Ranking the best pound for pound fighters of all-time: Part 2
Rui Zheng
05/10/07
To recap, my top 5 pound for pound fighters of all-time was led by Sugar Ray Robinson, followed by Henry Armstrong, Harry Greb, Willie Pep, and Roberto Duran. This article concludes with the final 5, rounding out the Top 10.
6.) Ezzard Charles – In my opinion, he is easily the greatest light heavyweight in history. The man who comes in second would be Archie Moore, and Charles beat Moore all 3 times that they fought, including one win by knockout. Charles’ defense and counterpunching were top notch, and his resume consists of the best fighters of his era from middleweight to heavyweight. One major thing to point out would be that during Charles’ prime, his punches resulted in the death of Sam Baroudi. As a result, the Cincinnati Cobra’s killer instinct left him. Rather than trying to knock a guy out, Charles would slice his punches in an attempt to end the fight on cuts. When he had to knock his opponent out, he would try to do so with one clean combination, and thus he gradually set his opponents up for this.
7.) Sam Langford – 
The most avoided fighter in history was overlooked for good reason. Never in history had boxing seen a man progress from a lightweight to a heavyweight with such ease and efficiency as Langford. He fought the greatest lightweight of his time in Joe Gans, the greatest welterweight of his time in Barbados Joe Walcott, the greatest middleweight of his time in Stanley Ketchel, the greatest light heavyweight of his time in Philadelphia Jack O’Brien, and the greatest heavyweight of his time in Jack Johnson. In comparison with today, imagine Floyd Mayweather fighting his way up to Wladimir Klitschko! Even when Langford was half blind and out of shape, Jack Dempsey (who was the heavyweight champion at the time) and his management still avoided the beaten warrior, stating “Sorry Sam, but we’re looking for someone easier.”
8.) Benny Leonard – Benny Leonard was the pioneer of modern boxing technique. As you recall in the days of Jack Johnson and Bob Fitzsimmons, fighters would often box with their hands down, heads up, and look wild in their swings. Leonard was one of the first fighters who began to punch in combinations and implement his gloves more in defensive techniques. Also, it helps that he dominated arguably the toughest era in lightweight history, beating the who’s who of his time.
9.) Tony Canzoneri
– One of the most overlooked fighters in history. Canzoneri started his career as a bantamweight going 28-0-3 before his first loss. By the time his career was over, Canzoneri defeated 9 eventual boxing Hall of Famers. Of course, he lost some fights to them as well, but it is expected considering his grueling schedule (fighting up to 20 fights a year sometimes). He fought for the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, and junior welterweight championships at a time when there was only one single title. In addition, he defeated one of the great welterweights in history in Jimmy McLarnin. A truly spectacular fighter of his time.
10.) Muhammad Ali – Possibly the greatest heavyweight who ever lived also holds wins over some of the best heavyweights out there. If you disregard Ali’s blinding speed, savvy ring intelligence, and superb ring generalship, you can simply look at his record and you’ll see why most everyone regards him as history’s top heavyweight. He beat Liston and Frazier twice, both of whom are Top 10 heavyweights. He also conquered the seemingly invincible George Foreman, another Top 10 heavyweight. And if you look at a tier below, he also defeated Floyd Patterson and Ken Norton twice, along with other great heavyweights such as Jerry Quarry, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Young, Ernie Terrell, and many others.
Based on my list, you might notice that only two fighters boxed past the 1970s. This is with good reason. Fighters from the past were involved in a profession that involved fighting ten to twenty times a year, as opposed to the champions today, who average around two to three fights per year. Not to mention that back then, it wasn’t uncommon for fighters to be fighting the best possible opponents repeatedly, which meant that fans got their money’s worth each time out. You might disagree with my list, but one thing is inevitable… Fighters from the past were from a different kind of cloth than fighters today. They just don’t make them like they used to…
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