For over a century, the United States has been at the center of the boxing universe. The U.S. has hosted the great majority of history’s biggest fights – be they in New York, Chicago, New Orleans or, since the mid-80s, most likely on or adjacent to Las Vegas Boulevard – and those fights were as likely as not to involve at least one American fighter.
That dominance is eroding, boxing’s center of gravity threatening variously to relocate to Saudi Arabia, England, and Japan, among others. But, to misquote Monty Python, the U.S. boxing scene isn’t dead yet, and on the occasion of the country’s 249th birthday, we’re taking a look at the best of the best over the Marquess of Queensberry era, for most of which the best boxer in the U.S. in any given decade was almost invariably the best in the world.
So, happy birthday, ‘Murica. You’re not what you were: older, angrier, and altogether less pleasant. And all those pesky other countries insist on having their own opinions, champions, and major boxing cards.
But here’s to what has been and what you’ve brought to the boxing world so far.
Here are the best American practitioners of the Sweet Science each decade since boxers began putting on gloves:
1880s: John L. Sullivan
Boxing’s first superstar hailed from Boston and was both the last bare-knuckle champ and first champion of the gloved, Marquess of Queensberry, era. The sport was disorganized and in many places illegal, but at some point in the decade (exactly when is a matter of contention), Sullivan was acknowledged as the best there was.
1890s: James Corbett
The idea of “the man who beat the man” began with Corbett, who was the man who beat the man widely acknowledged as the best, John L. Sullivan. Known as the “father of modern boxing,” Corbett used new-fangled techniques such as a jab and upper body movement to confound the champion and take his crown in 1892.
1900s: Jim Jeffries
Corbett lost the heavyweight crown to Bob Fitzsimmons, who in turn was dethroned by Jeffries. Standing over 6 feet tall and tipping the scales at around 225 pounds, Jeffries relied primarily on the power of his punch and his ability to withstand punishment to grind down and overwhelm his opponents. He retired in 1904 before rashly returning in the name of racism six years later, and regretting it.
1910s: Jack Johnson
Not even Muhammad Ali drove white society as insane as Johnson. Two years after taking the crown in 1908, he defended it against Jeffries, who had been tabbed as The Great White Hope who would save America and the world from the first black heavyweight champ. But as well as being notorious, Johnson was also extremely good, combining sped, counter punching, defensive prowess and mental toughness into a well-rounded package far ahead of most of his contemporaries. Was finally undone by the giant Jess Willard in 1915.
1920s: Jack Dempsey
After knocking out Willard in just three rounds in 1919, Dempsey bestrode the 1920s like a Colossus. Yes, he only made six title defenses, and none at all between October 1923 and losing the title to Gene Tunney in October 1926, but five of those were against future Hall-of-Famers, and his 11-knockdown, two-round slobberknocker against Luis Firpo is one of the most iconic of all time.
1930s: Henry Armstrong
Whereas Dempsey successfully defended his title just five times, Armstrong defended the welterweight championship 19 years in just two years, and also captured the featherweight and lightweight titles in an absurdly productive stretch. Propelled by exceptional stamina, he was relentlessly aggressive, overworking and overwhelming one opponent after another. One of the two or three greatest fighters of all time.
1940s: Sugar Ray Robinson
How good was U S. boxing in the 1940s? Joe Louis went 15-0 this decade; he was heavyweight champion on January 1, 1940, and he was still champ when he retired on March 1, 1949, but he doesn’t get the nod. Nor does Willie Pep, who began the decade as an amateur and ended it as a two-time featherweight champ with a record of 143-2-1 – and survived a plane crash! The choice here is Robinson, who won the welterweight championship in 1946, was never beaten at the weight, lost in the 1940s only to Jake LaMotta at middleweight – a result he would avenge five times – and compiled a record of 101-1-2 during the decade. This was the best decade in the career of the best boxer who ever lived.
