, due to his losses after the embarassing No Mas fight and the fact he fought way past his prime. Before that, he seemed to be unstoppable. Definitely one of the greatest, and certainly the best lightweight of all time...hands down.
I could support the pound-for-pound argument, if one could quantify what is being measured in that criterian. The smaller fighters had speed which helped them generate power as opposed their inferior opponents who didn't have the same knock-out power. The heavyweights had size which resulted in their power. Ali had both! Top that with his ring savvy, and you have skill-for-skill the greatest boxer. In addition, Ali had no equal defensively, except maybe Joe Frazier. Finally, boxing is a spectacle, and no-one ever heard of closed-circuit broadcast of a fight until Ali's classic matchups. Ali wins -- hands down.
Rocky Marciano. He never lost and fought everyone around.
Marciano undefeated
Marciano was on of the greatest, but it seems that the top fighters he faced were all past their primes. Louis was an old man, Walcott was 37 years old, etc. He may have had the misfortune of being a good fighter during a time when there wasn't a legendary talent in their prime to challenge him, like Ali had.
Marciano beat everyone that showed up while having the shortest reach in heavyweight history. Also the toughest pound for pound. When Ali and Rocky filmed the '69 computer fight, Ali always addressed him as "champ". An honest sign of respect.
Mike Tyson, Catskill, NY. goodnight
Both in their prime, George Foreman would have KO's Mike Tyson in a match up due to his power and the style of both fighters.
Suger Ray Robinson was the best boxer in his weight division and best of all time.
Ali was the fastest and best of all the heavey weight's in his prime before he was banned. He was great later but got hit more after the ban was lifted.
Rocky Marciano... not only was he undefeated, but his 6 fights that weren't KO's were unanimous decisions.
Rocky Marciano must be on any list in the top 5. The only undefeated champion in an era of great boxers and fighters
I would have to say Iron Mike. When Cus was alive and by his side he was unstoppable. When Cus died so did Iron Mike.
No excuses. A boxer is a boxer. If he couldn't be great without Cus than then he's not one of the greatest.
Besides...he was a puncher and not a boxer.
George Foreman could hit his opponents just as hard if not harder than Tyson. Foreman could take a punch especially in his younger years. Punch for punch against Foreman....Tyson is going down. Just ask Ali and any other of his opponents. They all feared George's power and most said no one EVER hit them harder in their careers than Foreman. Even before his comebacks George still had one of the most impressive boxing records of most heavyweights.
Tyson fought a bunch of punks! Put him in with big George Foreman, Smokin' Joe, The Greatest Ali, Ken Norton, and even Larry Holmes and any one of them would have taken him out to the woodshed. 1965 to 1975 was the best for heavyweights. The division was a joke when Tyson fought: Tubbs, Tucker, Mathis, Bonecrusher, pleaasseee give me a break.
Mike Tyson was a hoax. He looked great knocking out off duty cops and part time janitors, but name one quality heavyweight that he beat. Trevor Berbick was a tomato can when Holmes whipped him, Michael Spinks was an overblown light heavy, and after that he's got no-names on his resume. The only decent heavyweights he ever fought kicked his ass. Hell, he got knocked out by BUSTER DOUGLAS! Please.
no julio cesar chavez. am suprised no mexican boxers are on this list
Like Tiger using Jack as a model and the mark of excellence in his sport, Ali did the same with Sugar Ray Robinson in boxing. Both took the sport to another level inside and outside of the sport arena. Ali's unprecedented presence on a world stage and his accomplisments in the rings, in my opinion, makes him the "greatest of all time."
Sugar Ray Robinson was clearly the best "pound for pound" boxer of all time. Then it's Ali. It's fun to talk about who was better, Ali in his prime OR Tyson in his prime. BUT all things considered, Ali wins. Opponents (Ali fought in the heyday of boxing with better boxers in the division at the time), strategy (Ali would have analyzed weaknesses in Tyson and found a way to intimidate the intimidator), tactics (Ali was multidemential in both offense and defense, all his opponents admit he was the most difficult to hit in his prime...e.g. cleveland williams fight) style vs style (matador vs bull...matador usually wins), stamina (tyson never went into the later rounds in his prime...if a boxer could avoid being hit, this simple dynamic drastically tips favor, Ali was an expert at pushing to later rounds), etc.
How about Roberto Duran and Alexis Arguello?
Good call. They definitely deserve consideration.
Robinson, Ali and Loius are no brainers, with Robinson and Ali a judgment call on #1. Jones and Hagler - though great - are the debatable ones. Easy argument can be made for Marciano to take one of those spots - undefeated heavyweight in an era of strong fighters that took on all comers - how can he not be on the list?
Then that fifth spot - oh my. Tyson? A monster yes - but who did he really fight? Not his fault, mind you - but who? Tomato cans, for the most part.
Fifth is a toss up for me - Hagler, Jones, Duran, Ray Leondard, Chavez, Jack Johnson - lots of possibilities.
I think it's a crying shame that we're listing the 5 Greatest Boxers of All Time and Peter McNeely is not on the list. How could anyone forget what The Hurricane has done for this great sport?
Rocky Marcianno
Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson, and Sweetpea Whitaker.
Sweet Pea Whitaker??? You should sit back and let the grownups talk.
Marciano (Never Lost) and Sugar Ray has to be in the top 5. I think Ali was more mouth than a real skilled boxer.
I was never a big fan of boxing but my father, born in 1904 was as huge a boxing fan as they come. He saw them all in their prime so I respect what he told me. He said before he died in 1984 that he absolutely HATED, DETESTED...Cassius Clay. Would not call him Muhammad Ali if he were being paid to do it. Didn't like his showmanship and mouth. But he also said, without a doubt, Ali was the GREATEST FIGHTER HE'D EVER SEEN.
The best has to be Ali. People forget that he did not fight in his prime because he would not report for duty in the Army. Have all those other fighters that peole think are the best and have them not fight for 4 years. He was big, he was fast, and he was pretty.
Also, if you notice, Ali never ever threw punches to the body. How unorthodox is that? Yet he still managed to win, by just throwing punches to the head. Just goes to show how fast he was!