Top 10 Heavies from best to worst

[QueensburyRules]

So thought I. The guy had said that JJ was holding Langford up and I couldn't figure out how he concluded that.

- - Newspaper reports filed by often drunken reporters in the day not so different than today established that stereotype of JJ.

[owdcodger]

andrew galotta after two epic fights with bigdaddy [rid**** bowe],he lost both cause he could/would not keep his punches up.disqualified in both,but he was beating holmes hands down.could have been a world champ

[Ivich]

Hi everyone, just joined and I know this has probably been done a million times, but just letting everyone know what I think.

Top 10 Greatest Heavyweights of all-time

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

Top 10 Favourite Heavyweight's of all-time

1> Larry Holmes
2> George Foreman
3> Muhammed Ali
4> Joe Louis
5> Mike Tyson
6> Rocky Marciano
7> Jack Johnson
8> Lennox Lewis
9> James J. Jeffries
10>Sonny Liston

Top 10 Worst Heavyweight Champions of all-time
1> Franceso Damiani
2> Corrie Sanders
3> Chris Byrd
4> Michael Bent
5> Nickolay Valuev
6> Lamon Brewster
7> Frans Botha
8> Greg Page
9> John Tate
10>Henry Akinwande

Top 10 Most underated heavyweights of all-time
1> Larry Holmes
2> Lennox Lewis
3> Gene Tunney
4> Ezzard Charles
5> Tim Witherspoon
6> Ken Norton
7> James J. Jeffries
8> George Foreman
9> Jersey Joe Walcott
10>Rid**** Bowe
Feel free to get back I know many will disagree especially why I have Lewis 3rd and Tyson 10, so if you want to know just ask and I will explain my reasons

My top ten in no order are:
Ali
Johnson
Dempsey
Louis
Holmes
Lewis
Foreman
Liston
Holyfield
Tyson

[StarshipTrooper]

I think I mentioned elsewhere I was going to revisit my 15 year old list, so here we go:

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

And here's the old list for reference:

1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Jack Johnson
4. Jack Dempsey
5. Larry Holmes
6. Sonny Liston
7. Evander Holyfield
8. George Foreman
9. Rocky Marciano
10. Joe Frazier
11. Harry Wills
12. Joe Walcott

[JAB5239]

I think I mentioned elsewhere I was going to revisit my 15 year old list, so here we go:

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

And here's the old list for reference:

1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Jack Johnson
4. Jack Dempsey
5. Larry Holmes
6. Sonny Liston
7. Evander Holyfield
8. George Foreman
9. Rocky Marciano
10. Joe Frazier
11. Harry Wills
12. Joe Walcott

Why the changes?

[StarshipTrooper]

Why the changes?

After 15 years I thought it needed a fresh look. I've also been thinking for a while that Tyson and Lennox needed to move up into the list, that meant the two weakest entries, Wills and Walcott, dropped out. Then it was just retweeking the positioning.

[edgarg]

Hi everyone, just joined and I know this has probably been done a million times, but just letting everyone know what I think.

Top 10 Greatest Heavyweights of all-time

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

Top 10 Favourite Heavyweight's of all-time

1> Larry Holmes
2> George Foreman
3> Muhammed Ali
4> Joe Louis
5> Mike Tyson
6> Rocky Marciano
7> Jack Johnson
8> Lennox Lewis
9> James J. Jeffries
10>Sonny Liston

Top 10 Worst Heavyweight Champions of all-time
1> Franceso Damiani
2> Corrie Sanders
3> Chris Byrd
4> Michael Bent
5> Nickolay Valuev
6> Lamon Brewster
7> Frans Botha
8> Greg Page
9> John Tate
10>Henry Akinwande

Top 10 Most underated heavyweights of all-time
1> Larry Holmes
2> Lennox Lewis
3> Gene Tunney
4> Ezzard Charles
5> Tim Witherspoon
6> Ken Norton
7> James J. Jeffries
8> George Foreman
9> Jersey Joe Walcott
10>Rid**** Bowe
Feel free to get back I know many will disagree especially why I have Lewis 3rd and Tyson 10, so if you want to know just ask and I will explain my reasons

Sonny Liston should not be on that list, Tyson should be much higher.. Marciano should not be within 100 miles of it. Nor Chris Byrd, who was a very respectable champion. Rid**** Bow should be much higher up. Lewis and Holmes were not underrated, nor Foreman, Jeffries Norton. Theyb all got whatever praise they deserved, and iform some of them, not much was merited. .

