Greatest Boxer in the World – Top 10 List: Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Jack Dempsey, and Roberto Duran are widely recognized as some of the greatest boxers of all time, each with their unique fighting styles, impressive records, and unforgettable moments in the ring. Their contributions to the sport have firmly established their places in boxing history, inspiring admiration and awe among fans worldwide.
This article will discuss the greatest boxers of all time, highlighting their extraordinary achievements, unmatched skills, and lasting impact on the sport.
Table of Content
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Rank |
Boxer |
Achievements |
|---|---|---|
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1. |
Muhammad Ali |
56 wins, Olympic gold medalist, heavyweight champion |
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2. |
Joe Louis |
Longest-reigning heavyweight champion, 66 wins |
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3. |
Sugar Ray Robinson |
2-division champion, 174 wins in nearly 200 fights |
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4. |
Rocky Marciano |
Undefeated in 49 fights, heavyweight champion |
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5. |
Floyd Mayweather Jr |
Undefeated in 50 fights, 5-division world champion |
|
6. |
Manny Pacquiao |
8-division champion, 62 wins in 72 fights |
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7. |
Jack Dempsey |
World heavyweight champion, 53 wins in 67 bouts |
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8. |
Roberto Duran |
4-division champion, 103 wins in 119 career fights |
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9. |
Henry Armstrong |
Simultaneous champion in 3 weight classes |
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10. |
Willie Pep |
Featherweight champion, 229 wins in 241 career fights |
10. Willie Pep
Willie Pep was an American professional boxer and World Featherweight champion from 1942 to 1950. He was born to an Italian family in Middletown, Connecticut as Guglielmo Papaleo. He first fought as an amateur in 1937, and started boxing professionally on July 10, 1940.
- Pep was known for his defensive skills, bobbing, slipping, and weaving past punches.
- Pep specialized in finesse rather than slugging prowess.
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He competed successfully in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s. and his achievements includes:
- In 2014 Houston Boxing Hall of Fame voted him as the Greatest Featherweight Ever.
- State University of New York honoured him with Lifetime Award of Merit
- In Ring Magazine he was ranked sixth on 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years in 2002.
- In ESPN he was ranked fifth on 50 Greatest Boxers Of All Time in 2007.
Pep’s record is 241 fights, 229 wins, 11 losses, 65 by knockout, 164 by decision, and 1 draw.
9. Henry Armstrong
Henry Armstrong was an American professional boxer who began his career on July 28, 1931. He was world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Jackson Jr. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. Armstrong was also known as “Homicide Hank,” “Hammerin’ Hank,”. He also held three world titles simultaneously.
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Major titles of Henry Armstrong includes:
- In 1936, he won the California-Mexico version of the world featherweight title.
- On May 31, 1938, he won the welterweight title from Barney Ross.
- In 1954, he was inducted into The Ring magazine’s Boxing Hall of Fame
- In 1987, he was absorbed into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
- Armstrong retired from boxing in 1945. He then became an ordained Baptist minister, opened a nightclub in Harlem. Armstrong devoted himself to underprivileged children.
Henry Armstrong record is 152 wins, 22 losses, 100 knockouts, 52 decisions, 0 disqualifications, and 9 draws.
8. Roberto Duran
Roberto Durán Samaniego is a former Panamanian professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He is known by the nicknames El Cholo, Manos de Piedra, and Rocky. He has held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. Durán is known for his ferocious fighting style, which overwhelmed most of his opponents.
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Here are some of Durán’s achievements:
- The Ring magazine voted him the fifth greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
- Boxing historian Bert Sugar rated him the eighth greatest fighter of all time.
- In 1972, he won the WBA lightweight championship with a 15-round unanimous decision over Buchanan at Madison Square Garden.
- He made 12 successful defenses of his title, including 11 by knockout.
- He retired in 2002 at age 50.
- He is also an actor known for Rocky II (1979) and Harlem Nights (1989).
Durán has won 103 of his 119 fights, 70 by knockout and 33 by decision.
