Record of 124-6-8. Steele retired only to make a quick comeback, and knockout exit, against Jimmy Casino in 1941, still only 29 years old. He cleaned out the division in the late 70s before finally getting a chance at the world championship in 1980. He lost before he won in Philly, but once the winning started he was a beast. Super middleweight: New No. 1 after DeGale loss from 50. A metropolis where hundreds of young warriors train and battle each day in its many gyms, it is where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. A September 1923 stoppage loss (on an injury) to Fireman Jim Flynn was the last official defeat for some forty fights into the beginning of 1925. The 32-year-old planned for a rematch against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, but Canelo wants to fight at light heavyweight, while Bivol is interested in fighting at super middleweight. The pessimists view is that Saunders was getting figured out even before that crushing uppercut fractured his orbital bone. One of the rare Black fighters to get a title shot in the years between Jack Johnson and Joe Louis, the Georgia Deacon was one of the games greatest southpaws, a combination of expert defense and awkward offense who befuddled those who couldnt catch him. Jake LaMotta: The Bronx Bull beat a long list of terrific fighters, including one of the greatest of all middleweights, Ray Robinson. Fitzsimmons vacated the throne in 1895 and challenged for the Heavyweight crown in 1897. But around that, Benavidez has bullied all of the decent contenders hes stepped in the ring with. Honorable Mentions: Jeff Smith,Dick Tiger, Marcel Cerdan, Mike McCallum, Billy Papke,Gene Fullmer, Tommy Ryan, Kid McCoy, Jack The Nonpareil Dempsey, Gennadiy Golovkin, Holman Williams, Mike ODowd, Rocky Graziano, Ceferino Garcia, Rodrigo Valdez, Joey Giardello, Teddy Yarosz, Marcel Thil, Les Darcy, Emile Griffith, Frank Klaus, Benny Briscoe. One of the newer divisions in the sportonly strawweight is newer. 1. 6. Winning all 12 of his bouts, Steele made a significant impression in March with a non-title decision over NBA titlist Babe Risko to set the stage for a title shot in July. Carlos Monzon. In November 1927, Flowers died of anesthesia complications on the operating table in a procedure to remove scar tissues from his eyes at age 32. 7. Full & latest Middleweight boxing rankings & champions. More divisions were added, and professional governing bodies now recognize a total of 17 weight classes, which had their current names established by the major boxing organizations in 2015. In a classic June 1976 encounter, Monzon edged the talented and hard hitting Rodrigo Valdez over fifteen rounds, making a mockery of his being stripped in a fight which begged for a rematch. 1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=22256, Pt. It was the Rings Fight of the Year and, in May of 1971, they did it again. So too was his disregard of the color line. 50. But winning 12 title bouts from 1984-1988 and being a feared puncher, and some groundbreaking points is enough to notch him a spot in the top-ten. Greb didnt draw a colour line and fought many black fighters. Although she hasn't competed in professional female boxing, her accolades as an amateur are so impressive that she earned a spot on this list. 3. 13. Super Middleweight: Top 10 Rankings Today, a former Middleweight moving up to face a single Heavyweight can get big headlines after months of manufacturing extra body mass. . Perhaps his most important win came in July 1935. For well over a decade, no one could figure out how to beat him and he was the rare champion who went out a winner and stayed that way. 9. Britain's Savannah Marshall becomes the undisputed super-middleweight champion with a majority decision points win over Franchon Crews-Dezurn at Manchester's AO Arena. Best Super Middleweights of All Time This list is also unique in that it is one of the least populated by Americans of any higher weight class, with Europeans dominating the top ten. In a division this thin in legends, you have to make room for the division O.G. Gennady Golovkin - Wikipedia Duran was beating Hagler after 13 rounds in all scorecards. An excellent boxer, blessed with speed and great feet to go with finishing power, Steele took no losses and a lone draw in almost sixty fights between his second and third losses. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez: Mexican super-middleweight champion to fight Personally, Im finding this the toughest one in the lot to rank. 1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21492, Pt. Cut badly and threatened with the fight being stopped, Robinson battered Turpin in the tenth to score the dramatic knockout. But for a short tenure at this weight, he certainly accomplished a lot. Monzon fought in South America, mostly Argentina, exclusively until his first title shot. Former Light Heavyweight champion Mike McTigue was stopped in a single round in November 1927; later in the month, he sent another former Light Heavyweight champion, Paul Berlenbach, to the floor en route to a decision win. Tiger Flowers:Competing with Mickey Walker andHarry Greb automatically puts Flowers among the elite. He would reign at Middleweight four years, but rarely defended the crown, instead pursuing larger men and dollars. Fitzsimmons scored three knockouts in a row before ending the reign of the first Jack Dempsey with a 13th round knockout in Louisiana in January 1891. on the scale. Sal Canelo lvarez (born 18 July 1990), is a Mexican professional