By Cliff Rold

The Eight, Pt. 3

For any new boxing fan, the time is not long before a fellow fan points out a magic number which grows more mythologized with time: eight.  As in boxing’s original eight weight classes.  The number represents in the mind of many a time when the sport was compressed into fields which couldn’t help but be talented, couldn’t help but draw crowds, because there were so few places on the scale to go.  They were divisions marked by single champions ever challenged by a depth of contenders today’s seventeen weight classes rarely know.

Reflection and research reveals this was not always the case, but it was true often enough to bestow a mystique on boxing’s ‘original eight weight classes’ which carries through to the modern day.  As good as they can be, as great as some of their competitors have been and still are, weight classes prefixed by a “Jr.” designation will always be seen some as bastard spawn which took something away from the game no matter what they added.

Even with classes taking up space in between the old markers, the eight continue to provide memories and spilled blood today.  Over the course of this series, homage is paid to boxing’s original eight by identifying the best of their lot through the years.

Featherweight

Who would have thought, in 2006, that two top Featherweights, competing in a fight seen by few outside Indonesia, would share the world stage in such a prominent way in 2009?  It will be the case as two of the premiere 126 lb. battlers of the 00’s, Juan Manuel Marquez and Chris John, each make up one half of the main event and chief support bout on a highly anticipated pay-per-view show.

It shouldn’t really be a surprise.  Anyone who has followed the history of the Featherweights should know nothing is impossible for the best of this class.  Today’s weight limit wasn’t always concrete.  Early Featherweights in the Americas contested closer to the modern Jr. Bantamweight line while the British recognized the limit at 126.  Canada’s George Dixon ultimately pushed the line to 122 lbs. before 126 became universal in 1920. 

In the years before and after, Featherweight has hosted a deep pool of great fighters and great fights; so many that limiting this discussion to only 25 fighters seems unfair.  International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) members like Chalky Wright, Eugene Criqui, Barry McGuigan and Azumah Nelson just miss the cut.  Notable modern combatants like Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao, and Marco Antonio Barrera miss as well, though their short tenures in the actual Featherweight division explain much of that.  All three were well represented in either or both of previous looks at the best of the Jr. Featherweights and Jr. Lightweights, as was Nelson in the latter. 

Since the likes of Ike Weir and “Torpedo” Billy Murphy brought the Featherweight title into the gloved era in 1899 and 90, some 130 men have laid some claim to a share of the Featherweight crown and still others achieved greatness without the strap.  The only rule in these looks at the ‘original eight’ applies as it has before: no one currently active in the division was considered here.  While it helps that no active Featherweight has done enough to merit consideration, even if one had it is only fair to let them finish their legacies in the class to figure out exactly where they belong, if they belong.

They will have much work to do as will be evident in numbers 11-25.

The Top Twenty-Five

25) Juan Manuel Marquez (1993-Present): Mexico’s Marquez, reigning today as the Lightweight champion of the world, spent just shy of fourteen sometimes frustrating years in the Featherweight division…career mark to date of 50-4-1, 37 KO, with a hint of controversy in each career blemish…easily one of the most technically sound fighters of his generation whose acumen may have contributed to some dreadfully dull, ill-timed outings which hurt his marketability and opportunities…Won the IBF and WBA belts in separate fights in 2003, defending the unified titles three times…won an interim WBO title in 2006 and made one defense…pro debut was spoiled with a first round disqualification before winning 29 in a row, including wins over Agapito Sanchez and Alfred Kotey…Marquez lost a debatable decision, in a forgettable fight, against Freddie Norwood for the WBA strap in 1999…spent substantial time before and after the Norwood fight as the WBO mandatory to lineal World Champion Naseem Hamed and was openly ducked…stopped former titlist Manuel Medina for the vacant IBF belt and unified against Derrick Gainer, the lone bonus in an otherwise unwatchable fight…fate began to turn when he rose from the floor three times in the opening round to earn a draw in his classic first encounter with then-lineal champion Manny Pacquiao…fell victim to boxing politics, losing his IBF belt off stage and dropping rights to the WBA belt on the road to Chris John; many felt Marquez deserved the nod…all told, faced ten current, former, or future titlists and champions at while competing at Featherweight, defeating seven.

