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

Best boxers of the 1940s

Henry Armstrong leads the Score list, with Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson close enough to make the order worth arguing about.

The 1940s slice is where middleweight and lightweight 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 , the most recent on record. The ratings are fixed to that point, so fights after it are not yet included.

Filter the list

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

#3Henry ArmstrongScore: 98.09Compare in head-to-head
#4Joe LouisScore: 97.04Compare in head-to-head
#6Sugar Ray RobinsonScore: 96.59Compare in head-to-head
#16Archie MooreScore: 93.40Compare in head-to-head
#27Willie PepScore: 91.65Compare in head-to-head
#38Ezzard CharlesScore: 89.74Compare in head-to-head
#52Billy ConnScore: 87.85Compare in head-to-head
#54Rocky MarcianoScore: 87.68Compare in head-to-head
#55Freddie SteeleScore: 87.64Compare in head-to-head
#66Young Corbett IIIScore: 86.25Compare in head-to-head

Readable table

Best boxers of the 1940s, H&G All-Time Index v2.0.0
Rank Fighter Division Score Peak-form Elo Active Notable wins Compare
#3 Henry Armstrong Welterweight 98.09 1,974 1932-1945 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#4 Joe Louis Heavyweight 97.04 2,122 1934-1951 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#6 Sugar Ray Robinson Middleweight 96.59 2,094 1940-1965 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#16 Archie Moore Light Heavyweight 93.40 1,993 1937-1963 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#27 Willie Pep Featherweight 91.65 1,981 1941-1966 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#38 Ezzard Charles Heavyweight 89.74 2,009 1940-1959 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#52 Billy Conn Light Heavyweight 87.85 1,961 1934-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#54 Rocky Marciano Heavyweight 87.68 2,070 1947-1955 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#55 Freddie Steele Middleweight 87.64 1,959 1930-1941 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#66 Young Corbett III Welterweight 86.25 1,932 1923-1940 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#72 Lou Ambers Lightweight 85.83 1,882 1932-1941 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#81 Ike Williams Lightweight 85.22 1,898 1941-1955 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#87 Sandy Saddler Super Featherweight 84.53 1,818 1944-1956 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#98 Fred Apostoli Middleweight 83.70 1,879 1934-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#104 Harold Johnson Light Heavyweight 83.52 1,835 1946-1971 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#122 Jack 'Kid' Berg Super Lightweight 82.69 1,811 1926-1945 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#123 Manuel Ortiz Bantamweight 82.67 1,778 1938-1955 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#147 Kid Gavilan Welterweight 81.93 1,834 1944-1958 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#153 Sammy Angott Lightweight 81.77 1,865 1935-1950 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#160 Bobo Olson Middleweight 81.48 1,859 1945-1966 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#162 Marcel Cerdan Middleweight 81.43 1,903 1936-1949 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#185 Freddie Miller Featherweight 80.84 1,798 1928-1940 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#214 Peter Kane Flyweight 79.98 1,817 1932-1951 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#223 Tippy Larkin Super Lightweight 79.65 1,845 1935-1952 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#241 Jake LaMotta Middleweight 79.13 1,845 1941-1954 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#243 Ken Overlin Middleweight 79.07 1,854 1932-1944 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#253 Lou Brouillard Middleweight 78.80 1,779 1929-1940 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#258 Jimmy Bivins Light Heavyweight 78.72 1,933 1940-1955 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#261 Beau Jack Lightweight 78.60 1,820 1940-1955 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#266 Panama Al Brown Bantamweight 78.53 1,755 1923-1942 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#289 Gus Lesnevich Light Heavyweight 77.95 1,794 1934-1949 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#290 Carmen Basilio Welterweight 77.94 1,762 1948-1961 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#299 Max Schmeling Heavyweight 77.77 1,842 1924-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#302 Teddy Yarosz Middleweight 77.74 1,818 1930-1942 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#311 Ceferino Garcia Middleweight 77.64 1,832 1926-1945 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#326 Bob Montgomery Lightweight 77.39 1,817 1938-1950 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#340 Midget Wolgast Flyweight 77.17 1,747 1925-1940 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#362 Holman Williams Middleweight 76.97 1,889 1932-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#368 Melio Bettina Light Heavyweight 76.93 1,837 1934-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#375 Primo Carnera Heavyweight 76.77 1,819 1928-1946 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#378 Tony Zale Middleweight 76.76 1,784 1934-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#379 Benny Bass Super Featherweight 76.67 1,733 1922-1940 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#397 Juan Zurita Lightweight 76.45 1,809 1933-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#401 Paul Pender Middleweight 76.36 1,788 1949-1962 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#424 Lloyd Marshall Middleweight 76.02 1,820 1936-1951 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#502 Johnny Saxton Welterweight 75.22 1,811 1949-1958 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#503 Jersey Joe Walcott Heavyweight 75.21 1,813 1930-1953 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#539 Bob Pastor Heavyweight 74.81 1,899 1935-1942 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#557 Eddie Booker Middleweight 74.61 1,865 1935-1944 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#573 Max Baer Heavyweight 74.37 1,774 1929-1941 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#584 Baby Arizmendi Featherweight 74.27 1,742 1927-1942 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#588 Fritzie Zivic Welterweight 74.24 1,767 1934-1949 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#601 Charles Humez Middleweight 74.08 1,802 1948-1958 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#602 Wesley Ramey Lightweight 74.08 1,809 1930-1941 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#625 Charley Burley Middleweight 73.88 1,889 1936-1950 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#626 Billy Soose Middleweight 73.88 1,797 1938-1942 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#632 Harry Matthews Light Heavyweight 73.80 1,832 1938-1956 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#658 Pedro Montanez Lightweight 73.58 1,842 1931-1940 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#672 Anton Christoforidis Middleweight 73.48 1,737 1934-1947 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#697 Chalky Wright Featherweight 73.23 1,747 1930-1948 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#710 Gustave Roth Middleweight 73.12 1,749 1927-1945 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#822 Sammy Fuller Lightweight 72.23 1,760 1924-1943 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#852 Sal Bartolo Super Featherweight 72.00 1,744 1937-1949 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#876 Al Hostak Middleweight 71.82 1,743 1932-1949 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#892 George Costner Welterweight 71.68 1,828 1940-1950 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#896 Joey Maxim Light Heavyweight 71.64 1,754 1941-1958 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#902 Tiger Jack Fox Light Heavyweight 71.59 1,789 1928-1950 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#905 Rocky Graziano Middleweight 71.55 1,792 1942-1952 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#906 Dave Sands Middleweight 71.54 1,840 1941-1952 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#925 Paddy DeMarco Lightweight 71.39 1,745 1945-1959 No listed opponent summary Head-to-head
#942 Al McCoy Middleweight 71.30 1,765 1931-1942 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.

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