Ranking the Best Fighter in Boxing History from Every Continent

Boxing fans and writers take pride in the international nature of our sport. Putting together this piece brought that home to me clearly. Every name included on this list is a Hall of Famer and among the greatest of all time at his weight. 

And in every case, there are strong arguments to be made for alternative choices. While not every country on the planet has produced great boxers, each of the six populated continents has produced boxing legends.

I'm not sure any other sport could make the same claim. 

Africa: Dick Tiger

Africa has produced some extremely tough boxing champions over the years. But ultimately, this debate comes down to two names: Dick Tiger and Azumah Nelson. 

A native of Ghana, Nelson exploded onto the boxing scene in 1982, in just his 14th fight, when he lost a very competitive contest by Round 15 TKO to the legendary Salvador Sanchez. Nelson would establish himself as one of the best super featherweights ever and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters of his era. 

But I still had to go with the rugged and athletic Tiger, who was a two-division, undisputed world champion. Tiger was one of the great middleweights and light heavyweights of the 1960s, which was an outstanding decade for those divisions.

He won the middleweight title from Gene Fullmer and retained it in two rematches with the Hall of Famer. Tiger also went 1-1 with Hall of Famer Joey Giardello, swapping the middleweight title with him.

Tiger won the light heavyweight title from Jose Torres and retained it in a rematch, eventually losing it to Bob Foster.   

Asia: Flash Elorde

Most of the best choices for the all-time best boxer from Asia are also from the Philippines. I'll beg the question on Manny Pacquiao and say that I haven't rated him here, as he's still active. 

But considering how much tougher their eras were, Pac-Man's countrymen Ceferino Garcia and Flash Elorde measure up well alongside him. Garcia was an undersized middleweight champion during the 1930s who fought to a draw with the great Henry Armstrong. 

Elorde forced himself onto the international scene when he beat featherweight champion Sandy Saddler in a non-title fight. Elorde established himself as among the greatest super featherweights of all time in the 1960s. He also gave lightweight legend Carlos Ortiz some of his toughest bouts. 

Japan's Fighting Harada also deserves a brief mention. A bantamweight star in the 1960s, he is the only man to ever beat Eder Jofre. 

Thailand's Khaosai Galaxy was among the most thrilling knockout artists of the 1980s. He is arguably the greatest super flyweight of all time. 

Australia-New Zealand: Bob Fitzsimmons

A strict geography teacher might cringe to see me combine Australia and New Zealand. Most of the islands that comprise New Zealand sit upon a separate continental shelf from Australia. Regardless, I've lumped them together for historical and regional purposes. 

Even taken as a pair, they are the weak sister of the bunch. Still, Bob Fitzsimmons, who moved to New Zealand from England at age nine and took up boxing there, is clearly one of the all-time greats. 

A blacksmith by trade, Fitzsimmons was one of the biggest pound-for-pound punchers in boxing history. He won the middleweight title by pummeling fellow Hall of Famer Jack "The Nonpariel" Dempsey and won the heavyweight title when he knocked out James J. Corbett. 

He remains the smallest man to ever hold the heavyweight title. At age 40, Fitzsimmons became the first three-division world champion in history, when he won the light heavyweight title. 

My runner-up for Australia would be Kostya Tszyu, a Russian native who settled in Sydney following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. 

Europe: Ted "Kid" Lewis

No other continent leaves more room for debate in this ranking than Europe. Italy's Nino Benvenuti and Duilio Loi deserve nods, as does Germany's Max Schmeling.

The United Kingdom alone produces most of the best nominations. Solid arguments could be made for Lennox Lewis, Ken Buchanan, Jimmy Wilder, Joe Calzaghe and Randy Turpin.

But ultimately, I selected Kid Lewis, a welterweight champion in the rough-and-tumble 1910s and 1920s. Lewis' rivalry with Jack Britton is among the greatest in boxing history. Between 1915 and 1921, they fought 20 times, with the welterweight title often trading hands.

Lewis fought to a draw with Benny Leonard, who stands alongside Roberto Duran as history's greatest lightweight. Lewis also lost fights to all-time great light heavyweights Georges Carpentier and Maxie Rosenbloom.   

South America: Carlos Monzon

There are plenty of worthy finalists for the greatest fighter of all time from South America. Brazil's Eder Jofre is in the debate for the greatest bantamweight ever, having lost just twice in 78 fights, with both losses very close decisions against Fighting Harada, in Harada's own hometown of Tokyo. 

Antonio Cervantes of Columbia held the undisputed light welterweight title for most of a decade in the 1970s. Nicolino Locche, of Argentina, is one of the greatest defensive fighters ever. Fellow Argentine Pascual Perez is in the conversation for top flyweight in history. 

But ultimately, I doubt many boxing historians would disagree that Carlos Monzon deserves this spot. The rugged Argentine tops many lists for the greatest middleweight ever. 

Monzon captured the undisputed middleweight title in November 1970, when he beat fellow great Nino Benvenuti by thrilling Round 12 TKO. He won the rematch by Round 3 stoppage. 

Monzon ruled the division until retiring as the champion in 1977. Among the great fighters he beat were Emile Griffith (twice), Rodrigo Valdes (twice), Denny Moyer, Bennie Briscoe and Jose Napoles.

North America: Sugar Ray Robinson

North American fighters dominate all-time, pound-for-pound lists. Names like Henry Armstrong, Benny Leonard, Sam Langford, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Gans, Harry Greb, Archie Moore, Julio Cesar Chavez and Roberto Duran are all likely to appear in the top five to 10 of any credible list. 

But more than a half century after he retired, a majority of boxing historians and fans would still agree that Sugar Ray Robinson is the true pound-for-pound king for the ages. He combined a dancer's grace with devastating power in both hands.

After turning professional in 1940, Robinson won his first 40 fights, before losing for the first time to Jake LaMotta in 1943. He then commenced the most dominant stretch in the sport's history. Between 1943 and 1951, he fought 90 straight times without a loss. 

While Robinson fought his share of journeymen and even club-level fighters while competing six to 10 times per year, he was also fighting multiple ranked opponents every single year. By my rough count on Boxrec, Robinson fought at least 38 bouts with world champions and/or Hall of Famers.

And that's a number that would be much higher if alphabet-soup world titles had been handed out during his era.