H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0 decade leaderboard

Best boxers of the 1890s

Tommy Ryan leads the Score list, with Joe Gans and Bob Fitzsimmons close enough to make the order worth arguing about.

The 1890s slice is where heavyweight and light heavyweight shape the H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0 argument. Fighters qualify if any part of their recorded active years overlaps the decade, so crossover careers appear in more than one era.

A fighter qualifies for this page if any year of their recorded active career overlaps the decade. This means long careers can appear on multiple decade pages.

H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0 public leaderboard. These visual leaderboards are built from the published men's release and should be read with the methodology, versions and corrections notes.

Rankings: H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0. Reflects fights up to 10 May 2026, the most recent on record. The ratings are fixed to that point, so fights after it are not yet included.

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13 fighters shown from the H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0 launch leaderboard set.

#19Tommy RyanScore: 92.80Compare in head-to-head

#42Joe GansScore: 89.30Compare in head-to-head

#56Bob FitzsimmonsScore: 87.61Compare in head-to-head

#57Jack JohnsonScore: 87.59Compare in head-to-head

#61Philadelphia Jack O'BrienScore: 87.34Compare in head-to-head

#71James J JeffriesScore: 85.89Compare in head-to-head

#115Terry McGovernScore: 82.94Compare in head-to-head

#135Charles Kid McCoyScore: 82.29Compare in head-to-head

#152Jack RootScore: 81.77Compare in head-to-head

#239James J CorbettScore: 79.24Compare in head-to-head

Readable table

Best boxers of the 1890s, H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0
Rank	Fighter	Division	Score	Peak-form Elo	Active	Notable wins	Compare
#19	Tommy Ryan	Middleweight	92.80	1,848	1889-1907	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#42	Joe Gans	Lightweight	89.30	1,740	1891-1909	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#56	Bob Fitzsimmons	Light Heavyweight	87.61	1,674	1885-1914	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#57	Jack Johnson	Heavyweight	87.59	1,825	1897-1931	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#61	Philadelphia Jack O'Brien	Light Heavyweight	87.34	1,796	1896-1912	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#71	James J Jeffries	Heavyweight	85.89	1,795	1895-1910	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#115	Terry McGovern	Featherweight	82.94	1,704	1897-1908	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#135	Charles Kid McCoy	Middleweight	82.29	1,769	1891-1912	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#152	Jack Root	Light Heavyweight	81.77	1,758	1897-1906	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#239	James J Corbett	Heavyweight	79.24	1,609	1886-1903	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#433	George Gardner	Light Heavyweight	75.88	1,630	1897-1910	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#600	Marvin Hart	Heavyweight	74.09	1,636	1899-1910	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head
#867	Tom Sharkey	Heavyweight	71.89	1,598	1893-1904	No listed opponent summary	Head-to-head

Read this with care

H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0 is a fixed public release, not a live database. A fighter can top one of these lists and still rank lower overall. The all-time score blends several things: how good they were in their fights, how far ahead of their rivals they stood, how tough their opponents were, their title record, and how long they stayed near the top.

For disputed placements, use the fighter page, methodology page and corrections process rather than treating one number as the whole argument.

Open the Rating Timeline See when boxers peaked What the Index means by greatness