This is not to say that all the really good fighters were of prehistoric vintage, for there have been some notable examples of distinction in recent times. There is no doubt that Joe Louis and Ray Robinson would have stood out in any era, and Rocky Marciano was as strong and courageous as any man who ever stepped into the roped square. But the deterioration of fighters in general is strikingly obvious when I consider the overwhelming preponderance of old-timers in my ranking of top ringmen from the first Marquis of Queensberry heavyweight championship bout between Sullivan and Corbett in 1892 to the present. Leading my list of fighters whose best performances were given in the last sixty-six years is my favorite heavyweight, Jack Johnson. I rate James J. Jeffries second, and close on his heels are Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack Dempsey, James J. Corbett, Joe Louis, Sam Langford and Gene Tunney, in that order. Tunney was not a colorful battler, but he was a cool, mechanical operator who mastered the technical ends of the game and definitely has been a much underrated fighter. He proved in his two bouts with Dempsey that he was far superior to the rest of the heavyweight fighters during the years that Jack held sway. Dempsey came at a time when boxing was badly in need of a man of his stamp. Jess Willard had lifted the crown from Johnson, thus ending the era of the “white hopes,” but somehow boxing fans could not get it into their heads that Willard had won the world’s title squarely. His was an empty triumph that thrilled nobody. Along came the Mauler from Manassa. Along came Tex Rickard. This wonderful combination of fighter and promoter revived the sport and resuscitated its finances, and the old guard suddenly discovered that the “good old days” had come again. Boxing was lifted into the million-dollar class. And Dempsey did it. He did it with his dynamic right, his bobbing and weaving style, his popularity with the public, and his ability to produce electric shocks. Those qualities make him the fourth greatest fighter of the modern era in my book. As for the recently retired, undefeated heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano, he was a great hitter, but I’d rate Max Schmeling, of Germany, above him in the number nine spot. In the light-heavyweight class, I give the wily Kid McCoy, the corkscrew artist, top rating, with clever Philadelphia Jack O’Brien next in line, and Jack Dillon, the “Hoosier Bearcat,” in third place. Stanley Ketchel, the “Michigan Assassin,” Tommy Ryan, and Harry Greb, “The Pittsburgh Whirlwind,” occupy the top positions, respectively, among the middleweights, with Mickey Walker, the “Toy Bulldog,” and “Sugar” Ray Robinson following in that order.