Top 50 boxers of all time published and it might not please some people

Whenever anyone makes a top list of anything in sports it is going to create some controversy. Everyone has their own opinions about who was the best at everything from gymnastics to Gymkhana and many factors come into play including emotion and person preference. Also, everyone is going to be looking for certain names. Now before I start talking about who was number one I want you to guess who you think that is going to be and I will put it at the END of this article.

So who do you think is the "best" boxer of all time?

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Mike Tyson?

We'll start out with who isn't the best of all time and while I am sure there are a lot of people that would say that Mike Tyson was outstanding and his career definitely took a turn for the worse upon getting involved with Don King and well the getting convicted of rape certainly didn't help. When Mike was on top of his game in the 80's he was unbelievable and very well might have been on his way to being the best of all time but the fact that he needed money badly after getting out of prison, well as his horrible interview and press conference antics, as well as the fact that he was a shadow of his former self after spending 6 years in the clink meant that Tyson was now an average boxer at best and this kind of ruined his legacy.

For Tyson fans like me, it might surprise you to find out that Iron Mike barely made the top 50 and was ranked at number 49. ouch.

Muhammad Ali?

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Did you guess Ali? A lot of people might have because even though I wasn't alive when he still had all his facilities his legacy is incredible. Ali didn't just beat his opponents, he embarrassed them. Some people argue that Ali was the king of getting inside of his opponent's head and the fact that he would psyche out who he was up against was just as important as his boxing skills. The men opposite him would make mistakes because they couldn't keep their heads in the game.

There are also many out there that think that to a very small degree that Ali is over-rated because of his skills on the microphone rather than his skills in the ring. I don't think that is true but honestly, he did have a mouth on him and this made more money for the promoters and for himself and the people loved him for it.

He finished a lot higher than Tyson on the list, but was not number one.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

FMJ has never been beaten and is quite possibly the most successful boxer in the history of the sport when it comes to management and financials. He is the only boxer to make over a billion dollars just on ring earnings and then there is the question of endorsements and whatever investments that man has. He is very very rich and I am quite certain he doesn't even think about money all that often.

However, for a lot of people who enjoy boxing, they do NOT enjoy Mayweather and find him very boring. He is a calculating boxer, there is no doubt about that, but he rarely puts on a good show. His last 5 fights were all quite boring (by my standards) and even the bout with McGregor was not a good one. Mayweather simply chooses his shots very wisely and in the interim manages to put the crowd to sleep during his normally very very long path to victory.

He wasn't always this way, but there is speculation on mine and many other people's part that he is so concerned with tarnishing his perfect record that he is more concerned with not losing than he is winning.

It may surprise you to find out that Manny Pacquiao, whom Mayweather has defeated is ranked at number 11. Mayweather sits down in Tyson land at rank number 39.

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So who was ranked #1?

I will admit that I know very little about this person because he died in 1989 and stopped boxing long before I was born.

The man with the all time crown is none other than Sugar Ray Robinson.

_{He's the guy on the left}

So how can a guy with 19 defeats be the best of all time? Well, don't get on my case because I don't know and this isn't my list. This was made by sportbible.com. I think it has something to do with the fact that Robinson came about at a point in time where black people were still pretty downtrodden in USA and he was a major force in changing that. It also might have something to do with the fact that he had 200 professional fights. It might also have something to do with the fact that his bouts, even the ones he lost, were not boring. Apparently his fights were just unbelievable electrifying. It also probably has a lot to do with the fact that despite the fact that he was a 5 time middleweight champion, he remained modest throughout his career.

I don't know. But i never would have guessed he would be at the top of the list... but he is.

What do you think?