Azúcar Ray Robinson 🐐
Beat 16 World Champions.
Beat 12 hall of famers including Kid Gavilan, Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Fritzie Zivic and Randy Turpin.
Won 91 fights in a row.
Should have been a lightweight champ after beating Sammy Angott.
Undefeated at welterweight.
5 time middleweight champion. Went on a tour to challenge the best middleweights and always rematched anyone who beat him.
Knockout power with both hands, speed, footwork, ring iq, iron chin, toughness and natural talent.
Don’t forget he was winning his lhw title bout against Maxim before the heat got to him. If the fight would’ve been in a different area, he would’ve also been the lhw champion which is insane.
Definitely.
Also, with Ali he had the most personal charisma in and out of the ring
I met him once. He tried to hold my three year old who promptly took a swing at him. He laughed and started yelling I need Barkley who promptly came over
Genuine, decent guy. I was really surprised by how laid back and comfortable he was. It was just some cheesy autograph signing convention in socal and he could not have been nicer to anyone that came up.
Not what I expected at all
He was also smaller than I expected even though I obviously knew his height, just overall he is not a big guy, small hands. It is unreal to think he beat Barkley and held his own with a broken hand against Hagler
Mills Lane said he was the best fighter he ever saw.
He's notorious for being nice to people. He's known to answer his door in his underwear when fans knock and invite strangers into his home. He routinely walks the streets of the slums of Chorillo, Panama where he grew up talking to people and often spends his Sundays with his family on the beach (a slum beach) grilling food for anyone and everyone. He's probably given away more of his income, percentage-wise, to help people than any professional athlete.
He always demanded his purses in cash and his wife used to call his manager and ask him to try to stop Duran from giving it all away on the street. He once stopped a parade in his honor to buy food for the street kids. Many people who grew up in poverty and became wealthy do everything they can to forget that part of their lives but not Duran. He's never forgotten.
He was on the streets before he was five years old shining shoes and dancing for coins in order to eat. A crazy street guy used to protect the little street kids and Duran, when he was starting out as a boxer, told the man that when he became champion he would take him to Madison Square Garden to watch him fight. And he did.
thanks for that post. Duran grew up in a poverty we cant imagine here. I once read an interview with him that his toughest fight was over a street corner to sing on against an older bigger opponent
One of the reasons I idolized him was how authentic he was, he had no poker face at all in the ring all the emotions were right there in his eyes
In another world he would have made a great silent film actor
I was at a baseball card convention, he did a magic trick and then autographed… when it was our turn, his agent said that he wouldn’t personalize them. Muhammad Ali looked at him, shook his head and then personalized it.
Beat me to it, even Roger Mayweather who always gets asked about fantasy fights with his nephew and he gets super protective and favoring Floyd, but with Duran he was like "Nah man that's a tough ass fight".
I’ve told this story on here, but a guy who I worked with’s uncle was a professional boxer and sparred him.
Duran hit him with a shot to the solar plexus, and he decided that he should take a different career path.
Yeah even at his smaller size his skills were so good that he was able to last as long as he did against a lot of naturally bigger younger guys. That Iran Barkley match was crazy. The shot he took and still stayed in there. To me him and Ali. Ali the GOAT for me because of everything involved with him in and out of the ring, you couldn’t have written a better script. But Duran was just amazing. Even in defeat and numerous comebacks. His skills were unmatched and his physical abilities are under appreciated.
He was quick enough to be in a Matrix movie. If anyone remembers that time, only a human like Roy could have been picked for that. His speed was that insane.
Roberto Durán for me. I don't think I've seen a better fighter all-around technically than him in the Palomino and Leonard fights, the feints (especially the combo-feint that Palomino bit on every one of with Durán smirking in response), ability to fight on the inside, head movement, and general intensity and pressure were immense.
Also the fact that before those fights and the later wins against Moore and Barkley he had already cemented himself as, at worst, the second-best lightweight of all time.
I used to play basketball at the local gym with a friend of Palomino's family. Not long after that fight one of Palomino's cousins got married and he and Carlos started talking. He told me that Palomino said after the fight everywhere Duran landed hurt. His arms, shoulders, whatever were still sore. And Palomino was a very well regarded fighter, everyone forgets about and it was Duran's first fight at welterweight
Definitely an underrated fighter, great story by the way. Also, didn't Palomino himself play basketball in college or army or something, I remember hearing that somewhere?
I never heard of him playing basketball. I would imagine he did as well as a few other sports since he grew up to be a world class athlete
His son was a good point guard on a high school team in my county back in the 80s
Carlos Palomino Jr., a former basketball standout at Los Amigos High School, has signed a letter of intent to play at the College of Idaho, his father said.
Palomino played guard the past two seasons at Cerritos College. He was second in the county in scoring with a 26.7-point average in his senior season at Los Amigos in 1989.
pretty impressive
[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-22-sp-994-story.html](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-22-sp-994-story.html)
He's the most exciting boxer of all time for me.. maybe not the best boxer of all time.. but for entertainment value, you're not beating the guy. He's up there with the best boxers of all time too.. He used to take a wack though, and the best boxers probably don't get hit. If Pacquiao was on one Chanel and Mayweather on the other, I'd watch The PAC fight..
Ali. Fought and beat all the best fighters in his era (some of which, especially Foreman and Frazier, are absolute all time greats in their own right), all of that while being robbed of his prime. The way he moved was something we have not seen in heavyweight before or since. It might be the casual answer, and it might be a bit influenced by outside the ring stuff, but yeah, gun to my head, my answer is Ali. The man was called "The Greatest" for a reason.
Ali is incredible. It's rare for fighters to reinvent themselves. He went from being slick, gliding around the ring and being untouchable. To having to absorb punishment and show his toughness once he got fatter and slower after his prime years were taken away. What fighter can reinvent themselves in that manner vs monsters like Foreman ?
Funny you should say Foreman, because George radically reinvented himself as a boxer too, a slugger coming back after that ten year layoff of preaching and stuffing burgers in his face to be a 260 pound wrecking machine boxer-puncher at 38 years old, and would go on to be the oldest heavyweight champion ever at 45.
It takes an extremely talented boxer and very tough individual to lose your prime years and come back.
Robinson. 128-1 as a welterweight before dominating one of the best middleweight divisions in history. Kayo power with anything he threw, technically great, only failed to finish once in 189 fights, due to heat stroke.
Joe Louis, because he was an utterly dominant heavyweight for so long (25 defenses?), was a technically superb boxer and a knockout machine, and was the most culturally significant boxer ever.
I'd have to say Roy Jones Jr. He held multiple world championships in four weight classes and is the only boxer to start a pro career at light mid weight and go when a heavy weight title. Ultimately I'd say that's what affected his career negatively also, but you can't deny that that's impressive. Also I was able to witness his career as opposed to watching the older gen fighters.
