23.01.08 – By Ted Sares: This is taken from Chapter 50 of Boxing is my Sanctuary in which I listed my top 100 since 1950. Why since 1950? Because I actually witnessed each listed boxer fight (live or via liveTV) at one time or another (except Jofre). Of course, I carefully studied footage and newspaper accounts, analyzed their records, style, chin, KO percentages, skill-sets, the era in which they fought, entire body of work, quality of opposition, and other important criteria as well.
I have modified the following from the book version for purposes of brevity.
1. Sugar Ray Robinson’s final record was a gaudy 175-19-6-2 with 109 KOs. In a career that spanned three decades, Sugar Ray embodied the essence of the Sweet Science.. He was a world welterweight champion and held the middleweight title five times. He never lost to a welterweight. When he gave up the 147- pound title to challenge Jake LaMotta for the middleweight championship in 1951, his record was 121-1-2. The lone loss was to LaMotta and both draws were against middleweights. Incredibly, he was so great for so long that he won his first Fighter of the Year award in 1942 and his second award in 1951. Talk about book ends! The fact that I don’t have to say much says it all. In 201 fights over an amazing twenty-five-year career, Robinson failed to finish a fight only once when he was felled by heat prostration against Joey Maxim in a fight he was winning handily.
2. Guglielmo Papaleo, a.k.a. Willie Pep had an incredible record of 230-11-1 with 65 KOs. Nicknamed “Will o’ the Wisp” for his elusiveness, Pep is considered, along with Nicolino Locche, one of boxing’s all-time great defensive artists. He held the featherweight title for six years and outboxed all comers. He is best remembered for his physical and dirty series of fights against fellow Hall of Famer Sandy Saddler. He turned pro in 1940 and won his first sixty-three fights. In 1952, he won the featherweight title by decision over Chalky Wright. His first loss came the following year when he dropped a non-title fight to former lightweight champion Sammy Angott. He died in 2006.
3. Joe Louis. “The Brown Bomber,” 69–3 with 55 KOs, is rated by many as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He successfully defended his title an astounding 25 times. He used a lightening quick jab and was subtly deadly with one punch KO power in either hand. He was very economical, never wasting a punch, nor did he waste much foot movement, moving only as much as needed but always within deadly reach of his opponent.
He fought such greats as Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Buddy Baer, Billy Conn and many others. In 1950, he returned to the ring, but after a series of wins, was knocked out in 1951 by rugged Rocky Marciano, after which he permanently retired. When I was a kid, Joe Louis was everyone’s hero. And even as a young, albeit observant child, I was amazed at how much power he could generate with such a short punch and just how fast he threw that punch. Indeed, because of his short punches and combos, only aficionados and Louis victims really knew how fast his hands were. The thing is, he “invented” the one-two.
When he lost to Rocky Marciano, many wept including Rocky He also transcended the sport and was viewed as America’s fighter. Quite simply, Joe Louis was the most loved champion in boxing history.
4. Eder Jofre. His record was 72-2-4 with 50 KOs. Let’s just call him the greatest fighter who fought under the radar. He represented his country, Brazil, in the 1956 Olympics and then turned professional in 1957 at twenty-one. His nickname was “the Golden Bantam,” and he was one of the few champions to have never suffered a knockout. Jofre (born March 26, 1936) is considered to be the best Brazilian boxer of all time and arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time.
With one-punch knockout power in either hand, he also was a slickster with great technical skills and reflexes in the style of Sugar Ray Robinson. He had the hook and the straight right; hell, he had it all, including an iron chin. He was a classic body puncher who would wear his opponents down before moving upstairs for the kill. He did his work in a bobbing and weaving manner. Perhaps his most amazing quality was his ability to adapt. Jofre was a very intelligent fighter who could change his style to adjust to any kind of opponent. If necessary, this fistic artisan could engage in a brawl, but he could be a cutie as well, whatever the situation required.
By going undefeated in his first fifty fights, he managed to bookend his career in a uniquely positive way … fifty in front and twenty-five at the end. Even the great Sugar Ray Robinson, to whom Jofre is often compared when pound-forpound discussions take place, did not have such an auspicious start or superb ending.
Historic accounts and word of mouth are the only means of learning about this fighter’s greatness. However, there is a documentary entitled O Grande Campeão with film highlights, though most near the end of his career. It can be ordered through the Web. Dan Cuoco, director of the International Boxing Research Organization, is the best authority I know on Eder Jofre.
5. Muhammad Ali, 56-5 with 37 KOs. He was the dominant fighter of the 1960s and 1970s. A fighter of exceptional speed and flair, he won the world heavyweight title on three separate occasions over a period of 15 years, but his trilogy with Kenny Norton, two mediocre fights against Leon Spinks and controversial wins against Henry Cooper and Jimmy Young tarnished, at least to some degree, his nickname of “The Greatest.” On the other hand, his two hard fought wins against Joe Frazier, his wins over Sonny Liston, and his upset of George Foreman truly cemented his reputation. His wins against Shavers, Lyle, Williams and Quarry were memorable as well. His fight against an old Zora Folley at Madison Square Garden in 1967 perhaps showcased him at his brilliant best.
