1. Mike and Tommy Gibbons
Mike Gibbons, dubbed the “St. Paul Phantom,” was hailed as the defensive maestro of his time. He stood an echelon above his younger brother of four years, Tommy Gibbons, in the eyes of the public when the two dazzled their way into boxing immortality during the 1920s.
But hindsight is a funny thing. In 2013, historian Matt McGrain of Boxing.com ranked the 100 greatest fighters in boxing history. Both brothers placed in the top 60. Mike took the No. 57 spot, Tommy, No. 36—despite neither ever winning a universally recognized world title.
Tommy, often noted for his failed title bid against the renowned Jack Dempsey in 1923 for the heavyweight championship, was no more a real heavyweight than his brother was a genuine middleweight.
Often flirting with the modern-day super welterweight limit (which wasn’t fully accepted until 1962), Mike beat Hall of Fame middleweights Leo Houck, Ted Kid Lewis, Jack Dillon, Jeff Smith and Mike O’Dowd.
He also tangled with the all-time great Harry Greb, beating him over six rounds in 1917 and dropping a decision to him in 1919 over 10.
Tommy fought Greb too, going 2-2 with the Pittsburgh Windmill over the course of a 13-year career that harbored an astounding record of 96-5-4.
Collecting scalps from standout middleweights Buck Crouse and George Chip, to light heavyweight and heavyweight Hall of Famers Battling Levinsky, Kid Norfolk, Billy Miske and Georges Carpentier, the younger Gibbons put together a resume feasibly better than his brother’s.
Alone, they were great. But together, they are the greatest siblings to ever grace the sport.
No championship belts be damned.
