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''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
came more into question, ''The Ring'' shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing-oriented publication. ''Ring'' began publishing annual ratings of boxers in 1924. With its November/December 2022 issue, the magazine stopped publication of its regular monthly print issues and will remain a digital publication, offering occasional special interest print issues.


History

''The Ring'', founded and published by future
International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...
member
Nat Fleischer Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer (November 3, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Career Fleischer was born in New York City. After he graduated from City College of New York in 1908, Fleischer worked for the ''N ...
, has perpetrated boxing scandals, helped make unknown fighters famous worldwide, and covered boxing's biggest events of all time. Dan Daniel was a co-founder and prolific contributor to ''The Ring'' through most of its history. Another founding partner was John L. "Ike" Dorgan (April 15, 1879–December 27, 1960), a bookbinder, boxing manager (for Harry Ebbets and Charles Francis "Frank" Moran, known as "The Fighting Dentist"), press agent (for boxing promoter George L. "Tex" Rickard), and publicity manager for the
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. He remained with this influential publication until his retirement in 1930. ''The Ring'' refers to itself (and is referred to by others) as "The Bible of Boxing." During the Fleischer years, the contents page or indicia of every issue carried the claim: "''The Ring'' is a magazine which a man may take home with him. He may leave it on his library table safe in the knowledge that it does not contain one line of matter either in the text or the advertisements which would be offensive. The publisher of ''The Ring'' guards this reputation of his magazine jealously. It is entertaining and it is clean." In 1972, following Fleischer's death, his son-in-law and managing editor Nat Loubet took over as publisher. In 1977, Loubet launched three international editions of the magazine. The Spanish version, '' Ring En Español'', was published in Venezuela and distributed to all Spanish-speaking countries and the United States (U.S.) until 1985. There was also a
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese version published in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and a French version published in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. In 1976, managing editor of ''The Ring'' Johnny Ort, fabricated records of selected boxers, and elevated their rankings, securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament orchestrated by promoter Don King.Newfield, Jack
''Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King'', Harbor Electronic Publishing, New York, 2003, page 115. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
The deception was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm "Flash" Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau and the United States Championship tournament was cancelled by ABC. In 1979, the magazine was purchased from Loubet by a group led by Dave DeBusschere and Bert Sugar took over as editor. In 1983 Sugar was succeeded by future New York boxing commissioner Randy Gordon. By 1984 the publication was reported to be over $1 million in debt and a number of top salaried employees, including Gordon, were let go. Nigel Collins of the Ring's defunct sister magazine ''Boxing Illustrated'' took over as editor. In 1989 ''The Ring'' was purchased by Stanley Weston's G.C. London Publishing (later known as
Kappa Publishing Group Kappa Publishing Group, Inc. is a Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based publishing company concentrating on adult puzzle books and magazines as well as children's magazines and maps. It is a private company founded in 1955 with $11.5 million in ann ...
), which also published '' KO Magazine'' and a number of wrestling publications. KO senior writer Steve Farhood became The Ring's editor. Weston was a sentimentalist and 52 years after joining ''The Ring'' magazine as a stock boy, Weston purchased the magazine that gave him his first job. He not only resurrected the magazine from its imminent collapse, he re-established the publication as the definitive source for boxing news. An outstanding boxing artist, Weston painted 57 covers for ''The Ring'' with his first cover, a painting of Billy Conn, for the December 1939 issue. Weston was also a photographer who, according to his own estimate, shot over 100,000 boxing photosthe majority of which are housed in the archives of ''The Ring'' magazine. Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...
's Golden Boy Enterprises, acquired ''The Ring'', ''KO Magazine'', and ''World Boxing'' in 2007. The magazine's rankings are recognized as "official" by some in the U.S. media, particularly
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. While some may see a conflict of interest in a boxing promoter being paymaster of what is essentially a magazine/rankings organization that awards world titles and belts, De La Hoya says that is not the case. "These magazines will be held in an editorial trust where they will be operating totally independent of any influence from me or others from the Golden Boy Companies as it relates to editorial direction or content". Also there is a 35-member ratings advisory panel, which include many of the media that cover boxing, who would prevent Golden Boy Promotions from using the magazine for self gain. ''The Ring'' was headquartered in
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania Blue Bell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,506. Blue Bell was originally known as Pigeontown, after the large flocks of the now-extinct passenge ...
until 2011 when it was relocated to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The magazine had a sister publication named '' The Ring Wrestling'' which came about due to professional wrestling writer Bob Leonard contacting the magazine and expressing that it was too focused on boxing and not giving wrestling enough coverage. Nat Loubet served as the editor of the wrestling magazine as well. The head of Riyadh Season, Turki Alalshikh, bought the magazine in November 2024.


Cover art

Some of the boxers featured on the magazine covers have included Tommy Ryan, Salvador Sánchez,
Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. One of the most iconic athl ...
,
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...
,
Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...
,
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...
,
Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarde ...
, Jake LaMotta,
Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...
, Willie Pep,
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
, Alexis Argüello, Wilfred Benítez, Wilfredo Gómez, Roberto Durán, Larry Holmes,
Marvin Hagler Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 t ...
,
Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...
, Bud Taylor,
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...
,
Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...
,
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...
,
Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Detroit, Motor City Cobra", and more famously "the Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and long arms and shoulders al ...
, Naoya Inoue, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Julio César Chávez, Félix Trinidad,
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( ; ; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously serv ...
,
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...
, Mauro Mina and Ricardo Mayorga. In 1978, boxer Cathy "Cat" Davis became the first woman ever to be on a cover of ''The Ring'', and she held the distinction of being the only woman featured on the cover of the magazine until January 2016, when Ronda Rousey joined her and also became the first
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
fighter featured on its cover. ''The Ring'' has used cover artwork created by famed artists such as LeRoy Neiman and Richard T. Slone.