boxer who is a four-division world champion.2. Reigning Welterweight champ Jose Napoles got a shot to kick off Monzons 1974 campaign but was overwhelmed and forced to surrender on his stool after seven. Super Middleweight boxing rankings: Best super middleweight division Came back to beat hard-nosed Sakio Bika, before overcoming a tough start to figure out Mikkel Kessler en route to a dominating decision. Current world rankings The Ring As of June 20, 2023. His record shows wins over a long list of elite talent including Mike ODowd, Ted Kid Lewis, Al McCoy, Jeff Smith and Harry Greb. It was also his peak as a professional. Came from behind to KO the then undefeated Ali Akhmedov in the final round in an absolute thriller last year, while his stoppage of Christopher Pearson in April was altogether a smoother victory. Reflection and research reveals this was not always the case, but it was true often enough to bestow a mystique on boxings original eight weight classes which carries through to the modern day. 1. Born in Seattle and reared in Tacoma, Washington, Steele turned professional at only 13 years of age, as a Flyweight, and did little but win for almost twelve years, growing into one of the most accomplished Middleweights of the 1930s. He drew with Antufermo and, while the draw was unjust, it came about partly through a late surge by the champion as Hagler slightly gassed; he rebounded to lay waste in his second title shot and the Antufermo rematch. Hopkins would bounce back with a Light Heavyweight win for the Ring Magazine title over Antonio Tarver in 2006 and added the scalps of former Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright and reigning Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, with a competitive loss to Super Middleweight stalwart Joe Calzaghe in between, through 2008. Walker didnt care who he fought and didnt care about the spread on the scale. **WBA rankings updated on July 1. He often starts slowly, trusting that he has the ring IQ and power to open up an opponent when he needs to. Weight class (boxing) - Wikipedia A ten-year reign as WBO champion and retiring undefeated at 46-0 only tells part of the story. Sometimes lethargic and uninterested, Eubank could be difficult to like, but his accomplishments at this weight are almost unparalleled. Light middleweight - Wikipedia Jesus Christ! 7. Freddie Steele: Solid wins over Fred Apostoli, Ceferino Garcia, Gus Lesnevich, Vince Dundee and Babe Risko. who the hell is Charley Burley. Charley Burley: One of the greatest to never win a title, Burley was avoided by many of the top boxers of his time, yet he still scored big wins over Holman Williams, Fritzie Zivic, Archie Moore, Billy Soose and Georgie Abrams. Sometimes giving up close to eighty pounds in the ring, Fitzsimmons would lose only once from late February 1890 to June 1899, the loss coming via disqualification to Hall of Fame Heavyweight Tom Sharkey, while winning most of over forty fights by knockout and engaging in countless exhibitions across the country. Boxing divisional rankings -- The best top 10 fighters per division - ESPN The best Middleweights he faced, in his prime and late in his career, had a better time against him than most of their heavier counterparts. As the introduction states, we ranked fighters in only one division and so youll find the great Walker Smith Jr. included here: https://www.thefightcity.com/top-12-best-welterweight-fighters-boxing/. Benn appeared unlucky to get only a draw in their 1993 unification bout. Bernard Hopkins: While he presided over perhaps the weakest middleweight division in history, no one can dispute the skill, intelligence and longevity of The Executioner.. Nigel Benn He was born in 1942 in San Javier in Argentina. And Harry Greb was the greatest Middleweight of them all. (Charles, Langford and Conn figure prominently on our list of all-time great light heavyweights, while Robinson and Walker are ranked at welterweight.) Robinson was virtually unbeatable at Welterweight and against Welterweights; it wasnt the case at Middleweight, though aging played a factor as did the layoff between the second and third reigns in determining his place. Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin ( Cyrillic: ; also spelled Gennady; [2] born 8 April 1982), often known by his nickname " GGG " or " Triple G ", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He stayed largely centered in Washington after the short trip south, even luring former titlist Gorilla Jones to his turf and securing a draw in May 1934. As of February 2020, Crawford is ranked at the second-best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec and ESPN, and the world's best active welterweight by BoxRec. Hopkins will be a first ballot entrant to the IBHOF the day he becomes eligible. In another era, he could have mastered other techniques, but the hammers in his gloves carry across eras. Testing the Middleweight waters long before he actually chased the Middleweight crown, Robinson had already won four of his first five contests with LaMotta and knocked out Bobo Olson (for recognition as Middle champ in Pennsylvania) for the first time before challenging LaMotta for his crown on Valentines Day, 1951. Struggling at the scales at 160, Toney jumped up a division and his form blossomed. super middleweight (up to 168 pounds) Canelo Alvarez, right, punches John Ryder during their super middleweight title fight at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara on Saturday. We list the top 15 Super Middleweights with the WBC, WBA, IBF & WBO. Check out BoxingActionMagazine.com for the latest Boxing News, updates, and results. Previously, numbers 11-25 were revealed as: Record: 115-14-6, 53 KO, 21 No Decisions, 1 No Contest, Middleweight Champions/Titlists Faced 3: (Johnny Wilson, Harry Greb, Mickey Walker). 