7. Jack Dempsey
William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey (1895–1983) was an American professional boxer and sporting icon who held the world heavyweight championship from 1919 to 1926. His nickname was “The Manassa Mauler” after his Colorado hometown. Dempsey was so popular that he helped remake sports into mass spectator events with huge crowds and live radio broadcasts. Dempsey’s bouts drew in more fans than most of today’s Super Bowls, and his appeal stretched worldwide
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Here are some of Dempsey’s achievements:
- 1919: Became the World’s Heavy Weight Champion by defeating Jess Willard
- 1950: Named greatest boxer of the half-century by the Associated Press
- 1954: Inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame
- 1990: Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
- Dempsey competed from 1914 to 1927, and retired from boxing in 1940. He became a successful restaurant owner in New York City, and also appeared in the 1933 movie The Prizefighter and the Lady.
Jack Dempsey career record is 80 bouts, 60 wins, 6 losses, 8 draws, 50 knockouts, and 6 no decisions.
6. Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, also known as “PacMan”, is a former professional boxer and Filipino politician. He is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, and is the only eight-division world champion in boxing history. Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978 in Kibawe, Bukidnon province, Mindanao, Philippines. He made his professional debut in 1995 as a junior flyweight, and is known for winning boxing titles in more weight classes than any other boxer.
- Pacquiao’s 2015 fight against Floyd Mayweather is the best-selling fight in boxing history, with 4.6 million PPV buys. He has generated approximately $1.3 billion in revenue from 26 PPV-bouts, and was the world’s second highest paid athlete in 2015.
- He is also the first Asian four-time welterweight champion.
- Pacquiao has won 10 world boxing titles and is the only eight-division world champion in boxing history
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Manny Pacquiao has won many major awards, including:
- Fighter of the Decade: Named by the Boxing Writers Association of America, WBC, WBO, and HBO for the 2000s.
- Ring magazine, ESPN, and BWAA Fighter of the Year: Won in 2006, 2008, and 2009, respectively.
- Best Fighter ESPY Award: Won in 2009 and 2011.
- Pacquiao announced his retirement from boxing in 2021.
Manny Pacquiao has record of 62 wins, 8 losses, and 2 draws, with 39 wins by knockout.
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a former professional boxer and current boxing promoter from the United States. He competed from 1996 to 2017 and won 15 major world championships. Mayweather is known for his speed, power, and technical skill. This makes him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time. In 2018, he was the highest-paid athlete in the world, earning $285 million from endorsements and total earnings.
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Here are some of Mayweather Jr achievements:
- Has 11 world titles, including the WBC, WBA, WBO Welterweight Titles, and WBA, WBC Super Welterweight Titles.
- He holds the record for most world titles held simultaneously.
- Mayweather was named “Fighter of the Decade” by the Boxing Writers Association of America for the 2010s
- He is a two-time winner of The Ring magazine’s Fighter of the Year award i.e 1998 and 2007.
- He is also three-time winner of the BWAA Fighter of the Year award i.e 2007, 2013, and 2015 and a six-time winner of the Best Fighter ESPY Award i.e 2007–2010, 2012–2014.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired from professional boxing in 2017 after his fight against Conor McGregor on August 26, 2017. He retired undefeated.
Floyd Mayweather Jr has record of 50 wins and no defeat, including 27 knockouts.
4. Rocky Marciano
Rocco Francis Marchegian was an American professional boxer and held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956. Rocco Marchegian better known as Rocky Marciano, is the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated. He was known for his powerful right arm and being relentless, but was also considered too short and too light for a heavyweight.
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His achievements includes:
- In 1952, 1954, and 1955- Rocky Marciano won the Ring Magazine “Boxer of the Year” award.
- The magazine also named his three championship fights between 1952 and 1954 as “Fights of the Year”.
- He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
- He was also rated as the greatest slugger of all time, with an 88 percent knockout record.
- In 1948, Marciano won the Golden Glove Championship and the Packy McFarland Memorial Trophy in 1951.
- Marciano is also known for holding the record for the longest undefeated streak with heavyweight Brian Nielsen.
- He retired from the ring on April 27, 1956.
Rocky Marciano has a record of 49 fights, 49 wins, and 0 losses by knockout.
3. Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson, also known as Walker Smith Jr. was an American professional boxer who fought from 1940 to 1965. He is often regarded as the greatest boxer of all time. Robinson turned professional in 1940 and became the Welterweight Champion of the World. In 1950, he defeated Robert Villemain for the Pennsylvania state middleweight title.
- Robinson defeated many of the greatest boxing champions of his day, including LaMotta, Kid Gavilan, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilio, Randolph Turpin, and Carl “BoBo” Olsen.
