Do you consider the Top 50 to be too many?

When talking about rankings let's just take the heavyweight all time great rankings. Everybody pretty much puts the same 10 guys in the top 10 give or take two or three. For example Joe Frazier is one of those fighters that some people have and others do not have in their top 10 ranking. Evander Holyfield is another one which I have seen in and out of the top 10 rankings. So I think it's safe to say that the top 15 or even the top 20 all-time great heavyweights IS a relevant number but the question is:

beyond the top 20, how many more spots in the rankings are really relevant? For example is the number 40th all time great heavyweight a significant ranking or does it become insignificant after about 25 or 30 in your opinion?

Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes and Joe Louis and Jack Johnson and Rocky Marciano and Lennox Lewis and George Foreman are undoubtedly in most people's top 7 all-time great heavyweights would you not agree? Then we come to guys like Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson and Joe Frazier and Jack Dempsey and Wladimir Klitschko and Sonny Liston who seemed to be in the next category of rankings. This brings us to about 14 fighters. Beyond them I think a lot of people have Ken Norton and Gene Tunney and Max Schmeling and Floyd Patterson and for example Ezzard Charles or Jersey Joe Walcott or Riddick Bowe in the third grouping. This gives us about 22 fighters or so.

But are the next 15 or 20 fighters so vaguely ranked that for example the number 33 spot or the number 39 spot become impossible to determine or irrelevant?

50 is cool when there is a segment on television talking all time greats.

Its isn't cool when having a table discussion, or sitting at the barber shop having the sports discussion waiting to get your haircut.

Yes. I'm not a real boxing history buff, so after 15 or 20 it starts feeling like work to me. :(

OK LETS DO THIS:

everybody name 10 VERY GOOD/GREAT fighters who do NOT belong in the Top 20

Good question. No it doesn't matter where you are ranked as no list will ever be definitive. Just being mentioned as an all-time great should be enough. I can't even name 50 heavyweights without boxrec, so I guess 33 or 39 is utterly irrelevant.

Here's my top heavyweights. I don't think i've left out many all-time greats, if I have these guys would batter them anyway.

1. Lennox Lewis
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Evander Holyfield
4. George Foreman
5. Mike Tyson
6. Joe Frazier
7. Vitali Klitschko
8. Jack Dempsey
9. Riddick Bowe
10. Earnie Shavers
11. Wlad Klitschko
12. Joe Louis
13. Larry Holmes
14. Sonny Liston
15. Gary Mason

Gary Mason ;D. What happened there? Could you only really think of 14?

Do an all time top ten of greatest heavyweights based on their career achievments then,musing the same fghters do a top ten on who would get the most wns if they were to all fight each other.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brocktonblockbust

OK LETS DO THIS:

everybody name 10 VERY GOOD/GREAT fighters who do NOT belong in the Top 20

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How's this for a starter for ten,

Gene Tunney
Pinklon Thomas
Gentleman Jim Corbett
Max Baer
James J Jeffries
Ingemar Johansson
Max Schmeling
Jersey Joe Walcott
Jake Kilrain
Bob Fitzimmons

I was going to put Herbie Hide on my list but after deep deliberation went for Mason as, a hundred years ago, whilst sitting in a traffic jam in his mini, he waved and gave a "alright boys" to me me and my mate when we shouted "Gary"

Yes it is top 20 at most and Herbie Hide and Gary Mason are not in it. Neither is Bruno.

So let me get this straight. You would not even put Rocky Marciano in the top 20?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brocktonblockbust

So let me get this straight. You would not even put Rocky Marciano in the top 20?

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Of course he would be.

1. Jack Johnson
*2. Clay Ali 64-67 version
3. Lennox Lewis
4. James Jeffries
5. Gene Tunney
6. Joe Louis
7. Jack Dempsey
8. Larry Holmes
9. Rocky Marciano
10 Evander Holyfield
*11 Ali (Post1970)
12. Mike Tyson
13. Bob Fitzsimmons
14. George Forman
15. Vitali Klitchko
16. Jersey Joe Walcott
17. Sam Langford
18. Riddick Bowe
19. Ezzard Charles
20. Joe Frazier
21. Wladimir Klitchko
22. Jim Corbett
23. Sonny Liston
24. Tim Witherspoon
25. Archie Moore
26. Cleveland Williams
27 Max Schmelling
28. Sam McVey
29. Tommy Burns
30. Ernie Shavers
31. Floyd Patterson
32. Jimmy Ellis
33.Joe Jeannette
34. max Baer
35. Tommy Farr
36. Jimmy Braddock
37 Primo Carnera
37. Young Stribling
38. Pinklon Thomas
39. Ken Norton
40 Michael Moorer
41. Ray Mercer
42. George Chuvalo
43. Jerry Quarry
44. Ron Lyle
45. Sam Peter
46. David Tua
47 Hasim Rahman
48 Oleg Maskaev
49 Eddie Machen
50. James Toney (beat Holyfield- Bullshit reversal against Ruiz, bad decision 1st Peter fight)


That took a while to do....