Best 10 Boxers of All Time

1. Sugar Ray Robinson; 179 W, 19 L, 6 D, 2 NC, 109 KO
Born Walker Smith Jr., May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989 made his professional debut on October 4, 1940. Sugar Ray Robinson is admittedly the hands down choice of top boxer of all time and to this date, no one comes close of surpassing or even equaling his achievement as a boxer.

2. Muhhamed Ali; 56 W, 5 L, 37 KO
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He had an unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer relying on foot speed and quickness to avoid punches and carried his hands low.  Muhammad will come down in boxing history as one of the greatest human being that has fought in the square canvas.

3. Henry Armstrong; 150 W, 21 L, 101 KO
Henry Jackson Jr., born December 12, 1912 was the only boxer to hold three world championships at the same time. These titles included the Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight crowns. He also defended the Welterweight championship more times than any other fighter.

4. Julio Cesar Chavez; 104 W, 5 L, 2 D, 80 KO
Julio Cesar Chavez was born on July 12, 1962 in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. He is the ultimate Mexican champion of all time. He began boxing as an amateur at the age of sixteen and had demolished practically all the top fighters during his time. He went on to fight for 13 years with a unblemished record.

5. Joe Louis; 68 W, 3 L, 54 KO
Joseph Louis Barrow  born May 13, 1914–April 12, 1981 nicknamed the Brown Bomber, he is considered to be one of the greatest in boxing history. Among his numerous victories Louis coined two of boxing’s most famous quotes: “He can run, but he can’t hide” and “Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.”

6. Roy Jones; 49 W, 3 L, 38 KO
Born January 16, 1969.  His selection may raise not a few eyebrows as there are a lot of skeptics on the circumstances of his being propelled to championship status. Jones started his rap music career in 2001 with his successful album, titled Round One: The Album and the debut single, “You all Must’ve Forgot”.

7. Archie Moore; 181 W, 24 L, 9 D, 1 NC, 145 KO
December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998. If only for his impressive and superhuman career record, the Old mongoose could well have been the greatest. His fighting career spanned all four decades and has knocked out more fighters than any of the other great fighters in this top 10 list.

8. Marvin Hagler; 62 W, 3 L, 2 D, 52 KO
Born  in Newark, New Jersey, May 23, 1954. Because he felt that he did not receive enough credit for his accomplishments, Hagler legally changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest middleweights of all time. Later in life he moved to Italy, where he made low budget movies.

9. Sugar Ray Leonard; 36 W, 3 L, 1 D, 25 KO
Born May 17, 1956. He is an epitome of a scientific fighter and a genius on top of the ring. He can get into the minds of his opponent to inflict the most serious jabs to bring them to submission. One of the most memorable of all is the infamous “no mas” episode with Roberto Duran.

10. George Foreman; 76 W, 5 L, 68 KO
Born January 05, 1949. This fighter has always been haunted by his own ghost. After his triumphal rise to fame, his crashing defeat in the hands of Ali has left him devastated more on the spirit than on his physical side. He has named  all five of his sons George because: “In this career, you have to prepare for long term brain damage.”

Most Known Fiction Detectives

1. Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes, a creation by Arthur Conan Doyle, remains the archetypal detective who solves mysteries by logical reasoning. He appears in only four novels, of which “A Study in Scarlet” (1887) was the first, and “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (1902) the most famous. At least as important are the fifty-six short stories. Two of my personal favorites are “The Red-Headed League” and “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”. Holmes believes in the science of deduction: the principle that any problem can be solved if the necessary information is given. He is surrounded by people who are less bright than him. Dr Watson is a good observer, and can relate the cases in detail as first person narrator, but he never comes to the correct conclusion by himself. Inspector Lestrade is the not too clever police investigator with a lot of tenacity once he’s on the right track. His archenemy Professor Moriarty only appears in two stories. As a private person Holmes is quite eccentric. He uses cocaine, and never gets romantically involved, although he does have feelings for Irene Adler from “A Scandal in Bohemia”. Of the many actors who have played Sherlock Holmes I’ll just mention Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett (photo).

2. Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot appears for the first time in Agatha Christie’s “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, published in 1920. He is a retired Belgian police officer who came to England during World War I as a refugee. Poirot solves mysteries with his “little grey cells”, occasionally without even leaving his room. With his strong preference for symmetry, order and method, he has something of a comic book character. Captain Arthur Hastings is his best friend, who relies too much on his intuition to solve a mystery by himself, but often helps Poirot with his observations and accidental remarks. Poirot’s secretary, Miss Lemon, is very efficient, but in contrast to Hastings she doesn’t have any imagination. Chief Inspector Japp from Scotland Yard isn’t too bright, but Poirot often sends him in the right direction. Detective writer Ariadne Oliver, who is partly based on Agatha Christie herself, believes in female intuition. Poirot is surely one of the greatest fictional detectives, because he was involved in so many unforgettable crime novels, including “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”, “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile”. Poirot was brought to life in movies by actors Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov, and by David Suchet (photo) in the ITV series.

