The third installment of author/historian Cliff Rold’s epic evaluation of The Ring’s 97-year-old divisional rankings and the 100 standout fighters who faced the best of their respective eras – Nos. 80-71 – is sure to cause some outrage and angst among various fan groups.

We can already hear it, even before they attack their keyboards and blast their opinions in the comment section and their Twitter accounts.

“Naseem Hamed being a notch in front of his conqueror Marco Antonio Barrera? That’s MADNESS!”

“What’s the immortal Harry Greb doing in this group!? It’s boxing BLASPHEMY if The Pittsburg Windmill isn’t in the TOP FIVE of any all-time great rankings!”

“Salvador Sanchez and Aaron Pryor should at least be among the top 50! COME ON!”

Yes, Barrera beat Hamed. But Prince Naz hadn’t been fighting tomato cans prior to getting undressed by the Baby-Faced Assassin.

Yes, Sanchez and Pryor are modern greats. They created enduring legacies in just a few years during their brief-but-brilliant title reigns (1980-1982 for Sanchez; 1980-1983 for Pryor).

Greb’s legend has miraculously endured for more than 100 years. He has cult-like followings online and on social media to prove it. They should know that his mighty accomplishments pre-date Ring Magazine by several years. Greb was near the end of his middleweight title reign when The Ring began its divisional rankings in 1925.

If the devoted fans of the aforementioned fighters read the introduction Rold penned for the original feature that appeared in the 100th Anniversary issue of The Ring, as well as his Author’s Note that accompanied the first group (100-91) posted on RingTV.com, they might understand the respective rankings in this unique evaluation a little better.

However, for those who can’t (or simply refuse to) wrap their heads around the point system and math that Rold devised, here’s hoping that some will at least take notice of the lesser-known/celebrated names in this group: Benny Lynch. Antonio Cervantes. Pascual Perez. Pone Kingpetch.

We’ve all heard of near-mythical icons like Greb, and most Ring Magazine readers grew up watching Sanchez, Pryor, Barrera and Hamed on TV. We hope they take some time to look into careers of the other hall of farmers listed here among them.

And if the inclusion of the one non-hall of famer (and active fighter), Terence Crawford, triggers anyone, I’d suggest they review his credentials as well. It could be that Bud is more accomplished than they realize.

***

#80 – Aaron Pryor 

Career Record: 39-1 (35 KOs, 1 KOBY)

First Ring Ranking: #9 Lightweight (November 1979)

Last Ring Ranking: #8 Jr. Welterweight (June 1986)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 9-0 (8 KOs)

Overall Score Rank: 51

Peak Score Rank: 70

Win Total Rank: 162

Ring Magazine Championships: Jr. Welterweight (1980-83)

“Hawk Time” meant excitement in the jr. welterweight division, exemplified by Pryor’s two-fight rivalry with Alexis Arguello. An alternate to the famed 1976 U.S. Olympic team, Pryor was unable to secure a title shot at lightweight and chased glory one division higher to end Antonio Cervantes’ second reign with the Ring and WBA belts. The Ring kept Pryor ranked at lightweight during his jr. welterweight reign, elevating him to number one contender in the lower class from the January 1982-March 1983 issues. Pryor announced a brief retirement in 1983 but was back in action the following year, winning the inaugural IBF jr. welterweight title with a decision over Nick Furlano and was ranked number one for almost a year before sliding for inactivity.

Missing Quality: Former Jr. welterweight champion Alfonso Frazer was years removed from the rankings when Pryor defeated him in 1979. Furlano was unranked when Pryor defeated him for his last title belt. Pryor’s lone loss, to Bobby Joe Young in 1987, fell outside the scope of the study and doesn’t count against him here.