1950s: Sugar Ray Robinson
Despite retiring in 1952, Robinson gets the nod in this decade as well – not least because after coming out of retirement two-and-a-half years later, he promptly won the middleweight title not once, not twice, but three more times. He also lost and regained the crown before his retirement and in his last outing before his hiatus, came close to adding the light-heavyweight title too, until both he and the referee were felled by heat. Even though he showed the first signs of mortality, he still went 41-5 during the decade, with victories over Hall-of-Famers Carl Olson, Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, Gene Fuller, and Carmen Basilio.
1960s: Muhammad Ali
Robinson was the greatest, but Ali was The Greatest, and he proved it to his many doubters with victory over Sonny Liston in 1964. Followed it up with a rematch win and victories over the likes of Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams, and Ernie Terrell, showing the kind of footwork, hand speed, and ring artistry that has rarely if ever before been displayed by heavyweights, until he was criminally banned from the sport for non-boxing reasons while he was at his peak in 1967. As great as Ali was in this decade, we’ll never know how good he could have been.
1970s: Muhammad Ali
Perhaps the first decade in which the best American was not necessarily the best in the world, the likes of Roberto Duran, Carlos Monzon, and Alexis Arguello all having claims to stake. But despite losing to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton after his return to the ring, Ali defeated George Foreman to regain the belt and defeated Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila before retiring in 1978 after splitting a pair of bouts with Leon Spinks. Apologies to Bob Foster, who probably made the strongest claim among Ali’s contemporary compatriots.
1980s: Sugar Ray Leonard
Quite possibly boxing’s greatest decade, the time of Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and more – and that’s just in the U.S. But Leonard stood tallest of all, winning titles in five divisions, beating the other three members of the “Four Kings,” and retiring and coming back twice. With speed, power, and an in-ring nastiness that belied his “golden boy” exterior, Leonard remains one of the best Americans ever to lace up the gloves.
1990s: Roy Jones Jr
The Ring picked Pernell Whitaker as its fighter of the decade, and Sweet Pea has an exceptional case, winning titles at 135, 140, 147, and 154 pounds, losing only to Felix Trinidad (convincingly) and Oscar De La Hoya (controversially) and being robbed of a win over Julio Cesar Chavez. But the winner here is Jones, who won middleweight, super-middleweight, and light-heavyweight titles with an elan that made it all look effortless and made Hall-of-Fame level talents like Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, and Mike McCallum appear hopelessly overmatched.
2000s: Floyd Mayweather
It is tempting to plump for Hopkins, who knocked out Felix Trinidad to become undisputed middleweight champion, rolled to a divisional record number of title defenses, and then bested Antonio Tarver to become light-heavyweight kingpin. But Mayweather’s achievements in the decade elevate him: the domination of Diego Corales, the destruction of Arturo Gatti, the defeat of Oscar De La Hoya in the first appearance of “Money May,” and the dropping and stopping of Ricky Hatton all highlights of his march to the top of the pound -for-pound ratings.
2010s: Floyd Mayweather
Mayweather was great in the 2000s; he was generationally exceptional in the 2010s. Shane Mosley landed two big right hands in the second round of their 2010 meeting but was otherwise shut out, while Mayweather also turned back the challenges of Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, and above all Manny Pacquiao to establish himself definitively as the best American fighter of his generation.
2020s (so far): Terence Crawford
In a sign of the times, whereas Robinson, Armstrong, and Pep all fought over 100 times in a decade, Crawford has so far turned out on just five occasions since the calendar turned to 2020. His upcoming outing against Alvarez may well be his last, win or lose. But in an era when the best boxers are at least as likely to be Ukrainian, Mexican, Japanese, or British as Americans, Crawford has elevated himself above his compatriots in terms of both skill – a smooth switch-hitter, he displays both smooth boxing and a spiteful desire to punish his opponents - and accomplishments: his 2023 annihilation of purported rival Errol Spence Jr. made him the first man in the four-belt era to become undisputed champion in two weight classes. Should he beat Alvarez, then even if he doesn’t fight again, there’s a solid chance he’ll still be the decade’s top dog on December 31, 2029; that said, the likes of Jesse Rodriguez, Jaron Ennis, and Vergil Ortiz Jr. will feel there is plenty of time yet to usurp him.
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, including most recently and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is .
