18 Greatest Boxers Of All Time: The Ring Legends

Sugar Ray Robinson, originally Walker Smith Jr., is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional boxers of all time.

Robinson boxed from 1940 until 1965, competing in the welterweight and middleweight weight classes.

He won the world welterweight championship in 1946 and the world middleweight championship in 1951. He is the only boxer in history to have won five divisional world championships.

His record was extraordinary, with a huge amount of victories, including a lengthy unbeaten streak at the beginning of his career.

Due to irregularities in early battles, his exact record varies depending on the source, but he is frequently credited with over 170 wins and only a few losses.

Robinson's battles with other great boxers of his period, including Jake LaMotta, were legendary. Their fights, known as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" in 1951, are among the most legendary in boxing history.

He stepped away from boxing in 1952 but returned in 1955. He fought for several more years until finally quitting in 1965.

Joe Louis is widely considered one of the best heavyweight fighters of all time. From 1934 to 1951, he held the world heavyweight title for nearly 12 years, the longest in the division's history.

On June 22, 1937, he fought James J. Braddock to become the world heavyweight title. Over the next 11 years, he successfully defended his title 25 times, creating a record that remained for decades.

During his career, Louis had several memorable fights, including triumphs over Max Schmeling. Louis' rematch with Schmeling in 1938 was especially notable since he earned a first-round knockout, avenging his prior setback to Schmeling.

His tenure as heavyweight champion lasted until March 1, 1949, when he announced his retirement from boxing.

Joe Louis had 66 wins, 3 losses, and 52 knockouts in his professional boxing career. After announcing retirement as a champion in 1949, he attempted a comeback in 1950.

Muhammad Ali has been viewed as one of the all-time great boxers. His influence goes beyond the game to include his outspoken personality, social involvement, and perseverance.

Ali started boxing at an early age and won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960.

He became professional shortly after the Olympics and quickly rose to prominence because of his speed, agility, and unconventional fighting style. At the age of 22, he defeated Sonny Liston to become the world heavyweight champion.

Other boxing legends with whom Ali had notable rivalry included Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman. These clashes heightened the drama and thrill of his career.

One of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali retired from the sport several times but made comebacks each time. He has three world heavyweight titles to his name.

One of the top boxers of all time, Tony Canzoneri was a resilient boxer in his own right, frequently overlooked by the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, who etched his place in the history books with his brand of excellence.

He held world titles in three weight classes: featherweight, lightweight, and junior welterweight.

Tony made his professional debut at the age of 16 in 1925. With a string of outstanding victories, he soon advanced through the rankings.

Canzoneri won his first world title in 1928, defeating Benny Bass for the featherweight title. He advanced to the lightweight division and won the world title by defeating Al Singer in 1930.

In 1931, he added another title to his collection when he defeated Jack Kid Berg to become the world junior welterweight champion.

Similarly, he is one of just a few boxers in history to have won the "Triple Crown" by holding world titles in three weight divisions at the same time. In 1933, he completed this accomplishment.

Tony Canzoneri ended his illustrious boxing career in 1939. He had a professional record of around 141 wins, 25 defeats, and 10 draws.

Emile Griffith was a boxer from the United States Virgin Islands who competed from 1958 to 1977. He was noted for his outstanding skill and versatility, having won world titles at both welterweight and middleweight.

In 1961, he defeated Benny Paret to win the world welterweight title.

He eventually went up in weight class and defeated Dick Tiger to win the middleweight belt in 1966. Throughout his career, he would win and lose the middleweight belt many times.

Griffith's trilogy of battles with Benny "Kid" Paret was the most significant and devastating portion of his career. On March 24, 1962, during their third fight, Paret suffered injuries that resulted in his death 10 days later.

Aside from his fights with Paret, Griffith fought against prominent boxers such as Dick Tiger, Nino Benvenuti, and Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

One of the top 10 boxers of all time, Griffith retired from professional boxing in 1977, having an overall record of 85 wins, 24 defeats, and two draws.

The greatest boxer of all time, Floyd Mayweather is a retired American professional boxer widely recognized as one of the sport's greatest defensive boxers.

He got involved from 1996 to 2015, winning world titles in a variety of weight divisions.

Mayweather finished his professional career with a staggering undefeated record of 50 wins, 0 defeats, and 27 knockouts. His invincible record is one of his career's defining features.

He held world championships in five weight classes: super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight. His ability to dominate in numerous weight classes demonstrates his competence and versatility.

He became one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in history, bringing in large crowds and earnings for his fights. His fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and Conor McGregor, to name a few, were widely anticipated and commercially successful.

Mayweather had an interesting rivalry with Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Marcos Maidana, among others. These clashes heightened the drama and thrill of his career.

