Thread: Top Ten Heavyweight Champs of All-Time

Just had a lot of fun reading through this entire thread.

There seems to be a lot of debating where people such as tyson and lewis stand. Someone said that lewis deserves to be high as he has beaten everyone he has faced albeit in rematches after losing when he should have won first time round. Lewis is in most peoples top 10's so had he not lost to mcall and rahman he would be even higher and probably top a few lists. He was a dominant champ but who sometimes fought too cautiosly for a lot of peoples taste but in fighting cautiously he showed his superior skills and won lopsided decisions.

My opinion on Tyson is that a lot of people judge him on the potential he should have lived up to. He achieved a hell of a lot at a very young age but started to self destruct. I believe had he not gone off the rails he would have dominated a lot longer than he did. It would have been good to see tyson come through real tough fights where he didn't have it all his own way but still pull out the win. In the fights that were tough for him (douglas, holyfield and lewis) he lost through lack of focus self control and preparation. I wont even disrespect tyson by taking in to account the losses to williams and mcbride. That wasn't tyson. To be honest i sometimes feel like dismissing the lewis loss as those 2 should have met 10 yrs sooner, lewis may have still won but it would have been a good close tough fight if tyson could hold it together. I remember his trainer for the lewis fight saying that he wasnt doing a lot of road work but was doing a lot of walking along the beach etc wtf?? i don't care how far you walk it can't substitute good running lol

I will decide my top 10 after some thought but i'm pretty confident both should be in top 10, well lewis definitely. Tyson gets on most lists for reasons i have said, potential (that was never truly reached) and also just for the love of him and the ferocity he brought to the sport. I honestly can't see how anyone can pick 10 heavyweight champs who were better than lewis.

'Just wanna share this article...



The Ten Best Heavyweights of All Time






Jerry Glick reporting: I know that there will be a torrent of fans who will voice their disagreement but I am tossing caution to the wind and staking my claim with my picks of the best heavyweight fighters of all time.

Below are the top ten fighters, plus ten others who deserve honorable mention as being great fighters too. With all the great fighters in boxing’s rich history I know that there are those who will say I left out this one or that one, but I think that I have chosen the definitive best ten heavyweights:

1-Muhammad Ali: He could box, move, cover up, slug, out fight, out think his opponents, jab, and throw power punches. Is there anything else that he needed to be about to do? Oh yes, he could absorb punishment and come back and win if he had to. He was boxing’s greatest showman, ticket seller, and his life went beyond the ring into the social conscience of not just the US, but the planet. He was truly the greatest.

2-Jack Johnson: In his day he was very much what Ali was in his day. He was big, fast, and highly skilled. He possessed power, skill, a great jab, and supreme confidence. He laughed in the face of racism in his way by dating and marrying white women. He too touched the soul of the nation, transcending his sport.

3-Joe Louis: Joe’s personality was different than Ali’s and Johnson, but who knows how he would have carried himself if he were not advised to be the opposite of Johnson. Louis had a special dignity to go with his powerful jab, short punches that carried KO power, speed of hand, and he was the greatest finisher of all time. He held the title for ten years, made 25 defenses, and donated his time and money to the war effort during WWII. That was something that he was thank by the government by them demanding taxes for money that he never saw. They hounded him for decades before he was “forgiven” the debt. He will forever be remembered for crushing Max Schmeling as Hitler was saying the Germans were superior to everyone else. He coined the phrase, “We’ll win because we’re on God’s Side.”

4-Larry Holmes: He was one of those unlucky champs who followed a great and highly visible champion in his case it was Ali (Ezzard Charles followed Louis, Patterson followed Marciano, and Tunney came after Dempsey). Make no mistake, he fought his career trying get out from under Ali’s long shadow, but Ali’s former sparring partner earned his place as one of the best. He beat the shell of Ali, but he also defeated Gerry Cooney, Earnie Shavers, and everyone else in his era among heavyweights. He too had great lateral movement, hand speed, a long, hard jab, and a powerful right.

5-Sonny Liston: If there was no Ali, there would have been a Sonny Liston. He would have dominated for years to come. He would have lasted until age beat him. Maybe the hardest puncher ever, he KOd Floyd Patterson in one round twice, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams two times, Roy Harris, he outpointed Eddie Machen, and was feared by everyone. He was a bully who worked for bad guys but he was a killer in the ring.

