Punching Their Way To Glory - Here Are 9 Greatest Boxers Of All Time

Boxing is one of the oldest sport known to man. The basic depictions of this sport date as far back at the 3rd millennium BC, but the first form of boxing as an organized sport, that we know of dates back to the Greeks, where it became an Olympic sport in BC 688. The sport in a form close to that which we know it today, replete with gloves and light footwork, is dated to late 1600s Britain.

Boxing fans world over love to debate on who is the greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time. The criteria for the list includes -- title wins, successful title defences, fights won, unbeaten runs, strength of the division, era and opponents. There might still be people who might feel a certain somebody should or shouldn't be ranked among the greatest. But we have tried to go by the popular choices of the renowned names who have always been regarded as the greatest boxers of all time. Here we go.

1. Muhammad Ali (Years active: 1960-1981)

Getty Images

Ali is the undisputed people's champion. The name that was synonymous with winning big - Muhammad Ali, who is praised for ¡°floating like a butterfly, but stinging like a bee¡± is talked with greatest of respect. At 6 foot 3¡± he moved like a dancer, had the height of a two guard and his punches had the power of a wrecking ball. He was the complete package, the true heavyweight champion.

Ali fought in the toughest weight division during its Golden Era, and emerged the greatest. His list of defeated opponents include some of the finest boxers ever born - Henry Cooper, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and George Foreman. Despite losing his four years in his prime after being suspended, Ali remains the only three-time Heavyweight World Champion in history.

Every time Ali stepped into the ring, the world stood still to witness the magic unfold in the ring. It was a sight to behold. The stature of the king Ali is too powerful and daunting to ever be matched.

2. Sugar Ray Robinson (Years active: 1940-1965)

Getty Images

Sugar Ray Robinson might not be as glamorous as Muhammad Ali, but that takes nothing away from his legendy career. Often regarded by many as the greatest pound-for-pound boxer to have ever lived, Robinson had a glittering career that reached some unimaginable heights.

A smooth as silk with surreal talent, the dimensions to his skill set were without limits. He became welterweight world champion in 1946, a title he held for five years until stepping up to the middleweight division, where he became world champ once more. He lost only one of his first 123 fights, against Jake LaMotta, who he then beat five times.

After being utterly dominant in the welterweight division he was still successful at middleweight level, becoming the first boxer to win a division title five times.

3. Rocky Marciano (Years active: 1948-1955)

Getty Images

A man with the reputation of being an undisputed winner, Rocky Marciano was a relentless machine who kept on producing the fireworks in the ring. He fought between 1948 and 1955, and had a very short career for someone at his level. Yet Marciano still defeated Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott and Archie Moore.

Marciano's is the only heavyweight world champion to have gone undefeated in his entire career. He also has the highest Knock Out (KO) percentage of any heavyweight world champion. He ended his career with a record of 49 fights, 49 wins and 43 KOs. A remarkable career that had no blemish and stayed perfect as it deserved.

4. Mike Tyson (Years active: 1985-2005)

Getty Images

One of the most notorious athletes, Mike Tyson is a name that always divides opinion. Some rank him among the greatest boxers, and some disregard him as overrated and not worthy of even top 100. When Tyson first emerged he was a force to be reckoned with. He had incredible power and destruction in his fists and simply overpowered his first 37 opponents, giving boxing a huge new wave of interest in the late 80's.

Yet as quickly as he emerged, Tyson faded. Holyfield and Lewis beat him convincingly and some would claim Tyson never beat a top class fighter in their prime. But when in his prime, Tyson was one of the most dangerous boxers you would ever come across.

5. Joe Frazier (Years active: 1965-1981)

Getty Images

The highlight of Joe Frazier career came in 1971 when he defeated Muhammad Ali. The win made him an overnight star, after all he had got the better of arguably the greatest boxer of all time. He was beaten in both the rematches by Ali and destroyed by George Foreman twice, but he no doubt had an illustrious career.

Frazier had one of the most powerful and effective left hooks in boxing history, and a relentless approach that made him a difficult prospect to face. He finished his career in 1981 with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.

6. George Foreman (Years active: 1969-1997)

Getty Images

George Foreman's illustrious career can be divided into two halves - pre-Ali era and post-Ali era. In the pre-Ali era, Foreman was an absolute beast and he dispatched his opponents with aplomb. He won the world heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. Two successful title defenses were made before Foreman's first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974.

After a decade of hiatus, he returned to the ring to become the oldest heavyweight world champion in history. Foreman's most legendary performances were his second round destructions of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton.

7. Henry Armstrong (Years active: 1931-1945)

Getty Images

Henry Armstrong was a world champion in three different weight divisions, at a time when there were only eight weight divisions. Even more remarkable than this, Armstrong held all three titles at the same time, he remains the only man to have ever done this. Try being better across three divisions. Simply astonishing.

Armstrong became featherweight champion in 1937, welterweight champion in 1938 and lightweight champion the same year. He faced a staggering 17 world champions over the course of his career, and beat 15 of them.

8. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Years active: 1996-2017)

Getty Images

Undoubted ability with the boxing gloves on, Mayweather is another figure who divides a lot of opinion. Still undefeated in 50 fights, the American has been one of the best boxers in the current era.

During his career, he held multiple world titles in five weight classes and the lineal championship in four weight classes (twice at welterweight), and retired with an undefeated record. Although, he came out of retirement in 2017 to fight Conor Mcgregor and won his 50th official fight.

Mayweather's greatest victories were those over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Marcus Maidana and of course Manny Pacquaio.

9. Manny Pacquiao (Years active: 1995-Present)

Getty Images

The only boxer to become a champion in eight different weight categories, Manny Pacquiao is one of the finest boxers to step in the ring. Pacquiao is also the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" of boxing: flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.

He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization (WBO).