24) Owen Moran (1900-16): Nicknamed “Fearless,” London’s Moran could also easily be rated at Bantamweight, with a notable early portion of his career spent at the lower class…career mark of 65-19-8, 19 KO…heavy handed and aggressive, Moran was regularly a crowd pleaser in his day…won a points verdict over former Featherweight king George Dixon in 1904…defeated Flyweight notable Monte Attell and stopped former Bantamweight king Frankie Neil in the lower class while battling to a no contest with Jim Driscoll on his way to a title shot…battled to a pair of draws, over 25 and 23 rounds, in shots at Abe Attell’s Featherweight crown in 1908 with a newspaper win over future Lightweight champion Ad Wolgast in between…picked up two more points wins over Neil before dropping a pair of news decisions and a draw versus Abe Attell in 1910…spent much of his later years at Lightweight, stopping former champion Battling Nelson in 11 and being stopped in a return with Wolgast…fought Driscoll to a 20-round draw for Featherweight supremacy in Europe in 1913…Moran was elected to the IBHOF in 2002.

23) Louis Kaplan (1918-33): Born in Russia, the Connecticut native was one of the great Jewish fighters, pressuring behind a volume of blows…career mark of 104-18-12, 25 KO, 19 no decisions…World champion 1925-26, three title defenses…defeated future Jr. Lightweight champion Steve Sullivan and future Lightweight champ Jimmy Goodrich on his way up the ranks…despite the indications of his record, “Kid” Kaplan could score stops when he needed to…in a tournament to fill the vacant Featherweight throne, scored two knockouts in three preliminary bouts…knocked out Danny Kramer in nine to capture the title…vacated the title when his body demanded a move to Lightweight, adding wins against champions from Featherweight to Welterweight including Jackie Fields, Sammy Mandell, and Battling Battalino…Kaplan was inducted to the IBHOF in 2003.

22) Harry Jeffra (1933-50): The Baltimore, Maryland product won his second world title at Featherweight after a brief run as champ at Bantamweight…career mark of 94-20-7, 28 KO…World champion 1940-41, one defense…an incredibly intelligent boxer, Jeffra outfoxed foes with footwork and an expert jab…Jeffra appeared the winner in his first try at the crown versus Joey Archibald in 1939 and dropped the champion three times en route to a decision win the following year…added a non-title win versus Sixto Escobar, whom Jeffra had traded the Bantamweight title with in 1937 and 38, to finish their career rivalry up 4-1…dropped the title to Archibald just shy of one year after winning it, but tied their series at 2-2 before the year was out in a non-title bout…stopped by then-reigning champion Chalky Wright in 1942 but picked up wins over future titlist Phil Terranova in 1943 and former Bantamweight king Lou Salica in 1944…Salica would be the last great win for Jeffra who began the inevitable slide, drawing with Terranova and losing to the excellent Jackie Wilson, the first of seven losses in Jeffra’s last fifteen bouts…was a member of the now-defunct Ring Magazine Hall of Fame and should eventually be included in the IBHOF.

21) Davey Moore (1953-63): A quick handed boxer-puncher, Ohio’s “Springfield Rifle” is remembered too often for a tragic end rather than the work which led there…career mark of 59-7-1, 30 KO…World champion 1959-63, five defenses…lost four of his first 27 bouts before a 13-fight win streak, including a decision over former Lightweight champion Lauro Salas, set up a shot at the title…stopped Hogan Bassey in thirteen at the classic LA Olympic Auditorium in March 1959 and repeated the feat five months later to win and defend the crown…was stopped for the first time in a non-title affair the following year, dropped in seven on the road versus hammer fisted future Jr. Welter king Carlos Hernandez…bounced back with nineteen wins in a row before being challenged by Sugar Ramos…Moore’s reign, and life, were ended from injuries sustained in the brutal encounter ultimately stopped in the tenth round…Moore gave his life to the game but, to date, has not been put to a vote by the IBHOF.

20) Naseem Hamed (1992-2002): The Sheffield “Prince” combined speed with perhaps the most lethal one-punch power ever seen at Featherweight, emerging as the face of the class for almost six years…career mark of 36-1, 31 KO…lineal World champion 1998-2001, five defenses…Hamed began his titled days earlier than ’98, stopping a hot Steve Robinson in eight for the WBO belt in September 1995…three fights later, Hamed blitzed two-time (eventually five-time) titlist Manuel Medina in eleven…added the IBF crown in 1997, ending Tom Johnson’s eleven defense title run…defended both belts twice before vacating the IBF strap and made his fifth start of ’97 his U.S. debut…won a classic multi-knockdown shootout at Madison Square Garden, stopping former titlist Kevin Kelley in four…knocked out lineal champion Wilfredo Vasquez in seven in April 1998 and would have added the WBA strap to his collection had Vasquez not been stripped for facing Hamed…posted defenses over former Bantamweight titlist Wayne McCullough and future Feather titlist Paul Ingle before a decision over Cesar Soto gave him the WBC belt in 1999, immediately vacating in favor of his WBO belt…defended that belt twice more to tally 15 WBO defenses, walking through sturdy long time Jr. Featherweight titlist Vuyani Bungu and rising from the floor to stop Augie Sanchez…vacated the WBO belt to defend the World title against Marco Antonio Barrera and was soundly outboxed in his Las Vegas debut…would fight only once more before going home to count his money…while dodging Marquez may have aided his numbers, Hamed was ultimately 10-1 against world champions and major titlists, stopping eight of them, while effectively unifying the class.

19) Young Griffo (1886-1904): In the running for the mantle of Australia’s greatest fighter, Griffo was a defensive wizard in the early gloved era…career mark of 63-9-37, 32 KO, 110 no decisions…World champion 1891, one defense…legend has Griffo occasionally showing up in the ring drunk, but it worked for him more often than not so cheers…Griffo challenged “Torpedo” Billy Murphy for the crown in 1891, winning on a foul in the 22nd round…retained once before his claim fell vacant…made his U.S. debut in 1893, and stayed stateside for the remainder of his pro tenure…1894 campaign featured draws against future World champions Kid Lavigne and Solly Smith and reigning Featherweight king George Dixon, a knockout of the tough Ike Weir, another win over Murphy, and a loss to Lightweight great Jack McAuliffe…would draw again with Lavigne and Dixon in 1985…later drew and was stopped by the great Joe Gans…Griffo was inducted to the IBHOF in 1991.

18) Freddie Miller (1927-40): The Cincinnati southpaw averaged just shy of a ridiculous twenty fights a year in his career…career mark of 208-28-7, 42 KO, 1 no decision, 4 no contests…NBA champion 1933-36, 12 defenses…Miller won 88 of his first 96 bouts to earn a shot at Battling Battalino’s title only to drop a decision in Cincinnati in 1931…a 1932 rematch devolved into a “no contest” farce when Battalino came in over the limit and then appeared to be trying to take a dive…Miller finally captured the NBA belt in January 1933 with a points win over Tommy Paul; it was the fourth of six fights between the two men which ended with Miller up 4-2…Miller followed one month later with a first defense against Baby Arizmendi, dropping a non-title rematch later in the year…also in 1933, won the first of six bouts with Petey Sarron, another series he won 4-2…in 1934, posted non-title wins over future champion Chalky Wright and Bantamweight great Panama Al Brown…dropped the NBA crown to Sarron in 1936 and would not regain it…dropped decisions to future Feather titlists Leo Rodak and Jackie Callura as well as future Lightweight kin Sammy Angott to wind down a career which included fights on every habitable continent but Australia…Miller was inducted to the IBHOF in 1997.

17) Terry McGovern (1897-1908): Number three on the all-time Bantamweight list slips a bit further up the scale but there is no doubting “Terrible” Terry made another indelible mark at Featherweight…career mark of 60-4-4, 42 KO, 10 no decisions…World champion 1900-01, six defenses…McGovern ended the long reign George Dixon with an eighth round stop, one of many highlights in a 39-fight unbeaten streak across two weight classes…would add a non-title decision win over Dixon later in the year and followed it by coming off the floor in the first to stop reigning Lightweight king Frank Erne in three rounds of non-title action…also notched a knockout of Lightweight great Joe Gans, but speculation of a fixed fight continues over a century later…his title reign was ended in two rounds by career nemesis Young Corbett II, who turned the trick again in eleven rounds in 1903…McGovern worked in a 15th round knockout of former champion Dave Sullivan in three fights between the Corbett losses…McGovern got off the floor in the first and heard the final bell against Cornett in 1906, but the fight was only scheduled for six…fought mostly at Lightweight in his waning years to negligible success…McGovern was inducted to the IBHOF as part of the inaugural class in 1990.

