50 Most Exciting Boxers of the Past 50 Years Or So

A few years back, Bleacher Report posted a slideshow of their ranking of the 100 most exciting athletes of all time.

Lists of this sort are almost entirely subjective and this one is no exception. While it's fun to scroll through the names (almost all of which are contemporary athletes), there were only three boxers on their list. While those three—Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Manny Pacquaio—certainly belong on the list, there are so many others that were overlooked.

So we've gone ahead and compiled our own list of the 50 most exciting boxers of the past 50 years. This is not a pound-for-pound list, by the way, were talking pound for pound excitement, entertainment value, and fan appeal over the last half a century or so.

50 Exciting Boxers

These are not necessarily the most talented or accomplished boxers, but the most crowd-pleasing. The fighters who made every fight a must-see fight.

1. Mike Tyson
2. Manny Pacquiao
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Roberto Duran
5. Arturo Gatti
6. Tommy Hearns
7. Matthew Saad Muhammad
8. Naseem Hamed
9. Erik Morales
10. Diego Corrales
11. Evander Holyfield
12. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
13. Sugar Ray Leonard
14. Julian Jackson
15. Marvin Hagler
16. Joe Frazier
17. Bobby Chacon
18. Micky Ward
19. George Foreman
20. Michael Carbajal
21. Tommy Morrison
22. Roy Jones Jr.
23. Kostya Tszyu
24. Carlos Zarate
25. Danny Lopez
26. Israel Vazquez
27. Sonny Liston
28. Aaron Pryor
29. Carlos Monzon
30. Nigel Benn
31. Ruben Olivares
32. Vinny Pazienza
33. Ike Ibeabuchi
34. Salvador Sanchez
35. Ray Mancini
36. Pipino Cuevas
37. Rafael Marquez
38. Alexis Arguello
39. Marco Antonio Barrera
40. Iran Barkley
41. Jeff Fenech
42. Ricky Hatton
43. Livingstone Bramble
44. Ricardo Lopez
45. Rafael Ruelas
46. Earnie Shavers
47. Edwin Valero
48. Greg Haugen
49. Felix Trinidad
50. Johnny Tapia

Just missing the top 50: Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Ricardo Mayorga, Fernando Vargas, Miguel Cotto, David Tua, Dwight Qawi, Jeff Chandler, John Duddy.

If this had been a list of the most exciting boxers of all-time, then we would have surely found room for the likes of Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Stanley Ketchel, Willie Pep, Joe Louis, Rocky Graziano, and Jake LaMotta.