Scoring Results: 

Julio Valdez TKO 4 – (8) – 135 – 05/80

Antonio Cervantes KO 4* – (C) – 140 – 09/80

Lennox Blackmoore TKO 2 – (4) – 140 – 08/81

DuJuan Johnson TKO 7 – (3) – 140 – 12/81

Miguel Montilla TKO 12 – (4) – 140 – 04/82

Alexis Arguello TKO 14 – (C-) – 135 – 12/82

Sang Hyun Kim TKO 3 – (6) – 140 – 05/83

Alexis Arguello KO 10 – (1) – 140 – 10/83

Gary Hinton SD 15 – (8) – 140 – 04/85

 

#79 – Benny Lynch 

Career Record: 88-14-17 (34 KOs, 1 KOBY)

First Ring Ranking: #5 Flyweight (October 1934)

Last Ring Ranking: #4 – Bantamweight (December 1938)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 12-5-2 (8 KOs, 1 KOBY)

Overall Score Rank: 89 

Peak Score Rank: 86

Win Total Rank: 106

Ring Magazine Championships: Flyweight (1937-38)

Scotland’s flyweight maestro had an exceptional if all too brief run at the top in the second half of the 1930’s. Lynch rose to number one from the August 1935-May 1936 issues. Lynch’s 1935 knockout win over Jackie Brown gave him NBA honors and Lynch held top ranking in the two issues prior to winning the vacant Ring crown versus Small Montana. Lynch would lost the crown on the scale prior to his loss to Jackie Jurich. The first Lynch-Kane bout was one of the biggest in Flyweight history, drawing over 40,000 fans in Glasgow.

Missing Quality: The initial error on the scoring of Lynch credited him with a ranked win over Phill Milligan in their first bout. Phil Milligan was ranked before and after that fight but not in the February 1936 issue prior to the contest. Readers will note an asterisk for a title change in Lynch’s win over Jackie Jurich. Jurich gained recognition from Ring as champion in the September 1939 issue despite the loss as a title exchange seemingly by weight forfeit.

Scoring Results: 

Maurice Huguenin W 12 – (5) – 112 – 09/34

Valentin Angelmann W 12 – (3) – 112 – 11/34

Bobby Magee W 12 – (9) – 112 – 02/35

Jackie Brown D 12 – (2) – 112 – 05/35

Tom Pardoe RTD 14 – (7) – 112 – 06/35

Jackie Brown TKO 2 – (2) – 112 – 11/35

Jimmy Warnock L 12 – (4) – 112 – 05/36

Pat Warburton TKO 3 – (7) – 112 – 07/36

Syd Parker KO 9 – (8) – 112 – 08/36

Pat Palmer KO 8 – (5) – 112 – 11/36

Phil Milligan TKO 7 – (9) – 112 – 01/37

Small Montana W 15* – (2) – 112 – 03/37

Len Hampston DQ by 5 – (UR) – 112 – 04/37

Jimmy Warnock L 15 – (4) – 112 – 07/37

Peter Kane KO 13 – (1) – 112 – 11/37

Peter Kane D 12 – (1) – 112 – 05/38

Jackie Jurich KO 12* – (3) – 112 – 08/38

KO Morgan L 12 – (1) – 11/38

Aurel Toma KO by 3 – (8) – 118 – 12/38

 

#78 – Harry Greb

Career Record: 108-8-3, 179 No Decisions, 1 No Contest (49 KOs, 2 KOBY)

First Ring Ranking: #1 Middleweight (February 1925)

Last Ring Ranking: #1 Middleweight (February 1926)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 11-3-1, 5 No Decision

Overall Score Rank: 70

Peak Score Rank: 92

Win Total Rank: 118

Ring Magazine Championships: Middleweight (1923-26) 

One of a handful of fighters with the career resume to compete for the honor of the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time, the scope of the study left roughly the last three years in the thirteen year pro tenure of the “Pittsburgh Windmill” for examination. Greb, reigning as middleweight champion, led the first and second Ring annual rankings and posted one of the best wins of his career with a decision over welterweight king Mickey Walker. Greb lost the crown to Tiger Flowers in early 1926 and the rematch would be his last fight. Greb died later in the year while in surgery.

Missing Quality: The study focus on official results obscures some of the outcomes. At least one of Greb’s last two fights in his five-fight saga with Gene Tunney is widely regarded as a defeat. Conversely, his first fight with Flowers is treated by some historians as a win and he was widely reported as the better man versus Rosenbloom. Greb also had wins over Tony Marullo and Ted Moore when both were ranked just outside the top eleven of their classes in the February 1926 Annual.

