Ten extraordinary boxing accomplishments

[marbleheadmaui]

Things remarkable men have done in our sport (in no order).

Henry Armstrong Holds Three Championships Simultaneously-The thought of it just staggers the imagination. He held every belt between 126 and 147. That's the equivalent of 20 belts today, all at the same time. And he didn't beat stiffs to do it. Petey Sarron was a fine feather and Lou Ambers and Barney Ross are both HOFers.

Mickey Walker's Move Through Divisions-The Toy Bulldog was 5'7 with a 67" reach. That's about Manny Pacquiao's dimensions. He was undisputed welter and middle king. But he moved up in weight to make more money. He defeated several ranked light heavies and a HOFer in Slappy Maxie and got a draw with HOF heavyweight Jack Sharkey. Just amazing for a little man.

Muhammad Ali's Level of Competition-Ali defeated 33 ranked heavyweights. Only Joe Louis comes close. Ali went 11-3 against HOFers. Sick.

Harry Greb's 1919-In that calendar year the Windmill fought forty five times and didn't lose. Yup 45-0 in one year. And he wasn't fighting tomato cans either. He beat HOFers on six occasions and champions who aren't HOFers another three times. In other words he had a 21st century career in a single year.

Ray Leonard's Big Four-I'm not sure there is a fighter in the history of the sport who has four wins over four different fighters that is any more impressive than Leonard's wins over Wilfred Benitez, Robert Duran, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Ray Robinson's Record Before His Retirement-Ray's record when he retired was 131-3-2. In making that record he had gone 17-3 against HOFers and in an era of one belt for each of the eight divisions he had beaten thirteen champions. After taking 30 months off? All Robinson did for an encore was come back at 34 and win the middleweight title four more times.

How Jimmy McLarnin Closed His Career-McLarnin, like Manny P, began as a flyweight and won the welterweight championship. He was a man whose punch was too big for his hands. They kept breaking down on him. So McLarnin only fought sixty times. But he made them count. In his last fourteen fights he went 9-5. So what you say? Well, how about if I told you twelve of those fights were against HOFers and another was over a champion? Still not doing it for you? Let's look at some names...Ross...Canzoneri...Leonard...Ambers. Example 2,317 why records alone don't tell one much.

Pipino Cuevas Breaks Bones-One of only a handful of teenaged champions, the Mexican welter is properly in the HOF despite a career record of only 35-15. He lost six of his first twelve and eight of his last fourteen. But during his run to the welterweight title and his eleven defenses Pipino was a wrecking machine. In that run he broke three opponents' jaws, an eye socket, pushed teeth through a lower lip and ended at least two careers. Has anyone ever been more explosive?

Willie Pep AFTER the Plane Crash-At 24 Pep was the the undisputed featherweight king and is 109-1-1. In a plane crash that kills several passengers Pep suffers severe injuries including a broken back and is told he'll never walk again. How tough was Pep? Six months later he was back in the ring. Though observers say he was never the same? Pep went 120-10-0 in the rest of his career. He defeated over twenty ranked contenders and had perhaps his greatest win, a fifteen round masterpiece over his nemesis, ATG Sandy Saddler.
Len Wickwar-Who? Take a look at this. 338-85-42. Yup, that is one man's record. Wickwar was a Brit lightweight of the 1930's. A journeyman for sure. But I don't care who one is fighting, 450 fights in a twelve year career is crazy. He fought, on average, every ten days for over a decade. Did Wickwar know what he was doing? Well he lived to be seventy so his boxing days didn't ruin him.

What else ya got?

[porkypara]

Joe Louis 25 title defences.I know all his opponents were not exactly world class but it is still an amazing achevement.

[marbleheadmaui]

Joe Louis 25 title defences.I know all his opponents were not exactly world class but it is still an amazing achevement.

That's a GREAT one! And almost all of Louis' defenses were against ranked guys. He may not have had the competition Ali did, but Louis fought everyone there was to fight.

[porkypara]

I know a lot of people will disagree but I think Calzaghe and Marciano's unbeaten record is also a great achevement.

To go your whole carrer and not slip up once when your fighting world class opponents is great IMO even if you dont think they were great fighters or not.

[marbleheadmaui]

I know a lot of people will disagree but I think Calzaghe and Marciano's unbeaten record is also a great achevement.

