Home Entertainment Top 3 P4P Greatest American Boxers of the 21st Century

Top 3 P4P Greatest American Boxers of the 21st Century

Top 3 P4P Greatest American Boxers of the 21st Century
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Boxing has faced stiffer competition in combat since the turn of the Century. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has ushered in a new type of combat sport where the best boxers regularly meet in the Octagon. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many boxing matches that either happen too late or don’t happen at all.

Throughout the 1990s, there were warning signs of this culture becoming more prominent. Notable incidents include the Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson fight happening far too late and Riddick Bowe refusing to fight Lennox Lewis. 

Las Vegas is the home of world championship boxing. This has been the case for decades. Plenty of boxing fans travel to the Nevada desert to sample the high-class sports action and the immense casino games on offer. You only need to walk through any Las Vegas casino to see the dazzling lights of slot machines, poker machines, and a sea of blackjack and roulette tables.

Although you can find all these games across a vibrant Las Vegas casino floor, one of the enormous benefits of the internet is that casino gaming is now channeled directly to you via your mobile phone. You can play dozens of games, such as poker, and choose between the available tables. Some of the top ones are offered at https://www.ignitioncasino.eu/poker.

But for now, let’s look at the top Americans who have set the strip alight over the last 23 years. 

#3 – Bernard Hopkins

Nicknamed “The Alien,” – Bernard Hopkins didn’t take up the sport of boxing until he was 23 during a stint in prison. However, he successfully turned his life around and entered the middleweight professional rankings in the 1980s. Widely renowned for his longevity and incredible ability to compete against the very best in his division right into his mid-40s, Hopkins defended his middleweight championship an unprecedented twenty times.

Throughout the noughties, Hopkins, also known as “The Executioner,” meticulously dissected his opponents with his superior ring IQ. This alone could land him on this coveted list, but if that wasn’t impressive enough, he moved up to the light-heavyweight division at 45 and won yet another world title against Jean Pascal. 

He remains in boxing in an advisory role at Golden Boy Promotions and is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of his generation.

#2 – Floyd Mayweather Jr

A man who doesn’t need any introduction, Floyd Mayweather defeated more world champions in his career than any other boxer in the sport’s history. Having gone his entire career undefeated and convincingly winning rematches of any close contests he had, he is widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Earning over $1 billion in his career, he was named the world’s highest-paid athlete several times throughout the last decade. Moving from super featherweight up to light middleweight, he adopted several monikers on the way, but for many years he was the face of the sport.

He has trailblazed a path for future superstars like Brandun Lee and countless other boxing prodigies. During the twilight of his career, he defeated fellow great Manny Pacquiao and the future face of boxing, Canelo Alvarez, via a broad points decision in 2013. 

Although the fight ended as a majority decision, the ringside verdict was unanimous. Canelo wasn’t beaten again until he finally faced his match with formidable Russian Dmitry Bivol in early 2022.

#1 – Roy Jones Jr

Roy Jones Jr
Bill(iudshi8uf), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mayweather and Roy Jones Jr could be interchangeable as one or two. The fact is that their legacy in sports will continue for decades, long after they have passed. Roy and Floyd share similarities in that they were both victims of deplorable decisions at the Olympic games.

We have Roy at number one because of his dominance at the top. During Floyd’s career, it was a straight shootout between him and Manny Pacquiao as the top P4P boxers in the world. 

However, even though most of his career accomplishments occurred in the 1990s, in 2003, he performed a legendary feat when he moved up to heavyweight to defeat John Ruiz. By doing so, he became the first professional boxer to start their career at light middleweight and win a heavyweight title. 

At his blistering best, he was mesmerizing. If you have not seen any clips of Roy in his prime, do yourself a favor and check some out. He was a PPV hit, an unbelievably entertaining offensive fighter, and he defeated another man on this list – Bernard Hopkins. 

He defeated legendary fighters like James Toney and Mike McCallum and avenged his only contentious fight via a devastating first-round knockout against Montell Griffin. This was the only close fight he had in his prime. He was arguably the most incredible light heavyweight who ever stepped into the ring. We will be unlikely to see such a naturally gifted offensive light heavyweight fighter for a very long time.

Featured Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay