Teddy Atlas' 10 Greatest Pound-For-Pound Boxers in History

Teddy Atlas, who is a legendary boxing coach, commentator, and analyst, as well as one of the most intelligent minds in the sport, recently had his own say on the pound-for-pound debate on his podcast ‘The Fight,’ and produced some very interesting and some would say, controversial takes on the debate.

Atlas spoke about and produced his very own list of the 10 greatest ever pound-for pound fighters, and while there are some names on his list who you would typically expect to be included in such a debate, such as Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, the boxing expert also put some forgotten and somewhat underrated fighters in his list among the typical superstar names who many people are aware of.

10 Roberto Duran

Professional boxing record: 103-16

9 Sugar Ray Leonard

Professional boxing record: 36-3-1

Sugar Ray Leonard’s name is constantly brought up when discussing the greatest boxers of all time, as he is one of the most well-rounded and adaptable fighters to have ever graced the sport. Leonard possessed pretty much every skill a high-level boxer would dream of having, but also had the intelligence to back up the skill which made him unbeatable when he was at his best. As well as his talent, Leonard’s accolades are also incredible, as he was a five-weight world champion and an Olympic gold medallist.

8 Joe Louis

Professional boxing record: 66-3

7 Harry Greb

Official boxing record: 108-8-3-1-179 (NC/newspaper decisions/draws)

6 Benny Leonard

Official boxing record: 89-6-1-3-120 (NC/newspaper decisions/draws)

Professional boxing record: 229-11-1

When people think of the best defensive geniuses in the history of boxing, the names which are typically brought up are the likes of Floyd Mayweather and James Toney. However, arguably the biggest defensive mastermind of them all is Willie Pep, even though he isn’t spoken about as much as the more mainstream greats. To emphasise just how defensively brilliant Pep was, there was a story which followed him throughout his career that he once won a round without throwing a single punch, simply based on his movement and defence. Despite not being as well-known as some of the other fighters mentioned by Atlas, Pep’s influence on fighters is huge, and legends such as Mayweather and Pernell Whitaker have directly credited Pep as an inspiration.

4 Muhammad Ali

Professional boxing record: 56-5

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3 Sam Langford

Official boxing record: 178-30-38-8-60 (NC/newspaper decisions/draws)

2 Sugar Ray Robinson

Professional boxing record: 174-19-6-2

1 Henry Armstrong

Professional boxing record: 152-22-9

Taking the number one spot on Teddy Atlas’ list of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history is Henry Armstrong. Although Atlas has publicly admitted that Armstrong is his favourite fighter of all time, which may typically suggest some bias in his ranking, the former simultaneous three-weight world champion is undoubtedly one of the best boxers ever. The Mississippi native still remains to this day the only fighter ever to hold world titles in three separate weight divisions at the same time, which is one of the most impressive accolades ever.