- He was known for his swagger and ability to deliver a knockout blow while moving backward
- Robinson has been called “the king, the master, my idol” by world champion Muhammad Ali.
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His achievements includes:
- Robinson is a six-time world champion, winning the welterweight title in 1946.
- He also won middleweight title five times between 1951 and 1960.
- The Ring magazine named him “pound for pound, the best boxer of all time” in 1997
- The Associated Press named him both the greatest welterweight and middleweight boxer of the century in 1999.
- He announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 45, in 1996 after 201 professional bouts.
Sugar Ray Robinson’s professional record is 174–19–6 (2 no contests) with 109 knockouts in 201 bouts.
2. Joe Louis
Joe Louis was an American boxer who held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1937 to 1949, longer than any other boxer in history. He was also one of the first African-American idols for many Americans. His nicknames were “Chappy” and “The Brown Bomber”.
- He successfully defended his title 25 times, more than any other champion in any division.
- He is best known for his legendary matchups against German boxer Max Schmeling.
- Louis’s career ended in 1951 after he was knocked out by Rocky Marciano.
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Joe Louis has won many major awards, including:
- In 1993, Golden Gloves light-heavyweight champion of Detroit.
- In 1934, National Amateur Athletic Union light-heavyweight champion.
- From 1937-49, Heavyweight champion of the world.
- In 1954, he was inducted into the Ring Magazine Boxing Hall of Fame.
- In 1990, He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
- IN 1982, he was Posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Louis’s boxing record includes: 69 fights, 66 wins, 52 wins by KO, and 3 losses.
1. Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was an American boxer and activist who is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942. Ali is known for being the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship three times, successfully defending the title 19 times, and mastering the rope-a-dope fighting technique.
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Muhammad ali accomplishments includes:
- In 1964, 1974, and 1978, he won the world heavyweight championship.
- He also won the Kentucky Golden Gloves title six times between 1955 and 1960, and became the Olympics light heavyweight champion in 1960.
- IN 2005, President George W. Bush awarded him Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- BBC in 1999, awarded him Sporting Personality of the Century award.
- In 1998, Boxing magazine named him number one in a ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras, and in 1999, The Associated Press voted him the number one heavyweight of the 20th century.
- Ali also won famed bouts against Joe Frazier and George Foreman in the 1970s, regaining his title in 1974 by knocking out George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle”.
- He retired from boxing in 1981, but announced his comeback in 1979.
- In 2013, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards were launched to honor Ali’s humanitarianism and celebrate a new generation of social changemakers.
Muhammad Ali has a record of 56 wins and 5 losses with 37 knockouts.
Conclusion: Greatest Boxer in the World – Top 10 List
In summary, the top 10 list of the greatest boxers in the world features legendary athletes who have left a lasting mark on the sport. Muhammad Ali’s charisma and legendary fights make him an undisputed icon, while Sugar Ray Robinson’s speed and power dominated multiple weight divisions. Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s undefeated record and Joe Louis, whose strength and determination earned him the moniker “The Brown Bomber.” Each boxer has made history with their incredible skills and achievements which has inspired countless individuals around the world.
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FAQs on Greatest Boxer in the World – Top 10 List
Who is the only undefeated boxer in history?
Rocky Marciano is the only heavyweight boxer in history to retire undefeated. He held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956, winning 49 fights out of 49 without losing.
Who is the number 1 boxer in history?
Muhammad Ali is the top boxer in history, and is known as “The Greatest”.
Who beat the most champions in boxing history?
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has defeated the most titleholders in boxing history with 23 victories.
Who is the king of boxing history?
Muhammad Ali is often called the “King of Boxing” and is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. He won 56 of his 61 fights, including three World Heavyweight Championships, and had 37 knockouts.
Who has the most wins in boxing history?
Len Wickwar holds the record for the most wins and bouts out of anyone in boxing history. Wickwar fought 467 times and won 339 of those bouts.
Who is Muhammad Ali’s Favourite boxer?
Muhammad Ali respected many boxers, including Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Johnson, and Rocky Marciano.
Who is the most accurate puncher in boxing history?
According to Fan Arch, Willie Pep is considered one of the most accurate punchers in boxing history. Pep, also known as “Will o’ the Wisp”, was a two-time world champion and featherweight boxer known for his pinpoint accuracy and defensive skills.