Scoring Results: 

[Johnny Wilson UD 15 – (5) – 160

Kid Norfolk DQ by 6 – (3+) – 175

Ted Moore UD 15 – (10) – 160

Tiger Flowers ND 10 – (2) – 160

Jimmy Slattery W 6 – (3) – 160

Gene Tunney ND 10 – (1+) – 175

Tommy Loughran D 10 – (9+) – 175

Jimmy DeLaney W 10 – (10+) – 175

Jimmy Delaney ND 10 – (10+) – 175

Gene Tunney ND 10 – (1+) – 175

Johnny Wilson W 10 – (5) – 160

Quentin Romero Rojas W 10 – (5++) – Hvy – 02/25]

[Mickey Walker UD 15 – (1-) – 147

Maxie Rosenbloom ND 10 – (10+) – 175

Roland Todd W 12 – (9) – 160

Jimmy Delaney W 10 – (8+) – 175

Tiger Flowers L 15* – (3) – 160

Art Weigand W 10 – (11) – 160

Allentown Joe Gans UD 10 – (5) – 160 – 02/26]

Tiger Flowers L 15 – (1) – 160 – 02/27

 

#77 – Antonio Cervantes

Career Record: 67-12-1 (37 KOs, 2 KOBY) 

First Ring Ranking: #10 Lightweight (April 1971)

Last Ring Ranking: #2 Jr. Welterweight (December 1980)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 11-3 (8 KOs, 1 KOBY)

Overall Score Rank: 75

Peak Score Rank: 88

Win Total Rank: 117

Ring Magazine Championships: Jr. Welterweight (1972-76, 79-80)

The most consistent force of the 1970s at jr. welterweight, Colombia’s “Kid Pambele” was unranked in 1972 when he unseated Alfonso Frazer for the WBA and Ring titles after spending most of 1971 ranked at lightweight. His first title reign ended with a loss to a seventeen year old Wilfred Benitez but Cervantes rebounded with thirteen wins, regaining both the WBA and Ring belts along the way, before a loss to Aaron Pryor. Between title reigns, Cervantes was often ranked number one and never lower than second. He was never out of the rankings from the January 1973 issue until his final exit.

Missing Quality: By all rights Cervantes should be credited with at least twelve ranked wins. This one may chalk up to human error. The fight where Cervantes regained recognition as Jr. welterweight champion in The Ring came in his first of two wins over Miguel Montilla. The April 1979 issue credited Cervantes as regaining Ring’s title honors in the fight. However, in the March issue featuring the yearly annual rankings, Montilla was ranked 11th even adjusting for the appearance of Joe Kimpuani twice in the top ten. Montilla was ranked in the top five throughout the prior year and returned to fifth after the loss to Cervantes (Esteban De Jesus was also oddly low at tenth given his rankings through the year; other divisions in the annual were more in accord with the year prior). The on-paper ranking is respected but highlighted as an example of how small idiosyncrasies in the rankings don’t tell the whole story.

Scoring Results: 

Enrique Jana TKO 8 – (5+) – 140 – 04/71

Nicolino Locche L 15 – (C) – 140 – 01/72

Alfonso Frazer KO 10* – (C) – 140 – 12/72

Nicolino Locche RTD 9 – (8) – 140 – 05/73

Alfonso Frazer TKO5 – (4) – 140 – 07/73

Carlos Gimenez TKO 5 – (2) – 140 – 11/73

Esteban DeJesus UD 15 – (2) – 140 – 07/75

Hector Thompson RTD 7 – (1) – 140 – 01/76

Wilfred Benitez L 15* – (UR) – 140 – 04/76

Javier Ayala KO 1 – (5-) – 135 – 07/76

Saoul Mamby UD 10 – (10) – 140 – 12/76

Adriano Marrero UD 15 – (8) – 140 – 12/77

Miguel Montilla TKO 7 – (5) – 140 – 05/80

Aaron Pryor KO by 4* – (3-) – 135 – 09/80

 

#76 – Marco Antonio Barrera 

Career Record: 67-7 (44 KOs, 1 KOBY)

First Ring Ranking: #8 Jr. Bantamweight (August 2009)

Last Ring Ranking: #3 Jr. Lightweight (January 2008)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 11-6 (3 KOs, 1 KOBY)