World champions

''The Ring'' has its own championship belt in a given weight class where ''The Ring'' champion holds a lineal reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. ''The Ring'' began awarding championship belts in 1922. The first ''Ring'' world title belt was awarded to
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
champion Jack Dempsey and the second was awarded to
flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...
champion Pancho Villa. ''The Ring'' stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s, then reintroduced their titles in 2002. ''The Ring'' stated that their title was "intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given
weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports including Rowing (sport), rowing, Weightlifting#Weightlifting sports, weight lifting, and especi ...
". It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions" and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". ''The Ring'' attempts to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. However, many boxing journalists complained that ''The Ring'' ignored the world championship lineage when they started awarding titles again. A controversy described by Cliff Rold of ''BoxingScene.com'' is for example, the "world" light-heavyweight title was considered vacant from the time Michael Spinks went up to heavyweight in 1985 until 1996. While the ''Cyber Boxing Zone'' and the International Boxing Research Organization considers Virgil Hill's defeat of Henry Maske (who were the two highest rated light-heavyweights) as the beginning of the new lineage, ''The Ring'' awarded their newly reintroduced title to Roy Jones. In 2002, ''The Ring'' editor, Nigel Collins, acknowledged that if their championship policy was in place in 1997, Dariusz Michalczewski, who defeated Hill, "probably would have been ''The Ring'' Champion." Under the original version of the championship policy, there were only two ways that a boxer could win ''The Ring''s title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant ''Ring'' championship was filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where ''The Ring'' determined that the number-two and number-three contenders were close in abilities and records). The ratings are compiled by the magazine's editorial board, with the participation of ''The Ring'' Ratings Panel of boxing journalists from around the world. A fighter could not be stripped of the title unless he lost, decided to move to another weight division, or retired. In May 2012, citing the number of vacancies in various weight classes as primary motivation, ''The Ring'' unveiled a new championship policy. Under the new policy, ''The Ring'' title can be awarded when the No. 1 and No. 2 fighters face one another or when the No. 1 and 2 contenders choose not to fight one another and either of them fights No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5, the winner may be awarded ''The Ring'' belt. In addition, there are now seven ways for a fighter to lose his title: * The champion loses a fight in the weight class in which he is champion. * The champion moves to another weight class. * The champion does not schedule a fight in any weight class for 18 months. * The champion does not schedule a fight at his championship weight for 18 months (even if he fights at another weight). * The champion does not schedule a fight with a top five contender from any weight class for two years. * The champion retires. * The champion tests positive for a banned substance. Many media outlets and members are extremely critical of the new championship policy and state that if this new policy is followed ''The Ring'' title will lose the credibility it once held. They then later changed the policy so vacant belts can only be awarded to the winner of No. 1 vs No. 2 or if No. 3 is deemed worthy by The Ring's editorial board. The purchase of ''The Ring'' magazine by Golden Boy Promotions in 2007, the dismissal of editor-in-chief Nigel Collins and several editorial staff in 2011 and a series of questionable ratings decisions by the new editors prompted many members of ''The Ring'' Ratings Advisory Panel to resign. This led to the formation of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board in 2012 headed by boxing historians Springs Toledo, Cliff Rold and Tim Starks. Golden Boy has publicized ''The Rings World Championship when the title is at stake in fights it promotes (such as Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr. in 2008).


Current champions


Men's

As of June 8, 2025.


Women's

As of


Current #1 ranked fighters per weight class

Note: ''The Ring'' champions are also noted as No. 1 fighters


Men's


Women's


List of pound for pound #1 fighters

As of , . Keys: : Current P4P #1


Controversies

In their book ''Iron Ambition: My Life With
Cus D'Amato Constantine "''Cus''" D'Amato (January 17, 1908 – November 4, 1985) was an American boxing manager, boxing Promoter (entertainment), promoter and boxing Boxing training, trainer who handled the careers of Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and José ...
'',
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...
and Larry Sloman, while depicting the rise of the International Boxing Club of New York and D'Amato's battle with the organization, allege that the magazine and its then-owner and editor-in-chief
Nat Fleischer Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer (November 3, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Career Fleischer was born in New York City. After he graduated from City College of New York in 1908, Fleischer worked for the ''N ...
were under control of the IBC and the rankings were heavily favorable towards the fighters it controlled. In the 1970s, managing editor of ''The Ring'' Johnny Ort fabricated records of selected boxers to elevate them, thereby securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament, orchestrated by promoter Don King. The scandal was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm "Flash" Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau. After Gordon and Wallau's evidence was presented to ABC executive Roone Arledge, the United States Championship tournament was cancelled. The scandal would lead to the eventual resignation of New York State Boxing Commissioner James A. Farley Jr., who had lent his name to the Championship fights.


See also

* List of ''The Ring'' world champions * List of ''The Ring'' pound for pound rankings * List of fights between two ''The Ring'' pound for pound boxers * ''The Ring'' magazine Fighter of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Fight of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Knockout of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Comeback of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Round of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Upset of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Prospect of the Year (discontinued between 1989 and 2010) * ''The Ring'' magazine Event of the Year * ''The Ring'' magazine Hall of Fame * ''The Ring'' magazine Pound for Pound * ''The Ring'' magazine Progress of the Year (discontinued) * '' The Ring: Boxing the 20th Century'' *
List of professional wrestling magazines A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ring 1922 establishments in California Sports magazines published in the United States Boxing magazines Magazines established in 1922 Magazines published in Los Angeles Magazines published in Pennsylvania Professional wrestling magazines Golden Boy Promotions