Holyfield is too high , based on beating Tyson, who was a shadow of his real self, the most menacing and destructive boxer in History. .Bowe, in shape, half killed him.


If fact I think your whole list os skewed, showing just how difficult, with so many hundreds of top fighters, to make a list of degrees of excellence.

[edgarg]

This was mine from another thread:

10. Lennox Lewis - He was the last to officially clean up the division, though his wins against all-time greats Holyfield, and Tyson are skewed, given their ages. He was a sound technical fighter, he had good power, and given his size, would have been formidable in any era. He was one of the few who actually got better with age. He fought some of his best fights in his 30's, which is extremely rare, especially for a heavyweight. This is a temporary placeholder at #10, however, as this spot changes more frequently for me than any other on the list. Many people would place Jack Johnson, or someone else from a vintage era here, which is completely respectable.

9. Jack Dempsey - One of the original true terrors. He was smaller than a lot of guys, but he tore them down like it was his job. Well...I guess it technically was. He was dominant in his era, and although he encountered one piece of kryptonite during the course of his career (Tunney), that can't erase one of the true greats from history's list.

8. Charles "Sonny" Liston - Perhaps the most feared fighter of the entire century, Liston tore his way to the top, avenging his only decision loss (Marshall), and destroying then heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson twice, in a total of two rounds. I don't rate him any higher than 8 for now, however, as he only successfully defended his title once, and then failed to splash back onto the scene. He was a fierce, freak of nature, with an incredible reach, and a jackhammer jab.

7. Mike Tyson - A perpetual buzzsaw at his best, a sad, sub-human quitter at his worst, "Iron" Mike was perhaps the single most exciting fighter in heavyweight history. He tore through the division on his way to the crown, decimating all, and leaving little to question when he swept the championship belts onto his shoulders as a mere boy amongst men. Truly, the last heavyweight to hold the undisputed crown for any significant length of time. Were it not for his odd personna and tragic private life, he could have been discussed much higher on many lists. He had rare physical talents, perhaps not seen in any other fighter; he possessed speed, power, and elusiveness in dangerous supply. Given how he turned out, however, this is the absolute highest I can rate him, and he tends to fluctuate on my list from positions as high as 7, and as low as 12.

6. Joe Frazier - The hardest working individual, period. The man didn't lift weights, he was small for a heavyweight, he was a converted lefty, he was awkward, and at times slow. "Smokin" Joe Frazier was a warrior, a true battler who brought 100% from the opening introductions to the final bell. Perhaps my favorite fighter of all-time, he simply got there by out-hustling his opponents. A man with a heart as big as the moon, he could have been the greatest, were he not overshadowed by two others from the same era.

5. George Foreman - I place the grillmaster in the middle of my list, because his accomplishments weren't amazing, having only successfully defended the title for two professional bouts, and containing the largest list of tomato cans in grocery store history. Even so, the man was an absolute house. He even put my #6 boxer to shame, by knocking him to the canvas half-a-dozen times in two rounds. When it seemed as though he was merely a power slugger who's career never truly got there, he comes back, after more than nine years away, and slugs his way to the top to win the belt 20 years after losing it! He showed heart, and tactical boxing skill; two qualities sorely lacking from his dominant prime.

4. Larry Holmes - The man won 48 consecutive fights, and defended the title for 7 years before finally succumbing to age and wear. Even so, he went on to have a fairly successful extended career lasting well into his 50's. Perhaps the best pure boxer, with the most complete game on the list, the "Easton Assassin" is often underrated and dismissed as a shadow to the fighters of the 60's and 70's. I know one thing's for sure: he would perhaps be the single most difficult opponent for anyone at any point in history. He could come back from devastating power (see: Shavers 1 & 2), turn a fight around in the midst of losing (see: Witherspoon), and deliver a combination of speed, power, courage, and stamina that many of his predecessors couldn't boast of containing in such quan****** together.

