The World’s Greatest Boxers of All Time

Professional boxing, despite the immense number of incoming negative factors, has been and remains one of the most popular sports, attracting fans from all walks of life. It’s a world where athletes compete not just for titles, but for the legacy they leave behind, often bolstered by huge sponsorship sums. For enthusiasts who not only follow the sport but also enjoy engaging in related activities, Staycasino offers a unique platform where the excitement of gaming can be experienced in a different dimension.

Joe Louis

The African-American son of a cotton plantation worker first saw the skyscrapers at 14 in the “motor city,” where his family moved from Alabama in search of work. From then on, the life of the Brown Bomber (Louis’ nickname) was inseparably linked with Detroit and boxing. After moving through the amateur ring in just a few years (culminating in winning the US Championship and the Golden Gloves in 1934), he competed in the heavyweight division on the professional ring for 17 years (1934-1951).

He won his first title on June 22, 1937, in a fight against James Braddock. Louis is recognized worldwide as the most successful boxer-defender of the championship title, achieving this 25 times. The Ring rightfully acknowledged Louis’ talent by ranking him number 1 in its prestigious list of the top hundred punchers of all time. Understandably so: out of 66 wins, 52 of Joe’s opponents could not leave the ring on their own two feet.

Sugar Ray Leonard

It took Bunny 20 years to move through the professional weight categories. This is how long the professional career of the Olympic champion of ’76 (Montreal) Sugar Ray Leonard lasted:

• Welterweight – up to 147 lbs (66.678 kg);
• Super Welterweight – up to 154 lbs (69.90 kg);
• Middleweight – up to 160 lbs (72.60 kg);
• Super Middleweight – up to 168 lbs (76.20 kg);
• Light Heavyweight – up to 175 lbs (79.4 kg).

Leonard didn’t have many fights in the pros – 40-36 (25 KOs). This attests to how vivid his sparrings in the ring were: elegant, soft movements, incredible stamina, and wise tactics. Masters of the ring such as Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, and Wilfred Benitez had the honor of testing Sugar’s strength and cunning.

George Foreman

“Big George” is one of the legends of world professional boxing, an Olympic champion from Mexico. He rightfully holds the unofficial title of the best heavyweight boxer of the eighties. A unique athlete whose professional career lasted (with a break) 28 years, he won his first championship belt in 1973, the last in 1994. He fought twice for the title of the absolute world champion:

• 1973 – against Joe Frazier (victory);
• 1997 – against Evander Holyfield (loss).

His fight against Ali, which took place in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974 (“The Rumble in the Jungle”), is still considered the greatest boxing match of modern times.

Big George, a pastor of a Protestant church in Houston, stepped away from sports for a whole 10 years. Thus, his achievement – winning a championship belt at 45 – is even more remarkable. Foreman’s record was only beaten 16 years later by Bernard Hopkins. Foreman’s professional technical results are astonishing: 81 fights, 76 wins (68KOs), and just five losses.

Manny Pacquiao

The Filipino welterweight Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao is the only one among the cohort of greats who has not yet ended his brilliant career. Over twelve years (from 1998 to 2010), he “conquered” eight weight categories, taking home championship belts. Moreover, for two consecutive years (2008 and 2009), he won championship belts in two weight categories at once.

Among those who opposed Pacquiao were the best lightweights and middleweights in the world at the turn of the century: Barrera, Mayweather, Hatton, Cotto, Vargas, De La Hoya, Mosley. Liberal Manny is an active politician, the richest senator in the Philippines. Who knows, perhaps after ending his boxing career, he might become a decent basketball player. In any case, the bosses of the local team “KIA Sorentos” have already offered him a one-year contract.

Teofilo Stevenson

It can be confidently stated: if the Cuban leadership had a different policy regarding the participation of athletes from the Island of Freedom in international competitions as professionals, Teofilo Stevenson would certainly have been included in the fights of the leading super-heavyweight boxers of the last two decades of the 20th century.

