Boxing News : Fischer : MaxBoxing's Top 29 Black Fighters of All Time

Doug Fischer

Chief editor

MaxBoxing's Top 29 Black Fighters of All Time
Part one of a two-part Column by Doug Fischer (February 15, 2004)

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February is Black History Month and what better way to honor the many contributions black fighters of the past and present have made to the sport than to recognize the best of the best.

Black History Month began as 'Negro History Week' back in 1926, the year that heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey lost the greatest prize in sports to Gene Tunney. Dempsey-Tunney was made because the number-one heavyweight contender of the time, Harry Wills, was denied a title shot because he was black.

The struggles black fighters like Wills had to suffer helped pave the way for universally beloved black heavyweight champions Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali.

The struggle goes way back. Black folks have been in this country since colonial times and black fighters, like 'the Virginia Slave' Tom Molineaux, who literally fought his way to freedom, have been trying to earn their just due in the prize ring as far back as the early 1800s.

The struggle continues today, but the founder of Black History Month, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, proves how much African Americans can achieve when given even the slightest opportunity.

Born to parents who were former slaves, Woodson's childhood was spent working in Kentucky coal mines, but the youth had a desire to better himself through education. He enrolled in high school at age 20 and graduated in two years. Woodson went on to earn a Ph.D from Harvard.

What you're about to read is my personal list of the top 29 black boxers of all time (a great fighter for each day of this month). The fighters are ranked primarily on their accomplishments within their specific eras. Winning world titles and making titles defenses is a factor in these rankings, but quality of opposition rates higher since many black fighters of the past were denied the opportunity to fight for a world title.

For example, Bob Foster is one of the most accomplished light heavyweight champions in history, but Ezzard Charles, who never received a title shot at 175 pounds, is ranked higher on this list based on all of the hall-of-fame quality fighters he bested while campaigning in light heavyweight division. Charles finally got his title shot at heavyweight, but many of his peers (Charley Burley, Cocoa Kid, Holman Williams, Jimmy Bivins, Lloyd Marshall and Nate Bolden) were denied title shots for the same reason Wills was in the 1920s. Archie Moore, who fought all of those guys, had to wait until he was 39 to get his shot at the light heavyweight title.

A few editorial notes to keep in mind. As with my current pound-for-pound list, I don't include heavyweights. The big boys are in a class of their own and the term "pound-for-pound" was created to give talented but overlooked fighters in the lighter weight classes the recognition they deserved.

So all of those great heavyweights - from Jack Johnson (and his peers Joe Jeannette and Wills) to Louis to Jersey Joe Walcott to Sonny Liston to Ali to Joe Frazier to Ken Norton to Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson - are not on this list. (Maybe I'll do a separate list for the great black heavyweights if readers are interested.)

Two former heavyweight champs, Evander Holyfield and Charles, get a pass because they began their careers in lighter weight classes (Holyfield at light heavyweight and Charles at middleweight).

Also, the term 'Black' in this list means African American. I've limited my list to black fighters who were born in the U.S. So if you go through the list and wonder why Sam Langford - one of the best fighters, if not THE best, of all time - was left out, now you know why. Langford, like the first 'Black' world champion George Dixon, was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. Former welterweight legend Joe Walcott, who was born in Barbados, and featherweight great Chalky Wright, who was born in Durango, Mexico, are also missing from this list.

I mean no disrespect to those great fighters or the folks (black, white and otherwise) from the nations they come from. Honestly, in order to finish this list, I had to make some boundaries.

I mean, what is 'Black'? It's a color. And when you try to define a 'race' of people by skin color (which is ridiculous to begin with, but that's subject for another time) you open the door for all kinds of interpretations. Generally, 'Black', when used as a label for a human being, means that person is descended from Africans. Well, there have been A LOT of great fighters of African descent to come around in the past 100 years or so - from Europe (Randy Turpin), Africa (Dick Tiger, Azumah Nelson), Latin America (Panama Al Brown, Antonio Cervantes) and the Caribbean (all my favorite Cuban welterweights, Kid Gavilan, Luis Rodriguez and Jose Napoles to the Virgin Islands' Emile Griffith). Too many brown-skinned greats for one young boxing scribe to rank.

Anyway, let's get to the list:

1. (tie) Henry Armstrong and Ray Robinson - Most everyone picks Robinson as the best of all time, and in his prime he was indeed untouchable in terms of talent, skills, technique, style and quality of opposition, but you all know I rank according to accomplishment and by that criteria Armstrong is in a class of his own.

Armstrong wasn't slick and stylish like Robinson. He was a peerless pressure fighter with power in both hands, amazing resiliency and freakish endurance, which sustained his non-stop windmill attack. But in many ways, Armstrong epitomizes the term 'pound-for-pound'. Despite being a natural featherweight, he challenged the top fighters of three higher weight classes. In an era when there were only eight weight divisions, Armstrong simultaneously held titles in three divisions and came within a hair of winning a title in a fourth. He was a force in HALF of boxing's weight classes - unbelievable, but true.

Look at only two years of his prime, 1937 and '38. In '37, Armstrong fought 27 times - going 27-0 (26) and winning the featherweight world title from Petey Sarron along the way. But in '38 he took it to another level. In that year, Armstrong fought 14 times, going 14-0 (10). He knocked out future featherweight champ Chalky Wright in three rounds, out-pointed L.A. rival Baby Arizmendi over 10 rounds, won the welterweight title from Barney Ross, took the lightweight title from Lou Ambers and then defended his welterweight belt vs. Ceferino Garcia, a future middleweight champ.

In one year, the 126-pound champ won the 147-pound and 135-pound titles, beat three future hall of famers, a Mexican legend and a 160-pound champ - inconceivable, but true. If '37 and '38 were the only two years of Armstrong's career, an argument could still be made for him being one of the best of all time.

But Armstrong didn't stop there. He went on to reign as the welterweight champ for two years, making a record 19 title defenses (11 were made in 1939 alone). This record, set in 1940, STILL stands - unreal, but Armstrong was as real as real gets.

Before losing the welterweight title to Fritzie Zivic, Armstrong challenged Garcia for the middleweight title, and weighing only 142 pounds, he battled the champ to a 10-round draw.

[Editor's Note: In Part Two of this special Black History Month column, I will list the top 29 black fighters of all time, starting with Ray Robinson.]