Overall Score Rank: 77

Peak Score Rank: 87

Win Total Rank: 116

Ring Magazine Championships: Featherweight (2002-03)

Mexico’s “Baby Faced Assassin” sent leather flying early in his career and kept it flying in several classics even after adapting a more cerebral approach over time, winning belts in three weight classes. Barrera rose to third in the Jr. bantamweight rankings in 1994 and was briefly ranked at bantamweight before settling in at Jr. featherweight. Barrera was ranked number one at the weight from late 1995 through almost all of 1996 and returned to number one in 2000 after a debated loss to Erik Morales. After winning, and losing, the featherweight crown, Barrera would be ranked number one at Jr. lightweight for over a year between late 2004 and early 2006.

Missing Quality: Barrera could have been featherweight champion in the Ring sooner with his win over Naseem Hamed had the Eusebio Pedroza line continued through the 1990s. Barrera beat several notable names at a time when they didn’t happen to be ranked yet or anymore. Agapito Sanchez and Frankie Toledo would go on to win titles in their career after early losses to Barrera. Jesse Benavides, Kevin Kelley, and Paulie Ayala, all former titlists, were unranked when Barrera defeated them. Barrera had permanently exited the rankings when he suffered his final defeat to Amir Khan.

Scoring Results: 

Carlos Salazar MD 10 – (8) – 115 – 07/94

Kennedy McKinney TKO 12 – (3) – 122 – 05/96

Junior Jones DQ by 5 – (6) – 122 – 02/97

Junior Jones L 12 – (1) – 122 – 08/97

Erik Morales L 12 – (1) – 122 – 06/00

Naseem Hamed UD 12 – (1+) – 126 – 07/01

Enrique Sanchez RTD 6 – (6-) – 122 – 12/01

Erik Morales UD 12* – (2) – 126 – 11/02

Johnny Tapia UD 12 – (4) – 126 – 02/03

Manny Pacquiao TKO by 11* – (1-) – 122 – 03/04

Erik Morales MD 12 – (1+) – 130 – W/05

Mzonke Fana KO 2 – (10) – 130 – Summer/05

Robbie Peden UD 12 – (9) – 130 – V6/05

Rocky Juarez SD 12 – (6-) – 126 – 08/06

Rocky Juarez UD 12 – (5) – 130 – 12/06

Juan Manuel Marquez L 12 – (2-) – 126 – 06/07

Manny Pacquiao L 12 – (1) – 130 – 01/08

 

#75 – Naseem Hamed 

Career Record: 36-1 (31 KOs)

First Ring Ranking: #8 Bantamweight (October 1994)

Last Ring Ranking: #4 Featherweight (September 2003)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 9-1 (6 KOs)

Overall Score Rank: 49

Peak Score Rank: 66

Win Total Rank: 161

Ring Magazine Championships: None

The UK’s charismatic “Prince” combined a showman’s flair with an unorthodox style and crushing power. Seven of Hamed’s ranked wins came against fighters ranked in the top five of their class with his only defeat coming to the leading man one class below. Hamed held the WBO featherweight belt the longest after defeating Steve Robinson but also briefly added the IBF and WBC crowns. Hamed just missed holding the WBA crown when Wilfredo Vazquez was stripped briefly before their contest. Hamed held the top spot at featherweight from the June 1997 to July 2001 editions.

Missing Quality: Had Ring continued to recognize champions in the 1990s, Hamed likely would have won recognition as champion with his win over Wilfredo Vazquez. Vazquez’s claim could be traced to The Ring’s recognition of Eusebio Pedroza. Paul Ingle was unranked when Hamed defeated him in 1999 but would enter the top ten later in the year, winning a belt against Manuel Medina.

