BoxRec

Who did Ring Magazine have ranked in their top 10 heavyweights when Rocky retired?

Perfect question for the buzzmeister to answer.

It would be good if their was a record some where of all the
Ring's top ten ratings...perhaps their is.

I can only ever find annual ratings.

The University of Notre Dame has a complete set of Ring Magazines in the library's sports archives.

http://www.library.nd.edu/rarebooks/col ... ndex.shtml

The archivist, George Rugg, is a good fellow. If you contact him, he might be willing to look up the appropriate issue that has those ratings, and send a copy to you.

These were the annual rankingsof 1955 published in Feb of 56, right before Rocky retired:

1.Archie Moore
2.Bob Baker
3.Tommy (Hurricane) Jackson
4.John Holman
5.Willie Pastrano
6.Nino Valdes
7.Johnny Summerlin
8.Bob Satterfield
9.Young Jack Johnson
10.Ezzard Charles

Thanks!

How come Floyd Patterson fought Archie Moore for the vacant title if Patterson wasn't even listed in the top 10?

Patterson was still rated as a light heavyweight in 1955. He got the chance to fight for the vacant title vs Moore by defeating heavyweight contender Tommy Jackson, who had just upset #2 Baker.

Thanks dempseyfire - I should have checked his record.

FYI, the annual ratings are available in the encyclopdia section of this website at:

http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/T ... al_Ratings

Pretty obvious with the top 10 ratings at that time, Marciano could have defended his title another 3-4 times without error, there was simply no one available to have given him a real run for his money. Why? Satterfield was dangerous until he was hit back, Jackson got the hell beat out of him in sparring sessions with Marciano, Moore simply wasnt tough enough or conditioned enough to keep up with Marciano's onslaught, Charles was too damn old by then, etc.

Robinson wrote:It would be good if their was a record some where of all the
Ring's top ten ratings...perhaps their is.

I can only ever find annual ratings.

Yeah it seems like someone would have put these online by now, but it doesn't seem to have happened. I actually e-mailed Nigel Collins and he said basically that they'd like to publish the complete list of monthly ratings, but they don't have the resources at present to invest the kind of time it would require to do so.

marcianofan wrote:

Robinson wrote:It would be good if their was a record some where of all the
Ring's top ten ratings...perhaps their is.

I can only ever find annual ratings.

Yeah it seems like someone would have put these online by now, but it doesn't seem to have happened. I actually e-mailed Nigel Collins and he said basically that they'd like to publish the complete list of monthly ratings, but they don't have the resources at present to invest the kind of time it would require to do so.

It is my understanding that the Ring Magazine itself does not have a complete set of magazines. I believe the collection at the University of Notre Dame is only one of two complete sets in the U.S.

That just plain sucks then.

I wish someone would start a project to scan in Boxing News issues.

Sonny Liston was around in 1956.

Wonder how many on that Top 10 list could have handled Sonny?

Here is the The Ring's first set of Monthly ratings after Marciano retired, dated 21 May 1956:

Champion: Vacant
1. Archie Moore
2. Tommy Jackson
3. Bob Baker
4. Floyd Patterson
5. John Holman
6. Johnny Summerlin
7. Willie Pastrano
8. Harold Carter
9. Bob Satterfield
10. Eddie Machen

dempseyfire wrote:These were the annual rankingsof 1955 published in Feb of 56, right before Rocky retired:
7.Johnny Summerlin

- And you had the nerve to argue that Liston wasn't near his prime in 54 when he beat Summerlin in 2 consecutive fights.

Beat the #7 guy twice and not even mentioned in Ring ratings. Just goes to show you how much credibility Ring lacks at times.

yancey wrote:Sonny Liston was around in 1956.

Wonder how many on that Top 10 list could have handled Sonny?

Not around all year. Sonny was arrested sometime after the Marshall fight in Spring 1956 for assaulting a cop in St. Louis and sent to prison.

Neither Summerlin or Liston were rated in the top ten at the times they fought.

Summerlin debuted at no. 7 in the ratings in November 1955, presumably for beating Zora Folley and Bert Whitehurst (none of whom were rated at the time Summerlin beat them).

Liston first made the ratings in August 1958, after his win over Wayne Bethea (also not rated at time of loss to Liston).
Liston debuted at no. 9.

Collins2000 wrote:I wish someone would start a project to scan in Boxing News issues.

me too...this would be great