Top Ten Retired Champions

From memory I can't remember this subject being discussed before so thought it may illicit some interesting debate

So in short who are the top ten boxers who retired or died as a world champion and did not return? To keep speculation to a minimum about who may or may not return, all retired boxers must be all be 5 years retired so eligible for IBHOF entry.

Some names to consider

Rocky Marciano
Ernesto Marcel
Salvador Sanchez
Gene Tunney
Lennox Lewis

Will admit i'm struggling to think of many others especially when you have people like Jofre who I believe was stripped of his featherweight title despite not losing again for the remainder of his career and the questionable claim of Archie Moore at the tail end of his career

Nice article. Off the top of my head, other outstanding fighters who, one way or another, ended their careers as a world champion would be Duilio Loi, Carlos Monzon, Ricardo Lopez, Sandy Saddler, Stanley Ketchel, Pancho Villa, Joe Calzaghe (if we're counting Ring Magazine titles) and Brian Mitchell.

There's a few less heralded ones too, such as Terry Marsh, Les Darcy (only recognized as Middleweight champion by Australia, although his claim was just about as good as anyone's in 1916 when he died) and of course, Edwin Valero in very recent times.

So of all the ones I can think of so far (excluding Moore, who was stripped before retiring I believe) I'd rank them as below.

1. Tunney
2. Saddler
3. Monzon
4. Ketchel
5. Villa
6. Sanchez
7. Lewis
8. Loi
9. Marciano
10. Lopez

Controversial one but was Valero a title holder?

John Bloody Wayne wrote:Controversial one but was Valero a title holder?

I'm sure Valero held the WBC/WBA Super featherweight titles at the time of his death, he definitely defended the WBC belt against DeMarco in his final fight

Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but I believe that we could add John Henry Lewis to the list.

He was still lightheavy champ, ( and one of the all time best fifteen at the weight, in my opinion, ) when he challenged Joe Louis for the heavyweight title. John Henry, who was suffering with his eyesight, wanted one last payday before retiring, which he duly did after having been brutally kayoed by the Brown Bomber.

Going way, way back, lightweight champion Jack McAulliffe, who normally enjoys a berth in historians' top twenty lightweights, retired having been unbeaten throughout his entire career.

Completely overlooked Monzon, Villa and Ketchel, that rather irritatingly pushes Marcel out the top ten, no hidden agenda with that at all