BoxRec

a lot of people think so. what do other people think.

Not sure, definately top 3-5 though...

I'd put him about #3, behind Louis and Ali

Is Sugar Ray Robinson the greatest ever? I think so.

any all time greatest list has to start with sugar ray robinson.

any all time greatest list has to start with sugar ray robinson.

No, the greatest of all time was Jimmy Wilde

I would pick Sam Langford as the best pound for pound fighter. If Langford and Robinson met at 160 I would bet the house on Langford. At 170 pounds Langford was one of the best fighters in the HEAVYWEIGHT division. Langford was some thing special...we will never see another man who stands 5'7" and weighs 150-170 pounds that can dominate from the welterweighs to the heavyweights. Dempsey said Sam was the only fighter he was a fraid to fight. Robinson may have beat alot of guys but the true test of being the best pound 4 pound is being able to beat a man much bigger than himself on boxing ability and skill. Robinson was 5'11" and didn't stretch into the lightheavyweight division let alone the heavies. Don't get me wrong Robinson was in the top 3 for p4p but who did what Langford did?

oh hell yea SRR is top, i mean ill be blunt, ive only seen 4 of his fights, 2 of the lamotta's and the one where he knocks some contender white guy out with a jab while moving backwards...saw some other fight but that was just a boxing clinque he put on there.

anyway, when you consider the caliber of guys he fought and the way he would be the vast majority of them, his activity level, his speed, power, ability to slug, ability to box...just everything, you ball it up and you compare it to other guys and they fall short.

dont get me wrong, right now ray robinson is the top of the heap, he can and will be removed from the pedistal eventually but right now nobody is close to closing the gap...IMO

Even Muhammad Ali rated Sugar Ray Robinson as the best he'd ever seen!

It's always surprising read that people indicate some former boxer as the best of ever ! It's not impossible, of course, but it's so hard, because you learn about this boxer (or whatsoever sportsman or historical figure) through books, newspapers, oral witnesses, films, etc. Instead, when you see directly (or through a visible media) a person, I think you could refine your opinions. Personally, I share John Shep's visual about Jimmy Wilde, just for what I have learned and not seen. I born in 1959. I saw Ali, Foreman, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Benitez, Sanchez, etc. I avow I reckon 'true boxing' died in the 1990s. In my direct view, the best boxer I saw is Carlos Monzon, the best Italian Arcari. I never saw directly Loi, but for what I have learned, my personal standing for Italy is 1) Arcari, 2) Loi, 3) Benvenuti, 4) Mazzinghi. Also an important Italian historian, Giuseppe Signori reckoned Wilde the best flyweight of ever.

any idea where i can get my hands on some footage of these guys? because id love to shoot the srr theory to shit like i try, oh, so hard with the ali myth. but i think its going to take alot of ammo to dethrown the great ray in my eyes, and then twice that in most others.

Best fighter maybe, but I pick Willie Pep the best boxer ever.

Gherardo, you are assuming that no one living saw Wilde fight. It's possible that an elderly person may have seen the Francisco Villa-Jimmy Wilde fight in NY. It is also possible that people living in England may have seen the Herman fight. Plus some very respected sports writers, that have passed on, did see the older fighters of the early 1900's and also saw the fighters of the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's. They even disagreed amongst themselves. What present-day historians end up with is a consensus. Even the statement "pound for pound" is subject to interputation. The consensus was Sugar Ray. I believe Henry Armstrong was considered #2.

Ridiculous Ray: which two Robinson-Lamotta fights did you see? I saw the sixth fight on tape-to my knowledge, the others are not on film or tape.If i'm wrong, please let me know.I've seen thousands and thousands of fights, and Robinson was the best fighter that I ever saw.

The 3 best fighters of all-time in my opinion
were
1 Sugar Ray Robinson
2 Henry Armstrong
3 Roberto Duran
i would also like to mention Aaron Pryor as the the best Light-Welterweight ever.

Sugar might be number two but if you go by records -it's Harry Greb, who beat Tunney and several dozen heavyweights while being a middleweight and fought blind out of one eye for three years.

I think he has to be, but Henry Homicide Hank Armstrong could get considered also!!

HARD CHOICE BUT THE EDGE TO SUGAR , HE WOULD HAVE FOUR, FIVE OR SIX DIFFERENT WEIGHTS LOCKED UP TODAY.

I think that, in the final analysis, you've got to give it to Ray. No one did so many things so well; he could box, punch, think, he had the heart of a lion, a killer instinct, and he was entertaining. Finally, he beat more good fighters than almost anyone else. You'll notice that he didn't even lose his second fight until he was in his 30s. I think Greb, Duran, Langford, Benny Leonard, Armstrong, Pep and a few others all belonng in the top ten, but Robinson was the most complete of them all. He gets my vote.

Overrated because he had 19 losses!! What about those 173 wins? Robinson started his career 127-1-2. He fought 12 future Hall of Famers(Zivic,Angott,Armstrong,Gavilan,LaMotta,Olson,Turpin,Graziano,Maxim,Fullmer,Basilio, and Giardello) and was 20-7-1 against those guys. Two of those losses came when Ray was in his 40's. Robinson had 108 KO's and in his 200 fights, he hit the canvas only 6 times. He was stopped only once in the Maxim fight where it was so hot the referee (Ruby Goldstein) passed out. NEVER knocked out. If you think he's overrated, then who do you put ahead of him?

Eddie Futch rated Charley Burley as the best ever

Even Muhammad Ali said thats who he got his style from

Even Muhammad Ali said thats who he got his style from

I would put Robinson at the top. You really have to. In the final analysis, no fighter in history had such a blend of Talent, Skill, Will, accomplishment and level of opposition.
He combined those things at a higher level than anyone.
Ray Robinson is number 1. ESPECIALLY as a Welterweight, where he was nearly unbeatable.

In terms of resume, Harry Greb has the most outstanding one that I've ever encountered. He fought more great and good fighters more times than anybody, and won the lion's share of the time. But, unfortunatley, we can't see him in action, because there's no film. But through historical accounts, testimonials from opponents and other fighters of his time, we can piece together a picture of an extraordinary fighter. It's enough to earn him a spot on any reasonable person's list of the Ten greatest fighters in history. (I have him at number 4, simply because I can't see him fight, he'd be higher with film). If you consider yourself any kind of boxing historian, and you don't have Greb on your list, then you're crazier than he was.