To go your whole carrer and not slip up once when your fighting world class opponents is great IMO even if you dont think they were great fighters or not.

What's great about Marciano's is he wrecked the division. I don't know what to say abolut Calzaghe's. I mean when there is another unbeaten guy in your division and on your continent that you don't fight? How does one even know if Calzaghe was the best 168 within 300 miles?

[generalbulldog]

Jack Johnson, 1st black HW champ. Never been repeated again.

Floyd Patterson, youngest HW champ. Record hasn't been broken yet in this day and age.

[marbleheadmaui]

Jack Johnson, 1st black HW champ. Never been repeated again.

Floyd Patterson, youngest HW champ. Record hasn't been broken yet in this day and age.

Thank GOD there are people who understand Tyson wasn't champ until he beat Spinks!

As for Jack Johnson he's one of those guys the more you read and watch the more impressive he becomes. My gripe with those who want him pardoned for his crimes is he did nothing which should require a pardon. Don't honor the charges that way. See them as the injustice they were.

[ross]

I know a lot of people will disagree but I think Calzaghe and Marciano's unbeaten record is also a great achevement.

To go your whole carrer and not slip up once when your fighting world class opponents is great IMO even if you dont think they were great fighters or not.

What's great about Marciano's is he wrecked the division. I don't know what to say abolut Calzaghe's. I mean when there is another unbeaten guy in your division and on your continent that you don't fight? How does one even know if Calzaghe was the best 168 within 300 miles?

Marciano only fought 5 opponents as a champ I think?

Of modern heavies Tyson beating 3 seperate champs to unify and defend the unified championship 7 times is an acheivment.

Chris Eubanks fight schedule between the Benn rematch and the first Collins fight. 6 fights as defending champ in 94. All 12 rounders around the world.

[generalbulldog]

Jack Johnson, 1st black HW champ. Never been repeated again.

Floyd Patterson, youngest HW champ. Record hasn't been broken yet in this day and age.

Thank GOD there are people who understand Tyson wasn't champ until he beat Spinks!

As for Jack Johnson he's one of those guys the more you read and watch the more impressive he becomes. My gripe with those who want him pardoned for his crimes is he did nothing which should require a pardon. Don't honor the charges that way. See them as the injustice they were.

I feel ya. Patterson when he fought Moore for the title abdicated by Marciano due to retirement, was considered to be the real legit and new lineal champ.

Lineal Title>ABC alphabet soup title.

[marbleheadmaui]

I know a lot of people will disagree but I think Calzaghe and Marciano's unbeaten record is also a great achevement.

To go your whole carrer and not slip up once when your fighting world class opponents is great IMO even if you dont think they were great fighters or not.

What's great about Marciano's is he wrecked the division. I don't know what to say abolut Calzaghe's. I mean when there is another unbeaten guy in your division and on your continent that you don't fight? How does one even know if Calzaghe was the best 168 within 300 miles?

Marciano only fought 5 opponents as a champ I think?

Of modern heavies Tyson beating 3 seperate champs to unify and defend the unified championship 7 times is an acheivment.

Chris Eubanks fight schedule between the Benn rematch and the first Collins fight. 6 fights as defending champ in 94. All 12 rounders around the world.

The bold is just wrong. Tyson wasn't a champ until he beat Mike Spinks. He was just another strapholder. Championships are won in the ring by taking the title from the man who beat the man who beat them man. They cannot be awarded by some corrupt abc group. Tyson had two defenses as champ.

Wasn't Eubank fun? The sports needs more whacky warriors like him. How about Ike Williams in 1948? he goes 10-0, defends the undisputed lightweight title three times, beats two HOFers and three other ranked contenders. Not too shabby either.

[IamInuit]

Good stuff. Not trying to quibble but wanted to make a few comments..

Things remarkable men have done in our sport (in no order).

Henry Armstrong Holds Three Championships Simultaneously-The thought of it just staggers the imagination. He held every belt between 126 and 147. That's the equivalent of 20 belts today, all at the same time. And he didn't beat stiffs to do it. Petey Sarron was a fine feather and Lou Ambers and Barney Ross are both HOFers.