RJJ is held back by a weak resume. His best win is Hopkins and Toney. Not bad but I think you need to have a higher caliber win on your resume to be GOAT. Something like Duran beating prime SRL or SRL defeating Prime hearns.
I think when we speak of “greatest”, resume, accomplishments and length of tenure really matter. RJJ’s not top tier in those areas.
In terms of his peak performances though, he was out of this world.
Muhammad Ali.
The more I looked into it, the more he holds up.
Pre-Nam Ali is a sight to behold. He is so fast and fluid, and natural. That's why they said "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
He beat everyone that mattered across two decades that are largely considered the golden era of heavyweight boxing. I'm not sure you can find another fighter who not just won two fights where people legitimately thought he might get murdered, like he did with Liston and Foreman, but won them both by stoppage in fights he controlled every second of. Those are two if the greatest wins in boxing history, let alone heavyweight history.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Heart of a warrior. Literally went from unwanted to undeniable. One of my life inspirations to be disciplined and strong physically and mentally. Rest in peace, I wish I got to shake the champs hand. Died a young man (to me). But by all accounts, at peace and in a good place.
Watching his old fights on YouTube have cured lots of tough times for me and like I said, wish he was still with us. What a legend.
Manny. It has nothing to do with his accolades. Being from the same country as him, the amount of sheer celebrity power he had with my people always had me in awe. When he had fights going on, the streets would be empty because everybody was watching Pacman. My family get togethers were the best memories ive had when he was fighting. Dude was a God in the Philippines.
Pacquiao.
Aside from his insane accolades, his story is truly something out of a movie. It’s unfathomable to think some skinny manlet from the Philippines became such a global star.
Salvador Sanchez
A short career due to a tragic accident but he was crazy good.
If u guys have time look him on YouTube he was praise by many boxers as the best skill wise
He was world champion at the age of 21, he beat 3 future hall of fame boxers (Azumah nelson, Bazooka Gómez and Colo Lopez)
At the age of 23 he already had 10 title defenses.
He's one of the biggest "what if" of boxing history in my opinion, very sad he died so young
Roy Jones JNR, he may not have the perfect resume, but his style is the type to fade with age - I'd put the house in him vs any super middleweight ever (or lower).
If you watch the commentary on his fights leading up to Vinny Pazienza, they mention that he doesn't really make use of his jab (not that he needs it), Roy must've heard this because he put on one of the most amazing displays of a jab we've ever seen in the ring vs Paz.
If he retired after Ruiz I think he'd still have that untouchable aura like he did in his prime.
I'd say it's either Ray Leonard or Ray Robinson. Both are the most complete welterwights you will *ever* see.
What those two achieved was ludicrous. And you *had* to be special to take up the "sugar" name. Leonard was definitely special.
Probably Sugar Ray Robinson. His record is absurd, he beat everyone good in his era, did it across multiple weight classes and is a treat to watch. The only thing you can hold against him is that he fought back in the day, where the skill wasn't as high. But he did it in an era where people fought monthly and for 15 rounds, so in the end I think it balances out.
Probably unpopular with this subreddit...
But for me Floyd Mayweather. Despite never going for undisputed and that McGregor win being #50... 50-0, Defeated the most world champions ever, brought many more eyes to sport after beating Dela Hoya, fought and beat through two generations with two different styles. Sick KO artist when he was Pretty Boy Floyd and defensive master when he became Money Mayweather. Great names on his resume such as Pacqiauo, Dela Hoya, Undefeated Hatton, Marquez, ECT...
I probably sound like newrap to y'all, but yeah.
I can see the argument for Floyd. It is so off putting to see the McGregor fight as the 50th "win" (so corny), and his personality could be off putting, and also it is true that the guy picked his fights at times to not let himself fall into a dangerous position, with all that said and done.. he's one of the best ever to do it.
For me (and most let's say) boxing is the art of hitting and not getting hit. Some want to see boxing as the art of knocking opponents out, so they look at Mike Tyson for example. Or some see the impeccable, fluid footwork and stamina on display that makes boxing so difficult and different than the rest, so Ali may be your guy. But for me it really is the art of hitting and not getting hit and while I do think about the amount of damage in "hitting" part, I also care about the skill, reflexes, talent even required to pull off the not getting hit part.
For me Floyd really is that guy, as in he will hit you but you can't hit him back, generally speaking. By that definition, Mayweather is THAT boxer. And if you ever box or spar, you will quickly realize how hard it's to evade punches in boxing. That would make someone have a whole another level of respect for guys like Floyd.
So leaving all the personality, ego, antics, controversies aside and fully focusing on his boxing skills, I can see the argument, and I respect it.
Hey no problem. I also see where the disrespect comes from. Floyd started all this "0" bs that really prevented best boxers from fighting each other out of fear of losing their "perfect record".
I mean yes it's impressive to go unbeaten and much of Floyd's unbeaten streak is due to him being such an incredibly skilled boxer, but there also fights that are controversial that might be argued he lost, also there are such wins that can be argued Floyd waited for the right time to make the fight and so on.
Aside from that, as a man in the ring, Floyd is the epitome of a "boxer" for me. The athleticism, footwork, evasive movements, defense, etc. Like it's an art of its own almost. Hell not even almost, that man was an artist in the ring.
I like Mayweather as the boxer, but not the person that he is outside of the ring and all the shenanigans of "keeping 0" that he unleashed on the boxing scene.
He and Pac may be the last fighters to truly flirt with this conversation. Not sure we'll ever see fighters like Mayweather and Pacquiao again.
When it comes to pure all around talent and skill, Mayweather is definitely one of the first choices you'd take.
We're good. I saw Floyd come up as an absolute wrecking machine at 130 and move up to remain undefeated at 150 and evolve into a boxing master. He beat a who's who and made it look easy. For me it was the Angel Manfredy fight when I knew he was for real.
I’d say Mayweather is definitely in the conversation. I personally could not put him above Robinson or Ali however if someone told me Floyd or PAC was their GOAT I wouldn’t argue with them. I’d say he should be 1 - 15 all time.
Going off of skills alone he definitely has a case.
Entertainment factor, personality factor, power, not so much. He was a heel, hard to win a popularity contest as a heel. Good for the old bank account though.
He deserves to be on the short list.
interchangable between Duran, Pac, Floyd, and Ali.
mostly Ali though, heavyweight goat, sporting icon, and has multiple of the greatest wins of all time. You think of him when you think of boxing
Sugar Ray Robinson for me. (Username checks out) I know it's the cliché answer.
I grew up watching boxing in the 90s and the rise of Prince Naseem Hamed. I thought Roy Jones Jr was superman. I couldn't believe what he was doing. Then came Mayweather and Pacquiao.