16) Battling Battalino (1927-40): Born Christopher Battaglia, Battalino was an all-out aggressor who often led with his face while winging barrages of hooks and forearms...career mark of 57-26-3, 23 KO, 1 no contest…World champion 1929-32, 5 defenses…The Connecticut product defeated Bantamweight great Panama Al Brown in only his 20th start to earn a crack at the title…outpointed Andre Routis in Hartford to win the title in his next bout…fought nine non-title affairs before making his first defeat, splitting a pair with Lew Massey, dropping a decision to Bantamweight great Bud Taylor and outpointing Bushy Graham…Battalino held off a title challenge from a 57-2-1 Kid Chocolate to close 1930…battered Freddie Miller and Fidel LaBarba in title defenses in 1931 while losing four non-title affairs…one of those, a points loss to Graham, was avenged with a first round knockout before the year ended…followed with a second round knockout of Featherweight titlist Al Singer…outgrew the division and turned in a despicable flop in the Miller rematch before an underwhelming run at Lightweight and Welterweight…lost more, and more frequently, than many of the greats but Battalino was a gamer who usually saved his best stuff for when the stakes were highest…Battalino was elected to the IBHOF in 2003.

15) Baby Arizmendi (1927-42): The Los Angeles matinee idol didn’t have a huge punch but his looks, speed, tenacity, and willingness to battle in the trenches made him a big fan favorite…career mark of 77-28-16, 13 KO…NYSAC champion 1934-36, 1 defense…Arizmendi turned pro as a Flyweight but quickly grew into the Featherweight class, making a big splash with consecutive points wins over Fidel LaBarba and Speedy Dado in 1932…dropped a return to Dado and split a pair with Newsboy Brown before the year was out…captured a claim to the California version of the Featherweight crown in 1933, defeating Archie Bell and defending against Dado, before dropping a decision for the NBA belt to Freddie Miller…avenged the Miller loss by decision in a non-title affair…dropped a decision at Lightweight to Tony Canzoneri in March 1934 but bested Mike Belloise for the New York claim to the Feather throne two fights later in August…in his next three fights, won the first two of what would be five fights against the great Henry Armstrong and knocked out eventual champion Chalky Wright in four…Arizmendi would begin to fight more often in the Lightweight class from 1935 forward though he’d make the limit for the third fight, and first loss, to Armstrong…he would defeat Wright again, on points, in 1937 and lose twice to Armstrong in 1938 and 39, first in a non-title affair and then for the Welterweight crown…Arizmendi was never stopped by his greatest rival…Arizmendi was elected to the IBHOF in 2004.

14) Jim Driscoll (1901-19): “Peerless” Jim was a master of the ring with a punch to go with it, easily one of the great Welsh fighters ever to enter the ring…career mark of 52-3-6, 35 KO, 8 no decisions...won a decision in 1903 over former champion George Dixon in only his 19th pro outing and then stopped him in a rematch later in the year…defeated former Bantamweight king Joe Bowker on points for the British Featherweight crown in 1906 and stopped him in 17 rounds the following year…crossed the pond and was seen as the newspaper winner over Abe Attell in 1909 but without an official verdict to be rendered, the title was not on the line…disqualified against Lightweight great Freddie Welsh in a rare official loss…was stopped only once, in his final fight for the European Bantamweight title by Charles Ledoux, in the 16th round…Driscoll was part of the inaugural class of the IBHOF in 1990.

13) Tony Canzoneri (1925-39): After falling just short in two cracks at Bud Taylor for the Bantamweight title, New York’s great Canzoneri won his first of the three crowns, in three divisions, at Featherweight...career mark of 137-24-10, 44 KO, 4 no decisions…World Featherweight champion 1928…prior to meeting Taylor twice for the vacant NBA crown at 118 lbs., Canzoneri was already making steady time at 126 lbs…outpointed former Bantam titlist Bushy Graham and Featherweight rival Andre Routis in less than a month in late 1926…may have carried an aging Johnny Dundee in a 1927 win but left with the vacant NYSAC Featherweight belt...avenged his draw and loss at Bantamweight versus Taylor, both in the first half of 1927, to end the year…unified the Featherweight title with a unanimous decision over NBA titlist Benny Bass in February 1928; still only 19, Canzoneri had won 47 of 58 bouts while losing only three in getting to the crown…put Routis on the floor but couldn’t keep him there, dropping the title on points in his first defense in September 1928…met Routis again a few pounds above the limit in 1929 and won a decision to end the series at 2-1 in his favor…Canzoneri was grown into a full-fledged Lightweight by then, where he would win the title and later add the Jr. Welterweight honors…Canzoneri was an inaugural member of the IBHOF in 1990.