Technically he never had all 3 at once as he gave 126 up shortly after winning it in order to fixate on 135 and 147. 27 straight ko’s 1937/38. He did get all three in a span of 10 months which is astonishing. If not for the dubious draw against Garcia he would have had the 160 title also although the fight was not recognized as such by all. Several historians believe he had more like 260 fights then the recorded if you count his fights under Melody Jackson.

Mickey Walker's Move Through Divisions-The Toy Bulldog was 5'7 with a 67" reach. That's about Manny Pacquiao's dimensions. He was undisputed welter and middle king. But he moved up in weight to make more money. He defeated several ranked light heavies and a HOFer in Slappy Maxie and got a draw with HOF heavyweight Jack Sharkey. Just amazing for a little man.

The fighting Irish. Springs Toledo included him in his Gods of War series. One can only imagine what his fight with Greb was like. I read in Ring many years ago that there was a copy of that fight sitting in someone’s dusty attic. Another amazing thing about Walker is that he would at times enter the ring half in the bag.

Muhammad Ali's Level of Competition-Ali defeated 33 ranked heavyweights. Only Joe Louis comes close. Ali went 11-3 against HOFers. Sick.

Sadly there will probably never be that kind of heavyweight division again.

Harry Greb's 1919-In that calendar year the Windmill fought forty five times and didn't lose. Yup 45-0 in one year. And he wasn't fighting tomato cans either. He beat HOFers on six occasions and champions who aren't HOFers another three times. In other words he had a 21st century career in a single year.

My favourite middle weight of all time.

Ray Leonard's Big Four-I'm not sure there is a fighter in the history of the sport who has four wins over four different fighters that is any more impressive than Leonard's wins over Wilfred Benitez, Robert Duran, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Not many in history could equal that string. Quite the feat for sure. Never liked him in his day because of his personality but I sure respect the man all these years later.

Ray Robinson's Record Before His Retirement-Ray's record when he retired was 131-3-2. In making that record he had gone 17-3 against HOFers and in an era of one belt for each of the eight divisions he had beaten thirteen champions. After taking 30 months off? All Robinson did for an encore was come back at 34 and win the middleweight title four more times.

His peak record was actually 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. He fought 18 world champions and beat 10 Hall of famers. It’s a damn shame there is only one or two fights of his around at 147 with the rest being lost in a fire or whatever. Wished he would have fought Burley or others from the Murders Row other then a shot Wade.

Willie Pep AFTER the Plane Crash-At 24 Pep was the the undisputed featherweight king and is 109-1-1. In a plane crash that kills several passengers Pep suffers severe injuries including a broken back and is told he'll never walk again. How tough was Pep? Six months later he was back in the ring. Though observers say he was never the same? Pep went 120-10-0 in the rest of his career. He defeated over twenty ranked contenders and had perhaps his greatest win, a fifteen round masterpiece over his nemesis, ATG Sandy Saddler.

Peps peak record was 135-1-1. The greatest win/loss ratio in boxing history.
A defensive wizard.

Len Wickwar-Who? Take a look at this. 338-85-42. Yup, that is one man's record. Wickwar was a Brit lightweight of the 1930's. A journeyman for sure. But I don't care who one is fighting, 450 fights in a twelve year career is crazy. He fought, on average, every ten days for over a decade. Did Wickwar know what he was doing? Well he lived to be seventy so his boxing days didn't ruin him.

What else ya got?

The great Canadian George Dixon surpasses that number and by quite a bit. Some estimates have him at around 800 fights. George Dixon Biography - May Have Fought Bouts (800 ), Fought Twice in One Day, Paid Cost of High Living

Jimmy Wilde is up their to if you include his booth fights, probably close to 500.

[marbleheadmaui]

Good stuff. Not trying to quibble but wanted to make a few comments..

Things remarkable men have done in our sport (in no order).

Henry Armstrong Holds Three Championships Simultaneously-The thought of it just staggers the imagination. He held every belt between 126 and 147. That's the equivalent of 20 belts today, all at the same time. And he didn't beat stiffs to do it. Petey Sarron was a fine feather and Lou Ambers and Barney Ross are both HOFers.