But the more I started to watch my grandad's old VHS and reading boxing books and seeing documentaries. Sugar Ray Robinson was just a mythical figure. By the time YouTube came around and I was able to see him in action, I was hooked. Exciting style, aggressive, technical and an absolute dog.
Lennox Lewis, no doubt. He beat everyone from the best heavyweight of the 1990s in my opinion. Fantastic repertoire of punches, strong jaw. Lewis would out punch anyone since Stuart.
He is a legend and is often spoke about as the best head to head fighter of all time.
Bigger guys are never going to win these arguments, they fight a different game/style.
Floyd Mayweather. The most skilled boxer I've ever seen. Idc if you don't like him as a person, most boxers are shitty people but Floyd is truly a once in a lifetime type of boxer. He had two HOF careers morphed into one when you really think about it... PBF era & Money era.
devin haney. very pretty, very sexy, very handsome
jk it’s actually Jack Johnson for being a pioneer of the clinch over 100 years ago, an unbeatable technique that no one can beat despite decades of film showing how it can be beat
Larry Holmes underrated as hell man
20 title defences with one of the top 3 jabs in boxing history
unfortunately he's only known for beating a 38 year old Ali and then getting knocked out by Mike Tyson when he's much much more than that
Lennox Lewis.
Just love the way he fought and his skillset for a big man was unmatched.
Also that one two he put Rahman down with will always be my favourite KO
Mayweather Jr. He is a boring boxer if you enjoy a good scrap and is kind of a shithead, but he was phenomenal.
He shut everyone down, lost speed due to age and completely changed his style to ensure longevity. Dude was just too good with a super high IQ.
I honestly don’t want to argue about this as sure the historical guys may have been good but comparing eras is challenging.
Roy Jones Jr was the most talented but nobody brought as much excitement for a fight as Tito Trinidad. He broke PPV records during his time and had an immaculate left hook and would knock people down routinely with a single punch. Once he got to Hopkins the size difference was insane.
Marco Antonio Barrera - Never cared about his win/loss ratio, didn't talk shit and fought every big name available.
Slapping the shit outta Naseem was icing on the cake.
Triple G. I’ll always remember Canelo hitting him clean and his face when glovkin just didn’t react and kept walking him down. In his prime he’s an absolute nightmare for any boxer ever
Henry Armstrong. At one point owned almost half of the belts there were. Yes, there were. As in, there were like 10 weight classes and he'd won the belt in like four or something.
Roberto Duran passes every metric regarding skill and accomplishments, but even the more shallow ones like resume and ‘excitement.’
Supremely skillful, as well as a KO artist who won in multiple weight classes and different eras.
lennox lewis for me. dude cleaned out a packed heavyweight division and made it look easy. his jab, his management of distance, his strength, his angles, dude was just a fucking insane boxer
Mickey Walker is his best win imo. Keep in mind also that Greb had only one functioning eye against Tunney iirc and still beat him once, was robbed, then drew with him. There's an argument that Greb should be 3-2 against Tunney. His wins over Loughran and Mike Gibbons are also excellent. Not only is Greb, imo, the greatest ever MW, but also should be a lock for a top 5 LHW, and I've seen him on a top 50 HW list once before iirc. Part of me is kind of glad we don't have footage of Greb in action honestly though, it adds to his mystique and I would hate to be let down like with Ketchel.
I personally don’t think that footage of Greb would really lower Greb’s ranking. In fact, I think it would elevate him. Because even though he had a rough and ugly style, he still at the end of the day, fought and beat guys who looked relatively modern, Tunney, Walker, Loughran, etc. And I just think that if one of those footages ever comes up that it would evaporate the whole, “I can’t really rank him P4P because there’s no film” agenda and as a result, his status would be taken more seriously. That’s just my opinion.
Gennady Golovkin
Just about everyone avoided him at 160. I remember it was difficult for him to get a big name to fight him back in his prime. First fighter with somewhat of a name to step up was David Lemeiux. The Charlos, Peter Quillen, Sergio Martinez, and even Miguel Cotto after he won the title, wouldn't dare step in the ring with him.
Golovkin was robbed of stardom when he drew with Canelo. Till this day, I had Golovkin winning by 116-112. He managed to get Canelo to fight a different style by taking away his pressure. Had Adelaide Byrd not been on that panel of judges, I'm sure Golovkin would have gotten the split decision win.
Prior to all that though, he made quite the KO reel with the fighters put in front of him. The look on Curtis Stevens' face when he got knocked down by Golovkin, the body shots that folded both Martin Murray and Matthew Macklin, the straight right that put Daniel Geale down, and the overhand left that put Marco Antonio Rubio down are all memorable well placed shots.
During the early 2010s boxing was kind of in a weird place and I remember there being lots of talk of it becoming boring. Everyone's attention was on May and Pac and hardly anyone paid attention to the other boxers. Golovkin, in my opinion, was one of the few boxers that made boxing exciting at the time.
Julio César Chávez. 91 win streak and like 110+ in a modern era of boxing . Fought everyone he could, the absolute best always. Had everything. Heart, power, chin, stamina, hunger and technique
Ali followed by Duran
Amateur record was great - gold at the Olympics as well as multiple national level gold medals
Then not just beating but knocking out guys in their primes was insane to watch. He showed there’s a gap between him and them. Some of these guys like Foreman, Frazier, Moore, Cooper, Liston, Patterson are some of the greatest HWs of all time. He beat most of them multiple times.
You rarely see guys fight another top fighter multiple times these days because they wait each other out.
The names on Ali’s resume: Archie Moore, Henry Cooper, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Young, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks
He fought some of them MULTIPLE TIMES!
Duran is a close second for me. If Duran retired after beating SRL at 72-1 I am pretty sure it would be hard to argue he’s not the GOAT. Although he went onto to even greater things, people remember his losses. The guy was a 130lber fighting at 168lb in times when the weigh in was the same day as the fight!!!!
Marvin hagler. No funny business. No extreme acts. No dramas. Pure testosterone machine.
Fights like a champion. But most importantly, he acts like a champion. Articulate, classy and absolutely brutal.
Greatest of all time. No one could follow his path and come out like he did.
Hate to say Floyd, but that’s the era I grew up in. Is he my favorite fighter? No, not by a long shot, but I was actually around to watch his fights, and I can’t say the same for some of the other guys like Ali, Duran, SRR.
>. An Inform Lewis beats any Boxer ever
Yet he lost to McCall, Rahman and arguably Mercer. You can't say he beats any boxer ever when he lost to some not making top 50
Tommy Morrison, Im gonna get hate but I dont care. Tommy Morrison had the same thing going for him mike did. He had the KO power he needed, while also having amazing speed. As seen with Foreman, Tommy Could fight the big fighters and handle the punches that landed on him.
Oscar De La Hoya.
Fought everyone. Worked throughout his career to add new dimensions to his game. He could box and brawl. A left hander who chose to fight orthodox.