3. Rocky Marciano - The only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. 49-0. Nothing else needs to be said. It doesn't matter who he faced, or how sloppy he was getting there, the man simply won. It's all he knew how to do. He couldn't be put away, and he had stamina to punch through walls for 20+ rounds. I rate him higher than do many other boxing historians, despite his (seemingly) lackluster competition, but he has accomplished something that may never happen again. He did this while taking on all comers and top contenders of his era.

2. Muhammad Ali - In a head-to-head competition, Ali beats nearly everyone on this list without too much trouble. Given the awkward style matchup, I'd say that he easily handles #1 & #3. This isn't a vs. list, however; it's the greatest champions. As a champion, he was superb. It's a shame that most of his time as champ was spent when his gifts of speed, fluidity, and elusiveness were gone. There is no doubt that Ali has had the biggest impact on the sport, and on particular groups of cultural society in America. "The Greatest" was taken from the sport during his prime years. Some would say it was a judgment for speaking out against the One True God, while others would claim that the government was out to get him. Whatever the case, he still overcame the loss of his swift feet to outsmart, and outwill his way back to the top, 10 years after accomplishing it the first time. He has left us with some of the best, and perhaps the most memorable moments in sports history.

1. Joe Louis - He defended the title 25 times over the course of a 12-year stretch. He avenged his first loss in the most impressive fashion seen before or since. He was sound in all aspects of the game. To have a "prime" last as long as he did is unfathomable by today's standards. He was simply the best, for the longest period of time, and didn't truly suffer a loss except while he was green (which he avenged in brutal fashion), and again, while he was well beyond his best years against Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano. Those names are hardly the tags of a couple of bums or journeymen. Joe Louis even took 4 years off to serve his country, and he still returned in very impressive fashion. The man was the most complete fighter in heavyweight history. The "Brown Bomber" loved the sport of boxing, and aided in bringing it to the forefront of all sports. Even though he would match up poorly to my #2, his accomplishments inside and outside of the ring are more than enough to earn him the #1 spot, on my list of the greatest heavyweights of all-time.

Well, there you have it. A little dramatic, a little wishy-washy, but it's my current list. Stay tuned when I'll probably change it in three days time.

Any list that has Marciano on it STINKS. HE was the Tomato Can Emperor Of The World, in fact the WHOLE Galaxy., not Foremen. And I can prove it. Just look up the records of his OPPONENTS and you'll see raw ore before the tin was extracted to make the cans. .

Liston was not the most feared man Tyson was. Marty Marshall and Patterson were only puffed up middleweights. And Liston had a broken jaw in that 8 rd defeat, He got it when he opened his mouth to laugh. Pure accident.

By the way, when we talk Liston, we must keep in mind that he was at least 5years older than he given age. Based on his aged appearance and the vcidence of his next youngest sister who said he was about a18 months older than she. She was born in 1926. Sonny had no birth cert, and his birth was never registered. Maybe that's why he was called "Sonny"..............

Two surprises .........you don't have Jack Johnson on the list and you should have; he was a supreme modern boxer, strong as Foreman, and along with Holmes the most skilled boxer on the list. He could do things that boxers today have no idea about.

And you don't have Sam Langford on it either ...which is a damned good thing, because ever one else has, and on very poor evidence.

[QueensburyRules]

andrew galotta after two epic fights with bigdaddy [rid**** bowe],he lost both cause he could/would not keep his punches up.disqualified in both,but he was beating holmes hands down.could have been a world champ

- - Post of the year, POY!!!

[Good ol' Douglas]

1. Fury
2. Lewis
3. W. Klitschko
4. Holmes
5. Ali
6. Usyk
7. V. Klitschko
8. Holyfield
9. Foreman
10. Tyson

My criteria is simple. I made a distinction between ATGs who are considered the greatest of their generation vs. second (or lower). Within these separate categories, I then decided to rate them H2H.

I did not rank pre-70s HWs because they are too physically small, technically primitive and unathletic. It would be ridiculously disrespectful to compare the above fighters with Jack Johnson or Rocky Marciano.

Note: Tyson technically peaked during the borderline of two eras, so I just placed him as the #3 of the 90s. Also, it goes without saying that Usyk's position is not cemented and depends on the results of the AJ rematch and subsequent undisputed bout.

I must clarify that while this list factors in H2H, it is not an overall H2H list because there are #2s (and lower) from later generations that would destroy the best of previous eras.