Technically he never had all 3 at once as he gave 126 up shortly after winning it in order to fixate on 135 and 147. 27 straight ko’s 1937/38. He did get all three in a span of 10 months which is astonishing. If not for the dubious draw against Garcia he would have had the 160 title also although the fight was not recognized as such by all. Several historians believe he had more like 260 fights then the recorded if you count his fights under Melody Jackson.

Mickey Walker's Move Through Divisions-The Toy Bulldog was 5'7 with a 67" reach. That's about Manny Pacquiao's dimensions. He was undisputed welter and middle king. But he moved up in weight to make more money. He defeated several ranked light heavies and a HOFer in Slappy Maxie and got a draw with HOF heavyweight Jack Sharkey. Just amazing for a little man.

The fighting Irish. Springs Toledo included him in his Gods of War series. One can only imagine what his fight with Greb was like. I read in Ring many years ago that there was a copy of that fight sitting in someone’s dusty attic. Another amazing thing about Walker is that he would at times enter the ring half in the bag.

Muhammad Ali's Level of Competition-Ali defeated 33 ranked heavyweights. Only Joe Louis comes close. Ali went 11-3 against HOFers. Sick.

Sadly there will probably never be that kind of heavyweight division again.

Harry Greb's 1919-In that calendar year the Windmill fought forty five times and didn't lose. Yup 45-0 in one year. And he wasn't fighting tomato cans either. He beat HOFers on six occasions and champions who aren't HOFers another three times. In other words he had a 21st century career in a single year.

My favourite middle weight of all time.

Ray Leonard's Big Four-I'm not sure there is a fighter in the history of the sport who has four wins over four different fighters that is any more impressive than Leonard's wins over Wilfred Benitez, Robert Duran, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Not many in history could equal that string. Quite the feat for sure. Never liked him in his day because of his personality but I sure respect the man all these years later.

Ray Robinson's Record Before His Retirement-Ray's record when he retired was 131-3-2. In making that record he had gone 17-3 against HOFers and in an era of one belt for each of the eight divisions he had beaten thirteen champions. After taking 30 months off? All Robinson did for an encore was come back at 34 and win the middleweight title four more times.

His peak record was actually 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. He fought 18 world champions and beat 10 Hall of famers. It’s a damn shame there is only one or two fights of his around at 147 with the rest being lost in a fire or whatever. Wished he would have fought Burley or others from the Murders Row other then a shot Wade.

Willie Pep AFTER the Plane Crash-At 24 Pep was the the undisputed featherweight king and is 109-1-1. In a plane crash that kills several passengers Pep suffers severe injuries including a broken back and is told he'll never walk again. How tough was Pep? Six months later he was back in the ring. Though observers say he was never the same? Pep went 120-10-0 in the rest of his career. He defeated over twenty ranked contenders and had perhaps his greatest win, a fifteen round masterpiece over his nemesis, ATG Sandy Saddler.

Peps peak record was 135-1-1. The greatest win/loss ratio in boxing history.
A defensive wizard.

Len Wickwar-Who? Take a look at this. 338-85-42. Yup, that is one man's record. Wickwar was a Brit lightweight of the 1930's. A journeyman for sure. But I don't care who one is fighting, 450 fights in a twelve year career is crazy. He fought, on average, every ten days for over a decade. Did Wickwar know what he was doing? Well he lived to be seventy so his boxing days didn't ruin him.

What else ya got?

The great Canadian George Dixon surpasses that number and by quite a bit. Some estimates have him at around 800 fights. George Dixon Biography - May Have Fought Bouts (800 ), Fought Twice in One Day, Paid Cost of High Living

Jimmy Wilde is up their to if you include his booth fights, probably close to 500.

GREAT response, thanks! I didn't think Armstrong gave up the feather crown until; after he defeated Ross, but I could be wrong. The stroy on the Garcia fight is (supposedly) Homicide had to win by KO or it would be a draw...the little footage I have of a 147 Robinson is simply staggering. He is so blindingly fast and sooooo long...Wilde (one of my favorites) I knew had over 400 fights with many of those where he'd have a booth at a fair and fight all comers all day. Think he knew a little about getting it done without getting hit?...Dixon I knew had more than recorded, but 800? HOLY CRAP!...Watching Pep, even post plane crash is sometimes hysterical. He could get entirely behind guys time after time and they just couldn't keep up. The other thing about Pep people misunderstand is his punching power. He could punch, he just chose to save his hands when he could. How can we know this? How many guys KO% goes up in championship fights? Pep's did.