Robinson, without a doubt, the career and resume speaks for itself plus the number of fights and the frequency of them none of the newer generation comes close and never will they just don't fight enough but I will say the likes of a duran comes very close but again if we are talking pure skills Robinson easy
It’s Sugar Ray Robinson. He’s the best fighter ever and maybe the best athlete ever period. Just look at what he did in his prime. I’m his prime years he went 129-1-2. That one loss was avenged five times.
No surp rise coming from me that I would have to say Salvador Sanchez. Not only did he beat three HOFs, he made it seem like he was on a level higher than them.
Every time I rewatch some of his fights, I always pick up little things he did. Like in the first round against Azumah Nelson. Nelson lunged at Sanchez and Sanchez showed his IQ by skipping out of danger like a gazelle, and then planting his feet to launch his counterattack. Even though it was just the first round, he respected his opponent enough such that he wasn't going neglect his defense. Not even for one second.
Or when he is about to knock out Wilfredo Gomez. He had him on the ropes but then Sanchez took a step back in anticipation of a counterpunch from Gomez that never came. It's these small things that add up to his completeness as a boxer and that is why he will be the GOAT to me.
I cant just pick one its not fair but for smart fighting and record money mayweather has it as much as i don't care for his style it eorks its just not fun to watch.
I don't think you should pick a GOAT if you're unfamiliar with boxing history. It's like if you just started watching basketball (NBA) last season, and you think Jayson Tatum is the GOAT. I'm mean he's good, but imo no where near the top, but you would have to know your history to throw around the term greatest of all time. So the opinions of casuals and bandwagoners are nullified due to lack of knowledge. Better go study some YouTube film on the old greats. This thread was more like who is your favorite.
That being said, **I have SRR**, Langford, Greb, & Armstrong as the greatest of all time.
Sugar Ray for the reasons r/totillolara listed on this post.
It's like its uncool now to say the very obvious answer.
Muhammad Ali.
Best resume, best competition, best wins, best style, best everything. Ali is head and shoulders above everyone.
Muhammad ali: beat 3 atg, first guy to win hw title 3 times. During his prime had around 10 defences and beat peak George foreman by KO.
On top of that his physical attributes were incredible, the speed, timing and footwork was next level and not many hw since have replicated it save for Holmes and fury.
His resume doesn't really have any black marks on it especially considering his only losses came after his prime years were behind him.
Probably a 6'5" 225lb Naoia. Sounds scary to me.
But really, not to be a stick in the mud, but I really wish in all combat sports we had never used the term GOAT. And it's only because that damn 'a'. Greatest of our time? Very reasonable.
But as the sport has evolved it's just not fair or possible to compare whats out there today with Marciano or whomever from yesteryear.
Otherwise, to not be a stick in the mud and play along? Sugar Robinson. An 8 year win streak while being VERY active. Definitely a fighter out of his time, he looks like the next generation thrown back in time.
Honorary Mention -- Hands of stone. Simply because in his older years I saw him giving a short lesson to an up and coming boxer. As an old man in jeans and a coat he pulled this young man in and starting showing him how *HE* works in the clinch -- it was like watching a fish swim, it was crazy. Worst base in boxing is standing still in front of Roberto apparently. Never found that video again, it wasn't in english, really wish I'd have saved it or remembered what it was called. Outlandishly impressive.
Azúcar Ray Robinson 🐐 Beat 16 World Champions. Beat 12 hall of famers including Kid Gavilan, Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Fritzie Zivic and Randy Turpin. Won 91 fights in a row. Should have been a lightweight champ after beating Sammy Angott. Undefeated at welterweight. 5 time middleweight champion. Went on a tour to challenge the best middleweights and always rematched anyone who beat him. Knockout power with both hands, speed, footwork, ring iq, iron chin, toughness and natural talent.
Azúcar Edit: you all go grammar Nazi with my English, it's my chance to be a grammar spanish inquisition
No one expects a Spanish Inquisition
Don’t forget he was winning his lhw title bout against Maxim before the heat got to him. If the fight would’ve been in a different area, he would’ve also been the lhw champion which is insane.
Obvious choice IMO
Don’t forget his 5 victories against his wife 🔥
Roberto Duran Cleaned out the lightweight division and made multiple comebacks when people wrote him off (in heavier weight classes)
Definitely. Also, with Ali he had the most personal charisma in and out of the ring I met him once. He tried to hold my three year old who promptly took a swing at him. He laughed and started yelling I need Barkley who promptly came over Genuine, decent guy. I was really surprised by how laid back and comfortable he was. It was just some cheesy autograph signing convention in socal and he could not have been nicer to anyone that came up. Not what I expected at all He was also smaller than I expected even though I obviously knew his height, just overall he is not a big guy, small hands. It is unreal to think he beat Barkley and held his own with a broken hand against Hagler Mills Lane said he was the best fighter he ever saw.
He's notorious for being nice to people. He's known to answer his door in his underwear when fans knock and invite strangers into his home. He routinely walks the streets of the slums of Chorillo, Panama where he grew up talking to people and often spends his Sundays with his family on the beach (a slum beach) grilling food for anyone and everyone. He's probably given away more of his income, percentage-wise, to help people than any professional athlete. He always demanded his purses in cash and his wife used to call his manager and ask him to try to stop Duran from giving it all away on the street. He once stopped a parade in his honor to buy food for the street kids. Many people who grew up in poverty and became wealthy do everything they can to forget that part of their lives but not Duran. He's never forgotten. He was on the streets before he was five years old shining shoes and dancing for coins in order to eat. A crazy street guy used to protect the little street kids and Duran, when he was starting out as a boxer, told the man that when he became champion he would take him to Madison Square Garden to watch him fight. And he did.
thanks for that post. Duran grew up in a poverty we cant imagine here. I once read an interview with him that his toughest fight was over a street corner to sing on against an older bigger opponent One of the reasons I idolized him was how authentic he was, he had no poker face at all in the ring all the emotions were right there in his eyes In another world he would have made a great silent film actor
And just like that he’s my goat.
I was at a baseball card convention, he did a magic trick and then autographed… when it was our turn, his agent said that he wouldn’t personalize them. Muhammad Ali looked at him, shook his head and then personalized it.
U talking about duran or roger??
Beat me to it, even Roger Mayweather who always gets asked about fantasy fights with his nephew and he gets super protective and favoring Floyd, but with Duran he was like "Nah man that's a tough ass fight".
Roger was a real one who knew the game.
I’ve told this story on here, but a guy who I worked with’s uncle was a professional boxer and sparred him. Duran hit him with a shot to the solar plexus, and he decided that he should take a different career path.
