The International Boxing Research Organization rates Gibbons as the 17th best middleweight ever and boxing historian Bert Sugar placed him 92nd in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Gibbons retired due to deteriorating vision. Gibbons was elected to the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1958, the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.
The brother of heavyweight Tommy Gibbons, Mike claimed Middleweight Champion of the World status in 1909 following Stanley Ketchel"s murder. Although he never won the title, Gibbons is regarded as one of the all-time best welter and middleweight boxers by historians. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Gibbons as the #18 ranked middleweight of all time, while The Ring Magazine founder National Fleischer placed him at #9.
Following his boxing career he entered business in his native Saint Paul, and became a member of the Minnesota Athletic Commission.
