Timeless Queensberry Prizefighting

Our P4P Top Ten boxers that ever lived..

If you know, you know!

'My Top 10 Prizefighters of all Time'

1. Harry Greb
2. Ray Robinson
3. Sam Langford
4. Henry Armstrong
5. Muhammad Ali
6. Ezzard Charles
7. Joe Louis
8. Jimmy McLarnin
9. Tony Canzoreni
10. Benny Leonard

NOTE: I value a boxers resume and legacy as the two most important aspect when trying to determine who were the best in history and in what order a list should run. I also highly value a boxers worth as a champion and finally their technical ability inside the ropes, although this for me simply isn't as important as the other said aspects. I've drafted many top 10 lists over the last year and posted them on my page in the comment section or on various friends boxing pages, and they will look different to this list, but as you learn more and more about the deep history of boxing your opinions change and form and this list bellow is one I'm happy to stand by it.

1. HARRY GREB 298-16-19

People are going to take issue with this pick as there is no footage of Harry fighting; all we have are references from people who did see him fight or fought him, statistics, his record and newspaper write-ups of his fights. But boxing is a results based sport, and Harry simply had the best career of them all, no one beat more Hall of Fame boxers (15) and legends than him; his resume is unmatched. With tons of footage of the great opposition he often easily beat including Tunney, Loughran and Walker, we can only imagine just how great The Pittsburgh Windmill was!

2. RAY ROBINSON 173-19-6

No one should ever have Ray any lower than third on their list of greatest boxers, technically he was as good as they come and at Welterweight he was near on unbeatable and certainly the greatest 147 pounder ever. 5 time Middleweight champion and one of the four best 160 pounders ever, Ray beat 10 Hall of Fame fighters a feat just 3 men have ever bested. With many of his 19 loses coming after his initial retirement, Ray's record stood at 132-1-2 in 1952 before moving up to fight Maxim for the Light-Heavyweight Champion, a fight he was so bitter close to winning. His only loss before that Maxim loss was avenged 4 times.

3. SAM LANGFORD 178-32-40

No man in prizefighting history had more fights with Hall of Fame opposition than The Boston Terror. Sam beat 11 Hall of Fame opponents and fought HOF opposition over 70 times, a record that will never ever be matched. He is also in amongst the top 3 punchers of all time. He fought from Lightweight all the way up Heavyweight and he was arguably the most feared man of his era when in his prime.

4. HENRY ARMSTRONG 150-21-10

The first ever to hold three World Championships in three separate weight divisions and was at the time only the third man to ever win titles in 3 weight divisions, after Bob Fitzsimmons and Tony Canzoneri. He almost won a fourth World Championship at middleweight but was robbed of the decision! Henry beat 10 Hall of Fame boxers and he also holds the record for most consecutive welterweight title defences with 20.

5. MUHAMMAD ALI 56-5-0

First heavyweight to win the championship three times. Cassius Clay as he was born was an Olympic gold medal winner and for me the greatest heavyweight in history. Arguably the only prizefighter to become bigger than the sport itself, Ali remains a global sporting icon. Ali beat 7 Hall of Fame opponents, equalling the great Jack Johnson but 1 behind Joe Louis; there is no question though that Muhammad bested the far better opposition with marque victories over two of the most feared Heavyweight Champions ever, Sonny Liston and George Foreman.

6. EZZARD CHARLES 93-25-1

For my money the best light-heavyweight ever, despite never getting a shot at that title. Ezzard bested 9 Hall of Fame boxers from middleweight up to heavyweight. He fought them all, whenever and however they wanted; eventually winning the Word Heavyweight Championship in 1949 and being declared the sole champion in 1950 after beating Joe Louis.

7. JOE LOUIS 66-3-0

The greatest champion in history; Joe had 25 consecutive World Heavyweight Championship victories, including wins over 7 Hall of Fame boxers. Arguably the most textbook boxer and greatest puncher ever, Louis amassed 52 big knockouts. His 3 loses came against Hall of Fame opponents, with the last 2 right at the tail end of his staggering career.

8. JIMMY MCLARNIN 54-11-3

Besting 11 separate Hall of Fame opponents, a feat only one man has ever topped, with some of his victories being amongst the most impressive in history; Jimmy's resumé is absolutely amazing. Jimmy was one of the greatest Welterweights in history, some say top 3. With a relatively short career compared to his peers Jimmy cemented his legacy as one of the finest fighter ever by fighting the best boxers in the world his entire career, from start to finish, from flyweight up to welterweight. He beat 15 current or ex World Champions and on 5 occasions beat reigning World Champions in non-title bouts.

9. TONY CANZONERI 141-24-10

The second man in history to win 3 championships in 3 separate divisions, Tony was well and truly an amazing boxer, who also could knock you out savagely; even though he had only 44 career knockouts. Tony bested 8 Hall of Fame opponents, some of which were the finest boxers ever. He was only ever knocked out once.

10. BENNY LEONARD 183-24-8

One of the greatest defensive fighters ever, in fact for my money he is the greatest defensive boxer in history along side the great Willie Pep (who very nearly made this list). Benny ruled the lightweight division and at times went toe-to-toe in an explosive style, beating 7 Hall of Fame boxers along the way. Benny is almost always found in historians top 10 lists; with a resumé that reads like a who's who of his era at 135 pounds.

NOTABLE MENTIONS: Ray Leonard, Barney Ross, Gene Tunney, Roberto Duran, Jack Johnson, Marvin Hagler, Paddy McFarland, Tommy Loughran, Archie More, Thomas Hearns, Willie Pep, Joe Gans and Jimmy Wilde.

Still #1 🇬🇧

The greatest British heavyweight ever!

Tyson Fury Vs. Francis Ngannou, 2023?

Certainly NOT what us prizefighting fans want or deserve, especially when we could have had the first ever heavyweight UNDISPUTED fight in the Alphabet Spegetti (four) Belt Era.

But this is nothing knew, Mayweather Vs. McGregor you say? No.

On July 1st, 1940, the legendary Jack Dempsey was refereeing a wrestling match between two heavyweights sometime prior to summer 1940, when he got into a heated argument with one of the participants, a man who went by the name of Cowboy Luttrell. Dempsey and Luttrell agreed after the said wrestling match to settle their differences in an unsanctioned no holds barred fight (Dempsey was to have two more mixed martial arts fights after this one, in which he was held in headlocks on occasions).

Both men wanted the smallest gloves the commission would allow and they got their wishes granted. Although a polished wrestler, who weighed almost 240 pounds, Cowboy Luttrell couldn't get his hands on the 45 year old retired ex-heavyweight kingpin -The Manassa Mauler smashed Luttrell from pillar to post, and in the second round Jack caught his man with a huge left hook which rendered him unconscious! Pictured below is Jack Dempsey punishing Cowboy Luttrell.

No school like the Old School..

Great picture of two of the greatest fighters that ever lived - Jack Dempsey and Harry Greb!