[IamInuit]

Good stuff. Not trying to quibble but wanted to make a few comments..

Things remarkable men have done in our sport (in no order).

Henry Armstrong Holds Three Championships Simultaneously-The thought of it just staggers the imagination. He held every belt between 126 and 147. That's the equivalent of 20 belts today, all at the same time. And he didn't beat stiffs to do it. Petey Sarron was a fine feather and Lou Ambers and Barney Ross are both HOFers.

Technically he never had all 3 at once as he gave 126 up shortly after winning it in order to fixate on 135 and 147. 27 straight ko’s 1937/38. He did get all three in a span of 10 months which is astonishing. If not for the dubious draw against Garcia he would have had the 160 title also although the fight was not recognized as such by all. Several historians believe he had more like 260 fights then the recorded if you count his fights under Melody Jackson.

Mickey Walker's Move Through Divisions-The Toy Bulldog was 5'7 with a 67" reach. That's about Manny Pacquiao's dimensions. He was undisputed welter and middle king. But he moved up in weight to make more money. He defeated several ranked light heavies and a HOFer in Slappy Maxie and got a draw with HOF heavyweight Jack Sharkey. Just amazing for a little man.

The fighting Irish. Springs Toledo included him in his Gods of War series. One can only imagine what his fight with Greb was like. I read in Ring many years ago that there was a copy of that fight sitting in someone’s dusty attic. Another amazing thing about Walker is that he would at times enter the ring half in the bag.

Muhammad Ali's Level of Competition-Ali defeated 33 ranked heavyweights. Only Joe Louis comes close. Ali went 11-3 against HOFers. Sick.

Sadly there will probably never be that kind of heavyweight division again.

Harry Greb's 1919-In that calendar year the Windmill fought forty five times and didn't lose. Yup 45-0 in one year. And he wasn't fighting tomato cans either. He beat HOFers on six occasions and champions who aren't HOFers another three times. In other words he had a 21st century career in a single year.

My favourite middle weight of all time.

Ray Leonard's Big Four-I'm not sure there is a fighter in the history of the sport who has four wins over four different fighters that is any more impressive than Leonard's wins over Wilfred Benitez, Robert Duran, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Not many in history could equal that string. Quite the feat for sure. Never liked him in his day because of his personality but I sure respect the man all these years later.

Ray Robinson's Record Before His Retirement-Ray's record when he retired was 131-3-2. In making that record he had gone 17-3 against HOFers and in an era of one belt for each of the eight divisions he had beaten thirteen champions. After taking 30 months off? All Robinson did for an encore was come back at 34 and win the middleweight title four more times.

His peak record was actually 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. He fought 18 world champions and beat 10 Hall of famers. It’s a damn shame there is only one or two fights of his around at 147 with the rest being lost in a fire or whatever. Wished he would have fought Burley or others from the Murders Row other then a shot Wade.

Willie Pep AFTER the Plane Crash-At 24 Pep was the the undisputed featherweight king and is 109-1-1. In a plane crash that kills several passengers Pep suffers severe injuries including a broken back and is told he'll never walk again. How tough was Pep? Six months later he was back in the ring. Though observers say he was never the same? Pep went 120-10-0 in the rest of his career. He defeated over twenty ranked contenders and had perhaps his greatest win, a fifteen round masterpiece over his nemesis, ATG Sandy Saddler.

Peps peak record was 135-1-1. The greatest win/loss ratio in boxing history.
A defensive wizard.

Len Wickwar-Who? Take a look at this. 338-85-42. Yup, that is one man's record. Wickwar was a Brit lightweight of the 1930's. A journeyman for sure. But I don't care who one is fighting, 450 fights in a twelve year career is crazy. He fought, on average, every ten days for over a decade. Did Wickwar know what he was doing? Well he lived to be seventy so his boxing days didn't ruin him.

What else ya got?

The great Canadian George Dixon surpasses that number and by quite a bit. Some estimates have him at around 800 fights. George Dixon Biography - May Have Fought Bouts (800 ), Fought Twice in One Day, Paid Cost of High Living

Jimmy Wilde is up their to if you include his booth fights, probably close to 500.

