Who is the All Time Greatest Boxer?
Was Muhammad Ali the greatest heavyweight boxer ever? Not everyone will agree - there have been many great boxers over time. The winner of the poll of the greatest athletes from the sport of boxing will be voted on and the winner placed on the shortlist of the all time greatest athlete ever (all sports).
See the list below of the greatest boxers, compiled using other published lists and visitor feedback. You can now vote on who you think is the greatest of these. If you believe that there is a boxer missing from this list, please place a comment below, including any relevant details about him.
A somewhat similar poll to determine the Greatest Boxer of All Time was conducted on the ESPN Sport Science website in 2012 - the difference here was that they were looking for the greatest boxing athlete.
Boxing Greatest
Muhammad Ali is regularly quoted as being the greatest of all time, but there are many other also worthy of that title. The athletes below are listed in a rough order of popularity. Visit our boxing poll to vote for who you think is the greatest of all. There have been some great boxers in history, though many believe that Muhammad Ali is the greatest of them all - he leads the poll with about 30% of the vote.
| name | notes |
|---|---|
| Muhammad Ali | American professional boxer, nicknamed "the Greatest". He is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. 56-5 career record with 37 knockouts. |
| Manny Pacquiao | Filipino professional boxer regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40. 62-7 career record with 39 wins by knockouts. |
| Sugar Ray Robinson | American professional boxer, competed from 1940 to 1965. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, possibly the greatest pound-for-pound boxer ever. 175-19-6 record, with 109 knockouts. |
| Mike Tyson | American professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. He is considered one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. He was the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title. Won 50 (KO 44), Lost 6 (KO 5), Draw 0. |
| Rocky Marciano | American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. 49-0 career record with 43 wins by knockouts. |
| Sugar Ray Leonard | American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1997. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he won world titles in five weight divisions. 36-3 career record with 25 wins by knockouts. |
| Julio Cesar Chavez | Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. 107-6 career record with 86 wins by knockouts. |
| Roy Jones Jr. | American professional boxer who competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes. 66-9 career record with 47 wins by knockouts. |
| Jack Dempsey | American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. He won 66 bouts (KO 51), Lost 6 (KO 1), Draw 11 |
| Joe Frazier | American professional boxer. The first boxer to beat Muhammad Ali. He reigned as the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973. 32-4 career record with 27 knockouts. |
| Joe Louis | American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949, and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. Won 66 (KO 52), Lost 3 (KO 2), Draw 0 |
| Lennox Lewis | English/Canadian professional boxer, competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion. 41-2 career record with 32 knockouts. |
| Salvador Sanchez | Mexican boxer who was the WBC featherweight champion from 1980 to 1982, but unfortunately died prematurely in a car accident. 44-1 career record with 32 wins by knockouts. |
| Evander Holyfield | American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2011. He is the only boxer to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes. Won 42 (KO 27), Lost 10 (KO 2), Draw 2. |
| Félix Trinidad (Tito) | Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes. 42-3 career record with 35 wins by knockouts. |
| Oscar De La Hoya | American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008, winning 11 world titles in six weight classes. 39-6 career record with 30 wins by knockouts. |
| Jack Johnson | American boxer who became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). 70-11 career record with 35 wins by knockouts. |
| Henry Armstrong | American professional boxer and world boxing champion. 151-21 career record with 101 wins by knockouts. |
| Willie Pep | American professional boxer who held the World Featherweight championship twice between 1942 and 1950. 229-11 career record with 65 wins by knockouts. |
| Ezzard Charles | American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion, considered one of the greatest light heavyweight boxers of all time. 95-25 career record with 52 wins by knockouts. |
| Floyd Mayweather | American professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. During his career he won fifteen major world titles. 50-0 career record with 27 wins by knockouts. |
| Amir Khan | British professional boxer, a former unified light-welterweight world champion. 34-5 career record with 21 wins by knockouts. |
Related Pages
- Vote on who you think is the greatest boxer ever.
- The ESPN Greatest Boxer of All Time
- More about boxing
- All time greatest index of sports
- Other sport specific lists
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Old Comments
Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.
- Chavez has 37 title bouts, 27 defenses, 90 fights undefeated, and defeated 18 world champions. Only fighter to be crowned p4p three consecutive years. Why is Ali the greatest? (from Vic, March 2022)
- One of the greatest boxers ever, and you never hear about him: Ezzard Charles, the cincinatti cobra. He fought them all, and beat them all. (Michael, Jan 2021)
- Matty (2013)
mike tyson is the best boxer - Tyreece Williams (2013)
David Haye and Amir Khan should be on there - Dale Donaldson (2013)
Muhammad Ali was amazing - Amaeze Enyi (2013)
Manny Pacquiao doesn't deserve to be here if Floyd Mayweather isn't. Floyd is 44-0 has had 21 world title fights and has beaten some of the best boxers of his generation without ever being knocked down. Not many people can claim to have beaten Digeo Corrales without being touched, made Gatti look like a C class fighter, beat De La Hoya at his weight, was the first to beat Hatton, completely schooled Marquez, beat Shane Mosely after he had just stopped Margarito, Knocked out Ortiz in 4 rounds, beat Cotto fighting his fight and made Gurrerro look silly. He belongs on this list and in my opinion P4P has a better resume than any of these guys. Just saying - G Jose Amaeze Enyi (2013)
We're talking about "Greatest Boxers Of All Time"not "Coward Of All Time".. Pacman dominates from flyweight up to Welterweight. 8 Weight Class Division Champion! Period! Floyd ducks and picks cherry fighters! Fight pacman first. - Stan Poorman G Jose (2020)
pac got whooped by floyd. - Ruben Galindo (2020)
How can they ignore Wilfredo Gomez, his boxing record is amazing, his knock out percentage is around 88%, among the highest of all boxers. 17 defenses all won by knock outs is still the best. - Stan Poorman (2020)
Rocky marciano was the best, followed by floyd. - Samuel Kidstar (2020)
Don't forget Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns...."Boxing's first 5 division world champion. - Luke (2018)
This list is almost as pathetic as some of the comments. - Reuben Lachmansingh (2014)
Muhammad Ali's style was captivating, the quintessence of the sweet science. Despite his claim to be second to Ray Robinson, he was better than his idol, his hand speed superior. He could take a punch better than all his compatriots and he was the most resilient - Guest (2013)
i think Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer because of his record 56-5 career - Will butler (2013)
mike tyson is one of the best boxers in the world - Guest (2013)
Im not expert but this is the first list that does makes some sense. Tyson is always so low and what the hell is Holyfield doing in these lists? He was good but not that good, to be so high on these lists. Tysons ko-s statistic, youngest heavyweight who held all titles and that power and speed like middleweight fighter and unique fighting style such dominate... i dont understand.. because of the choices he made later in life? Loses to Holy and Lennox? Clearly, at that time, he was there for the money. - I would say Ali because no matter how much he ran his mouth he backed it up and he predicted the round (from abian, Mar 2013)
- You forgot the fighter who defeated Sugar Ray Leonard before the No Mas fight (from Reuben Lachman, Jan 2013)
- Manny Pacquiao is the greatest because probably no one else in the next 100 years can surpass his achievement in boxing, being an eight division boxing world champion is the epitome of boxing and maybe next to impossible to duplicate or surpass. being an eight division world champion in boxing is the greatest achievement a boxer can be. (from xavier v. alcantara, June 2012)
- Jack Dempsey?
- Amir 'King' Khan is the next Greatest Of All Time - Light Welterweight. Height, 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) (from Ariff Razali, May 2011)
- Muhammad Ali is a legend (from phelan shaw, Jan 2011)
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