Teddy Atlas Snubs Modern Greats in Best Light Heavyweights of All Time List

Hall of Fame boxing coach Teddy Atlas is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the sport. Having coached the likes of Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, and Timothy Bradley, his opinions on boxing are highly respected.

Atlas has often taken to his YouTube channel to rank fighters throughout history. Now, inspired by Ben Whittaker's first-round knockout against Braian Suarez at the weekend, he has ranked the top ten light heavyweights of all time.

Teddy Atlas names the greatest light heavyweight of all time

As the 175-pound division has been around since 1903, it is safe to say that there are plenty of great fighters that Atlas had to choose from. Modern greats of the division include the likes of Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and Roy Jones Jr. However, none of whom were named by the trainer.

Bivol and Jones Jr. were given honorable mentions by Atlas, but in his eyes, they did not do enough to breach the top 10 all-time.

Starting at number 10 was one of Atlas' favorite fighters, Sam Langford. The Canadian fighter competed from 1902-1926, and had a professional record of 210-44-53, fighting from lightweight all the way to heavyweight.

Number nine on Atlas' list was Maxi Rosenbloom from Connecticut. The former light heavyweight champion had a professional record of 224-44-28, and competed from 1923 to 1939.

Bob Foster was the eighth pick on the list. The former Muhammad Ali opponent moved up to heavyweight to face 'The Greatest' after eight successful light heavyweight title bouts, before retiring in 1978 with a record of 56-8-1.

With a sole loss to Mike Tyson being the only time he tasted defeat, Michael Spinks was the seventh-best light heavyweight ever, according to Atlas. Spinks had a professional record of 31-1 when he retired, and was a unified light heavyweight champion.

Former light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson was listed at six. He had a professional record of 76-11, spanning 1946 to 1971.

Fifth on the rankings was Billy Conn, who fought from 1934 to 1948 to accumulate a record of 63-11-1. 'The Pittsburgh Kid' was a light heavyweight world champion, with the final two defeats of his career coming against Joe Louis at heavyweight.

At number four, Tommy Loughran was given the nod by Atlas. 'The Phantom of Philly' had a professional record of 124-33-12, picking up the light heavyweight world title in the process. He competed from 1919 to 1937.

The third-best light heavyweight of all time, according to Atlas, is Archie Moore. The former unified light heavyweight champion fought between 1935 and 1963, as the 'Old Mongoose' had a record of 186-23-10.

The runner-up spot for light heavyweight greats was given to Gene Tunney (80-1-3). 'The Fighting Marine' suffered just a sole loss in a 13-year career between 1915 and 1928, as he claimed titles at both light heavyweight and heavyweight.

According to Atlas, the greatest light heavyweight of all time is Ezzard Charles, despite never claiming the world title of the division. Fighting from 1940 to 1959, he claimed the heavyweight title. However, the coach picked him as the greatest due to earning wins over the best light heavyweights of his era.

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