GREAT response, thanks! I didn't think Armstrong gave up the feather crown until; after he defeated Ross, but I could be wrong. The stroy on the Garcia fight is (supposedly) Homicide had to win by KO or it would be a draw...the little footage I have of a 147 Robinson is simply staggering. He is so blindingly fast and sooooo long...Wilde (one of my favorites) I knew had over 400 fights with many of those where he'd have a booth at a fair and fight all comers all day. Think he knew a little about getting it done without getting hit?...Dixon I knew had more than recorded, but 800? HOLY CRAP!...Watching Pep, even post plane crash is sometimes hysterical. He could get entirely behind guys time after time and they just couldn't keep up. The other thing about Pep people misunderstand is his punching power. He could punch, he just chose to save his hands when he could. How can we know this? How many guys KO% goes up in championship fights? Pep's did.

Thanks.
Just a great point about Pep and power. Rarely gets brought up. I think Wilde is the best Flyweight that ever lived and that includes Lopez. Quite possibly using the p4p equation the biggest puncher to date. Dixon is a Canadian anomaly. Fought both bare knuckle and gloved. Oh and just another tidbit. When they opened up Hank after he died, they found he had a heart a third larger then normal. Hence the long warm ups before the fight and the reason the dude could go full bore for 15 rounds. He probably had the heart rate of a bear.

Good banter man.

[marbleheadmaui]

Good stuff. Not trying to quibble but wanted to make a few comments..

Things remarkable men have done in our sport (in no order).

Henry Armstrong Holds Three Championships Simultaneously-The thought of it just staggers the imagination. He held every belt between 126 and 147. That's the equivalent of 20 belts today, all at the same time. And he didn't beat stiffs to do it. Petey Sarron was a fine feather and Lou Ambers and Barney Ross are both HOFers.

Technically he never had all 3 at once as he gave 126 up shortly after winning it in order to fixate on 135 and 147. 27 straight ko’s 1937/38. He did get all three in a span of 10 months which is astonishing. If not for the dubious draw against Garcia he would have had the 160 title also although the fight was not recognized as such by all. Several historians believe he had more like 260 fights then the recorded if you count his fights under Melody Jackson.

Mickey Walker's Move Through Divisions-The Toy Bulldog was 5'7 with a 67" reach. That's about Manny Pacquiao's dimensions. He was undisputed welter and middle king. But he moved up in weight to make more money. He defeated several ranked light heavies and a HOFer in Slappy Maxie and got a draw with HOF heavyweight Jack Sharkey. Just amazing for a little man.

The fighting Irish. Springs Toledo included him in his Gods of War series. One can only imagine what his fight with Greb was like. I read in Ring many years ago that there was a copy of that fight sitting in someone’s dusty attic. Another amazing thing about Walker is that he would at times enter the ring half in the bag.

Muhammad Ali's Level of Competition-Ali defeated 33 ranked heavyweights. Only Joe Louis comes close. Ali went 11-3 against HOFers. Sick.

Sadly there will probably never be that kind of heavyweight division again.

Harry Greb's 1919-In that calendar year the Windmill fought forty five times and didn't lose. Yup 45-0 in one year. And he wasn't fighting tomato cans either. He beat HOFers on six occasions and champions who aren't HOFers another three times. In other words he had a 21st century career in a single year.

My favourite middle weight of all time.

Ray Leonard's Big Four-I'm not sure there is a fighter in the history of the sport who has four wins over four different fighters that is any more impressive than Leonard's wins over Wilfred Benitez, Robert Duran, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Not many in history could equal that string. Quite the feat for sure. Never liked him in his day because of his personality but I sure respect the man all these years later.

Ray Robinson's Record Before His Retirement-Ray's record when he retired was 131-3-2. In making that record he had gone 17-3 against HOFers and in an era of one belt for each of the eight divisions he had beaten thirteen champions. After taking 30 months off? All Robinson did for an encore was come back at 34 and win the middleweight title four more times.

His peak record was actually 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. He fought 18 world champions and beat 10 Hall of famers. It’s a damn shame there is only one or two fights of his around at 147 with the rest being lost in a fire or whatever. Wished he would have fought Burley or others from the Murders Row other then a shot Wade.

