This is Rummy's Corner.
Good evening boxing fans and welcome to Part 3 of the Boxing Survey Series.
This open Survey was conducted in the Classic Section of BoxingForum24.com and 24 volunteers
participated.
Each participant provided a Top 15 list for each of the traditional 8 weight classes.
This time we will be exploring the Featherweight division.
I did not personally participate in the Survey, as I did not want my opinions to influence
the final outcome.
This is the scoring system.
Pretty 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 according
to these point values.
So with 24 participants, the most points any individual boxer can accumulate in any given
weight class is 2,400.
So let's jump right in and take a quick look at the Top 10 Featherweight scores.
#10 is Johnny Kilbane.
391 points and appeared on 20 out of 24.
So Kilbane has the most points and most appearances to date for anyone who finished in 10th place.
He outscored the 10th place Bantamweight by more than 100 points.
#9 is Eusebio Pedroza.
443 points for Pedroza and he was mentioned on 22 out of 24 lists.
Same type of thing going on here.
Pedroza had the highest 9th place tally thus far, and he was tied for the most appearances
for a 9th place finish.
#8 we have Alexis Arguello.
522 points for Arguello and 21 out of 24.
Solid scores here, and if you haven't already noticed, a few people suggested including
the record and time frame from the guys in the Top 10.
So when the wind blows let it not be said that I, too, do not blow.
#7 is George Dixon.
He received 606 points and appeared in 21 out of 24.
Dixon also finished 11th place in the Bantamweight Survey.
So Dixon just missed out on becoming the first boxer in the series to appear with two Top
10 finishes.
At #6 we have Henry Armstrong.
Homicide Hank earned 730 points, he appeared on 21 out of 24, and he also received one
1st Place Vote.
Remember this name, because if I had to venture a guess, this almost certainly isn't the last
we'll be seeing of him.
#5 is Vicente Saldivar.
787 points for Saldivar and he also was mentioned in the Top 15 on 21 out of 24 surveys.
Saldivar was consistently held in high regard.
#4 we have Abe Attell.
He received mentions on 22 out of 24 where he accumulated 899 total points.
Very good scores, but interestingly enough, this is the lowest point total to date for
any boxer finishing 4th place.
At #3 we have Salvador Sanchez.
1,025 points and a perfect 24 out of 24 for Sanchez.
That marks Sanchez as the first Featherweight reveal who is in the 1,000+ points club, and
also as the first member of the All 24 club.
As I've said previously, any boxer who finds himself in both clubs is in very exclusive
company.
#2 is Sandy Saddler.
A staggering 1,840 points for Saddler, a perfect 24 out of 24, and he also received three 1st
Place Votes.
Saddler represents another example of a Featherweight outpointing his 2nd place counterparts at
both Flyweight and Bantamweight.
Incredible score, which might possibly exceed the point total for some 1st place finishes
north of Feather.
And at #1 we have Willie Pep.
Powerhouse numbers for Pep in terms of this survey.
2,305 total points, a perfect 24 out of 24, and an incredible twenty 1st Place Votes.
That means 80% of those being surveyed believe that Pep is the greatest Featherweight of
all time.
That's a pretty strong majority consensus.
So this is the entire Top 30 statistical breakdown for the Featherweight Survey.
Looking at this list, the first thing that jumped out to mind for me was the fact that
this was the first time so far, that every boxer in the Top 10 was mentioned on at least
20 out of 24 survey lists.
To me this is very significant.
That means over 80% of the participants agreed that the Featherweights in the Top 10 are,
at worst, in the Top 15.
The fact that every Featherweight in the Top 10 has at least 20 mentions suggests that
there is greater consensus here.
And I believe the strength of these final tallies reflects that.
This is a very good Top 10.
Dare I say, the best list to date, where I believe things have gotten better as we moved
north.
And I say this even as I continue to believe that the Flyweight list was pretty solid in
its own right.
The top 3 names here - Pep, Saddler, and Sanchez - that's the right three names in my opinion.
Some dissenting voices understandably had Saddler as the best, and one person had Armstrong.
I believe there might be a stronger case for Saddler than these final numbers reflect,
but I otherwise think this Top 3 is pretty much perfect.
And actually I think the entire Top 10 is terrific.
Looking at some of the guys just below the Top 10 - you have Kid Chocolate, Terry McGovern,
and also Freddie Miller.
I think you can make a case for any of those three maybe belonging in the Top 10, although
just glancing things over - I'm not really sure who I'd remove.
That entire Top 13!
Wow!
Deep weight class with a really rich history.
And even Azumah Nelson and Marco Antonio Barrera rounding out the Top 15, that's a damn strong
group.
Maybe some of those guys on the right side could be there instead Barrera.
Very little separating The Baby Faced Assassin from several totals on the right side.
But overall I like this a lot.
Damn strong group of Featherweights!
So in total there were 44 boxers mentioned in the Featherweight Survey, 3 new members
of the 1,000+ points club, and the very same 3 new members of the All 24 club.
So the breakdown for Featherweight is very similar to Flyweight and Bantamweight in terms
of mentions and the two elite clubs.
Willie Pep had the Featherweight high score with 2,305 points, and Pep also had the most
1st Place Votes with 20.
So Willie Pep has the new high scores to beat in both categories.
And right now, there was a strong majority consensus for Jimmy Wilde at Flyweight, a
strong majority consensus for Eder Jofre at Bantamweight, and now at Featherweight, an
even slightly more commanding consensus when it comes The Will o' the Wisp, Willie Pep.
That's it for this one.
Next up will be the Lightweight division, which I hope to have finished fairly soon.
Once again, a special thanks to the 24 participants who took the time and effort to create and
submit their survey lists.
Without them this survey would not exist.
Please share your thoughts on the Featherweight results in the comment section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night!
This is Rummy's Corner.