Willie Pep, whose real name was Guglielmo Papaleo, is most commonly considered one of the greatest featherweight boxers of all time.

Throughout his career, he held the world featherweight championship several times. He won the title for the first time in 1942, defeating Chalky Wright, and went on to have multiple successful title defenses.

Pep's astonishing sequence of 63 consecutive victories without a loss or draw in rounds was one of his most astounding feats, and it stood for many years.

During his career, Pep had notable rivalries, including a series of matches against Sandy Saddler. Pep and Saddler had four notable fights, with Saddler eventually stealing Pep's featherweight belt in 1948.

He had a lengthy and successful career, fighting in over 240 professional fights. He fought during a time when boxers had a high number of fights throughout their careers.

Ezzard Charles who was known as the "Cincinnati Cobra," was an American professional boxer who fought from 1940 to 1959, is one of the ESPN greatest boxers of all time.

Charles is regarded as one of the sport's finest fighters, notably in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. He is one of the top 10 greatest boxers of all time.

He had success in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight weight classes. In 1949, he won the world light heavyweight title, and in 1950, he became the world heavyweight champion.

He defeated several renowned heavyweight champions. In 1950, he defeated Joe Louis in a non-title match, and in 1951, he fought Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight title.

Similarly, he successfully retained the heavyweight title multiple times before losing it in 1954 to Rocky Marciano.

Ezzard Charles had a lengthy and successful career, fighting in over 120 professional fights. He fought several of his era's finest fighters.

One of the greatest boxers of All Time Ring magazine, Manny Pacquiao is a retired Filipino professional boxer who was one of the sport's most successful and popular boxers.

He is the first boxer in history to have won world titles in all eight weight classes. He has won titles ranging from flyweight to super welterweight.

Pacquiao, also known as "Pac-Man" and the "Pride of the Philippines," is renowned for his extraordinary speed, power, and relentless fighting style.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in several high-profile fights and rivalries. Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are among his most renowned opponents.

Manny Pacquiao challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. in one of the most anticipated battles in boxing history on May 2, 2015.

Despite Mayweather's unanimous decision victory, the fight drew massive attention and became the highest-grossing pay-per-view event at the time.

Pacquiao announced his retirement from boxing in 2021, capping off a remarkable career spanning more than two decades.

Archie Moore, widely known as the "Old Mongoose," was a professional boxer in the United States from 1935 to 1963. Moore is regarded as one of boxing's finest light heavyweight champions.

He had one of the most illustrious professional boxing careers, lasting over three decades. From the mid-1930s to the early 1960s, he engaged in a huge number of fights.

Moore defeated Joey Maxim to win the world light heavyweight title in 1952. He successfully defended the title multiple times during his career.

He had a trilogy of fights with Ezzard Charles. The 3 matches took place in the heavyweight class, with Charles winning 2 of the fights and 1 ending in a draw.

Rocky Marciano and Floyd Patterson fight: In addition to his meeting with Marciano, Moore faced a young Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight crown in 1956. Patterson won the fight via KO.

Julio César Chávez is a former Mexican professional boxer and one of the sport's most recognizable figures. He holds six world titles in three weight classes: super featherweight, lightweight, and light welterweight.

His extended undefeated streak was one of the most impressive features of his career. He went 87 fights without losing before succumbing to Frankie Randall in 1994.

Chávez has interesting fights against prominent fighters including Meldrick Taylor, Roger Mayweather, and Greg Haugen. His fights with Taylor, notably their first meeting in 1990, are regarded as among the best in boxing history.

Throughout his career, he won several world titles and set records for the most title defenses in the super featherweight and light welterweight divisions.

Despite several setbacks at the final stage of his career, Chávez maintained a high level of competition. Fights against Oscar De La Hoya were notable in the latter half of his career.

Bernard Hopkins, nicknamed "The Executioner" and "The Alien," was more than a boxer; he was a mystery, a paradox, a living, breathing testimony to the power of hard work and strategy over raw athleticism.

Hopkins has held world titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight. He is best known for his supremacy in the middleweight class, where he set a record for the most championship defenses.

He had a relatively lengthy and successful professional career, competing from 1988 to 2016.

From 1994 to 2005, Hopkins held the IBF middleweight belt for a record 20 straight defenses. During this time, he unified the championships and became the undisputed middleweight champion.

He moved up to the light heavyweight division after his dominant run at middleweight, and in 2011, at the age of 46, he became the oldest boxer in history to win a world title in a major weight class by overcoming Jean Pascal.

Bernard continued to defy age-related expectations in 2014 when he maintained his IBF light heavyweight title against Beibut Shumenov at the age of 49.