The king of the ring at three Olympics, he could have set a unique record by winning a fourth in Los Angeles (1984). Instead, he won at the “Friendship-84” games, and a third gold medal as a world champion in Reno (1986). In physical data, manner of fighting, and thinking in the ring, Teo was strikingly similar to Muhammad Ali. But the strongest pro and the greatest amateur among the super heavyweights never got to meet in the ring. However, his place in the top list of the best boxers of modern times is indisputable.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Representing a bright and distinctive dynasty, the unique American welterweight boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. stirred the ring for 21 years. Like many other Americans, he left the amateur ring after the Olympics (1996, Atlanta – bronze). His harvest in the pros – world champion belts according to WBC, WBA, and IBF versions in five categories (from super featherweight to super welterweight). And the statistics are simply deadly – 50 fights, 50 wins. More than half of the opponents of the counterpuncher, nicknamed “Pretty Boy,” could not leave the ring independently, being sent into knockout.

Floyd received huge fees for his winning fights. Who knows how much bigger his bank account would have been if not for the famous phobia. He missed a bunch of money, refusing fights with many famous boxers, fearing loss. However, more than once before, and let’s not mince words, after, Mayweather went against them, and won.

Evander Holyfield

A boxer-intellectual, who “jumped” onto the professional train right after Los Angeles (1984), established unique records over 27 years of his career that heavyweights will not soon surpass:

• Four-time world champion;
• Absolute champion in two (light heavyweight and heavyweight) weight categories.

In the ring, Holy distinguished himself with elegance, smart fighting, and respect for the opponent. The list of his opponents is a long list of magnificent heavyweights.

Lovers of various ratings do not particularly favor Evander, remembering how many fights he lost (10 out of 57). Viewers who attended his matches came to watch boxing, not a circus. Although, once, he involuntarily became the main character of such a circus show. The piece of ear bitten off by Tyson is an eternal reminder of that.

Sugar Ray Robinson

His real name (Walker Smith) will not tell the average sports fan anything. His boxing label (Sugar Ray Robinson, “pound for pound”) is a sign of class, quality, and uniqueness. The outstanding athlete of the mid-last century changed seven weights over the years of his career (1940-1965) – starting as a lightweight, he finished in the light heavyweight category (a total of 7). In two of them, welterweight and middleweight, he became the world champion.

A strong and well-trained boxer in the ring, Robinson led a bright, interesting life outside of it. Attempts to “pull” him to their side were not even made by the bosses of various mafia groups. In the mid-fifties, he was deservedly called the best boxer in the world. The Ring assessed Sugar’s career with a short phrase: “the best boxer of modern times regardless of weight category.”

Joe Frazier

In 1964, the 20-year-old Philadelphian Joseph Frazier won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Without being overly clever, he followed the path of most boxers of those years, turning professional (1965-1981). Joe met with the best heavyweights of those times. It was real boxing. Thus, on October 1, 1975, Frazier and Ali brutally beat each other for 14 rounds in the 30-degree heat in Manila. After one of the rounds, Muhammad uttered the famous phrase, “I think I’m dying!”.

The same had to be said by “Smokin’ Joe” himself: at the age of 65, he died in his native Philadelphia from liver cancer, developed from Frazier’s fantastic addiction to smoking. The bright, stylish African-American athlete lived an interesting life, giving the world a magnificent boxing career.

Muhammad Ali

This man is the best boxer in the world. Without a doubt, most boxing fans call him the greatest athlete in the history of this sport. The African-American giant Cassius Marcellus Clay, after a series of bright victories (Olympic triumph in Rome, world champion title after the fight with Sonny Liston in 1964), turned into a follower of the “Nation of Islam” Muhammad Ali.

For pacifists around the world, he became an icon, refusing in 1967 to serve in the army and go to Vietnam. Being stripped of all titles did not break the famous boxer: he managed to regain his championship belts, competing in fights against the greatest heavyweight boxers of the second half of the 20th century – Foreman, Frazier, Spinks, Norton, Patterson. The great American, author of the motto “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!”, had his last fight on October 2, 1980, against Larry Holmes. Already seriously ill, in 1996, Ali made the famous shot with the bow, giving the world the fire of the Olympics in Atlanta.