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Top ten Heavyweights in the post Ali Era
Coming off the Klitzchko vs Tyson thread, I thought this would be an interesting concept......
The danger, and I'm sure I'll succumb to it, is forgetting someone who belongs.....but here goes....
1. Lennox Lewis - Underated throughout his career. Defeated every opponent he ever faced. Was feared enugh to be ducked by Tyson and Riddick Bowe. Huge puncher, intelligent boxer. All-time great, just beginning to get his due. Left the game on top, and never looked back....probably the greatest indicator of his intelligence....in and out of the ring.
2. Larry Holmes - I'm not the biggest Holmes fan,but the man was tough and could fight. The brawl with Ken Norton is among the greatest heavyweight fights ever. And that Jab......
3. Evander Holyfield - His reputation will be sullied by his insitance that he'll regain the unified title as he fights until he gets that dream match with Rocky Balboa, but when you look at what he was from the early 1990s through to the fights with Lewis, their is no doubt, he was the Real Deal....
The drop of from the top three, and really after the top two is significant....but....
4. Riddick Bowe - I am not at all a Riddick Bowe fan, but the three fights with Holyfield were classics, and he paid the price for them. Was as tough as nails though, as he showed in those three fights and his "wins" versus Andrew Golota....Because he beat Holyfield twice, lostonly once (three times if Golota had a brain..,) and was as big and strong as he was, he places over Tyson. Because he dumped away a title rather than fighting Lennox Lewis, and his span at the top was so small, he has to go beneath Hiolyfield..
5. Mike Tyson - I'm not sure he belongs even this high, but his reputation and legend make him rank higher than he probably should, and I'd guess he'll be higher for most other posters....but really, whom did he beat? When did he stand up to a challenge? Where was the real heart of a champion? Oh yeah, and whom did he beat? His time at the top was monumental for its media spectacle, but also, really, he was only at the top for between two and four years. Could he have been so much more and lived up to the promise....probably....but he did not....He did however, thankfully, unify the title....his greatest accomplishment...
6. George Foreman - OK, he is here on the strength of one win, and maybe one loss. Was he the Foreman of 1973 - 1977? No....but wouldn't you have to give the old George a pretty good chance against the young lion? Sure, he lost almost every minute against Michael Moorer.....but he erased the previous 9 1/2 rounds with a perfect one-two.....Then there was his collision with Holyfield. Did he lose? Certainly, but I have always felt he took a measure of Holyfield's greatness out of him in that fight. Evander NEVER threw combinations the same way again, and never seemed to have the same energy. As for his other fights, George won a lot more than he lost, and sometimes seemd to be holding back his real power shots to not hurt the opponents - maybe, maybe not. I would have picked old or young George to defeat Mike Tyson. All I need to say is Don King pushed for the mega-fight between the two, only to have his charge retort....if you want it so bad, You fight George!!!
7. Wladimir Klitzchko - It's not all over for the current #1 Heavyweight in the world, but he has shown himself to be a sort of "Lennox Lewis - Lite."
He often lacks stamina and then his chin seems worse than it is, but he is an explosive offensive fighter who's size makes him a threat to any challenger. The David Haye fight could, in soime ways, make him, or, most definately should he lore, destroy his legacy.
8. Vitali Klizchko - Better Chin than his brother, and more fun to watch, I've always contended he was the better of the two. Showed it against Lennox Lewis, before the cut caused his loss in what was building toward a great Heavyweight title fight. This end of his career will define where he really stands, but there's little not to like about him....
9. MIchael Moorer - Listening to Teddy Atlas against Foreman, in what was moving towards being his greatest fight, and a little more discipline - or, ok, a lot more could have seen him move way up on this list. First left-handed Heavyweight Champion in forever, and one of the few Light-Heavyweights to make the jump to heavy. Could have been so much more...
10. Ike Ibeabuchi - Talk about what could have been. The President had it all, except the wherewithal to behave in a coherent, societally acceptable manner. Here's a 6'2" plus guy who could throw over 100 punches a round and keep going. Tough as nails and powerful. Able to withstand huge blows form big punchers.....Ike could have been THE heavyweight of his generation...then threw it all away......
Also rans.......all of the WBA and then WBC champs of the 1980s - and a few contenders.....JohnRuiz, Nikolai Valuev, Greg Page, Gerrie Coetzee, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney, Chris Byrd, David Tua, etc......too many to remember.....and oh yeah......Buster Douglas......I just hope I didn't forget anyone on the top ten list.....but Bruce Seldon, Frank Bruno, and the like won't crack it, and niether will Michael Spinks......
Love to hear your thoughts.....
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Originally Posted by CGM
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