How far back in Boxings history can you find a Pound for Pound list?

I may be wrong, but I think I may have read something years ago that talked about the term being used for Joe Gans. As far as printed lists I believe you're correct though, at least to the best of my knowledge. I think that could be right. I was just using Canzoneri as one example.

i could be wrong but i believe it started after mayweather beat gatti.

The term P4P was used long before Robinson to describe the likes of Tony Canzoneri. The first proper list to my knowledge was KO Magazine in 1980. Then The Ring Magazine from 1989 onward. I may be wrong, but I think I may have read something years ago that talked about the term being used for Joe Gans. As far as printed lists I believe you're correct though, at least to the best of my knowledge.

The term P4P was used long before Robinson to describe the likes of Tony Canzoneri. The first proper list to my knowledge was KO Magazine in 1980. Then The Ring Magazine from 1989 onward.

http://www.hbo.com/boxing/inside/features/article/pound-for-pound-a-history.html ^^^ read this article. real good info. the P4P title was really created for non-heavyweights. it goes back farther than SRR. it's basically a way to determine who would beat who if all boxers were the same size. all P4P lists though, no matter how great are all subjective. the Ring began their official list in 1990.

How far back in Boxings history can you find a Pound for Pound list? Maybe top 10? I'm talking old newspaper articles or early radio or early TV, bulletin boards, perhaps old gambling circles paperwork. How far back can the P4P list be traced? Lemmie dust off the old encyclopaedia of boxing and I will get back to you But guessing The day the internet was invented Edit=nevermind just saw the ring answer

I don't know. Ray Robinson was the first to be called the PFP best as far as I know. But it was just him and not a whole list of 10 boxers who got call the best pfp. Ring magazine may have started a top 10 PFP list back in the 80s but I don't know if that was the first such list. Now even many boxing fans have their own top 10 PFP list.

Ring magazine started p4p list in 1989 http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings

I was just watching a documentary that had Robinson TV footage where Pound 4 Pound was mentioned. So no Newspapers from way back when maybe even prior to RR had anyone with a Boxing column with their list of favs regardless of weight class? I'll do some research from San Diego history to see how far back

This is a tough one to answer perfectly, not even the boxing historians could do it. As everyone knows, the term P4P became popular for Robinson, a way to distinguish the smaller man from the bigger heavyweights, Joe Louis to be precise. Thing is, even before Robinson, there were certain sports writers and newspapers that would look at guys like Gans or Langford or Leonard and say "Ya know what, if it wasnt for size, he'd beat the heavyweight". There in lies the idea of "pound for pound". In terms of official lists, I think it was the 1980s when The Ring produced their first active list but I'm not sure on that. Other media outlets may have had one too. I'd like to end with what I remember hearing during a broadcast of Duran v Leonard (I think) where Cosell said that he felt Duran was the best boxer of the 70s, Ali included. So, there was already this concept of a little man being great or greater than the best heavyweight around. However, the p4p argument sadly has become more than just a differentiation of size and something that people, fans and boxers alike, have become fixated on, more so than divisional superiority.