The Top 50 featherweights ever

After the middleweights, we are taking a move down the weight categories to try and list the greatest 9st boxers of all time. It has been a division full of talent throughout the years, right back to the days of Abe Attell, through the likes of Henry Armstrong (pictured, left), Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, Vicente Saldivar, Salvador Sanchez, Azumah Nelson, Eusebio Pedrosa, Barry McGuigan right through to the likes of Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera (pictured, right).

In a slight change in this list, which will start next week with Nos 41-50, super-bantamweights will also be included.

So if you have any views, make your claims now. Top tens and debate also very welcome.

Comments

[Ron Lewis]

Flash Elorde was very much a super-featherweight. I'm not sure he even boxed at feather, although he did box at lightweight. For those that don't know him, the great Filipino was undisputed world super-featherweight (well, everyone would have said junior lightweight then) champion from 1963 to 1967, although some might suggest his best win came in a non-title bout over Ismael Laguna in 1966.

[momoy]

what about gabriel "flash" elorde? was he a featherweight or super feather weight

1.Wellie Pep
2.Henry Armstrong
3.Manny Pacquiao
4.SANDY SADDLER
5. FREDDIE MILLER
6. KID CHOCOLATE
7. SALVADOR SANCHEZ
8. ALEXIS ARGUELLO
9. TERRY McGOVERN
10. YOUNG GRIFFO
11. EUSEBIO PEDROZA
12. JOHNNY DUNDEE
13. GEORGE DIXON
14. JOHNNY KILBANE
15. AZUMAH NELSON
15. VICENTE SALDIVAR
16. BATTLING BATTALINO
17. ABE ATTELL
18. PETEY SARRON
19. JIM DRISCOLL
20.Marco Antonio Barrera

[Crashing Dashing Kid]

Mr Fairweather may be right - Saddler may well have had Pep's number - but for me the pre-crash Pep was superior to the post-accident version that Saddler was able to catch up with.
The thing about Sandy was that he often lost the odd fight to fighters that Pep beat handily. The sheer numbers of Pep's record are enough to guarantee him top spot, in my opinion, notwithstanding the balletic fight films he left for us to marvel at. Saddler I would place at #3 behind the incomparable Henry Armstrong.

[Crashing Dashing Kid]

I am simply intrigued as to how you rate the featherweights because in earlier days it was a cath all type weight for bantams and lightweights too.

For instance, where do you put Owen Moran? A bantamweight who fought for the featherweight title against some of the greatest American boxers of all time- Moran was often fighting against champs who insisted on their own referee and even stipulated the length of the fights (I think one was over 23 rounds). Moran had to accept a draw if he failed to KO opponents. He outclassed George Dixon & Abe Attell yet was never awarded the title. Same with Jim Driscoll who beat every top US featherweight of note but could not get his hands on the title. Then you have guys like Attell who were clearly not the best featherweight in the world holding on to the title for an age through rather less than honourable means. Difficult one this Mr Lewis!

[Quartz]

I would be surprised if Pep and Saddler were not the top two in this list.

I just thought I'd send you my thoughts on the top 20 featherweights so you did not forget to look up Young Griffo. I have restricted the list to those boxers who are retired.

1. WILLIE PEP
2. HENRY ARMSTRONG
3. SANDY SADDLER
4. FREDDIE MILLER
5. KID CHOCOLATE
6. SALVADOR SANCHEZ
7. ALEXIS ARGUELLO
8. JIM DRISCOLL
9. TERRY McGOVERN
10. YOUNG GRIFFO
11. EUSEBIO PEDROZA
12. JOHNNY DUNDEE
13. GEORGE DIXON
14. JOHNNY KILBANE
15. AZUMAH NELSON
15. VICENTE SALDIVAR
16. BATTLING BATTALINO
17. ABE ATTELL
18. PETEY SARRON
19. NASEEM HAMED
20. BABY ARIZMENDI

[James Fairweather]

The inclusion of super-bantams needn't trouble the top fifteen or so featherweights, with the obvious exception of Wilfredo Gomez.

I presume that Willie Pep will top the list and although I've always been a Sandy Saddler man myself, I can live with that. I've given up trying to persuade anyone that the hardest punching featherweight ever, with a 3-1 head to head over Pep, deserves to be ranked above him!

Aside from Pep and Saddler, I'd hope to see, in more or less chronological order, McGovern, Attell, our own Jim Driscoll, Armstrong, Saldivar, Sanchez, Nelson and Gomez as the super-featherweight rep rounding out the top 10. The likes of Owen Moran, Chalky Wright, Arguello (a certainty at lightweight/junior lightweight), Fenech, Pedroza and Barrera just miss out for me.