Willie Pep AFTER the Plane Crash-At 24 Pep was the the undisputed featherweight king and is 109-1-1. In a plane crash that kills several passengers Pep suffers severe injuries including a broken back and is told he'll never walk again. How tough was Pep? Six months later he was back in the ring. Though observers say he was never the same? Pep went 120-10-0 in the rest of his career. He defeated over twenty ranked contenders and had perhaps his greatest win, a fifteen round masterpiece over his nemesis, ATG Sandy Saddler.

Peps peak record was 135-1-1. The greatest win/loss ratio in boxing history.
A defensive wizard.

Len Wickwar-Who? Take a look at this. 338-85-42. Yup, that is one man's record. Wickwar was a Brit lightweight of the 1930's. A journeyman for sure. But I don't care who one is fighting, 450 fights in a twelve year career is crazy. He fought, on average, every ten days for over a decade. Did Wickwar know what he was doing? Well he lived to be seventy so his boxing days didn't ruin him.

What else ya got?

The great Canadian George Dixon surpasses that number and by quite a bit. Some estimates have him at around 800 fights. George Dixon Biography - May Have Fought Bouts (800 ), Fought Twice in One Day, Paid Cost of High Living

Jimmy Wilde is up their to if you include his booth fights, probably close to 500.

GREAT response, thanks! I didn't think Armstrong gave up the feather crown until; after he defeated Ross, but I could be wrong. The stroy on the Garcia fight is (supposedly) Homicide had to win by KO or it would be a draw...the little footage I have of a 147 Robinson is simply staggering. He is so blindingly fast and sooooo long...Wilde (one of my favorites) I knew had over 400 fights with many of those where he'd have a booth at a fair and fight all comers all day. Think he knew a little about getting it done without getting hit?...Dixon I knew had more than recorded, but 800? HOLY CRAP!...Watching Pep, even post plane crash is sometimes hysterical. He could get entirely behind guys time after time and they just couldn't keep up. The other thing about Pep people misunderstand is his punching power. He could punch, he just chose to save his hands when he could. How can we know this? How many guys KO% goes up in championship fights? Pep's did.

Thanks.
Just a great point about Pep and power. Rarely gets brought up. I think Wilde is the best Flyweight that ever lived and that includes Lopez. Quite possibly using the p4p equation the biggest puncher to date. Dixon is a Canadian anomaly. Fought both bare knuckle and gloved. Oh and just another tidbit. When they opened up Hank after he died, they found he had a heart a third larger then normal. Hence the long warm ups before the fight and the reason the dude could go full bore for 15 rounds. He probably had the heart rate of a bear.

Good banter man.

The idea that Armstrong had to work hard for an hour to break a sweat before a fight is somewhere between shocking and literally unbelievable, isn't it? A pure physical freak. No wonder he could throw 100+ punches a round all night long. Jimmy Wilde and Finito is one of my handful of desert island fights. Two gigantic fighting spirits. Finito is longer, taller and technically a little more sound, but the Ghost hits so hard and Lopez could be reached. I'd take the the Welshman...but I'd root for Finto

[Dark Lord Al]

I know a lot of people will disagree but I think Calzaghe and Marciano's unbeaten record is also a great achevement.

To go your whole carrer and not slip up once when your fighting world class opponents is great IMO even if you dont think they were great fighters or not.

What's great about Marciano's is he wrecked the division. I don't know what to say abolut Calzaghe's. I mean when there is another unbeaten guy in your division and on your continent that you don't fight? How does one even know if Calzaghe was the best 168 within 300 miles?

Marciano only fought 5 opponents as a champ I think?

Of modern heavies Tyson beating 3 seperate champs to unify and defend the unified championship 7 times is an acheivment.

Chris Eubanks fight schedule between the Benn rematch and the first Collins fight. 6 fights as defending champ in 94. All 12 rounders around the world.

To put Eubank's name in the top ten boxing accomplishments is an insult , firstly he was WBO champion which was the weakest at the time. He wasnt even close to being the best in his division, and his choice of oponants was questionable at best , lots were just club fighters , and he rarely looked good against any of them.

Personally i think PACMAN'S jump from FLY up to JMW and retaining his speed and power is one of the best accomplishments.