3. Miss Marple

Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple appeared first in a series of short stories in a magazine, later collected as “The Thirteen Problems”. This elderly spinster with a remarkable talent for amateur sleuthing can be followed in twelve crime novels, including “The Murder at the Vicarage” (1930) and “The Body in the Library” (1943). She lives in the small village of St Mary Mead, where she finds the opportunity to study human nature. She sees analogies with people and events she knows from village life, which helps her to solve many mysteries. Intuition and psychology are quite important to her. She can annoy the police investigators, who initially see her as an old busybody, until they have to admit she was right. I have to admit I used to be prejudiced against “the old bat” myself, but after reading her stories I became gradually convinced that she belongs to The Big Three of fictional detectives. She was played in movies by Margaret Rutherford and Angela Lansbury, and on TV by Helen Hayes, Joan Hickson (photo) and Geraldine McEwan.

4. Lord Peter Wimsey

Lord Peter Wimsey was created by British author Dorothy L. Sayers. He’s the archetypal gentleman detective. Solving crimes is a hobby for him. In the second novel “Clouds of Witness” (1926), he has to take action because his brother is suspected of murder. He’s a round character with a past. After getting injured during World War I he was rescued by his later manservant Bunter, who also helps him with his investigations. Wimsey falls in love with Harriet Vine, and marries her. He likes to cooperate with Chief Inspector Charles Parker from Scotland Yard. These novels are still worth reading, because they are simply good literature with a broad perspective on British society in that era. Wimsey himself may be a gentleman, but he meets people from the lower classes, like the farmer in “Clouds of Witness” who suspects Wimsey of having an affair with his wife. Several actors have played Lord Peter Wimsey, including Ian Carmichael (photo) in a BBC series.

5. Jules Maigret

Commissaire Jules Maigret is the only one in this top ten whose stories were not written in English, but in French. Although his author, Georges Simenon, was Belgian, Maigret himself is French and works in Paris. He holds a quantity record by appearing in seventy-five novels and twenty-nine short stories. Maigret usually smokes a pipe, drinks a lot and wears a heavy overcoat. He’s a more realistic character than most of his colleagues in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. His method of investigation comes close to the way a real policeman would work. His successes are based on team work, routine research and tenacity, rather than individual brilliancy. Maigret has been played by several TV actors, of which Jean Gabin was the first, and Bruno Cremer (photo) the most famous.

6. Inspector Roderick AlleynDetective Chief-Inspector Roderick Alleyn (pronounced “Allen”) is a British detective who appears in thirty-two novels by New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh. It started with “A Man Lay Dead” in 1934, when a murder game ends with a real murder. Other examples are “Vintage Murder”, “Artists in Crime”, and “Overture to Death” – where the murder method is especially interesting. As the younger brother of a baronet Alleyn is another example of a gentleman detective. He works for Scotland Yard, where he eventually reaches the rank of Chief Superintendent. Society journalist Nigel Bathgate often helps him during his investigations. Initially a bachelor, Alleyn later marries painter Agatha Troy. Of the three actors who have played him in TV adaptions the best known is Patrick Malahide (photo).

7. Sam Spade

Private detective Sam Spade was invented by Dashiell Hammett. He only appears in one novel and three short stories, but remains important as the first example of a detective in the hard-boiled genre. Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, among others, was inspired by Sam Spade. Spade is the main character in “The Maltese Falcon” (1930). He runs a detective agency in San Francisco with his partner Miles Archer, who gets killed early in the novel. He’s not afraid of a fist fight or firearms. He appears to be cynical, but still has a sense of duty. The story also involves a typical femme fatale. He was played by several actors, of which the most famous remains Humphrey Bogart (photo) in the movie adaption of 1941.

8. Philip Marlowe

Philip Marlowe is a private investigator created by American author Raymond Chandler. He appeared for the first time in “The Big Sleep”, in 1939. Other well-known titles are “The Lady in the Lake” and “The Long Goodbye”. Marlowe belongs to the hardboiled direction, influenced by Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade. He smokes and drinks a lot. He lives in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The stories are set in the more dangerous neighbourhoods in and around this city. Violence, drugs and tough language occur frequently. Marlowe has been played by a lot of actors, including Humphrey Bogart in “The Big Sleep” and Powers Boothe (photo) in the ITV series “Philip Marlowe, Private Eye”.

9. Kinsey Millhone
Private detective Kinsey Millhone was created by American author Sue Grafton. She appears in the alphabet series: “A Is for Alibi”, “B Is for Burglar” etc. She lives in an apartment in Santa Teresa, California. This fictional town based on Santa Barbara was invented by another writer, Ross MacDonald. Kinsey is a bachelorette who runs a lot to stay in shape, and has an affair from time to time. I like these novels because they are entertaining and have a fast pace and strong plot. There’s always a certain amount of action involved too. There hasn’t been a film or TV adaption of these stories yet – maybe an idea for the future.

10. Detective Inspector Thomas Linley

Inspector Linley is a British detective created by the American author Elizabeth George. He’s the eighth Earl of Asherton. He solves crimes with his Scotland Yard colleague Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, who has a working class background. In the third Linley novel, “Well-Schooled in Murder”, Linley and Havers solve a homicide case in an elite British public school, which is remarkably well depicted for a non-British author. George always prepares her novels by studying real locations in England, which makes her stories more realistic than those of many other crime writers. Linley himself is a round character with weaknesses. His relationship with Lady Helen Clyde evolves through the novels. Linley and Havers are portrayed by Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small (photo) in the BBC series “The Inspector Linley Mysteries”.