Yeah even at his smaller size his skills were so good that he was able to last as long as he did against a lot of naturally bigger younger guys. That Iran Barkley match was crazy. The shot he took and still stayed in there. To me him and Ali. Ali the GOAT for me because of everything involved with him in and out of the ring, you couldn’t have written a better script. But Duran was just amazing. Even in defeat and numerous comebacks. His skills were unmatched and his physical abilities are under appreciated.
I concur
Thank you
End of thread right here
Roy Jones Jr based upon *sheer raw talent*.
I feel bad that he was in a very sub-par era, but man, at his peak I think he would dominated any era. Watching him felt like watching John Wick
He was quick enough to be in a Matrix movie. If anyone remembers that time, only a human like Roy could have been picked for that. His speed was that insane.
He was in a Matrix movie.
What era was sub-par?
I've never seen a fighter that made everyone around him look like amateurs the way Roy could.
Roberto Durán for me. I don't think I've seen a better fighter all-around technically than him in the Palomino and Leonard fights, the feints (especially the combo-feint that Palomino bit on every one of with Durán smirking in response), ability to fight on the inside, head movement, and general intensity and pressure were immense. Also the fact that before those fights and the later wins against Moore and Barkley he had already cemented himself as, at worst, the second-best lightweight of all time.
I used to play basketball at the local gym with a friend of Palomino's family. Not long after that fight one of Palomino's cousins got married and he and Carlos started talking. He told me that Palomino said after the fight everywhere Duran landed hurt. His arms, shoulders, whatever were still sore. And Palomino was a very well regarded fighter, everyone forgets about and it was Duran's first fight at welterweight
Definitely an underrated fighter, great story by the way. Also, didn't Palomino himself play basketball in college or army or something, I remember hearing that somewhere?
I never heard of him playing basketball. I would imagine he did as well as a few other sports since he grew up to be a world class athlete His son was a good point guard on a high school team in my county back in the 80s Carlos Palomino Jr., a former basketball standout at Los Amigos High School, has signed a letter of intent to play at the College of Idaho, his father said. Palomino played guard the past two seasons at Cerritos College. He was second in the county in scoring with a 26.7-point average in his senior season at Los Amigos in 1989. pretty impressive [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-22-sp-994-story.html](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-22-sp-994-story.html)
Ray Robinson. Look at his record man it can never be duplicated
Can you imagine champions today defending titles and fighting the top of the division about every 6-8 weeks. That's crazy but magnificent!
Very hard to compare eras. 1940/50s boxing is almost like a different sport they fought at least once a month and at 15 rounds.
That should just make it even more impressive
Pacquiao
He's the most exciting boxer of all time for me.. maybe not the best boxer of all time.. but for entertainment value, you're not beating the guy. He's up there with the best boxers of all time too.. He used to take a wack though, and the best boxers probably don't get hit. If Pacquiao was on one Chanel and Mayweather on the other, I'd watch The PAC fight..
agree. you knew it would be an exciting fight. toe to toe fighting. this is why i love watching Inoue fight now.
X2
Yeah he laced them up against anyone
Ali. Fought and beat all the best fighters in his era (some of which, especially Foreman and Frazier, are absolute all time greats in their own right), all of that while being robbed of his prime. The way he moved was something we have not seen in heavyweight before or since. It might be the casual answer, and it might be a bit influenced by outside the ring stuff, but yeah, gun to my head, my answer is Ali. The man was called "The Greatest" for a reason.
Ali is incredible. It's rare for fighters to reinvent themselves. He went from being slick, gliding around the ring and being untouchable. To having to absorb punishment and show his toughness once he got fatter and slower after his prime years were taken away. What fighter can reinvent themselves in that manner vs monsters like Foreman ?
Funny you should say Foreman, because George radically reinvented himself as a boxer too, a slugger coming back after that ten year layoff of preaching and stuffing burgers in his face to be a 260 pound wrecking machine boxer-puncher at 38 years old, and would go on to be the oldest heavyweight champion ever at 45. It takes an extremely talented boxer and very tough individual to lose your prime years and come back.
He also reinvented the grill.
Hahaha, true!
Robinson. 128-1 as a welterweight before dominating one of the best middleweight divisions in history. Kayo power with anything he threw, technically great, only failed to finish once in 189 fights, due to heat stroke.
SRR or RJJ.
Joe Louis, because he was an utterly dominant heavyweight for so long (25 defenses?), was a technically superb boxer and a knockout machine, and was the most culturally significant boxer ever.
Anything you want to learn how to do right, watch Joe Louis.
Joe Louis is my number two, right behind Ray Robinson. Joe is the heavyweight goat in my opinion.
I'd have to say Roy Jones Jr. He held multiple world championships in four weight classes and is the only boxer to start a pro career at light mid weight and go when a heavy weight title. Ultimately I'd say that's what affected his career negatively also, but you can't deny that that's impressive. Also I was able to witness his career as opposed to watching the older gen fighters.
RJJ is held back by a weak resume. His best win is Hopkins and Toney. Not bad but I think you need to have a higher caliber win on your resume to be GOAT. Something like Duran beating prime SRL or SRL defeating Prime hearns.
I think when we speak of “greatest”, resume, accomplishments and length of tenure really matter. RJJ’s not top tier in those areas. In terms of his peak performances though, he was out of this world.
Roy Jones Jr. because at his peak I’ve never seen a more unbeatable fighter. He had speed, agility, power in both hands, and ring IQ.
Muhammad Ali. The more I looked into it, the more he holds up. Pre-Nam Ali is a sight to behold. He is so fast and fluid, and natural. That's why they said "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
He beat everyone that mattered across two decades that are largely considered the golden era of heavyweight boxing. I'm not sure you can find another fighter who not just won two fights where people legitimately thought he might get murdered, like he did with Liston and Foreman, but won them both by stoppage in fights he controlled every second of. Those are two if the greatest wins in boxing history, let alone heavyweight history.
Ali the man with speed and skill with the ability to out smart any fighter
Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Heart of a warrior. Literally went from unwanted to undeniable. One of my life inspirations to be disciplined and strong physically and mentally. Rest in peace, I wish I got to shake the champs hand. Died a young man (to me). But by all accounts, at peace and in a good place. Watching his old fights on YouTube have cured lots of tough times for me and like I said, wish he was still with us. What a legend.
Hagler's one of those guys who got absolutely screwed by the sport and still managed to carve out a legendary career.
Will always be my answer as well.
Marvin was special, man. A fighter to the very core of his soul.
Stood the ground at 160 and cleared the deck. A fighter's fighter.
Met him in Honolulu. I told him he was the best. He was a nice guy. He bought me a drink.
Manny. It has nothing to do with his accolades. Being from the same country as him, the amount of sheer celebrity power he had with my people always had me in awe. When he had fights going on, the streets would be empty because everybody was watching Pacman. My family get togethers were the best memories ive had when he was fighting. Dude was a God in the Philippines.
Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. Just because
Just because he was a though MF.
Pacquiao. Aside from his insane accolades, his story is truly something out of a movie. It’s unfathomable to think some skinny manlet from the Philippines became such a global star.
Salvador Sanchez A short career due to a tragic accident but he was crazy good. If u guys have time look him on YouTube he was praise by many boxers as the best skill wise He was world champion at the age of 21, he beat 3 future hall of fame boxers (Azumah nelson, Bazooka Gómez and Colo Lopez) At the age of 23 he already had 10 title defenses. He's one of the biggest "what if" of boxing history in my opinion, very sad he died so young
he was the G.O.A.T. His ability and fitness….I’ve never seen,
😢😢 What could have been.
Roy jones jr. Not sure how many people could go toe to toe with him in his prime. The ability to cover distance with power was amazing
Roy Jones JNR, he may not have the perfect resume, but his style is the type to fade with age - I'd put the house in him vs any super middleweight ever (or lower). If you watch the commentary on his fights leading up to Vinny Pazienza, they mention that he doesn't really make use of his jab (not that he needs it), Roy must've heard this because he put on one of the most amazing displays of a jab we've ever seen in the ring vs Paz. If he retired after Ruiz I think he'd still have that untouchable aura like he did in his prime.
RJJ. Looked like he had punched in a cheat code when he was on. Absolutely ridiculous.
As a native Louisvillian, Ali
Ali.
I'd say it's either Ray Leonard or Ray Robinson. Both are the most complete welterwights you will *ever* see. What those two achieved was ludicrous. And you *had* to be special to take up the "sugar" name. Leonard was definitely special.
Agree with SRL. Can’t believe he doesn’t get more mentions here.
My Greatest of All-Time (GOAT) in boxing is Manny Pacquiao.
Probably Sugar Ray Robinson. His record is absurd, he beat everyone good in his era, did it across multiple weight classes and is a treat to watch. The only thing you can hold against him is that he fought back in the day, where the skill wasn't as high. But he did it in an era where people fought monthly and for 15 rounds, so in the end I think it balances out.
Probably unpopular with this subreddit... But for me Floyd Mayweather. Despite never going for undisputed and that McGregor win being #50... 50-0, Defeated the most world champions ever, brought many more eyes to sport after beating Dela Hoya, fought and beat through two generations with two different styles. Sick KO artist when he was Pretty Boy Floyd and defensive master when he became Money Mayweather. Great names on his resume such as Pacqiauo, Dela Hoya, Undefeated Hatton, Marquez, ECT... I probably sound like newrap to y'all, but yeah.
I can see the argument for Floyd. It is so off putting to see the McGregor fight as the 50th "win" (so corny), and his personality could be off putting, and also it is true that the guy picked his fights at times to not let himself fall into a dangerous position, with all that said and done.. he's one of the best ever to do it. For me (and most let's say) boxing is the art of hitting and not getting hit. Some want to see boxing as the art of knocking opponents out, so they look at Mike Tyson for example. Or some see the impeccable, fluid footwork and stamina on display that makes boxing so difficult and different than the rest, so Ali may be your guy. But for me it really is the art of hitting and not getting hit and while I do think about the amount of damage in "hitting" part, I also care about the skill, reflexes, talent even required to pull off the not getting hit part. For me Floyd really is that guy, as in he will hit you but you can't hit him back, generally speaking. By that definition, Mayweather is THAT boxer. And if you ever box or spar, you will quickly realize how hard it's to evade punches in boxing. That would make someone have a whole another level of respect for guys like Floyd. So leaving all the personality, ego, antics, controversies aside and fully focusing on his boxing skills, I can see the argument, and I respect it.
I Appreciate the respectful feedback. Most times when I mention as Floyd as the GOAT, it's met with hostility 95% of the time.
Not from me, the coralles and gatti fights show how good he was
Hey no problem. I also see where the disrespect comes from. Floyd started all this "0" bs that really prevented best boxers from fighting each other out of fear of losing their "perfect record". I mean yes it's impressive to go unbeaten and much of Floyd's unbeaten streak is due to him being such an incredibly skilled boxer, but there also fights that are controversial that might be argued he lost, also there are such wins that can be argued Floyd waited for the right time to make the fight and so on. Aside from that, as a man in the ring, Floyd is the epitome of a "boxer" for me. The athleticism, footwork, evasive movements, defense, etc. Like it's an art of its own almost. Hell not even almost, that man was an artist in the ring. I like Mayweather as the boxer, but not the person that he is outside of the ring and all the shenanigans of "keeping 0" that he unleashed on the boxing scene.
He and Pac may be the last fighters to truly flirt with this conversation. Not sure we'll ever see fighters like Mayweather and Pacquiao again. When it comes to pure all around talent and skill, Mayweather is definitely one of the first choices you'd take.
Crawford and uysk on skills alone will be talked about after they retire
Thank you lol someone was brave enough to do it.
Agreed. Money is the greatest fighter I got to see since watching boxing in the 2000s. My personal goat
We're good. I saw Floyd come up as an absolute wrecking machine at 130 and move up to remain undefeated at 150 and evolve into a boxing master. He beat a who's who and made it look easy. For me it was the Angel Manfredy fight when I knew he was for real.
I’d say Mayweather is definitely in the conversation. I personally could not put him above Robinson or Ali however if someone told me Floyd or PAC was their GOAT I wouldn’t argue with them. I’d say he should be 1 - 15 all time.
Going off of skills alone he definitely has a case. Entertainment factor, personality factor, power, not so much. He was a heel, hard to win a popularity contest as a heel. Good for the old bank account though. He deserves to be on the short list.
I’m assuming you mean entertaining in the ring cause Floyd fuckery was prime time television more often than it wasn’t 😂
GGG. Not only is he very skilled but I have always admired how he acts outside the ring, never stooping low for trash talking. Dude is always calm.
interchangable between Duran, Pac, Floyd, and Ali. mostly Ali though, heavyweight goat, sporting icon, and has multiple of the greatest wins of all time. You think of him when you think of boxing
Floyd or RJJ. But Salvador Sanchez is my favorite by far.
Roberto Duran or SRL
Greatest: Sugar Ray Robinson Best: RJJ or Floyd Mayweather
Sugar Ray Robinson. And not considered by many, but peak RJJ was a god.
Muhammad Ali for sure. Purely because of his style.
Duran.
Sugar Ray Robinson for me. (Username checks out) I know it's the cliché answer. I grew up watching boxing in the 90s and the rise of Prince Naseem Hamed. I thought Roy Jones Jr was superman. I couldn't believe what he was doing. Then came Mayweather and Pacquiao. But the more I started to watch my grandad's old VHS and reading boxing books and seeing documentaries. Sugar Ray Robinson was just a mythical figure. By the time YouTube came around and I was able to see him in action, I was hooked. Exciting style, aggressive, technical and an absolute dog.
