From Manny Pacquiao to Marvelous Marvin Hagler, the highest 10 best fighters within the thoughts of the late Emanuel Steward was an illustrious group.
The legendary coach –– who sadly handed away aged 68 in October 2012 –– was one in every of boxing’s true savants, guiding Thomas Hearns and Lennox Lewis to championship glory and serving as a long-time analyst on HBO Boxing alongside Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman.
Having been across the sport for a number of many years, the West Virginia–born Steward as soon as shared his high 10 best fighters of all time in an interview with journalist James Slater, every supported with a quick line of justification.
Panamanian phenom and multi-weight world champion Roberto Durán kicked off the checklist at quantity 10. Above him sat names that may grace any boxing Mount Rushmore, together with Joe Louis, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. However Steward’s primary belonged to a historic, near-mythic determine with greater than 200 fights: Sugar Ray Robinson. Steward defined his selection with a easy message.
“The perfect welterweight ever! An outstanding report at a time when information had been actual!”
It isn’t simply Steward who views Robinson as the best of all time, with many boxing followers additionally holding the identical view. Robinson loved a five-year reign as world welterweight champion earlier than transferring to middleweight, the place he gained the world title a number of instances.
Blessed with an distinctive skillset, Robinson beat the most effective throughout plenty of weight lessons and –– in an period far faraway from in the present day’s catchweights –– typically entered the ring at a dimension drawback but nonetheless beat the larger man.
