- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1940–1965
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 96.0
- Dominance
- 95.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 94.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
GOAT Rank · 17
Greatest Boxing athletes of the 1940s
This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.
#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1940–1966
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 94.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1940–1959
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1946–1971
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1943–1970
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1948–1967
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1946–1960
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1940–1955
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1943–1958
- Country
- 🇨🇺 Cuba
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1947–1956
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1941–1955
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1940–1955
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1944–1956
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1948–1961
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1942–1952
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1948–1962
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Boxing
- Career
- 1941–1954
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugar Ray Robinson | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1940–1965 | 94.3 |
| 23 | Willie Pep | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1940–1966 | 89.8 |
| 24 | Ezzard Charles | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1940–1959 | 89.8 |
| 44 | Harold Johnson | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1946–1971 | 88.4 |
| 54 | Joe Brown | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1943–1970 | 87.8 |
| 67 | Joey Giardello | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1948–1967 | 87.1 |
| 71 | Jimmy Carter | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1946–1960 | 86.9 |
| 75 | Beau Jack | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1940–1955 | 86.8 |
| 77 | Kid Gavilán | Boxing | 🇨🇺 Cuba | 1943–1958 | 86.5 |
| 86 | Rocky Marciano | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1947–1956 | 86.3 |
| 93 | Billy Graham | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1941–1955 | 86.3 |
| 129 | Jimmy Bivins | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1940–1955 | 85.1 |
| 134 | Sandy Saddler | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1944–1956 | 84.9 |
| 141 | Carmen Basilio | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1948–1961 | 84.6 |
| 182 | Rocky Graziano | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1942–1952 | 82.8 |
| 192 | Tony DeMarco | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1948–1962 | 82 |
| 217 | Jake LaMotta | Boxing | 🇺🇸 United States | 1941–1954 | 80.2 |
Compare the leaders
Sugar Ray Robinson vs Willie PepRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.
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