From Muhammad Ali to Floyd Mayweather here's our ranking of the greatest boxers in the modern era

From larger-than-life heavyweights like Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis to national heroes such as Julio Cesar Chavez and Roberto Duran, some of the greatest sportsmen in history made their name in the boxing ring.

And in a sport that's seen organized fights for well over a century, narrowing down the best of the best is no easy task.

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Rather than trim down the sport's elite from throughout its storied history, this list takes a look at the greatest boxers in the modern era. We'll be defining the modern era the same way the International Boxing Hall of Fame did for its inductees between 1990-2014: a boxer's final fight must not have taken place before 1943.

That means some of boxing's all-time greats, including Harry Greb, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey and countless other formative giants, are ineligible to be ranked.

As with boxing, the science behind ranking the sport's elite is an imperfect one, and far less sweet. Guiding factors in determining the modern era's top 50 included achievements and titles held, quality of opponents and wins, dominance in their era and impact on the sport as a whole.

Without further ado, here is our ranking of the top boxers in the modern era, starting with Nos. 1-25.

1. Sugar Ray Robinson | Record: 173-19-6 (108 KOs) | Career: 1940-1965

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2. Henry Armstrong | Record: 150-21-10 (101 KOs) | Career: 1931-1954

3. Muhammad Ali | Record: 56-5 (37 KOs) | Career: 1960-1981

4. Joe Louis | Record: 66-3 (52 KOs) | Career: 1934-1951

5. Willie Pep | Record: 229-11-1 (65 KOs) | Career: 1940-1966

6. Roberto Duran | Record: 103-16 (70 KOs) | Career: 1968-2001

7. Sugar Ray Leonard | Record: 36-3-1 (25 KOs) | Career: 1977-1997

8. Rocky Marciano | Record: 49-0 (43 KOs) | Career: 1948-1955

9. Ezzard Charles | Record: 93-25-1 (52 KOs) | Career: 1940-1959

10. Archie Moore | Record: 185-23-10 (131 KOs) | Career: 1935-1963

11. Julio Cesar Chavez | Record: 108-6-2 (87 KOs) | Career: 1980-2005

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12. Floyd Mayweather Jr. | Record: 50-0 (27 KOs) | Career: 1996-2017

13. Sandy Saddler | Record: 144-16-2 (103 KOs) | Career: 1944-1956

14. Manny Pacquiao | Record: 62-8-2 (39 KOs) | Career: 1995-2021

15. George Foreman | Record: 76-5 (68 KOs) | Career: 1969-1997

16. Marvelous Marvin Hagler | Record: 62-3-2 (52 KOs) | Career: 1973-1987

17. Eder Jofre | Record: 72-2-4 (50 KOs) | Career: 1957-1976

18. Larry Holmes | Record: 69-6 (44 KOs) | Career: 1973-2002

19. Carlos Monzon | Record: 87-3-9 (59 KOs) | Career: 1963-1977

20. Billy Conn | Record: 64-12-1 (15 KOs) | Career: 1934-1948

21. Joe Frazier | Record: 32-4-1 (27 KOs) | Career: 1965-1981

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22. Jake LaMotta | Record: 83-19-4 (30 KOs) | Career: 1941-1954

23. Pernell Whitaker | Record: 40-4-1 (17 KOs) | Career: 1984-2001

24. Marcel Cerdan | Record: 111-4 (65 KOs) | Career: 1938-1949

25. Ruben Olivares | Record: 89-13-3 (79 KOs) | Career: 1965-1988