Everyone loves a list, or more accurately, everyone loves to debate a list. Boxing promoter Frank Warren, aged 72, has been around the sport for decades, he has worked with so many notable ring greats, and Warren has met some truly special fighters during his life, including the one and only Muhammad Ali.
Now, speaking to DAZN, with whom the Queensbury head has just inked a fight deal, Warren listed his top 5 greatest-ever fighters. And though there are some obvious names here in Warren’s list, some fans may agree with me when I say he has ranked them in the wrong order.
Here’s Warren’s top 5:
1: Muhammad Ali
2: Sugar Ray Leonard
3: Sugar Ray Robinson
4: Larry Holmes
5: Carlos Monzon.
No doubt, all listed fighters are true greats, true legends of the sport. And it’s great that Warren has found a spot in his top 5 for Larry Holmes, a heavyweight who has said many times himself he is underrated. And Carlos Monzon, a true terror of a middleweight champion, he too belongs. Or does he? It’s down to opinion and nothing more, but maybe you would have a few other fighters ranked in place of Monzon – Roberto Duran, perhaps? Or Henry Armstrong? Or Harry Greb? You could go on and on.
It is possible, however, that when a fan reads Warren’s list, the first thing they are going to pick fault with is the ranking of Sugar Ray Leonard ABOVE the original and surely greatest Sugar man, Sugar Ray Robinson. Again, it’s Warren’s opinion here, and nobody else’s, but to my way of thinking, Robinson should not only be ranked above the man who “borrowed” his famous nickname, but the man born Walker Smith Jr should be at the top of the list, period. Above Ali? Ali himself often said Sugar Ray was the greatest of all time, above himself even.
You may have thought Frank Warren would agree with “The Greatest” when it comes to who deserves to be ranked as the finest boxer of them all.
What do YOU think of Frank Warren’s top 5 list?
For what it’s worth, here’s my top 5 greatest fighters of all time:
1: Sugar Ray Robinson
2: Henry Armstrong
3: Ezzard Charles
4: Sam Langford
5: Roberto Duran.