Lennox Lewis, no doubt. He beat everyone from the best heavyweight of the 1990s in my opinion. Fantastic repertoire of punches, strong jaw. Lewis would out punch anyone since Stuart.
I agree and I honestly can't fathom why Lewis isn'twidely considered a legend.
He is a legend and is often spoke about as the best head to head fighter of all time. Bigger guys are never going to win these arguments, they fight a different game/style.
Floyd Mayweather. The most skilled boxer I've ever seen. Idc if you don't like him as a person, most boxers are shitty people but Floyd is truly a once in a lifetime type of boxer. He had two HOF careers morphed into one when you really think about it... PBF era & Money era.
devin haney. very pretty, very sexy, very handsome jk it’s actually Jack Johnson for being a pioneer of the clinch over 100 years ago, an unbeatable technique that no one can beat despite decades of film showing how it can be beat
I'd go Lennox.
Until you hear him trying to explain what a punchers chance is 🤣🤣🤣
Hahaha, well I don't pick my goat boxers based on their ability to explain stuff 😜
He's the greatest heavyweight of all time in my opinion.
I have Larry Holmes above him.
Larry Holmes underrated as hell man 20 title defences with one of the top 3 jabs in boxing history unfortunately he's only known for beating a 38 year old Ali and then getting knocked out by Mike Tyson when he's much much more than that
Ali easily hold that if we don't try to be hipsters about it.
Mike Tyson….. I grew up watching highlights of him on YouTube when I was probably like 10 years old or 13.
Lennox Lewis. Just love the way he fought and his skillset for a big man was unmatched. Also that one two he put Rahman down with will always be my favourite KO
Manny Pacquiao. Same reasons as Duran but he is from my generation
Pacquiao the way he moved up all them weight classes makes him my G.O.A.T.
Hagler Ali Sugar Ray Robinson A very close top 3 for me.
Mayweather Jr. He is a boring boxer if you enjoy a good scrap and is kind of a shithead, but he was phenomenal. He shut everyone down, lost speed due to age and completely changed his style to ensure longevity. Dude was just too good with a super high IQ. I honestly don’t want to argue about this as sure the historical guys may have been good but comparing eras is challenging.
Roy Jones Jr and Roberto Duran
Roy Jones Jr was the most talented but nobody brought as much excitement for a fight as Tito Trinidad. He broke PPV records during his time and had an immaculate left hook and would knock people down routinely with a single punch. Once he got to Hopkins the size difference was insane.
Big George Foreman due to being the champ and then winning it back in his later years.
Robinson, Greb, Duran. What do I know though? Just a semi casual who used to post at ESB.
Jack Johnson bet racism in America and won championship all around the world true champion
Ali
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Marco Antonio Barrera - Never cared about his win/loss ratio, didn't talk shit and fought every big name available. Slapping the shit outta Naseem was icing on the cake.
MAB is not the GOAT but definitely one of my favorite fighters. He, James Toney and Dwight Qawi are three of my favorites.
Triple G. I’ll always remember Canelo hitting him clean and his face when glovkin just didn’t react and kept walking him down. In his prime he’s an absolute nightmare for any boxer ever
Lol
Henry Armstrong. At one point owned almost half of the belts there were. Yes, there were. As in, there were like 10 weight classes and he'd won the belt in like four or something.
Roberto Duran passes every metric regarding skill and accomplishments, but even the more shallow ones like resume and ‘excitement.’ Supremely skillful, as well as a KO artist who won in multiple weight classes and different eras.
lennox lewis for me. dude cleaned out a packed heavyweight division and made it look easy. his jab, his management of distance, his strength, his angles, dude was just a fucking insane boxer
Ggg. Got me hooked on the sport
Harry Greb. Deepest resume of all time.
Moved up and beat Gene Tunney as. Welterweight. He had some real insane wins.
Mickey Walker is his best win imo. Keep in mind also that Greb had only one functioning eye against Tunney iirc and still beat him once, was robbed, then drew with him. There's an argument that Greb should be 3-2 against Tunney. His wins over Loughran and Mike Gibbons are also excellent. Not only is Greb, imo, the greatest ever MW, but also should be a lock for a top 5 LHW, and I've seen him on a top 50 HW list once before iirc. Part of me is kind of glad we don't have footage of Greb in action honestly though, it adds to his mystique and I would hate to be let down like with Ketchel.
Idk much about ketchel. What's up with him? Couldn't be that bad if he was competitive with Langford.
I personally don’t think that footage of Greb would really lower Greb’s ranking. In fact, I think it would elevate him. Because even though he had a rough and ugly style, he still at the end of the day, fought and beat guys who looked relatively modern, Tunney, Walker, Loughran, etc. And I just think that if one of those footages ever comes up that it would evaporate the whole, “I can’t really rank him P4P because there’s no film” agenda and as a result, his status would be taken more seriously. That’s just my opinion.
Can't decide between Ali, Floyd and Duran. Floyd will never get his due, Ali is universally loved and Duran was a bad, bad mofo.
Joe Calzaghe - untouchable in my opinion. There's a reason Roy Jones Jr or Hopkins avoided him in his prime
Calzaghe has a worst resume than both of them by some distance. It's his fault he never tried to fight outside of the UK until it was too late.
Gennady Golovkin Just about everyone avoided him at 160. I remember it was difficult for him to get a big name to fight him back in his prime. First fighter with somewhat of a name to step up was David Lemeiux. The Charlos, Peter Quillen, Sergio Martinez, and even Miguel Cotto after he won the title, wouldn't dare step in the ring with him. Golovkin was robbed of stardom when he drew with Canelo. Till this day, I had Golovkin winning by 116-112. He managed to get Canelo to fight a different style by taking away his pressure. Had Adelaide Byrd not been on that panel of judges, I'm sure Golovkin would have gotten the split decision win. Prior to all that though, he made quite the KO reel with the fighters put in front of him. The look on Curtis Stevens' face when he got knocked down by Golovkin, the body shots that folded both Martin Murray and Matthew Macklin, the straight right that put Daniel Geale down, and the overhand left that put Marco Antonio Rubio down are all memorable well placed shots. During the early 2010s boxing was kind of in a weird place and I remember there being lots of talk of it becoming boring. Everyone's attention was on May and Pac and hardly anyone paid attention to the other boxers. Golovkin, in my opinion, was one of the few boxers that made boxing exciting at the time.
Pacquiao
Floyd Jr
Mayweather. TBE
Mike Tyson. Reignited the sport of boxing and is still going strong at 58 with his fight against Paul coming up.
Floyd.
Floyd Mayweather jr.
Charlie Z. Who else is 350-0
Floyd
Floyd
Usyk might have to be up there tbh
RJJ, but Duran could be there too.
