Friday Fights: Top 10 Middleweights
In this edition of Friday Fights, Adam Milliken takes a look at his top 10 middleweight boxers of all time.
Marvin Hagler. Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org. No changes made.
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Welcome to Friday Fights! In this edition, I will take a look at my personal top 10 list of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time.
- Bob Fitzsimmons – 74-8-3-(67 KO’s)-19 no contests: One of the most dated fighters on the list, Fitzsimmons made his professional debut back in 1880 at the age of 17. “Ruby Robert” had a tall, lanky build which provided him with a long reach. He combined that with powerful strikes to become a celebrated champion. He won a world championship in the heavyweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions to become boxing’s first ever Triple Crown winner. Fitzsimmons was known for his toughness and willingness to fight anyone. He stepped in the ring with several men throughout his career who had more than an 80 pound difference from himself. Although it is difficult to compare him to more modern fighters, Fitzsimmons is a great champion in boxing history.
- Jake LaMotta – 83-19-4-(30 KO’s): Nicknamed “The Bronx Bull,” LaMotta was known for his sluggish, swarming style and his incredible ability to take punishment. He possessed one of the strongest chins in boxing history and could withstand inhuman amounts of physical abuse in the ring. Along with this ability, he utilized a “swarm” strategy by throwing countless punches at his opponent. Because of his style, he is often overlooked during discussions about the greatest boxers of all time. However, his skill was vastly underrated. LaMotta was also the first man who ever defeated the legendary “Sugar” Ray Robinson.
- Mickey Walker – 93-19-4-(60 KO’s)-1 no contest: Although a large portion of his career was spent in other weight classes, Walker still had many accomplishments as a middleweight boxer. He captured the world middleweight championship by defeating Tiger Flowers on May 20, 1926 in a controversial win by decision. Once he became champion of the middleweight division, the “Toy Bulldog” turned his attention to other pursuits. He reigned as middleweight champion for just over five years, but he only defended the title four times over that time span. In June of 1931, Walker relinquished the title to move up to the heavyweight division. His career lasted another four years, and he retired in 1935.
- Bernard Hopkins – 55-7-2-(32 KO’s)-2 no contests: Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins is the most recent fighter on this list, and he has yet to officially retire. Despite this, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest middleweights of all time. After beginning in 1994, Hopkins went on an amazing 11-year reign as the world middleweight champion before finally losing the title in 2005. Hopkins further cemented his resume by becoming the oldest person to ever win a world championship when he won the light heavyweight title in 2014 at the age of 49.
- Tiger Flowers – 115-14-6-(53 KO’s)-1 no contest: A career cut short by untimely death did not stop the “Georgia Deacon” from making an enormous impact on the sport and society. Flowers was the first African-American middleweight boxing champion. He won the title on February 26, 1926 by defeating Harry Greb in Madison Square Garden. After his historic victory, Flowers made just one successful title defense before losing it to Mickey Walker in a highly controversial judges’ decision. Tragedy struck when Flowers was hospitalized to have tissue removed from the area around his eyes. He died on Nov. 19, 1927 as a result of complications from surgery. Although his career was short and he never got the rematch with Walker, Flowers left an undeniable mark on the sport of boxing.
- Stanley Ketchel – 51-4-4-(48 KO’s)-1 no contest: Ketchel is another unfortunate example of tragedy ending a life and career too soon. “The Michigan Assassin” began his career in 1904 at the age of 18, earning his first victory with a knockout in the very first round. By 1908, he had earned general recognition as world middleweight champion. He would lose the title to Billy Papke in September of 1908, but Ketchel regained it two months later in November by knocking out Papke in their rematch. In 1910, in an effort to regain his strength and train for a rematch with Jack Johnson (whom he had lost to in October of 1909), Ketchel moved to a friend’s ranch in Missouri. It was there that he was shot and robbed. He died on October 15, 1910. Because of his untimely death, Ketchel remains stagnant in history as a boxer forever in his prime and forever a champion.
- Carlos Monzon – 87-3-9-(59 KO’s)-1 no contest: Nicknamed “Escopeta” (Spanish for “Shotgun”), Monzon was known for his speed, punching power and deceptive skill. Monzon picked up all three of his losses in his first 20 career fights, and he did not lose a contest after that. By 1970, Monzon had become the undisputed world middleweight champion. He reigned as champion for seven years — and made 14 successful title defenses — before retiring in mid-1977 after defeating Rodrigo Valdez in their rematch. Monzon was able to retire on top as a champion. Many people don’t know much about the Argentinian Monzon, who only fought once in the United States. Some people also cite his tumultuous personal life as reason for keeping him off of lists. However, despite those factors, Monzon was simply one of the best middleweights of all time.
- Marvelous Marvin Hagler – 62-3-2-(52 KO’s): Hagler was a complete fighter that possessed speed, skill, power and the ability to both box and brawl effectively. Throughout the early stages of his career, Hagler struggled to garner the attention he desired. However, by 1980, Hagler had become the undisputed world middleweight champion. He would reign as champion for seven years until he lost the title to “Sugar” Ray Leonard in 1987. Hagler was also a part of the group known as “The Fabulous Four” along with Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Duran. These four men fought one another numerous times throughout the 1980’s, and they are credited with keeping boxing popular — especially at lower weight classes — in the post-Muhammad Ali era.
- “Sugar” Ray Robinson – 173-19-6-(108 KO’s)-2 no contests: Often cited as the greatest boxer to ever live, “Sugar” Ray Robinson was an incredible fighter. The reason he is not No. 1 on this list of middleweights is because he was at his best as a welterweight, although he was still sensational at middleweight as well. He has been called the “perfect” boxer, otherwise known as someone who possessed every trait someone wants in a fighter. After his reign as world welterweight champion ended in 1951, Robinson decided to move up to middleweight. As a middleweight, he won the world championship three times (1952, 1955, and 1958). His three middleweight titles, along with his two reigns as welterweight champion, made Robinson the first person to ever win five divisional world championships. He retired from boxing in 1965 as arguably the greatest to ever compete in the sport.
- Harry Greb – 105-8-3-(48 KO’s)-1 no contest: “The Pittsburgh Windmill” was a machine in the ring, possessing speed and legendary durability. Throughout his career, he suffered only two TKO’s (technical knockouts), and one was because he broke his arm during a fight. He also fought much of his career with one eye after becoming nearly blind in the other due to a previous injury. Although no known film of Greb fighting exists, we only have to look at the quality opposition that Greb regularly defeated to justify his greatness. Some of the legends he defeated include Tommy Loughran, Gene Tunney, Maxie Rosenbloom and Mickey Walker. He reigned as world middleweight champion from 1923-1926 before losing the title to Tiger Flowers. His toughness, skill and willingness to fight anyone make Harry Greb one of the greatest — and, in my opinion, the best — middleweight boxers of all time.
Well, that’s my list of the greatest middleweights of all time. Did I get it right? Did I get it wrong? Feel free to let me know your opinions, and be sure to check back next week for another edition of Friday Fights!
Edited by Nathan Odom
Featured Image by Marianne Bevis
Adam is the Assistant Sports Editor for the Tennessee Journalist and a Junior at UT. Most of his free time is spent watching sports, listening to good music, and enjoying life. If you wish to contact him, you can email him at amillike@vols.utk.edu, follow him on Twitter, @AdamMilliken14, or find him at https://www.linkedin.com/pub/adam-milliken/109/a89/a32.
