Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson And The Most Intimidating Boxers Of All-Time

We decided to rank the most intimidating figures to ever enter a boxing ring
06:55, 30 Apr 2022

Boxing is littered with characters who are the masters of the dark art of intimidation. These fighters could beat their opponents before a punch had even been thrown, destroying their psyche with pure, unadulterated menace. Below we count down our picks for the most intimidating boxers of all-time.

10. Khaosai Galaxy 

With a signature punch dubbed ‘Sai thaluang-si’ - translated from Thai as "The Left Hand That Drills Intestines" - former super flyweight champion Khaosai Galaxy proved that you don’t have to be built like a giant to leave an opponent quaking in their boots. Retiring with a 50-1 professional record, Galaxy vanquished 44 poor souls within the distance between 1980 and 1991 and was ranked no.19 in The Ring’s 100 greatest punchers of all-time. Not bad for a man who barely weighed 115lbs. 

9. Iran Barkley

As a member of the Black Spades street gang, Barkley had had his fair share of street fights before he’d ever even laced up a pair of gloves. Entering the ring with a scowl and bloodlust that would make a grizzly bear curl up into a ball and wave the white flag, ‘The Blade’ went onto hold world championships in three divisions and went toe-to-toe with the likes of Thomas Hearns (whom he beat twice), Roberto Duran, James Toney and Nigel Benn.

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8. Elmer Ray 

Heavyweight Elmer Ray would never fight for a world title during a career that spanned from 1933 to 1949 - not because he wasn’t good enough, but because he hit so damned hard that few fighters ever wanted anything to do with the man they called ‘Kid Violent.’ Ray, who also made some extra cash on the side by wrestling alligators, fought in some of the most gruelling contests ever seen in boxing’s marquee division and picked up wins against future world champions Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles along the way. Of his 97 wins, a whopping 69 opponents failed to hear the final bell. 

7. Carlos Monzon

Like many on this list, Carlos Monzon lived a life of violence both inside and outside of the ring. ‘Escopeta’ (Shotgun in Spanish) was a bona fide celebrity in his native Argentina and ended his career with a record of 87-3-9-1 (59) and holds the second longest middleweight championship reign in boxing history. Despite being one of the greatest boxers of all-time, Monzon’s behaviour outside of the ring was abhorrent - the South American, who had already been accused of domestic violence by multiple women, murdered his wife Alicia in 1988 and was sentenced to 11 years in jail. He was killed in a car crash in 1995 aged 52. 

6. George Foreman

Anyone acquainted with George Foreman post his 1987 comeback, will probably recognise him as the jovial boxer turned Lean, Mean Grilling Machine peddler. But back in his earlier years, before being bamboozled by Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle, ‘Big George’ was one of the most intimidating figures to step foot in a ring. Maybe it was his ice-cold stare and demeanour, maybe it was his 6’3’’ frame or maybe it was the fact he’s one of the hardest-hitters in the history of the sweet science - either way, if you had the displeasure of coming face-to-face with this this goliathan between 1969 and 1974, chances are you’d already lost before the opening bell had even been sounded. 

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5. Jack Dempsey

Jack Dempsey’s aggressive fighting style and phenomenal punching power transformed a kid from West Virginia into one of the most significant cultural icons of the 1920s. The Manassa Mauler was so vicious that across his career, including exhibitions, he racked up a mind-blowing 60 first round knockouts. In 1971, further cementing Dempsey’s penchant for intimidation, the ex-boxer, then in his 70s, was accosted by two muggers. Unaware of their victim’s prizefighting past, the two hapless criminals were sparked out cold by the elderly former champion. 

4. Marvin Hagler

“If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it.” 

There was beauty in Marvin Hagler’s brutality. Watching the clean-shaven middleweight go in for the kill was akin to seeing a lion pounce on some poor, unsuspecting deer - you knew the outcome would be violent but you just couldn’t take your eyes away from it. From Thomas Hearns to Roberto Duran, Alan Minter to Sugar Ray Leonard fought the best of the best across his glittering career. A true fighter’s fighter. 

3. Roberto Duran

“Does he remind you of anyone?” Joe Frazier was asked as Roberto Duran made his way to the ring in Montreal to face Sugar Ray Leonard for the first time. “Yeah,” the former heavyweight champion responded. “He reminds me of Charles Manson.”

The man they called Manos De Piedra (Hands of Stone) is quite simply one of the greatest pugilists to ever step into a ring. The punching Panamanian, with eyes like black holes and an aura of unbridled anger, seemed more like a maniac on the loose than a boxer. Duran’s mantra was simple: Destroy - and in a career that spanned from 1968 to 2001, he won world titles in four weight classes, won 103 professional bouts and knocked out 70 opponents.

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2. Mike Tyson

To many, a shoo-in for the most intimidating boxer to ever step foot in the squared circle. The Baddest Man on the Planet needs no introduction and with more than half of his professional knockouts coming in the first round, it’s easy to see why. The bull-necked Tyson was the epitome of intimidation and given that many of his opponents looked as if they were bound for Death Row when they squared up with him in the ring, it’s not hard to see why so many fell so soon.

With a mixture of head movement, sledgehammer power and lightning quick hand speed, Tyson tore through the heavyweight division like an F5 tornado and the devastation left in his wake is still felt today every time we hear the words ‘Prime Tyson’. 

1. Sonny Liston 

“Sonny Liston made me look like a boy scout.” ~ Mike Tyson 

The life of Sonny Liston was utterly drenched in tragedy and violence, moulding the future heavyweight champion into the most terrifying boxer in the long and storied history of boxing. Born in 1932, the 24th of 25 children, Liston was brutally beaten as a child by his father - with the welts remaining on his huge frame for the rest of his life - and before long found himself in the arms of the mob. From mafiosa leg breaking to armed robbery, Liston was eventually sentenced to prison where he discovered the sport.

A truly sinister figure and man of famously few words, Liston obliterated nearly all who stood in front of him until he lost his world title to Cassius Clay in 1964. Liston was also the proud owner of one of the most severely underrated jabs in heavyweight history. 

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