6. Carlos “Escopeta” (Shotgun) Monzon finished with a record of 87-3-9 with 59 KOs. This powerful and rangy Argentinean killing machine first captured the World Middleweight Boxing Championship in a shocking upset over the highly favored Nino Benvenuti. Who can forget the perfect right to the jaw that was the coup de grace for Nino?
Overnight, he became the toast of the boxing world. Handsome and macho, he became a superstar and a favorite of the jet set. Some said he pushed his punches. If so, he pushed over eight-seven opponents to defeat. He also became only the second man to stop former three-time world champion Emile Griffith in fourteen rounds. Blessed with great stamina and a granite chin, he seemingly was an irresistible force. Indeed, he was unbeaten over the last eighty-one bouts of his career, a span of thirteen years! Sadly, Monzon, like Salvador Sanchez, died in an car accident in 1995 at the age of fifty-two.
7. Sugar Ray Leonard’s record was 36-3-1 with 25 KOs. Like Ali, he was equipped with super speed, ability, and charisma. Leonard filled the boxing void left when Muhammad Ali retired in 1981. With the American public in search of a new boxing superstar, Leonard came along at just the right moment. Like Ali, he was another right person for the right time. An Olympic gold medal winner, he was named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s. He won an unprecedented five world titles in five weight classes and competed in some of the era’s most memorable bouts. He won the unofficial round robin of his era by beating Benitiz, Duran, Hearns and Hagler which is enough of a platform for entry into any Boxing Hall of Fame. No one could exploit an opponent’s weaknesses better than Leonard and there were few better and more ruthless closers in boxing history.
8. Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Duran finished with a 103-16 with 70 KOs record. He was regarded by many as the greatest lightweight of all time and one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters ever. He held world titles at four different weights: lightweight (1972–79), welterweight (1980), junior middleweight (1983–84), and middleweight (1989). He was also the only boxer to have fought in five different decades. After he mounted a comeback, he beat Hall of Famer Pepino Cuevas by knockout. Against WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Davey Moore in June 1983, he showed his savage side by perpetrating a brutal beat down. Finally, the fight was stopped in the eighth round as Moore was taking a horrific bloody beating. Duran had won his third world title and the crowd was up and roaring, “Dooooooran, Dooooooran.” He later beat Iran “the Blade” Barkley in a thriller to cop his final championship. Again, “Dooooooran” rang out. Talk about chills. He was an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee in 2007.
9. Sandy Saddler. His final slate was 144-16-3 with 103 KOs. One of the greatest fighters ever, Joseph “Sandy” Saddler was a two-time featherweight champion of the world, and also held the junior lightweight title. Over his twelve-year career, 1944–1956, he scored an astounding 103 knockouts. He was stopped only once in his career, in his second fight. He is best known for his savage series of fights with boxing legend Willie Pep (230-11-1). Saddler first fought Pep in 1948. Pep was the reigning featherweight champion of the world, and had an amazing record of 135-1 at the time. Saddler, who was one of the hardest pound-for-pound punchers of all time, captured the title by knocking Pep down four times on his way to a four-round knockout victory in an extremely dirty fight. Had his career not been cut short by a non-boxing accident, there is no telling how far he could have gone.
Willie Pep said: He beat me with a double arm lock.
Sandy Saddler said: I thought a punch to the kidney did it. If they say I
twisted his arm, O.K., I twisted it.—Saddler
10. Salvador “Chava” Sanchez finished with 44-1-1 with 32 KOs. Sadly, his career was cut short by fate. At the time of his death, he was considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. An unusually slick boxer, Sanchez possessed a granite chin and solid power in both hands but was not a brawler. Instead, he used his amazing counterpunching ability and footwork to skillfully breakdown and stop his opponents. In the ninth defense of his WBC Featherweight Title, Chava battled an unknown Ghanaian, Azumah Nelson, at Madison Square Garden. The relentless Nelson proved to be a stern test and gave Sanchez all he could handle. Sanchez managed to drop Nelson in the seventh round, but he kept coming. In the last round and with the fight close, he took matters into his own hands by finally putting his punches together in a punishing and decisive combination that dropped Nelson for the second time in the fight. Nelson rose but was hurt. Chava quickly closed matters. There was talk of a rematch but tragically, on August 12, 1982, he died in a fatal car accident while driving his Porsche. He was only twenty-three. The entire country of Mexico mourned his untimely passing.
He had many great matchups awaiting him—with fighters like Pedroza, Arguello, and Chavez. As well, there was the potential for super rematches against Gomez and Nelson. How he would have fared is conjectural, but that is part of the legend of Salvador Sanchez. I had the pleasure of witnessing his great win over favored Wilfredo Gomez, his two TKO’s of Danny “Little Red” Lopez, and his stoppage of the great Azumah Nelson. I also saw his bouts against Rocky Garcia and Pat Cowdell. The memories are indelible; he was very special.