12) Johnny Dundee (1910-32): Born Giuseppe Carrora in Sicily in 1893, Dundee faced a who’s who of greats with deep stamina, craft, and intelligence...career mark of 90-31-19, 22 KO, 194 no decisions, 1 no contest…World champion 1923…had his first brush with the championship level in 1912, losing a news decision to the reigning Johnny Kilbane…fought to an official draw with Kilbane in a 1913 rematch…appeared a narrow loser to Freddie Welsh on New Year’s Day 1914; Welsh would claim the Lightweight title before the year was out…outfought Lightweight great Benny Leonard in 1915 with the favor returned the following year…competed largely at Lightweight as the decade wore on and into the next…became the first World Jr. Lightweight champion with a DQ win over George Chaney in 1921…dropped back to Featherweight to win the vacant NYSAC title in 1922, stopping Danny Frush in nine, and then toppled the lineal champion, Eugene Criqui in 1923…he would never defend the crown, favoring his Jr. Lightweight honors which he would lose and then regain from Joe Bernstein before dropping that title for good to Tod Morgan in 1926…the Canzoneri loss, previously noted, would be his final title bout…Dundee entered the IBHOF in 1991.

11) Alexis Arguello (1968-95): Nicaragua’s El Flaco Explosivo was a physical monster at 5’10 and would have been hell for almost any Featherweight in history on his best day in the division...career mark of 82-8, 65 KO…lineal World champion 1975-77, two defenses…blasted out an aged Jose Legra in one on the way to his first title try in 1974, ultimately being outboxed by crafty titlist Ernesto Marcel in Marcel’s final fight…five fights later, won the WBA title in 19with a 13th round knockout in a classic war with Ruben Olivares…defended twice, stopping Leonel Hernandez and future Jr. Featherweight titlist Rigoberto Riasco in the first half of 1975 and garnered lineal recognition as champion when Olivares stopped Bobby Chcaon for the WBC belt over the summer…stopped future 122 lb. champ Royal Kobayashi and Salvador Torres in title fights before vacating the crown…often rated higher than this at 126, Arguello’s resume is actually pretty light at Featherweight in comparison to the men ahead of him and in comparison to a run at 130 lbs. which rates as arguably the finest ever…put another way, at Featherweight Arguello showed hints of greatness but he proved great elsewhere on the scale…Arguello entered the IBHOF in 1992 only to make a brief comeback in 1994 and 1995 after initially retiring in 1986.

To Be Continued with the Top Ten

Previous Installments of “The Eight”:

Top 25 Flyweights

Pt. 1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21492

Pt. 2: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21528

Top 25 Bantamweights

Pt. 1: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21812

Pt. 2: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21822

Semantics

The results here are compiled in two parts which tweaks the format used for the review of the nine Jr. Divisions conducted earlier this year.

First, a points-based comparison assigns points in part based on:

1. Number of fellow champions faced (total) then divided into a competition score to flatten the field due to the fluctuation in titles recognized.

2. Lineal World Titles

3. Sanctioning Body Titles

4. Title Defenses

5. 2 Points per KO; -2 per KOBY; 1 per UD against fellow titlists

6. Quality Wins (Points Assigned based on opponent accomplishments; i.e. lineal champions can count for 1, a single sanctioning body champion based on their sanctioning body total, discretionary points for established champions from other weight classes)

7. Quality Losses (Losses to champion opponents -1 point; selective non-title losses)

8. Draws (.5 points)

From this, a baseline is established and the top fifty fighters are identified.  Further analysis focuses on the context of wins and losses, the relative dominance displayed in a fighter’s prime, and the strength of one’s era versus the competition faced, to get to a final top twenty-five.

Note: The websites of the IBHOF, Cyber Boxing Zone, International Boxing Research Organization, and BoxRec.com were all heavily consulted in compiling this effort.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com