This is Rummy's Corner.
Good evening boxing fans and welcome to Part 1 of the Boxing Survey Series.
Just to quickly explain - this was an open survey I conducted in the Classic Section
of BoxingForum24.com.
One of the main reasons I conducted it there, is because the people who regularly post there
tend to be those who are very interested in learning about boxing history.
It's the best place I've ever known to discuss boxing history with fellow enthusiasts, and
there is a vast wealth of collective knowledge over there.
Having posted there for more than 17 years, it's been immensely educational for me personally,
and there are a lot of experts over there whose command of boxing history is far far
greater than my own.
Of course, not everyone is an expert, and those who are experts aren't necessarily experts
on ALL things boxing.
But I thought it was a good idea to conduct the survey there because I have full faith
in the tremendous collective knowledge of historical boxing enthusiasts.
I did not personally participate in this survey, as I did not want my personal opinions to
impact the outcome.
But in total we had these 24 individuals who properly participated by providing me 9 complete
lists.
Each of the participants provided a Top 15 list for each of the original 8 weight classes,
as well as a Top 25 All Time list.
No ties, just straight lists numbered sequentially.
So a special thanks to these 24 people who participated, without whom this survey would
not exist.
This was the scoring system, which for the element of surprise was kept secret from the
participants (except for one Moderator over there, so everyone knew I had a plan in place
and wasn't just making shit up).
It's very straightforward.
100 points for a 1st place vote, 80 points for a 2nd place vote, and so on, with the
15th place votes being awarded 1 point.
So everyone who participated was responsible for allocating a total of 453 points.
And with 24 participants, the most points any one boxer can accumulate in a given weight
class is 2,400.
I had given this scoring method a lot of thought beforehand, thinking it was a good way to
reward the higher placements, while also creating separation as you descend downwards.
So let's get to it and take a quick look at the top 10 under this scoring system as it
applied to the 24 submissions I received in the Survey.
#10 is Ricardo Lopez.
He only appeared on 3 total lists, but he still managed a top 10 finish behind the 195
points he accumulated under the scoring.
More on Lopez in a bit.
#9 is Pone Kingpetch.
He had 277 points, and he appeared on 22 out of 24 lists.
His average was a little higher than what a 10th place vote was worth, and he finished
just above 10th.
#8 is Fidel LaBarba.
393 total points and he appeared on 17 lists, which was 5 less than Kingpetch.
But LaBarba was generally held in higher regard on the lists where he did appear.
#7 is Benny Lynch.
He earned 765 points, and he appeared on all 24 lists in the survey.
With so many differing opinions, having 24 people all agree about something is rather
significant to me.
#6 is Frankie Genaro.
810 points for Genaro, and he appeared on 21 out of 24 lists.
Less lists than Lynch, but Genaro was generally held in slightly higher regard.
#5 is Pancho Villa, and he is the first boxer in the series to be revealed as a member of
the 1,000+ points club.
1,017 points, 22 out of 24 lists, and Pancho Villa received two 1st place votes.
#4 is Midget Wolgast.
1,035 points for him as well as 24 out of 24 lists.
Impressive stuff there, and Wolgast also got two 1st place votes as well.
In my mind these two feats are indicative of someone very special - 1,000+ point club
and 24/24.
#3 is Pascual Perez.
Unlike Villa and Wolgast, Perez did not receive any 1st place votes.
But he still managed to outpoint both of them here.
1,266 for Perez is a solid total, and he also appeared on all 24 lists.
#2 is Miguel Canto.
He had a mighty impressive tally of 1,480.
That's a quality score under this system, especially with just one 1st place vote and
the fact he wasn't mentioned on one list.
Needless to say he is held in extremely high regard.
And #1 is Jimmy Wilde, who pretty much ran away with this thing.
A whopping 2,200 point tally, 24 out of24 lists, and 19 out of 24 participants viewed
Wilde as the very best Flyweight in boxing history.
In terms of this survey, Wilde has staggering numbers across the board.
2,200 points out of a maximum 2,400.
So here is the entire Top 30 statistical breakdown from the Survey.
Keeping the focus on the top 10 and looking at this list, there is really only one thing
about these results I dislike.
Ricardo Lopez at #10?
Well, he doesn't really belong here.
Finito was a tremendous talent, no denying that.
But in his time, he never really competed as a flyweight.
Lopez only appeared on 3 lists, but he averaged 65 points across those 3 lists!
So even though he was missing from 21 lists, he still managed to sneak into the Top 10.
Honestly, I think this is a bit of an anomaly.
I don't think we will see this type of thing too often, but we will see as we move along.
Anyway, aside from Lopez being in the Top 10 - I think this is a pretty solid list.
Jimmy Wilde being at the top - well, he IS usually the guy you see at the top of most
Flyweight lists, and that proved true here.
19 out of 24 people agree that he is the best in the history of the division; I think that
represents a solid majority consensus.
You can make a case for some of these other guys being the best Flyweight.
Canto, Wolgast, Villa, and even Perez maybe, despite receiving no 1st place votes.
But personally I agree with Wilde at the top, and I think we have the right guys in the
Top 5 here.
We can quibble over the order for those guys, and I would probably swap a few guys around
a little, but still - this looks like a damn fine Top 5 list to me.
And even the Top 10 as a whole, I think it's solid.
You can maybe have Ohba in the Top 10 instead of Lopez.
And personally, I always think the Wonjongkam might get a little short-changed over in the
Classic section when it comes to Flyweights.
And you can maybe argue for someone else in that 10th spot.
But overall, this isn't a bad list at all.
Indeed, this list is a much better final product than the Flyweight list from the Ring Magazine
experiment I did a few years back.
That was based on year end rankings in Ring, which inherently limited how far back you
could go - meaning nothing before 1924.
This list from the Survey here is far superior in my opinion, and I think most people would
agree with that.
So in total, there were 45 different boxers mentioned in the Flyweight Survey, 5 boxers
in the 1,000_ point club, and 4 boxers who appeared on all 24 lists.
Right now, Jimmy Wilde has the high scores to beat!
2,200 points and 19 1st place votes.
I'm very curious to see how Wilde's dominance in the Flyweight division compares with the
other divisions as we move north, and I am also interested to keep track of those in
the 1,000+ point club and the 24 of 24 club.
Anyway, that's it for this one.
Next up will be Bantamweights.
I hope to have that one out fairly soon.
Once again, thank you to the 24 participants who took the time and effort to create and
submit their survey lists.
Please share your thoughts on the Flyweight results in the comment section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night!
This is Rummy's Corner.