Scoring Results: 

Vincenzo Belcastro UD 12 – (8) – 118 – 09/94

Steve Robinson TKO 8 – (3+) – 126 – Winter/95

Manuel Medina TKO 11 – (6) – 126 – 12/96

Tom Johnson TKO 8 – (1) – 126 – 05/97

Kevin Kelley KO 4 – (4) – 126 – 03/98

Wilfredo Vazquez TKO 7 – (3) – 126 – 07/98

Wayne McCullough UD 12 – (5-) – 122 – 01/99

Cesar Soto UD 12 – (3) – 126 – 01/00

Vuyani Bungu KO 4 – (4) – 126 – 06/00

Marco Antonio Barrera L 12 – (1-) – 122 – 07/01

 

#74 – Salvador Sanchez 

Career Record: 44-1-1 (32 KOs)

First Ring Ranking: #9 Featherweight (November 1979)

Last Ring Ranking: Featherweight Champion (September 1982)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 10-0 (5 KOs)

Overall Score Rank: 60

Peak Score Rank: 76

Win Total Rank: 138

Ring Magazine Championships: Featherweight (1980-82)

The tragic loss of “Chava” at just 23 years old will always be one of boxing’s great what if’s. What Sanchez accomplished in a short career, with just shy of three years in the rankings, was fantastic. Sanchez was ranked eighth with just five months in the top ten when he defeated Danny Lopez for the WBC and Ring crowns. In Sanchez’s eleven championship fights, including a career best knockout of jr. featherweight champion Wilfredo Gomez, only one opponent (Rocky Garcia) was unranked by The Ring.

Missing Quality: Sanchez posted a knockout win in 1979 over Richard Rozelle. Rozelle was unranked but had been as high as third at featherweight the year prior. The fight before Rozelle came against a name many would recognize: Felix Trinidad. The father of the future Puerto Rican champion was unranked but still an interesting bridge to the future.

Scoring Results: 

Danny Lopez TKO 13*- (C) – 126 – 03/80

Ruben Castillo UD 15 – (3) – 126 – 06/80

Danny Lopez TKO 14 – (1) – 126 – 08/80

Pat Ford MD 15 – (6) – 126 – 11/80

Juan LaPorte UD 15 – (8) – 126 – 02/81

Roberto Castanon TKO 10 – (5) – 126 – 05/81

Nicky Perez UD 10 – (5-) – 122 – 08/81

Wilfredo Gomez TKO 8 – (2/C-) – 126/122 – 10/81

Pat Cowdell SD 15 – (9) – 126 – 01/82

Azumah Nelson TKO 15 – (10) – 126 – 09/82

 

#73 – Pascual Perez

Career Record: 84-7-1 (57 KO, 3 KOBY) 

First Ring Ranking: #10 Flyweight (June 1954)

Last Ring Ranking: #9 – Flyweight (April 1964)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 11-7-1 (5 KOs, 3 KOBY)

Overall Score Rank: 103

Peak Score Rank: 55

Win Total Rank: 112

Ring Magazine Championships: Flyweight (1954-60)

Argentina’s “El Leon Mendocino Terrier” won gold at the 1948 Olympics and just missed a second appearance in 1952 before turning professional. Less than two years later, a draw with champion Yoshio Shirai saw Perez move to number two in the rankings. Perez would soon assume the mantle as champion and remain through the rest of the 1950s. Including Shirai, Perez would post nine wins against flyweights ranked no lower than fourth before losing his crown to Pone Kingpetch.

Missing Quality: Perez defeated Kenji Yonekura twice in 1959. Yonekura was unranked prior to their first encounter. Perez was 51-0-1 when he suffered his first loss, later avenged, to Sadao Yaoita. After the second loss to Kingpetch, Perez would win 28 in a row but none of those wins came against fighters ranked in the top ten by The Ring.

Scoring Results: 

Yoshio Shirai D 10 – (C) – 112 – 09/54

Yoshio Shirai UD 15* – (C) – 112 – 01/55

Yoshio Shirai KO 5 – (3) – 112 – 07/55

Danny Kid UD 10 – (3) – 112 – 12/55

Leo Espinosa UD 15 – (1) – 112 – 02/56

Oscar Suarez TKO 11 – (10) – 112 – 08/56

Dai Dower KO 1 – (4) – 112 – 05/57

Young Martin KO 3 – (1) – 112 – 01/58

Ramon Arias UD 15 – (1) – 112 – 05/58

Dommy Ursua UD 15 – (3) – 112 – 01/59

Sadao Yaoita L 10 – (6) – 112 – 02/59

Kenji Yonekura UD 15 – (9) – 112 – 09/59

Sadao Yaoita KO 13 – (1) – 112 – 12/59

Pone Kingpetch L 15* – (1) – 112 – 05/60

Pone Kingpetch TKO by 8* – (0) – 112 – 11/60

Leo Zulueta L 10 – (UR) – 112 – 06/63

Bernardo Caraballo L 10 – (2) – 112 – 09/63

Efren Torres KO by 3 – (UR) – 112 – 11/63

Eugenio Hurtado TKO by 6 – (UR) – 112 – 04/64

 

#72 Terence Crawford

Career Record: 38-0 (29 KOs)

First Ring Ranking: #10 Lightweight (October 2013)

Last Ring Ranking: To Be Determined

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 10-0 (7 KOs)

Overall Score Rank: 52

Peak Score Rank: 73

Win Total Rank: 137

Ring Magazine Championships: Lightweight (2014-15), Jr. Welterweight (2016-18)

Omaha’s “Bud” Crawford moved up since the initial publication of this study with his win over Shawn Porter. It was Crawford’s most significant win to date at welterweight after strong runs that included championship recognition from The Ring at lightweight and Jr. welterweight. Crawford moved into the number one contender position at lightweight prior to his win over Raymundo Beltran and was ranked number two at jr. welterweight prior to his win over Viktor Postol. Seven of Crawford’s ten ranked wins came against opponents ranked in the top five of their class heading into the bout.

Missing Quality: Briedis Prescott was briefly ranked in 2009 after an upset of Amir Khan but was long out of the rankings when Crawford edged him in 2013. Yuriorkis Gamboa and Felix Diaz could be found in other press top tens when Crawford defeated them but were not ranked by The Ring. Jose Benavidez, Amir Khan, and Kell Brook were all former titlists unranked at the time Crawford stopped them.

Scoring Results: 

Ricky Burns UD 12 – (3) – 135 – 05/14

Raymundo Beltran UD 12* – (2) – 135 – 03/15

Thomas Dulorme TKO 6 – (9+) – 140 – 07/15

Dierry Jean TKO 10 – (4-) – 135 – 01/16

Viktor Postol UD 12* – (1) – 140 – 09/16

John Molina TKO 8 – (8) – 140 – 03/17

Julius Indongo KO 3 – (2) – 140 – 11/17

Jeff Horn TKO 9 – (5+) – 147 – 08/18

Egidijus Kavaliauskas TKO 9 – (8) – 147 – 02/20

Shawn Porter TKO 10 – (4) – 147 – 01/22

 

#71 – Pone Kingpetch 

Career Record: 28-7 (9 KOs, 3 KOBY)

First Ring Ranking: #7 Flyweight (March 1957)

Last Ring Ranking: #9 Flyweight (August 1966)

Record vs. Ring-rated Opponents: 11-5 (1 KO, 2 KOBY)

Overall Score Rank: 76

Peak Score Rank: 168

Win Total Rank: 113

Ring Magazine Championships: Flyweight (1960-62, 63, 64-65)

Thailand’s first world champion had a roller coaster run near the top, winning and losing the flyweight crown three times against memorable opposition. Kingpetch was number one contender on the eve of his successful challenge of Pascual Perez and ranked as number one contender in the issues between his title loss to Fighting Harada and second reign as champion. The first-round loss to Hiroyuki Ebihara dropped Kingpetch further (third, and then fourth) before Kingpetch regained the crown again. Kingpetch never got a chance to be a four time champion and remains outside the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Missing Quality: A footnote to the tightly packed career of Kingpetch is the significance of his loss to Salvatore Burruni. Burruni would be stripped by the WBA of their title later in 1965, splintering the flyweight crown. While historians recognize lineages of the crown in later years, there has never been an undisputed flyweight champion since and the division would go without any unification at all until Brian Viloria-Tyson Marquez in 2012.

