Dana White used two segments of the Rushmore Podcast to name his Mount Rushmore of boxing and, in a follow-up, his Mount Rushmore of middleweights. The Zuffa Boxing founder\u2019s all-time list drew the most attention, with Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson placed alongside Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson. His middleweight list was more conventional.<\/p>\n
The All-Time List<\/p>\n
White prefaced his picks by explaining his criteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy four, and let me sort of explain myself,\u201d White said. \u201cI look at things from a different perspective than most people do because I look at the business side of it too. Muhammad Ali is my number one. Number two is Sugar Ray Robinson. My number three is Floyd Mayweather, and my number four is Mike Tyson.\u201d<\/p>\n
1. Muhammad Ali<\/p>\n
Ali finished his career 56-5 with 37 knockouts and won the world heavyweight championship three times. He defeated Sonny Liston in 1964 to claim the title at 22, returned from a three-and-a-half-year exile imposed for his refusal of military induction, and headlined the \u201cFight of the Century\u201d against Joe Frazier in 1971, the \u201cRumble in the Jungle\u201d against George Foreman in 1974, and the \u201cThrilla in Manila\u201d against Frazier in 1975.<\/p>\n
2. Sugar Ray Robinson<\/p>\n
Robinson fought professionally from 1940 to 1965 and is widely considered the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in history. He held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and won the world middleweight championship five times. He finished with a record of 174-19-6 with 109 knockouts.<\/p>\n
3. Floyd Mayweather<\/p>\n
Mayweather retired 50-0 with world titles in five weight classes from super featherweight to junior middleweight. He is the highest-grossing pay-per-view attraction in boxing history, headlining bouts that include the 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao, which generated approximately 4.6 million domestic pay-per-view buys, and the 2017 crossover fight with Conor McGregor.<\/p>\n
4. Mike Tyson<\/p>\n
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20 years old when he stopped Trevor Berbick in November 1986. He unified the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles by August 1987 and finished his career 50-6 with 44 knockouts. His pay-per-view drawing power across the late 1980s and 1990s was without precedent at the time.<\/p>\n
The omissions drew the most response on social media. Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, Roberto Dur\u00e1n, Manny Pacquiao, and Julio C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez were not included. White\u2019s framing, which weighted commercial impact alongside in-ring achievement, accounts for the inclusion of Mayweather and Tyson over fighters with stronger pound-for-pound cases.<\/p>\n
The Middleweight List<\/p>\n
In a separate segment from the same podcast appearance, White named his Mount Rushmore of middleweights.<\/p>\n
\u201cSugar Ray Robinson obviously on the list, my all-time favorite,\u201d White said. \u201cMarvin Hagler. And then when you talk about Hagler, you\u2019d have to talk about Carlos Monz\u00f3n. Carlos Monz\u00f3n, Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson. I\u2019ll throw Bernard Hopkins on there too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robinson is the only fighter to appear on both of White\u2019s lists.<\/p>\n
1. Sugar Ray Robinson<\/p>\n
Robinson won the world middleweight championship five times between 1951 and 1958, defeating Jake LaMotta, Randy Turpin, Carl \u201cBobo\u201d Olson, Gene Fullmer, and Carmen Basilio in title fights. His 1951 win over LaMotta in the \u201cSt. Valentine\u2019s Day Massacre\u201d remains one of the defining bouts in division history.<\/p>\n
2. Marvin Hagler<\/p>\n
Hagler held the undisputed middleweight championship from 1980 to 1987, defending the title 12 times. His r\u00e9sum\u00e9 at 160 pounds includes wins over Roberto Dur\u00e1n, Thomas Hearns, John Mugabi, and Vito Antuofermo. The 1985 war with Hearns, which ended in a third-round stoppage, is regarded as one of the greatest fights in boxing history. He retired 62-3-2 (52 KOs) after his 1987 split-decision loss to Sugar Ray Leonard.<\/p>\n
3. Carlos Monz\u00f3n<\/p>\n
Monz\u00f3n held the world middleweight title from 1970 to 1977, making 14 successful defenses, a divisional record at the time. The Argentine defeated Nino Benvenuti, Emile Griffith, Jos\u00e9 N\u00e1poles, and Rodrigo Valdez during his title reign. He retired undefeated in his final 81 fights with a career record of 87-3-9 (59 KOs).<\/p>\n
4. Bernard Hopkins<\/p>\n
Hopkins made 20 consecutive defenses of the middleweight title between 1995 and 2005, a record for the division. He unified the WBC, WBA, IBF, and Ring titles with a 2001 stoppage of F\u00e9lix Trinidad and added Oscar De La Hoya\u2019s WBO title in 2004. He later won the light heavyweight championship and, at 49, became the oldest fighter to win a major world title when he defeated Beibut Shumenov in 2014.<\/p>\n
Harry Greb, Stanley Ketchel, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Canelo \u00c1lvarez, who held the WBC, WBA, and Ring middleweight titles between 2018 and 2019, were not mentioned.<\/p>\n
The Context<\/p>\n
White\u2019s appearances on the Rushmore Podcast came as Zuffa Boxing entered its first full year of operations. The promotion staged its debut event in January 2026 and has 12 cards scheduled across the year, all broadcast on Paramount+ with select cards simulcast on CBS. White\u2019s all-time framing, which placed business impact alongside in-ring achievement, mirrored the structural argument he has made publicly for the Zuffa model.<\/p>\n