Who were the Top 10 pound for pound boxers in the 1940s?
Welcome to Part 6 of 13 from the newest Boxing Survey Series, which will survey volunteers in an effort to determine the best pound for pound boxers from each decade. For this particular survey which focuses attention on boxers from the 1940s, a total of 31 volunteers participated. Each volunteer provided a chronological list of between 10 and 25 names to cast their votes for the best boxers in the 1940s.
The 1940s was an especially interesting period in boxing history that was filled with some outstanding legends whose accomplishments have withstood the test of time. For starters there was heavyweight world champion Joe Louis. The Brown Bomber had won the world heavyweight championship the previous decade in 1937, and he made a record 25 consecutive title defenses – a record that still stands to this day. 17 of those 25 championship defenses happened between 1940 and 1948.
Then you have the great Sugar Ray Robinson, widely viewed as one of the very best boxers of all time, where many if not most observers view Robinson as the greatest boxer of all time. Even if we exclude his accomplishments from the 1950s altogether, what Robinson achieved during the 1940s was simply extraordinary. Robinson won over 100 fights, losing only once, and drawing twice. Robinson won the world welterweight championship in 1946, and he was undefeated as a welterweight competing against other welterweights.
So who were the Top 10 pound for pound boxers during the 1940s? And where do Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson figure in?
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will attempt to answer that question based on the results from part 6 in this Survey focusing on the 1940s, which included 31 volunteers. Please watch and enjoy the video. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).