1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=22737, Pt. Saul Canelo Alvarez. World Champion 2001-05, 6 Defenses (IBF Titlist 1995-2005, 20 Defenses), Middleweight Champions/Titlists Faced 8: (Roy Jones Jr., John David Jackson, Felix Trinidad, Keith Holmes, William Joppy, Oscar De La Hoya, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik). He is a two-time WBC super middleweight champion. Arguably the greatest fighter who ever lived, the Detroit born and New York reared Robinson stands out as the greatest Welterweight of all time and could well be argued as number one here. Anthony Dirrell (born October 14, 1984) is an American professional boxer. In 2006, Jeff Lacy was favored to beat Calzaghe and wound up getting destroyed. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-time former unified champion. Sugar Ray Robinson, considered by most experts to be the best ever pound-for-pound isnt even on the list, while a fighter be beat not once, or twice, but five times is on the list! Before James Toney climbed into the ring against Jones, he was considered by many to be the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Monzon would retire one month later at age 35 and lived a tumultuous post-boxing life. Lethwei Four fights remained in the year, two of them losses. And Rocky did fight middleweight Zale to a standstill in their first two matches. 3. For Jones to whitewash a fighter of that stature represents a feather in his cap that no one on this list can really claim. Nine fights and four months later, he turned the feat again in the same round, growing out of his native Washington and into the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. 9. Callum John Smith (born 23 April 1990) is a British professional boxer. A January 1938 non-title Garden war with a matured Apostoli resulted in a nine-round classic but Steel came out on the wrong end, stopped in the ninth for the first time and suffering a broken breastbone which he never allowed to heal. Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. 1. You can find out our Boxer Ranking Criteria by visiting our FAQ page (section: Boxing FAQ, Boxing Base/Boxing).. Don't agree with our Junior Middleweight Top 10? Plant 22-2-0 . [9] Kickboxing In the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF), Super Welterweight is 147.1 - 153 lb (66.9 - 69.5 kg) & Light Middleweight is 153.1 - 159 lb (69.6 - 72.3 kg). The following year would see the end come in many forms, first in two debated but official losses for the title to Tiger Flowers and then on the operating table. Billy Joe Saunders (born 30 August 1989) is a British professional boxer. 2: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21822, Pt. Why Hes Here: Flowers might be too low, or too high, depending on who is being asked. As he said after knocking out James J. Corbett with a single body blow for the heavyweight championship: Im only a bleeding middleweight!. What he did was enough with plenty of tough competition amongst champions and top contenders of his day. The Greatest Boxers Of All Time ranked - The Delite Do you actually think Jake Lamotta and Roberto Duran would beat Stanley Ketchel in the middleweight division? His approximately 300 fights might be hard to summarize, but Greb, an inaugural inductee to the IBHOF in 1990, is certainly not hard to characterize. 2: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=22968, Pt.1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23408, Pt. Cant agree with that list. Who else besides Jones can really claim that on this list? Great to see him on the list. 1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21812, Pt. Top 10 Best Super Middleweights of All-Time, February 3rd Cote vs. Herrera Fight on Shobox Postponed due to Illness, Davis: Im happy I beat Lopez, but not happy with my performance, Jaron Ennis vs Roiman Villa Results & Post-Fight Report, Floyd Schofield vs Haskell Rhodes Results & Post-Fight Report, Eddie Hearn: If Joshua loses to Whyte, Wilder fight is off, Floyd Schofield vs Haskell Rhodes Big Fight Preview & Predictions, Jaron Ennis vs Roiman Villa Big Fight Preview & Predictions, Deontay Wilder: Oleksandr Usyk is terrified of me. However, sometimes crude works (after all, Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito managed championship glory in the modern era) and Ketchell had a skill set for his time and the ability to get his bombs home against just about anyone in his prime. Fighting off the back foot, coming forward, elite defence, punch variety, Alvarez is verging on being a complete fighter. [8] Keys: C Current The Ring world champion BoxRec As of 26 April 2022. After defeating Tommy Loughran for the American Light Heavyweight title in January 1923, and losing it to Tunney three fights and one month later, Greb would finally get a shot at the Middleweight crown in August at the New York Polo Grounds. Fighting in the heart of the no decision era, most of his contests werent allowed an official verdict but accounts describe him as the winner more often than not through early years that included affairs with an aging Jack Blackburn, upstart versions of Hall of Famers Billy Miske and Tommy Gibbons, and former Middleweight champion George Chip.