- Selecting a top 10 out of over 130 years of championship Queensbury gloved boxing a bit like selecting the top 10 science fiction novels. I'd choose the 1960 published Venus Plus X as the most applicable for this era of 20th century men waking up one morning in their 3rd millennium perfect cookie cutter world where overpopulation, endless war, biological destruction, and bigotry are all eliminated by technology and law. That would include elimination of biological gender, which makes Ol' Sturge prescient, so we could be sure boxing eliminated contact, weight and gender classes. All the punch monkeys, judges, and refs would have to study the new art of electronic scoring at distance where tiny he/she/it shoeshine flurries off breakballet dancing moves rule the day and any contact results in auto DQ.
Unlike some of the disreputable heavies chosen last go round, the lightheavies are a more honorable, more competitive lot, they having a claim to being the strongest division in history. I included their IBRO rankings as a point of comparison. Sturge was responsible for Sturgeon's Law in the day where 90% of science fiction is crud that became 90% of everything crud, but Sturge never saw a top 10 LH list.
1.Sammy Langford(#6 IBRO P4P/#3 LH)
2.Bobby Fitz(#10 IBRO P4P/#8 LH)
3.Ezzy Charles(#12 IBRO P4P/#2 LH)
4.Archie Moore(#17 IBRO P4P/#1 LH)
5. Harry Greb(#2 IBRO P4P/#13 LH)
The first five were not constrained to lightheavy limitations to transcend the division. Had the $ value been there, they could've remained there, but they went with bigger fights in bigger divisions whenever possible that enhance the potential of this division, not that I think any could beat the top behemoth heavies of today. I would rank Greb higher but for being such a smallish, light puncher primarily winning decisions at home.
6. Micheal Spinks(#7 IBRO LH)
7. Bob Foster(#5 IBRO LH)
8.Roy Jones Jr(#10 IBRO LH) + Jellyman Kellerman's #1 heavy and P4P all time for those who savor boxing's boundless supply of sublime comedy.
9.Gene Tunney(#20 IBRO P4P/#4 LH)
10. Sergey Krusher Kovalev in anticipation of his demolition of Andre "My Imelda Shoe Collection" (MISC) Ward. One shudders to consider Krusher in 6 OZ gloves of yesteryear.
*** Note my selections span 125 years of boxing from when Fitz makes his 1st splash before there was a LH division. I have no bias whatsoever other than I prefer sluggers though classic fighters who are superb boxers like Charles, Tunney, and Spinks easily make my list. Potentially prime to prime any of the lower 5 could beat the upper five, a very competitive division, but I favor Sam in any 3-5 fight series against the 9 as the last man standing. Sam and Sergey also represent true International fighters bookending the rest.
