Benny Leonard was an American professional boxer who held the world lightweight championship for eight years, from 1917 to 1925. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was ranked 8th on The Ring magazine's list of the "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years" and placed 7th in ESPN's "50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time". In 2005, the International Boxing Research Organization ranked Leonard as the #1 lightweight, and #8 best pound-for-pound fighter of all time. Statistical website BoxRec rates Leonard as the 2nd best lightweight ever, while The Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #2. Boxing historian Bert Sugar placed him 6th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue.
Benny Leonard
Welsh (left center) vs Leonard 1917
Freddie Welsh, 1920s
Champion Ted "Kid" Lewis
Frank "Frankie" Fleming (1893-1960) was a Canadian featherweight boxer active from 1910 to 1922. During his career he held the distinction of being the Canadian Boxing Federation Featherweight Champion. He is best known for beating all-time great Benny Leonard twice, being the only fighter to do so. He also faced Hall of Famers Johnny Kilbane, Johnny Dundee, and Freddie Welsh in defeat; challenging for the latter's World Featherweight Title. Statistical boxing website BoxRec rates Fleming as the 11th best Canadian boxer ever across all weight divisions.
Frankie Fleming