The 34 Most Exciting Boxers of All Time

Half of these fighters end it in a round; the rest make you watch all twelve.

1. 1
   Mike Tyson

   Ended more than twenty fights inside the first round.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Marco Antonio Barrera

   Half of the decade's best rivalry and never in a dull fight.
   551pts
3. 3
   Micky Ward

   Built a career on the body shot and the willingness to be hit first.
   551pts
4. 4
   Julio Cesar Chavez

   Went 87 fights unbeaten by walking through everything in front of him.
   428pts
5. 5
   Roberto Duran

   Fought with his hands down and dared opponents to do something about it.
   428pts
6. 6
   Deontay Wilder

   Could be losing every round and still end it with one right hand.
   428pts
7. 7
   Tyson Fury

   A heavyweight who switches stances, taunts mid-round and gets up off the floor.
   350pts
8. 8
   Arturo Gatti

   Fought Micky Ward three times and never once took a backward step.
   350pts
9. 9
   Gennadiy Golovkin

   Walked opponents down for twenty title defences without changing pace.
   350pts
10. 10
    Floyd Mayweather

    Built his appeal on not being hit, which is thrilling or maddening depending on the seat.
    257pts
11. 11
    Erik Morales

    Chose the hardest available route through every fight he took.
    257pts
12. 12
    Manny Pacquiao

    Threw punches in blurs from angles orthodox fighters never saw coming.
    0pts
13. 13
    Muhammad Ali

    Moved like a lighter man and narrated the fight while it happened.
    0pts
14. 14
    Naoya Inoue

    Wins by knockout so often that his fights rarely reach the scorecards.
    0pts
15. 15
    Marvin Hagler

    Fought Thomas Hearns in 1985 in what is often called the greatest three rounds in boxing history, winning by third-round knockout.
16. 16
    Thomas Hearns

    The Hitman flattened Roberto Duran in two rounds and went toe to toe with Marvin Hagler in the most explosive three rounds ever fought.
17. 17
    Sugar Ray Leonard

    Came from behind on the scorecards to stop Thomas Hearns in the 14th round of their 1981 welterweight unification classic.
18. 18
    Sugar Ray Robinson

    Threw combinations at a speed nobody had seen before and fought Jake LaMotta six times, winning five of them.
19. 19
    Joe Frazier

    A relentless bob-and-weave pressure fighter whose three wars with Muhammad Ali included the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila.
20. 20
    George Foreman

    Knocked Joe Frazier down six times in two rounds in 1973 and regained the heavyweight title at 45 with a single right hand.
21. 21
    Jack Dempsey

    Knocked Luis Firpo down seven times in the first round of their 1923 fight, in which he was himself knocked through the ropes.
22. 22
    Rocky Marciano

    Retired 49-0 with 43 knockouts, walking through punishment to land the right hand he called the Suzie Q.
23. 23
    Naseem Hamed

    Vaulted over the top rope after flying-carpet ring entrances and knocked opponents out from strange angles with his hands by his waist.
24. 24
    Diego Corrales

    Got up from two knockdowns in the tenth round against José Luis Castillo in 2005 and won by stoppage moments later.
25. 25
    Juan Manuel Márquez

    Shared 42 rounds over four fights with Manny Pacquiao and ended the series with a one-punch knockout in 2012.
26. 26
    Gervonta Davis

    A compact southpaw puncher whose one-shot knockouts of Leo Santa Cruz and Ryan Garcia made him one of boxing's biggest pay-per-view draws.
27. 27
    Roy Jones Jr.

    Produced highlight-reel moments with reflexes so fast that he once played a professional basketball game on the day of a title fight.
28. 28
    Vasiliy Lomachenko

    A two-time Olympic champion whose footwork and angles made four straight opponents quit on their stools in 2016 and 2017.
29. 29
    Félix Trinidad

    A left-hooking puncher who rose from the canvas to stop opponents, most famously Fernando Vargas in a 2000 unification thriller.
30. 30
    Matthew Saad Muhammad

    Nicknamed Miracle Matthew for rallying again and again from knockdowns and near defeat, above all in his 1980 war with Yaqui López.
31. 31
    Ricky Hatton

    His body-punching pressure and the thousands of travelling Manchester fans turned his fights into events, peaking with his 2005 win over Kostya Tszyu.
32. 32
    Jake LaMotta

    The Raging Bull absorbed punishment like nobody else and fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times, handing him his first defeat in 1943.
33. 33
    Henry Armstrong

    Homicide Hank threw punches nonstop and held world titles at three weights at the same time in 1938.
34. 34
    Aaron Pryor

    The Hawk fought at a frantic pace and twice stopped Alexis Argüello in two of the most violent title fights of the 1980s.

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