Top Five

[WelshDevilRob]

1.Lennox Lewis
2.Muhammad Ali
3.George Foreman
4.Jack Johnson
5.Larry Holmes

[Wiley Hyena]

The Top 5 prime heavyweights

The top 5 prime heavies? That's an easy one:

1. James J. "The Boilermaker" Jeffries. In his prime, he was never beaten or even knocked down. He retired as the undefeated undisputed champion of the world. His only loss occurred 6 YEARS later when he came out of retirement for only one fight, that being against a prime Jack Johnson in the true "fight of the century." Later, Jack Johnson said, "Jeffries was the greatest fighter of all time." At 6' 3", 230 lbs, he could run the 100 yd dash in 10 sec. when the world record was then in the 9 sec. range. In the ring, his combination of footspeed and punching power damaged his opponents' into submission and left spectators awestruck. Jeffries' stamina and ruggedness is noted by historians as being the greatest of all times. He regularly fought over 25 rounds in fights, with 3 ounce gloves. 3 once gloves. No pillowfights here, folks. This man could take real punishment without flinching. He fought all comers, and once offered to fight hall of famers Fitzsimmons, Sharkey, and Corbett, all in the same night. They refused. Jeffries was the real "real deal." Physically, contemporaries likened the man to a grizzlybear, except Jeffries had bigger thighs. Here was a man of a different cloth and one can only imagine with bemusement (or horror) what he would do with today's spoiled and overprotected professional athlete.

2. Joe Louis. The longest championship reign in history. Easily the number 2 man.

3. Muhammad Ali. Charismatic stylist whose exploits and talent are so well known that they don't need to be restated here.

4. Rocky Marciano. Retired as undefeated champion of the world. Enough said.

5. Jack Dempsey. The most ferocious fighter of the 20th century was no act. He knocked out teeth and broke ribs and in doing so became America's first true sports "superstar."