Jimmy McLarnin, the Irish-Canadian boxing great known as "The Canadian Comet," was an explosion of talent and tragedy who, despite his brief but remarkable career, left an unforgettable impression on the welterweight division.

McLarnin won the world welterweight title twice. He originally won the title in 1928, defeating Young Corbett III, and reclaimed it in 1933, defeating Barney Ross.

He had a major rivalry with several of his fellow competitors, particularly Barney Ross and Tony Canzoneri. The trilogy of fights between McLarnin and Ross is particularly well-known and is regarded as one of boxing's greatest rivalries.

His professional career has been reported as 62 wins, 11 defeats, and 3 draws.

Roy Jones Jr.'s influence on boxing extends beyond his titles and triumphs to his distinct fighting style and the enthusiasm he gave to the sport during his prime.

He is largely recognized as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history.

He held world titles in four weight classes: middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. He became the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in almost a century.

He was practically invincible in the 1990s, holding many world titles at the same time. Among his notable victories were those over James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, and Virgil Hill.

Jones advanced to the heavyweight class in 2003, where he defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title. This made him the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in more than a century.

He fought into the late 2000s, but as his career progressed, he encountered problems and losses. In 2018, he announced his retirement from professional boxing.

José Angel "Mantequilla" Nápoles was a Mexican boxer of Cuban origin who swept through the welterweight category like a buttery charm offensive.

"Mantequilla," which translates to "butter" in Spanish, perfectly captured his fluid footwork, silky defense, and deadly left hook.

He is well-recognized for his welterweight category dominance. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he held the WBC and WBA welterweight titles and successfully defended them several times.

During his career, he won significant battles over Curtis Cokes, Emile Griffith, and Billy Backus. He was a difficult opponent due to his precise counterpunching and defensive abilities.

He lost his welterweight belt to Billy Backus in a contentious match in 1970 owing to a cut caused by an unintentional headbutt. In a rematch later that year, Nápoles reclaimed the title.

After dominating the welterweight division, Nápoles went to the junior middleweight division, where he defeated Rodolfo Gato González in 1974 to win the WBC title.

In the boxing arena, Henry Armstrong, also known as "Homicide Hank" and "The Hyphenating Hurricane," was a force to be reckoned with.

He wasn't simply a champion; he was an outlier, a boxer who defied conventional opinion by winning three weight classes at the same time, an unprecedented feat in boxing history.

Armstrong is the only boxer in history to hold world titles in three separate weight divisions at the same time. In 1938, he accomplished this astounding feat in the featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight classes.

He thrashed Petey Sarron to win the world featherweight title in 1937. Before moving up in weight, he successfully defended the title multiple times.

Likewise, he won the world lightweight title in 1938 after defeating Lou Ambers. With this victory, he became a two-weight world champion.

Later that year, Armstrong defeated Barney Ross to win the welterweight belt. With this victory, he became the first and only boxer in history to hold three world titles at the same time.

Armstrong fought in almost 150 professional fights during his career.

Pernell Whitaker, nicknamed "Sweet Pea" for his very smooth, evasive fighting technique, was a true maestro of the boxing ring. From 1984 to 2001, he competed and won world titles in a variety of weight divisions.

He won the lightweight gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. His triumph was contentious, and many believe he should have received a silver medal. His outstanding abilities, however, were evident even at the amateur level.

He defeated Juan Nazario in 1990 to become the undisputed lightweight champion. In the lightweight division, he held the WBC, WBA, and IBF belts.

He advanced to the welterweight level and established himself as a formidable force. He fought boxers such as Buddy McGirt to win the WBC welterweight belt.

Pernell Whitaker, who is undoubtedly one of the 50 greatest boxers of all time, took retirement from professional boxing in 2001, having won multiple fights and world titles.

Ike Williams, often known as "The Detroit Bomber" and "The Cyclone," was a lightweight division force in the 1940s and 1950s.

On April 18, 1945, he defeated Juan Zurita to win the world lightweight title. Throughout his career, he successfully defended the title multiple times.

Ike had a running feud with fellow Hall of Famer Beau Jack. They competed in four fights, with Williams winning three of them. Their fights were heated and received a lot of attention from fans.

He successfully defended his lightweight title against opponents as formidable as Bob Montgomery, Redtop Davis, and Kid Gavilán.

Williams, who is on the greatest boxers of all time list, announced his retirement from professional boxing in 1955. Despite his retirement, he attempted multiple comebacks in the years that followed, with varying degrees of success.

In 1990, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his tremendous contributions to the sport and his accomplishments as a lightweight world champion.

He fought in around 147 professional fights, including a remarkable amount of victories and championship-level performances.