Scoring Results: 

Danny Kid W 12 – (4) – 112 – 02/57

Leo Espinosa L 12 – (3+) – 118 – 08/57

Hitoshi Misako W 12 – (6) – 112 – 10/57

Dommy Ursua TD 5 – (2) – 112 – 02/58

Masaji Iwamoto W 10 – (8) – 112 – 04/58

Manuel Armenteros W 10 – (4+) – 118 – 03/59

Pascual Perez SD 15* – (C) – 112 – 05/60

Pascual Perez TKO 8 – (1) – 112 – 11/60

Mitsunori Seki SD 15 – (5) – 112 – 08/61

Kyo Noguchi UD 15 – (6) – 112 – 07/62

Fighting Harada KO by 11* – (10) – 112 – 11/62

Fighting Harada MD 15* – (C) – 112 – 02/63

Hiroyuki Ebihara KO by 1* – (3) – 112 – 11/63

Hiroyuki Ebihara SD 15* – (C) – 112 – 03/64

Salvatore Burruni L 15 – (1) – 112 – 06/65

Baby Lorona L10 – (UR+) – 118 – 03/66

 

Click here to read 100-91.

Click here to read 90-81.

 

Scoring Details:

Scoring for total points and peak points relied on a base 11-point scale (i.e. a champion and the top 10 contenders). 

A win over the champion of one’s weight class, in a title or non-title fight, was worth 11 points, a No. 1 contender was worth 10, etc. 

Losses worked in reverse. A loss to the champion was a one-point deduction sliding to 11 for a loss to the No. 10 contender. 

Losses to unranked opponents drew a universal 12-point deduction. Draws against ranked opponents were worth half a win; draws against unranked opponents were a six-point deduction.

Fighters were then given a ranking in each scoring category: overall total, peak score (the highest point their points for wins and losses reached), and ranked wins.  

Wins and losses to opponents in higher and lower divisions were included. A formula based on body weight percentage differences between divisions of ranked fighters, rather than scale weights of the fighters, was applied. 

For instance, if a No. 2-ranked bantamweight defeated the No. 2-ranked featherweight, 126 was divided by 118 and then multiplied by standard win/loss points, making the win worth 9.61 points to the bantamweight and the loss a deduction of 3.2 points for the featherweight. If the featherweight won, 118 would be divided by 126 with the win worth 8.42 points for the featherweight and the loss meaning a deduction of 2.81 points for the bantamweight. 

The exception was fighters moving up to face heavyweights. There is no specific heavyweight ceiling so the formula divides the weight limit of the smaller fighter’s division against the actual weight of the heavyweight.  

Everyone who finished in the top 100 of preliminary research for those three categories was moved into a final pool of what came out to 150 fighters. Win total ties were broken based on peak score. Their rankings in each category were then averaged into a final score.

To best display the range of data, they were then divided into four groups to settle on the final 100. 

Group one: anyone who finished in the top 100 of all three scoring categories or whose scoring average was higher than those who did. (1-64). 

Group two was anyone else who finished in the top 100 for peak score and ranked wins but not overall points (65-69). 

Group three was derived from fighters who scored in the top 75 of any of the three scoring categories or whose final scoring average was higher than what would otherwise be the bottom ten of the top 100 (70-100).

The final average score was used to order the fighters in each group for those who made the top 100.        

The study tried to respect the varying standards The Ring has used to rank fighters over the last century. For instance, champions haven’t automatically secured the top spot in every era of Ring rankings. Mike McTigue was the light heavyweight champion for the inaugural rankings in 1925 and was rated fourth. 

For the 1925 rankings, and the period when Ring didn’t recognize single champions from 1989 to 2001, only 10 fighters per weight class were ranked. The points scale shifted for those years. The No. 1-ranked fighter became the 11-point win, deduction for an unranked loss was eleven points, and unranked draws were a 5.5-point deduction. 

The 1926 and subsequent annual rankings prior to the introduction of monthly rankings included more than 10 fighters so the first 11 were all factored in.  

The study is primarily based on monthly rankings. However, for a lengthy period of time the February, and later March, issue of the magazine would only feature the annual ratings for the year. Those were treated as that month’s rankings and, if needed, were reordered as champion and top 10 to maintain consistency. 

Rankings from 1925-1928 had no monthly movement. The solution was to include all results from 1924 in evaluating 1925 and then applying six-month increments with spare exception near mid-year dates until the debut of monthly rankings; i.e. results from January-June 1925 used the 1925 annual and the rest of the year used 1926’s.