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stumbled upon this article and was just wondering if you guys agree with this list? also, any another fighters who should be there instead of those listed? or have a longer list. i myself am not a history buff, but i do love hearing and learning about the sport's past and older fighters. comments/suggestions welcomed, thanks for checking out.
http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ycn-7834232
Best 5 boxers who retired undefeated
By Jake Emen, Yahoo! Contributor Network
There are not many boxers in the entire history of the sport who can say that they retired undefeated. Even fewer can say that they retired undefeated after a substantial career that included facing tough competition. The list gets thin very quickly, but here are the top 5 boxers who retired undefeated.
1. Ricardo Lopez - 51 (38) - 0 - 1 - One of the best Mexican fighters of all time, Finito had an astonishing 11-year run as a champion, spanning two weight classes. The bulk of his work was done at 105 lbs, where he made a staggering 22 title defenses, after which he captured a title at 108 lbs and defended it twice. He had good power and great offensive skills, showcasing strong technical form and a total mastery of his discipline.
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2. Rocky Marciano - 49 (43) - 0 - The Brockton Blockbuster was the heavyweight champion of the world for three years, during which time he defeated Jersey Joe Walcott twice, Ezzard Charles twice and Archie Moore. Some fans like to cite the division's poor status at the time as an explanation for Marciano's undefeated ledger, but he took on everyone available, and more often than not, he laid them out. He had brutish power, but he also knew how to set it up, and could take what was coming back at him.
3. Joe Calzaghe - 46 (32) - 0 - Calzaghe has his doubters, but his status as an undefeated champion is unquestionable. He made 21 successful defenses of his super middleweight title, capturing it from Chris Eubank in 1997. He didn't truly reach acclaim, and take on the best challengers, until the tail end of his career. But when he did, he emerged with his clean record intact on each occasion, destroying the career of Jeff Lacy in a brutal 12-round assault, unifying his titles against then undefeated Mikkel Kessler, and defeating two legends in Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones.
4. Jimmy Barry- 60 (40) - 0 - 10 - It's hard to know what to make of a fighter like Jimmy Barry, who plied his trade not only in the 1890s, when recordkeeping was not exactly at his best, but also fought at between 105 and 110 lbs, where there was a dearth of challengers and even shadier recordkeeping than, at say, heavyweight. Still, there are 60 wins against 0 defeats, and 40 knockouts along the way, in over 8 years of fighting.
5. Terry Marsh - 26 (10) - 0 - 1 - The Fighting Fireman was forced to make an abrupt retirement at the age of 29 after being diagnosed with epilepsy. Before he hung up the gloves, he captured the IBF 140 lbs title and defended it once. Fighting at 140 lbs in the late 1980s meant he would have had to have eventually fought the likes of Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor, and he likely would have been 0-for against them as opposed to undefeated. Still, a rare fighter who retired as undefeated champion.
More boxers who retired undefeated: Sven Ottke (see why Ottke missed the cut), Ji-Won Kim, Laszlo Papp, Jack McAuliffe, Young Mitchell, Michael Loewe
By Jake Emen, Yahoo! Contributor Network
There are not many boxers in the entire history of the sport who can say that they retired undefeated. Even fewer can say that they retired undefeated after a substantial career that included facing tough competition. The list gets thin very quickly, but here are the top 5 boxers who retired undefeated.
1. Ricardo Lopez - 51 (38) - 0 - 1 - One of the best Mexican fighters of all time, Finito had an astonishing 11-year run as a champion, spanning two weight classes. The bulk of his work was done at 105 lbs, where he made a staggering 22 title defenses, after which he captured a title at 108 lbs and defended it twice. He had good power and great offensive skills, showcasing strong technical form and a total mastery of his discipline.
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2. Rocky Marciano - 49 (43) - 0 - The Brockton Blockbuster was the heavyweight champion of the world for three years, during which time he defeated Jersey Joe Walcott twice, Ezzard Charles twice and Archie Moore. Some fans like to cite the division's poor status at the time as an explanation for Marciano's undefeated ledger, but he took on everyone available, and more often than not, he laid them out. He had brutish power, but he also knew how to set it up, and could take what was coming back at him.
3. Joe Calzaghe - 46 (32) - 0 - Calzaghe has his doubters, but his status as an undefeated champion is unquestionable. He made 21 successful defenses of his super middleweight title, capturing it from Chris Eubank in 1997. He didn't truly reach acclaim, and take on the best challengers, until the tail end of his career. But when he did, he emerged with his clean record intact on each occasion, destroying the career of Jeff Lacy in a brutal 12-round assault, unifying his titles against then undefeated Mikkel Kessler, and defeating two legends in Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones.
4. Jimmy Barry- 60 (40) - 0 - 10 - It's hard to know what to make of a fighter like Jimmy Barry, who plied his trade not only in the 1890s, when recordkeeping was not exactly at his best, but also fought at between 105 and 110 lbs, where there was a dearth of challengers and even shadier recordkeeping than, at say, heavyweight. Still, there are 60 wins against 0 defeats, and 40 knockouts along the way, in over 8 years of fighting.
5. Terry Marsh - 26 (10) - 0 - 1 - The Fighting Fireman was forced to make an abrupt retirement at the age of 29 after being diagnosed with epilepsy. Before he hung up the gloves, he captured the IBF 140 lbs title and defended it once. Fighting at 140 lbs in the late 1980s meant he would have had to have eventually fought the likes of Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor, and he likely would have been 0-for against them as opposed to undefeated. Still, a rare fighter who retired as undefeated champion.
More boxers who retired undefeated: Sven Ottke (see why Ottke missed the cut), Ji-Won Kim, Laszlo Papp, Jack McAuliffe, Young Mitchell, Michael Loewe
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