Sugar Ray Robinson usually gets the spot as the greatest fighter pound for pound, and many argue that Henry Armstrong was a close second for that spot. But for my money the greatest fighter of all time was the ‘Boston Tar Baby’ Sam Langford.
A career that spanned 24 years, he racked up 181 wins, 34 losses, 34 draws, with 130 knock outs to his credit. From welterweight to heavyweight this man of 5’8” and weighing around the 156 pound mark beat the best contenders and champions the early 20th century had ever seen.
How can you argue with his wins over: Jim Flynn, Bill Tate, Harry Wills, Tiger Flowers, Ed Bearcat Wright, Brad Simmons, Jeff Clark, George Godfrey, Frank Farmer, Sam McVea, Battling Jim Johnson, Joe Jeanette, Dan Porky Flynn, Tom McMahon, Gunboat Smith, Jack Lester, Jim Barry, Philadelphia Jack O’Brien, Tony Caponi, Tony Ross, Jack Fitzgerald, Bill Lang, Stanley Ketchell, Dixie Kid, Mike Schreck, John Klondike Haines, Sandy Ferguson, James Tiger Smith, Young Peter Jackson, Black Fitzsimmons, Joe Gans.
The only men he lost to were men who either outweighed him tremendously and much taller, such as with his losses to Fred Fulton and Bill Tate and to the best of the era like Jack Johnson, Harry Wills, Jack Blackburn, Willie Meehan, Joe Jeanette and a few others.
The only title(s) he won were the English version of the ‘world’ Middleweight title, the Mexican Heavyweight title, the ‘Colored’ Heavyweight title and the Australian Heavyweight title and he drew Joe Walcott ‘The Barbados Demon’ for the World Welterweight title.
This man clearly was the best fighter of his era, beating the best Welterweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight contenders in the world. To put it into comparison, not even Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns could compare to the success rate at higher weight classes than what Langford had done.
Sam Langford: The Greatest of All Time
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HomicideHenry
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