The Ring Magazine
Creation of The Ring Magazine
The Ring is the oldest existing sports publication in the United States. It was founded in 1922 by Nat Fleischer, with help from promoter Tex Rickard and partners Ike Dorgan, Madison Square Garden secretary-treasurer Frank Coultry, and I. C. Brenner of Golfers Magazine. The latter two partners left within six months of The Ring's debut, while Dorgan remained until his retirement in 1930. Rickard, the "silent financier," died in January 1929.
The first issue, dated February 15, 1922, was 24 pages and cost 20 cents. The cover proclaimed the publication to be "The World's Foremost Boxing Magazine." It later proclaimed itself "The World's Official Boxing Magazine." Since the June 1972 issue, The Ring has called itself "The Bible of Boxing."
Fleischer died in 1972. His last issue as editor and publisher was September 1972. The October 1972 issue saw Nat Loubet, Fleischer's son-in-law, take over those responsibilities, which he held for the next seven years. Bert Sugar became editor and publisher with the October 1979 issue and continued until the February 1984 issue. After Sugar's departure, the editor and publisher duties were separated. Later editors-in-chief included Randy Gordon (February 1984 - December 1984), Nigel Collins (January 1985 - May 1989, Holiday issue 1997 - 2011), Steve Farhood (January 1990 - December 1997) and Michael Rosenthal (2011 - Present). Later publishers included Denis Blanck (March 1984 - August 1988), Don Hanrahan (September 1988 - May 1989), Stanley Weston (January 1990 - October 2002), and Stuart M. Saks (November 2002 - 2009).
The Ring has had five owners throughout its history: Nat Fleischer and family, Dave DeBusschere and Nick Kladis, Stanley Weston, Nick Karabots, and Oscar De La Hoya. In September 2007, The Ring and its sister publications—World Boxing, KO Magazine, and Boxing 2005—were sold by the Kappa Publishing Group to De La Hoya's Golden Boy Enterprises.
Read an expanded history of the magazine here.
Magazine Contents (2026)
In early 2026, The Ring digitized, and published online, the contents of its entire catalogue -- including every issue, Ring Record Book and Encyclopedia -- in searchable PDF format. To access it, register with an email address at its official website: [1]
The Ring Magazine Issues
The Table of Contents is provided for issues marked by an asterisk*
1920s:
1922|1923|1924|1925|1926|1927|1928|1929
1930s:
1930|1931|1932|1933|1934|1935|1936|1937|1938|1939
1940s:
1940|1941|1942|1943|1944|1945|1946|1947|1948|1949
1950s:
1950|1951|1952|1953|1954|1955|1956|1957|1958|1959
1960s:
1960|1961|1962|1963|1964|1965|1966|1967|1968|1969
1970s:
1970|1971|1972|1973|1974|1975|1976|1977|1978|1979
1980s:
1980|1981|1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989
1990s:
1990|1991|1992|1993|1994|1995|1996|1997|1998|1999
2000s:
2000|2001|2002|2003|2004|2005|2006|2007|2008|2009
2010s:
2010|2011|2012|2013|2014|2015|2016|2017|2018|2019
2020s:
2020|2021|2022|
The Ring Magazine Awards
- Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year (1928 - present)
- Ring Magazine Fight of the Year (1945 - present)
- Ring Magazine Round of the Year (1945 - present)
- Ring Magazine Upset of the Year (1980 - present)
- Ring Magazine Comeback of the Year (1980 - present)
- Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year (1989 - present)
- Ring Magazine Event of the Year (1993 - present)
- Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year (2011 - present)
- Ring Magazine Most Inspirational (2011 - present)
- Ring Magazine Defunct Awards
The Ring Magazine Hall of Fame
The Ring Magazine Ratings
- The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: By Division or by Year
Lists Compiled by The Ring Magazine
- 1996 - The Top 50 Fighters of the Last 50 Years
- 1996 - The 100 Greatest Title Fights of All-Time
- 2002 - The 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years
- 2003 - The 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time!
- The Ring 100 : Ranking the World's Best Fighters
- Division-By-Division - The Greatest Fighters of All-Time
- The Ring Magazine - Miscellaneous Lists
The Ring Magazine's Championships
The Ring began awarding championship belts in 1922. The very first Ring belt was given to World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey shortly after the launch of the magazine.
Inspired by Walter Camp's annual All-America football team, Nat Fleischer pioneered the concept of boxing rankings and published the very first of its kind in the February 1925 issue of The Ring.
The Ring stopped awarding championships when Steve Farhood became editor-in-chief with the January 1990 issue. In 2002, The Ring once again started to award championship belts. Their new Championship Policy was presented in the April 2002 issue.
From 2002 to 2012, there were two ways a title vacancy could be filled: A fight between the magazine's No. 1 and No. 2 contenders or, in some cases, a fight between the No. 1 and No. 3 contenders.
In 2012, a new policy was announced: If the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders chose not to fight one another, a title vacancy can also be filled if the No. 1 or No. 2 contender fights the No. 4 or No. 5 contender. The new policy was controversial and some members of The Ring ratings panel resigned. Cliff Rold, one of the members who resigned, wrote, "The Ring making it possible for a number two to face a number five and be declared a World Champion is antithetical to the notion of crowning legitimate, strong Champions."
There are seven situations in which the Champion can lose his belt:
1. The Champion loses a fight in the weight class in which he is champion.
2. The Champion moves to another weight class.
3. The Champion does not schedule a fight in any weight class for 18 months.
4. The Champion does not schedule a fight at his championship weight for 18 months (even if he fights at another weight).
5. The Champion does not schedule a fight with a Top-5 contender from any weight class for two years.
6. The Champion retires.
7. The Champion tests positive for a banned substance.
List of The Ring World Champions
Related Pages
Official Site & Contact Information
Twitter: @RingMagazine (https://twitter.com/ringmagazine]
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