6-George Foreman: George had two careers. His first started after winning Olympic gold in 1968. He was a brute slugger and power puncher like Liston, and like Liston he has a mean demeanor that frightened other heavyweights. In his second he reinvented himself in and out of the ring. He wore the cloak of jovial clown out of the ring and was suddenly a fine boxer in it. He became the oldest man to win the title proving, finally, that he was a great fighter.

7-Joe Frazier; Again it was Ali who stopped a fighter from controlling an era. Frazier was a destructive pincher who pressured his opponents into defeat. Only Foreman had the style to beat him. Joe was the best pressure heavyweight since Dempsey.

8-Jim Jeffries: A bull of a man who had an enormous punch. In his day he was thought of as unbeatable. When he fought Johnson he was six years out of the ring and 300 pounds when he began to train. He probably would not have ever beaten Johnson, but it was more because of styles than talent. Jeffries beat everyone else including ex champs Bob Fitzsimmons, and Jim Corbett.

9-Rocky Marciano: The “Hard Rock from Brockton” was the only retired undefeated heavyweight champion. He was small but hit like a Mack truck. He beat Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, Joe Louis, and Roland La Starza.

10-Jack Dempsey: Fast and powerful, he was one of the best pressure punchers ever. He crushed Jess Willard, Luis Firpo, and Georges Carpentier. He too got into the consciousness of the people. First liked, then hated for allegedly being a draft dodger, then beloved after becoming an actor, marrying a movie star and putting up a gallant effort to beat his nemeses, Gene Tunney.

HONORABLE MENTION

Ezzard Charles. Harry Wills, Sam Langford, Sam McVea, Joe Jeanette, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Gene Tunney, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Patterson.

Originally Posted by SimonH

12 Mike Tyson
11 Sonny Liston
10 Lennox Lewis
9 Jim Jefferies
8 Jack Dempsey
7 Rocky Marciano
6 Evander Holyfield
5 Larry Holmes
4 Jack Johnson
3 George Foreman
2 Joe Louis
1 Muhammad Ali

I know the title calls for 10, but IMO you need 12 to get Tyson on there.

I might put Foreman and Holyfield a little lower but I agree with the names in your top ten.

I hate ranking all time particularly at HW considering the change in HW sizes over the years and that most eras didn't have very good competition. Even if one thinks Marciano is a more talented fighter than Lewis do you really believe he would beat him with the size difference? I'll break them into two 5 man groups

Top 5 in no particular order
Ali, Johnson, Holmes, Louis, Foreman

Bottom 5 in no particular order
Frazier, Lewis, Holy, Tyson, Marciano

Honorable Mention in no particular order
Liston, Dempsey, Charles, Bowe, Vitali

I love top HW lists. My top 5 are always the same, but 5-20 change all the time. It's just too hard to figure out. One thing I used to do was include the original heavies like John L Sullivan and Jim Jeffries, but the sport has evolved so much that I really couldn't see them living with the super heavyeights of the last 15-20 years.

My Top 5 (not necessarily in order)

Ali
Louis
Foreman
Holmes
Tyson (Prime Tyson i.e a Tyson that any fight after Spinks is forgotten)

After that I would have the likes of Lewis, Frazier and Holyfield. Liston has question marks as does Marciano (woud've been mauled by a Super heavy of today)

If Vitali Klitchko had've been a round in an era where there were any real challengers could quite possibly of got close to a top ten list

1. John Ruiz
2. Gerry Coetzee
3. Marvin Hart
4. Primo Carnera
5. Leon Spinks
6. Frank Bruno
7. Sergei Liakovitch
8. Bruce Seldon
9. James J Braddock
10. Trevor Berbick

and let's not forget the great Nikolai Valuev.

And, yes, I know that some of these were heavyweight 'Title holders' and not world champs. But an illustrious list nevertheless.

