Top 10 All-Time Greatest Lightweights

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Nov 18, 2009

Top 10 All-Time Greatest Lightweights

Pernell Whitaker

Acclaimed during his career as boxing's best, pound-for-pound, "Sweet Pea" was almost untouchable in his prime -- an ultra-slick defensive master who pitched virtual shutouts against even his most accomplished opponents.

Shane Mosley

Undefeated for six years as a lightweight, "Sugar" Shane a was the complete package at 135 pounds: a smart and gifted boxer with speed of hand and foot, who could hit hard with either hand and put punches together in sharp combination. He would have been a champ in any era.

Aaron Pryor

A natural lightweight, "The Hawk" had to move up to 140 before he could get a title shot. Still, he remains one of the division's most exciting fighters, a human buzzsaw, with knockout power in both hands and a granite jaw.

Carlos Ortiz

Puerto Rican-born and New York City-raised, Ortiz was a slick boxer with real power in both hands who twice held the 135-pound title in the 1960s.

Ike Williams

The big-punching Williams -- watch out for that right hand -- held the lightweight title from 1945-51 and beat the cream of the division, including Sammy Angott, Beau Jack and Bob Montgomery.

Tony Canzoneri

Another three-division champ, Canzoneri twice held the lightweight title during the 1930s.

Henry Armstrong

There's a case to be made that "Homicide Hank," who in the late 1930s held the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight titles simultaneously, was the greatest ever, pound-for-pound, but his best work was at welterweight. Still, the fighter known as "Little Perpetual Motion" for his ferocious attacking style, deserves a prime spot among the 135-pounders.

Joe Gans

The compact, elegant Gans, who held the 135-pound title from 1902 to 1908, combined a fluid, combination-punching attack that was decades ahead of his time with spectacular defense. No wonder they called him the "Old Master."

Benny Leonard

Known as the "Ghetto Wizard," Leonard was a brilliant boxer-puncher and one of history's craftiest fighters. He held the lightweight crown from 1917 until he retired in 1925. An ill-advised comeback six years later ended with a KO loss in 1932.

Roberto Duran

Forget No mas. Forget the late fights -- when he was more Jelly of Belly than Hands of Stone -- as a lightweight, ''El Cholo'' was perhaps the most complete fighter of all time. He was 62-1 in the division and avenged that sole loss, to Estaban DeJesus, with two resounding KOs.