BoxRec

Where do you rate the great Salvador Sanchez at:
Featherweight?
All-Time Pound per Pound?

He's definitely an all time Top 10 Featherweight no question. Possibly even Top 5.

I think even after I've rated many many more highly thought of fighters he'll still wind up in my all time Top 50 P4P or very close to it. Right now he's Top 30 in my rankings, but there's still many names who's careers i haven't thoroughly went over yet who will wind up ahead of him.

For featherweight, Saddler and Pep are the ones that can possibly be ahead of him. You could make a serious argument for him being #1.
Pound for pound harder to say as there are several guys roughly even from different eras and weight classes.

At least top 5 at Featherweight. All Time, I'd have to really think about that.

Seamus wrote: ↑19 Oct 2026, 21:48 At least top 5 at Featherweight. All Time, I'd have to really think about that.

In the same boat.

Top five.
I have Saddler as 1.
It’s all about the eye test for me when it comes to Sandy. He was a physical wrecking machine at feather. One of the hardest to fight guys I’ve ever seen. Nightmare to fight.

For me, Salvador Sanchez is top 5 all-time featherweight. Only Willie Pep, Henry Armstrong and Sandy Saddler are the ones that stand out over him.

My top 10 featherweight all-time rankings:
1. Willie Pep
2. Henry Armstrong
3. Sandy Saddler
4. Salvador Sanchez
5. Kid Chocolate
6. Battling Battalino
7. Freddie Miller
8. Eusebio Pedroza
9. Alexis Arguello
10. Abe Attell

elmersalsa wrote: ↑19 Oct 2026, 20:00 Where do you rate the great Salvador Sanchez at:
Featherweight?
All-Time Pound per Pound?

Sanchez was an outstanding fighter and one of the finest counterpunchers of his era. He died far too young, at just 23. Had he lived another four years and continued fighting at that level, his legacy could have been even greater.

As it stands, he is difficult to rank in the top four featherweights of all time, although placing him somewhere in the #5–#10 range among the greatest fighters in boxing history is entirely reasonable. His talent was undeniable, but his tragically short career leaves us wondering just how high he might have climbed.

We should just look at what he did while he was alive. don't worry about what might have been. He won the title by stopping a better than average champion, Danny Lopez. In a title defense, he stopped Lopez again. In a huge fight, he completely dominated Wilfredo Gomez. Beat very good featherweights like Castillo and LaPorte. Defeated Azumah Nelson, another great fighter.

Regardless of how long they fought, who did more at featherweight? Maybe Saddler and Pep. And that's it. Period.
This is not really a case of what might have been. Sanchez had already proved just how great he was.

elmersalsa wrote: ↑23 Oct 2026, 19:49 For me, Salvador Sanchez is top 5 all-time featherweight. Only Willie Pep, Henry Armstrong and Sandy Saddler are the ones that stand out over him.

My top 10 featherweight all-time rankings:
1. Willie Pep
2. Henry Armstrong
3. Sandy Saddler
4. Salvador Sanchez
5. Kid Chocolate
6. Battling Battalino
7. Freddie Miller
8. Eusebio Pedroza
9. Alexis Arguello
10. Abe Attell

Pretty good list. I don't think I would change anything

A true great. Top 10 at Feather for sure.

What is the case for anyone beside Pep or Saddler to be higher than Sanchez?

Him vs Sadder would be a dream fight.
I wonder how Sanchez would deal with Sandy’s physical style. And by physical I mean elbows, shoulders, holding and hitting etc.
I can’t think of any featherweight that he fought who brought that style.
Not to mention saddlers power and skill.

I had Sanchez at 3# behind Pep and Kilbane.

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑30 Oct 2026, 15:09 What is the case for anyone beside Pep or Saddler to be higher than Sanchez?

For me, it would be that Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler had much more fights at featherweight than Salvador Sanchez.

And also, they beat much more top ranked opponents than Sanchez at featherweight. More longevity as fighters and also as world champions in that weight.

Well, I wasn't arguing that he should be higher than Pep and Saddler. I said he should be #3 behind only them. Though even that is closer than some people think. Obviously Pep and Saddler fought each other. but then there is a significant drop off on the level of ability. Lopez, Gomez, and Nelson were all better than anyone else that they beat.

Seamus wrote: ↑30 Oct 2026, 19:02 I had Sanchez at 3# behind Pep and Kilbane.

OK, I will bite. Why would Klibane be ahead of Saddler, Sanchez and everyone else?