The Ring Magazine Rankings & Champions

History

The Ring Magazine is an American boxing magazine considered to be the longest-lasting boxing publication in the world. Founded in 1922 by American boxing writer and collector Nathaniel Fleischer and his partners, The Ring has almost uninterruptedly published its magazine and ratings up until today. It remains one of the more reputable entities in boxing.

The first issue was published on 15th February 1922, counting 24 pages and costing 20 cents at that time, close to $3 adjusted for inflation.
Fleischer served as a publisher and editor of the magazine until his death in 1972. The managing editor at that time, Nat Loubet, succeeded Fleischer. Loubet would then have a 7-year tenure as publisher, notable for his initiative to expand The Ring internationally, with versions of the magazine published in Spanish, French, and Japanese.

Following Loubet's departure, boxing writer and historian Bert Sugar took over as editor-in-chief for the next six years. By 1989, The Ring had neared bankruptcy and ceased publication for almost a year, until getting back to its feet in 1990 under new ownership and management.

It was a former employee, Stanley Weston, who would end up saving the same magazine, 52 years after having worked there as a stock boy when he was just 13 years old. Not only that, but he was also considered responsible for re-establishing the magazine as the leading boxing publication in the world.

Weston would also work at the magazine as an artist, having painted 57 covers for The Ring. His first cover was a painting of light-heavyweight champion Billy Dunn for the December 1939 issue. Over the years, The Ring cover has featured some of the best boxers ever to live, including: Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roy Jones Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez, Manny Pacquiao, and Oscar De La Hoya.

In 1977, female boxer Cathy Davis became the first female to appear on the cover of The Ring.

After Sugar's departure, the editor-in-chief would change every couple of yours, with the current being Douglass Fischer. The Ring's headquarters were located in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, until 2011, when it relocated to Los Angeles.

The Ring has changed ownership five times during its existence. The magazine changed hands between founder Nat Fleischer, Dave DeBusschere and Nick Kladis, Stanley Weston and Nick Karabots. Since September 2007, it has been owned by Hall of Fame boxer Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy enterprises.

The Ring magazine has awarded its championship in multiple weight-classes since 1922. The first boxer to ever be awarded the honor was famed heavyweight Jack Dempsey and the second was flyweight sensation Pancho Villa.

After Steve Farhood took over duties as editor-in-chief in the 1990s, The Ring stopped awarding its championship. At the essence of The Ring belt is that fighters are not required to pay sanctioning fees for their participation in title fights, against the practice of all other sanctioning bodies.

The magazine would reintroduce their belt in April 2002 with a new strict championship policy. Their goal was to clarify who is the one true champion in a given weight division among all the existing belts from other organizations. Light heavyweight Roy Jones Jr would be the first boxer to be awarded the championship since its restoration.

Under this policy, a fighter could get a hold of the belt in just two ways:

• by beating a current Ring champion
• or if the title is vacant, it could only be won in a contest between The Ring's number one and two ranked fighters in that weight-division.

A fighter could lose his belt in three ways:

• in the ring
• by moving to a different weight-division
• retiring

Consistently having numerous title vacancies throughout the years prompted a new, less strict championship policy introduced in May 2012. According to their official website, a championship vacancy can be filled in either of the following ways:

• The Ring's number 1 and number 2 contenders fight each other
• The Ring's number 1 or number 2 contender fights any of the contenders ranked 3, 4 or 5, if the editorial board deems the contenders in question worthy

There are now seven scenarios through which a fighter could also be stripped of his Ring belt:

• losing a fight
• moving to another weight-division (for at least two fights)
• not scheduling a fight in any division for 18 months
• not scheduling a fight in his division for 18 months
• not planning a fight against a top-5 contender in any weight-division for two years
• retiring
• testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance and being suspended or penalized by a relevant athletic commission or sanctioning body

The first boxing rankings ever were published by The Ring in its February issue in 1925. Nat Fleischer introduced the idea of ranking boxers after being inspired by Walter Camp’s annual All-America football team, given annually to the best college players at their respective positions.

The Ring’s official ratings policy pays attention to the following:

• fighter’s results
• fighter’s performance, in a victory or defeat
• fighter’s recent fight record and quality of opposition

The ratings are compiled by a three-member editorial board, with the help of The Ring’s rating panel of international boxing journalists. According to Fischer, the committee meets every Sunday and reflects on the boxing action happening during the week. Then the editorial board reviews all suggestions and has the final verdict on the rankings, with Fischer stating that about 90% of the time, the decision is the same as the majority of the panel.

Some critics have raised questions on the independence of the ratings given that current owner Oscar De La Hoya is still very much involved in the sport, managing and promoting numerous fighters through his own Golden Boy Promotions. Editor-in-chief Doug Fischer has refuted those claims, stating that the panel is in good hands, with 15-20 boxing journalists from around the world working independently and carefully following all contenders and prospects close to cracking into their rankings.

The Ring tries to offer a more simplified and unambiguous view of which fighters in the sport can be considered the best. Their ratings are recognized as official by various US media outlets, most notably ESPN, and now Box.Live!