Where Terence Crawford sit among greatest ever American boxers, with Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr and Floyd Mayweather Jr on list

From Roy Jones Jr to Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson to Bernard Hopkins, the USA has produced some of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers in history – but who is the stars-and-stripes no.1?

Terence Crawford, the WBO welterweight champion, may be the best US boxer currently, but he’s got some way to go to match the achievements of his fellow American prizefighters. From heavyweight punchers to multi-weight world champions, talkSPORT has ranked the modern top 20, based on skills and in-ring achievements.

Active fighters count, the only criteria being they have to have fought once in the past 50 years (sorry to all the massive Ray Robinson, Joe Louis and John L Sullivan fans). Now let’s get out our tiny Don King flag and countdown America’s finest.

20. Oscar De La Hoya

The handsome face of boxing in the 1990s was a lock for superstardom when he turned pro after winning an Olympic gold medal. ‘The Golden Boy’ with the lightning left hook won world titles in six weight classes, but also lost a lot of his biggest fights – though De La Hoya pushed Floyd Mayweather very close in the 2007 showdown which made a global star of ‘Money’.

19. Michael Spinks 

It’s a shame that a lot of modern boxing fans only know ‘The Jinx’ for suffering a 91-second obliteration by a peak Mike Tyson. Spinks was actually a gifted, tricky, undisputed light-heavyweight champion who stepped up to end Larry Holmes’ long heavyweight reign. The abrupt defeat by Tyson was the only loss of Spinks’ impressive professional career.

18. Terence Crawford

Unbeaten, a three-weight world champion (undisputed at 140lb), an adaptable switch-hitter who is defensively tight and an underrated puncher. ‘Bud’ looks the total package but the frustration around the laid back 35-year-old Nebraskan is that he doesn’t have the super-fights to match his skills. Once again, this year will end without him facing eternal rival Errol Spence Jr. Sigh.

17. Shane Mosley

Some real highs and lows in ‘Sugar’ Shane’s career. The Calinfornian was sweet at lightweight, became the sport’s pound-for-pound No.1 after he leapt two weight divisions to upset De La Hoya in 2000, but suffered a shock defeat by Vernon Forrest two years later. Won some marquee fights after that but lost several more and retired too late in 2016 with 10 official losses.

16. Bob Foster

Possessed of a piston-like jab – he even out-jabbed Muhammad Ali early on in their fight – Foster was the dominant light-heavyweight of the 1970s, racking up 14 successful defences. Unfortunately, Foster did not carry his devastating KO power up to heavyweight and he lost in title challenges to Ali and Joe Frazier. But at 175lb, he was a fearsome fighting machine.

15. Joe Frazier

‘Smokin Joe’ became the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali in their epic 15-round ‘Fight of the Century’ in 1971. The Philadelphia pressure fighter with the crushing left hook was never quite the same after George Foreman shockingly demolished him two years later, but Frazier’s place among the heavyweight greats is assured by his trilogy with Ali alone. What a warrior.

14. Andre Ward

Crafty, clever, sometimes downright dirty, Ward cleaned out a competitive super-middleweight division then stepped up to beat Sergey Kovalev (controversially the first time, by KO the second) before announcing a surprise retirement in 2017. Owning a flawless 32-0 record, the main knock against Ward is that long stretches of inactivity meant we didn’t see enough of him.

13. Tommy Hearns

‘The Hitman’ lived up to his nickname, a fearsome KO puncher at welterweight who ended his career beating up cruiserweights. The lanky Kronk gym product was boxing’s first five-weight world champion and while he lost his biggest fights – to Ray Leonard and against Marvin Hagler in a memorable three-round war, he sealed his greatness in those famous bouts and others.

12. Mike Tyson

The terrifying, sawn-off Brooklynite with dynamite in his gloves tore through the division after becoming the youngest ever heavyweight champ in 1986. However Tyson’s life soon spun out of control, culminating in a huge upset defeat by Buster Douglas in 1990. Won world titles after that yet never recaptured his best form – but during his too-brief prime, he was formidable.

11. Aaron Pryor

‘The Hawk’ is one of the underrated greats of his era, overshadowed by the ‘four kings’ (Hearns, Hagler, Leonard and Roberto Duran). Pryor also struggled with a drug addiction in the mid-80s, but before that he was some fighter – a relentless 140lb punching machine who won a memorable war with Alexis Arguello. Eventually retired with an imposing 39-1 (35 KOs) record.

10. Evander Holyfield

The ‘Real Deal’ fought on far too long, culminating in his sad defeat, aged 58, by Vitor Belfort in a 2021 exhibition. But decades before that, Holyfield was a supremely tough boxer-puncher, arguably the greatest cruiserweight of all time who stepped up and won multiple heavyweight world titles, fought a memorable trilogy with Riddick Bowe and upset Mike Tyson in 1996.

9. Larry Holmes

‘The Easton Assassin’ suffered in comparison with his charismatic predecessor Muhammad Ali, but his record speaks for itself: 20 successful heavyweight title defences and 48-0 before he first tasted defeat. Owned an all-time great jab, excellent powers of recovery (only Mike Tyson ever stopped him) and once ran over a car to drop-kick a heavyweight rival. What’s not to love?

8. Bernard Hopkins

‘The Executioner’ who became ‘The Alien’: when you have a career as long and storied as Hopkins, you’re allowed two nicknames. The tough, gnarly Philly middleweight didn’t get real recognition until he stunned Felix Trinidad in 2001, but ended up upsetting some elite light-heavyweights deep into his forties. Almost as good at talking as he was at fighting.

7. George Foreman

Big George had two careers in one: the mean, moody puncher who wrecked Joe Frazier and Ken Norton before his upset loss to Ali. Then the balder, happier, grill-selling old gent who made an improbable comeback to win the world heavyweight title at age 45 when he stopped Michael Moorer. His eventual 76-5 (68 KOs) record speaks to Foreman’s awesome power.

6. Marvin Hagler

So great he had ‘Marvelous’ legally added to his name, the chrome-domed, granite-chinned switch-hitter defended his middleweight title 12 times (11 via KO). Of his three career defeats, two were avenged by knockout while the last was the hugely controversial points loss to Ray Leonard. After failing to secure a rematch, an enraged Hagler retired to act in films in Italy.

5. Pernell Whitaker

The greatest defensive genius US boxing has ever produced (sorry Floyd), ‘Sweet Pea’ was an almost impossibly slick southpaw. A four-weight world champion, Whitaker had personal demons and was robbed by judges on several occasions (most notably his hotly disputed draw with Julio Cesar Chavez), but still reigned as one of the very best boxers of the 1990s.

4. Roy Jones Jr

Has any boxer had faster reflexes? The best athlete ever to step into a boxing ring, RJJ was so rapid he defied conventions, rarely using a jab and trouncing foes with lightning combinations. Won world titles from middleweight all the way to heavyweight, but kept on boxing too long and – after his astonishing coordination began to deteriorate – suffered some awful KO defeats.

3. Sugar Ray Leonard

The dazzling US box-office star of the early 1980s, Leonard had swift movement, hand speed and was as artful in defence as he was dangerous on attack. Ended his career as a five-weight world champion and with a winning record against each of his four-king rivals (Duran, Hearns and Hagler) even if comeback king Leonard made one ring return too many at the end.

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr

For all his arrogance, pettiness and frustratingly cautious matchmaking in the second half of his career – nobody can doubt Mayweather’s greatness. Forget the 50-0 record and marvel at the skills on this master boxer who blitzed world champions in his youth, then baffled them in his later years. Opponent list a who’s-who of modern boxing, from Corrales to Canelo.

1. Muhammad Ali

The heavyweight who could move with the speed and fluidity of a lightweight, Ali bamboozled foes with his hands-down style, making them miss by inches. Untouchable in the first half of his career, then still good enough to beat the likes of Frazier, Foreman and Norton in the 1970s. Possessed heart and chin to match his talent, there’s a reason they still call him ‘The Greatest’.