https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC8sAf0ROwE
Who are the best heavyweights in boxing history? This timeless question has been a recipe for countless discussions. The long running debate is something that has captivated boxing fans and historians alike. Ranking athletes from different eras is a tricky business that usually boils down to personal preference and opinion, and this is just as true in professional boxing as it is in any other organized professional sport.
These types of rankings constitute a very subjective scope. There is no universally agreed upon criteria to rank boxers from different eras, and this results in all types of differences of opinion. There is simply no perfect way of doing this. But even though we can never expect a complete consensus, we do experience some level of consensus collectively. Most observers would agree that Sugar Ray Robinson is one of the greatest boxers in the long rich history of boxing, but not all observers agree that he is #1 of all time.
This episode of Rummy’s Corner is the first in an ongoing series that tries to remove personal bias. In order to do this, an equation was created in order to help accomplish this. The equation, “Rummy’s Equation”, takes three factors into consideration – all of which are based on historical top 3 annual rankings and cumulative total title defenses. At the onset of this experiment, I had no idea what the results would be when the data was compiled for the heavyweight tabulations, and I have no idea what the results will be when we cover other weight classes in the near future.
Ring Magazine has a rich archives of historical data, dating back to 1924, and by and large, Ring Magazine has been a fairly consistent and objective publication historically. Therefore, the annual rankings from Ring Magazine are being used as a reference point to calculate the numbers. Since Ring Magazine did not begin tabulating annual rankings until 1924, that will be the point in history at which our analysis begins.
Please watch and enjoy the video! And let us know who you think are the Top 20 Heavyweights of all time.