Lennox Lewis does hold the distinction of being one of the few men to remain a credible claimaint to being an actual undisputed champion. He held the heavyweight championship three times and he won his rematches via knockout which was certainly an impressive feat. The fact that he was a three time professional champion and an Olympic champion all contributes to his grand legacy as an all-time legend in the sport.

One thing to be mindful of when discussing Lewis’ legacy would be the fact that Evander Holyfield was also a three time heavyweight champion. Since Holyfield was such a close contemporary of Lennox Lewis, Holyfield does provide competition in terms of which champion was the greatest of the modern era.

Lennox Lewis will always remain a name many will mention when asked who the greatest modern boxing champ of all-time was. Yet, he does have to share the stage with many other famous names of the era.

In 1997, he bit a part of his opponent, Evander Holyfield’s ear off. This lead to a further decline in his image. In 2003, his second marriage ended in divorce. In 2005, he announced that he would give up boxing for good because he felt that his heart was no longer in it.

Tyson’s greatest personal tragedy came in the May of 2009. His four year-old daughter named Exodus died after she became tangled in a treadmill. A year later, he announced that he was totally broke and had to live from paycheck to paycheck. Mike Tyson has endured a-lot of falls and tragedies, but he has managed to overcome them all.

In his prime Ali didn’t even bother to block punches! His movement was such that an opponent missed by millimeters while leaving himself in the perfect position to counter punch. He did this with such proficiency that in most bouts the jab became his primary weapon. The hard short right hand that knocked out Sonny Liston during the first round of their rematch for the Heavyweight Championship, showed a glimpse of the power Ali could wield on command. Known primarily as a boxer, Ali was never considered a heavy hitter like rivals Joe Frazier, George Foreman, or Ken Norton. It should be noted that he beat all three.

Is Ali the greatest of all time? A record of 56-5 isn’t compelling until you consider that he was undefeated before a suspension for refusing the draft took three years away during the prime of his career. There has never been a fighter who dominated and entertained with as much flair as Ali. His style and panache influences generations of boxers even today.

Heavyweight champion David Haye from the UK has held his title since November of 2009.

Guillermo Jones of Panama holds the Cruiserweight title. He last defended his title in October of 2010.

Light heavyweight Beibut Shemeno remains at the top of his weight class after a recent title defending match in January of this year.

Fighter Dimitri Sartiso has been the WBA super middleweight champion since November 2009.

Gennady Glovkin holds the middleweight championship title.

The 154lb super welterweight Austin Trout of the United States recently captured the belt in February of this year.

Ukraine native Vyacheslav Senchenko has been the reigning welterweight champion for the last two years.

Amir Khan of the UK holds the super lightweight title.

Mexican Brandon Rios won the lightweight title in February of this year.

Takashi Uchiyama of Japan wears the championship belt for the super featherweight class.

Argentina native Jonathan Barros recently won the 1 spot for the featherweight class.

Super bantamweight bragging rights go to champion Akifumi Shimoda.

World champion title in the bantamweight goes to Koki Kameda.

Hugo Cazares holds the super flyweight title.

Luis Cocepcio is the flyweight champ.

The light flyweight title is held by Roman Gonzalez.

The minimum class belt holder goes to Kwanthai Sithmorseng.

Published in 1867, they superseded the earlier London Prize Ring rules written in 1838 and revised in 1853. If the Queensbury Rules don’t cover a certain question, the Prize Ring Rules are to be used.

The first rule states that the boxing ring will be of approximately 24 feet. The second forbids “wrestling or hugging”. The eleventh rule forbids shoes or boots with springs. The rest of the rules cover the fighting match.

The boxing match can be as many as twelve rounds, with three minute rest periods between each round. The referee is the official who decides if a fighter may continue the bout. The referee has the last word in any dispute.

A boxer not regaining both feet within a count of ten seconds or hanging off the ropes without toes touching the canvas are considered “down”.

The gloves should be new and “of the best quality”. If the glove “bursts” or has other problems, it must be replaced.

Even after nearly 250 years, the Queensbury rules have stood the test of time and are still valid today.

Roy Jones Jr. was a true natural athlete, built for the sport of boxing. His rare combination of speed, and power led him to one of the most dominant championship reigns in boxing history. When Jones was at his peak he had no equal.

9.Roberto Duran

The man with the hands of stone battled through 119 professional fights, winning 103 of them, and knocking out 70 of the men who faced him. He became the second boxer in history to fight in fight different decades, and held world titles in four weight classes.

8.”Sugar” Ray Leonard

Ray Leonard was a gold medalist in the Olympic games, and was named fighter of the decade for the 1980′s. He had numerous wars with the like of Marvin Haggler, Roberto Duran, and Tommy Hearns, which forever cemented him as one of the greatest in boxing history.

7.Mike Tyson

While Tyson’s career became more defined by his savage assault on the ear of Evander Holyfeild, during his prime Tyson was less a fight, and more like a force of nature. Those who saw Tyson fight in his prime understand how great he truly was.

6.Archie Moore

While the exact numbers are skewed, Archie Moore was estimated to have fought as many as 221 fight. Of those 221 he came out victorious in 194 of them. He battled such greats as Rocky Marciano, And Cassius Clay during his career. To this day he hold the highest number of knock outs for a boxers with 145.

5.Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano is the only man in boxing to have retired as an undefeated heavyweight champion. In his entire career he suffered only two knock downs. He fought 49 times, won them all, and knocked out his opponents a staggering 43 times, giving him the highest KO ratio of any fighter in history at 88.

4.’Big’ George Foreman

George Foreman began his boxing career by capturing an Olympic gold medal. He would then go one to become one of the most feared heavyweight champions in history. His size, and power made him one of the most dominant champions in history. He also became the oldest Heavyweight champ in history when he captured the title at the age of 45.

3.Muhammad Ali
Ali is without question the most famous fighter in the history of boxing. His brash trash talking earned him the ire of many, but his unmatched skills in the ring struck down some of boxing’s biggest names like George Foreman, and Joe Frazier.

2.’The Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya

De La Hoya was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace up his boots. His speed, and sized belied the power behind his fists. During his career he won 10 major titles in six different weight classes, as well as a gold medal at the Olympics. In his prime De La Hoya was as dominant as any champion in history.

1.”The Brown Bomber’ Joe Louis

With a record of 69-3 Joe Louis was one of the most dominant boxers in the history of the sport. He help the heavyweight title for a unprecedented 11 years, a records which no one has come close to breaking. He inspired other great fighters such as Muhammad Ali, and ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson. The technical way Louis approached each bout changed the entire sport of boxing, turning it into ‘The Sweet Science’.

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1. the effort made to finish the fight via KO or submission
2. damage given to the opponent
3. standing combinations and ground control
4. takedowns and takedown defense
5. aggressiveness
6. weight (in the case that the weight difference is 22 or more pounds)

There you are a quick overview to help understand MMA and appreciate some of its likenesses to (and differences from) boxing.

• Body and Soul (1947)
• The Boxer (1972)
• The Champ (1931)
• The Champ (1972)
• Fat City (1972)
• Gentleman Jim (1942)
• The Great White Hope (1970)
• The Fall Harder (1956)
• Kid Galahad (1937)
• Kid Galahad (1962)
• Raging Bull (1980)
• Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
• The Set-Up (1949)
• Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)