I'm pretty sure they would all beat thse guys up:

Joe Louis
Jack Johnson
Muhammad Ali
Sonny Liston
George Foreman
Mike Tyson
Jack Dempsey
Sam Langford
Joe Frazier
Rocky Marciano

If I'm basing my rankings on each fighther purely as a champion? Then my rankings will look something like this:

1. Joe Louis
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Rocky Marciano
4. Larry Holmes
5. Lennox Lewis
6. Jack Johnson
7. George Foreman
8. Joe Friazer
9. Evander Holyfield
10. Mike Tyson

11. Wladimir Klitschko (I did have him at #10 for unifying some belts but still doesn't quite match being UNDISPUTED. Not untill he either fights his brother (in which case I'd put him in at #8 ) or stops David Haye (in which case I'd have him back at #10)

****

3, 4 & 5 could all interchange but I went for that order on the principle that Marciano was undefeated and while Holmes faced slightly better opposition, he never achieved this. Lennox Lewis faced by far the better opposition but he was usually a much bigger opponent. Marciano usually faced guys of equal size and arguably greater ability.

****

If my rankings were ranking the best 10 heavyweights of al time then of course they would look a lot different.

1. Gene Tunney
2. Rocky Marciano
3. Joe Louis
4. Muhammad Ali
5. George Foreman
6. Jack Dempsey
7. Larry Holmes
8. Riddick Bowe
9. Joe Frazier
10. Evander Holyfield

Originally Posted by redbaron

1. Gene Tunney
2. Rocky Marciano
3. Joe Louis
4. Muhammad Ali
5. George Foreman
6. Jack Dempsey
7. Larry Holmes
8. Riddick Bowe
9. Joe Frazier
10. Evander Holyfield

First post on the forum and you're responding to a thread that was last posted on a year ago? Okay. (And Marciano and Tunney ahead of Ali is blasphemy.)

Tunney who lost to a great light heavy and nearly knocked out by an old Dempsey, being the greatest. You sure?

how could foreman be considered a better HW champ than Lewis or the Klits?

this is just opinion, the facts point the other way

Originally Posted by erics44

how could foreman be considered a better HW champ than Lewis or the Klits?

this is just opinion, the facts point the other way

Foreman destroyed Frazier (an ATG) twice (1st time was just 2 fights after Frazier beat Ali. He destroyed Norton in Norton's next fight after arguably beating Ali. He brushed aside fighters like Bonavera, Chuvalho, Ellis. Jerry Quarry & Buster Mathis. Apart from losing to Ali, he dominated every fighter he fought, during the best era in heavyweight history

Then..........


After 10 years of retirement, he came back (a comeback that spanned the 2nd best era in heavyweight boxing history) and went 21-0 (21 KOSs, before taking ATG Holyfiield the distance at the age of 42 and then went on to knockout Michael Moorer 35-0 (30 KOs) at the age of 45.

This all clearly eclipses anything the Klits have done. Their best respective wins were against Sam Peter, Foreman has beaten 10 fighters that are better than Sam Peter

Originally Posted by shza

Originally Posted by redbaron

1. Gene Tunney
2. Rocky Marciano
3. Joe Louis
4. Muhammad Ali
5. George Foreman
6. Jack Dempsey
7. Larry Holmes
8. Riddick Bowe
9. Joe Frazier
10. Evander Holyfield

First post on the forum and you're responding to a thread that was last posted on a year ago? Okay. (And Marciano and Tunney ahead of Ali is blasphemy.)

It was an interesting topic and I wanted to post on it. Tunney went 65-1-1, kicked Dempsey's ass twice, and had victories over such boxers as Tommy Gibbons, Georges Carpentier, Harry Greb, and others. Marciano's resume speaks for itself. I will always believe that Tunney is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.

Originally Posted by Master

Tunney who lost to a great light heavy and nearly knocked out by an old Dempsey, being the greatest. You sure?

I assume you're talking about Harry Greb. He beat Greb multiple times after he lost to him by decision. Tunney dominated Dempsey other than the knockdown.

Originally Posted by redbaron

Originally Posted by Master

Tunney who lost to a great light heavy and nearly knocked out by an old Dempsey, being the greatest. You sure?

I assume you're talking about Harry Greb. He beat Greb multiple times after he lost to him by decision. Tunney dominated Dempsey other than the knockdown.

Tunney is an ATG imo, but he has no place on an all time heavyweight list. He fought at 175 pounds for all but the last handful of fights and only had 3 HW title fights. Carpentier, Grebb and Gibbons were not HWs either.

Do you think Tunney would beat Lennox Lewis?

..Marciano's record does speak for itself - it stinks!! It's full of nobodies with horrible win loss ratios and ancient legends that should've long past been retired!