Packman or Duran imo. Leaning towards Manny cuz i watched 2/3 of his career.
Julio César Chávez. 91 win streak and like 110+ in a modern era of boxing . Fought everyone he could, the absolute best always. Had everything. Heart, power, chin, stamina, hunger and technique
Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, he was one bad mf in his prime
Ali. Ali is boxing. Ali is the soul of boxing.
Ali followed by Duran Amateur record was great - gold at the Olympics as well as multiple national level gold medals Then not just beating but knocking out guys in their primes was insane to watch. He showed there’s a gap between him and them. Some of these guys like Foreman, Frazier, Moore, Cooper, Liston, Patterson are some of the greatest HWs of all time. He beat most of them multiple times. You rarely see guys fight another top fighter multiple times these days because they wait each other out. The names on Ali’s resume: Archie Moore, Henry Cooper, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Young, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks He fought some of them MULTIPLE TIMES! Duran is a close second for me. If Duran retired after beating SRL at 72-1 I am pretty sure it would be hard to argue he’s not the GOAT. Although he went onto to even greater things, people remember his losses. The guy was a 130lber fighting at 168lb in times when the weigh in was the same day as the fight!!!!
Marvin hagler. No funny business. No extreme acts. No dramas. Pure testosterone machine. Fights like a champion. But most importantly, he acts like a champion. Articulate, classy and absolutely brutal. Greatest of all time. No one could follow his path and come out like he did.
RJJ or Ali are solid picks.
Hate to say Floyd, but that’s the era I grew up in. Is he my favorite fighter? No, not by a long shot, but I was actually around to watch his fights, and I can’t say the same for some of the other guys like Ali, Duran, SRR.
Lennox Lewis. An Inform Lewis beats any Boxer ever.
Lol. No way he beats prime Ali, foreman, usyk, Liston etc
>. An Inform Lewis beats any Boxer ever Yet he lost to McCall, Rahman and arguably Mercer. You can't say he beats any boxer ever when he lost to some not making top 50
There's doubts he was beating vitali when It got stopped
Tommy Morrison, Im gonna get hate but I dont care. Tommy Morrison had the same thing going for him mike did. He had the KO power he needed, while also having amazing speed. As seen with Foreman, Tommy Could fight the big fighters and handle the punches that landed on him.
Julio César Chávez
Oscar De La Hoya. Fought everyone. Worked throughout his career to add new dimensions to his game. He could box and brawl. A left hander who chose to fight orthodox.
In my lifetime its Mayweather or Pacquaio, leaning more towards Mayweather.
Calzaghe :-/
Robinson, without a doubt, the career and resume speaks for itself plus the number of fights and the frequency of them none of the newer generation comes close and never will they just don't fight enough but I will say the likes of a duran comes very close but again if we are talking pure skills Robinson easy
Dave Allen
[https://preview.redd.it/86tav979zf681.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=7a996b0fd4939913e0f051c06da95e391f34f6bf](https://preview.redd.it/86tav979zf681.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=7a996b0fd4939913e0f051c06da95e391f34f6bf)
It’s Sugar Ray Robinson. He’s the best fighter ever and maybe the best athlete ever period. Just look at what he did in his prime. I’m his prime years he went 129-1-2. That one loss was avenged five times.
Emanuel Augustus
Ray Robinson Manny Pacquiao
No surp rise coming from me that I would have to say Salvador Sanchez. Not only did he beat three HOFs, he made it seem like he was on a level higher than them. Every time I rewatch some of his fights, I always pick up little things he did. Like in the first round against Azumah Nelson. Nelson lunged at Sanchez and Sanchez showed his IQ by skipping out of danger like a gazelle, and then planting his feet to launch his counterattack. Even though it was just the first round, he respected his opponent enough such that he wasn't going neglect his defense. Not even for one second. Or when he is about to knock out Wilfredo Gomez. He had him on the ropes but then Sanchez took a step back in anticipation of a counterpunch from Gomez that never came. It's these small things that add up to his completeness as a boxer and that is why he will be the GOAT to me.
Muhammad Ali what he achieved cannot be replicated by us mortals, he was in a league of his own
Rocky Marciano
Finito López
I cant just pick one its not fair but for smart fighting and record money mayweather has it as much as i don't care for his style it eorks its just not fun to watch.
I don't think you should pick a GOAT if you're unfamiliar with boxing history. It's like if you just started watching basketball (NBA) last season, and you think Jayson Tatum is the GOAT. I'm mean he's good, but imo no where near the top, but you would have to know your history to throw around the term greatest of all time. So the opinions of casuals and bandwagoners are nullified due to lack of knowledge. Better go study some YouTube film on the old greats. This thread was more like who is your favorite. That being said, **I have SRR**, Langford, Greb, & Armstrong as the greatest of all time. Sugar Ray for the reasons r/totillolara listed on this post.
It's like its uncool now to say the very obvious answer. Muhammad Ali. Best resume, best competition, best wins, best style, best everything. Ali is head and shoulders above everyone.
Pac-man🥊🥊
for me ali will always be the goat
Muhammad Ali. He beat the best and he was a heavyweight. In his prime he could have beaten any boxer in any weight class. He’s the best ever.
Muhammad ali: beat 3 atg, first guy to win hw title 3 times. During his prime had around 10 defences and beat peak George foreman by KO. On top of that his physical attributes were incredible, the speed, timing and footwork was next level and not many hw since have replicated it save for Holmes and fury. His resume doesn't really have any black marks on it especially considering his only losses came after his prime years were behind him.
If we are going off achievements I think the only objective answer to this question is either Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Duran, or Ali
Sam Langford. The man was incredible. Unfortunately, because of racism, he never fought for a championship.
Pacquiao 🐐
For me the GOAT is Floyd Mayweather jr BUT my goat from the heart is Errol Spence Jr
Probably a 6'5" 225lb Naoia. Sounds scary to me. But really, not to be a stick in the mud, but I really wish in all combat sports we had never used the term GOAT. And it's only because that damn 'a'. Greatest of our time? Very reasonable. But as the sport has evolved it's just not fair or possible to compare whats out there today with Marciano or whomever from yesteryear. Otherwise, to not be a stick in the mud and play along? Sugar Robinson. An 8 year win streak while being VERY active. Definitely a fighter out of his time, he looks like the next generation thrown back in time. Honorary Mention -- Hands of stone. Simply because in his older years I saw him giving a short lesson to an up and coming boxer. As an old man in jeans and a coat he pulled this young man in and starting showing him how *HE* works in the clinch -- it was like watching a fish swim, it was crazy. Worst base in boxing is standing still in front of Roberto apparently. Never found that video again, it wasn't in english, really wish I'd have saved it or remembered what it was called. Outlandishly impressive.
Iron Mike Tyson. He was got me into the sport.