Joe Louis beat the previous 5 heavyweight champions in first 4 years as a pro

not the previous ones but Tyson beat 8 in the same time frame


Fantastic achievement by Joe though

 

Deontay Wilder is almost there, now. Hence the moniker.

 

The men Tyson beat were not true champions in reality....just contenders (aside from Spinks) Louis beat true former champions.

 

He beat titlists of quality.

 

He beat the 4 previous champs, and he also fought the 3 champs that came after him, beating one twice (once if you count the first as a robbery).

That's legendary stuff.

 

Louis looked FANTASTIC against Baer.

 

No I can't think of any heavyweight champion who beat that many previous title holders and certainly not that early in their career. Louis was an ATG before he even left the cradle.

 

Tyson beat contenders. They were giving away paper championships like potato chips. in Louis day there was only one hwt champion so typically the undeserving were not called champion.

 

I will go along with your position that guys like Berbick, Tucker and Smith were not true champions in the traditional sense of the term.. But Tyson should at least be credited with beating all of the best available men and in roughly the same short time frame that Louis did.. It just so happens that it worked out to where the best available men in Louis's era were also recent champions..

 

Im not going to argue over their merits and **** and im not taking anything away from Louis. Them guys won world title fights therefore they were deemed as champions at their time. I was just pointing it out.

 

Regardless. I look at the caliber of those guys. Carnera was champion. So what. He sucked. Carnera, Sharkey or Baer were not better than Thomas, Berbick and Tucker.

 

Tyson did fight the last 2 available real champions too.

 

I can not see anyone who can compare to Louis record, beat ex champs, best resume, best defense record and a great rematch a tough fight record...longest rein, most defenses , best rematch record....

 

Joe Louis, the GOAT heavyweight in my opinion.

Baer, Sharkey, Primo, Schmeling all tasted the canvas 3 or 4 times in the defeat.

They just had Louis/Sharkey on ESPN Classic not long ago. While it was Sharkey's last career fight, he looks in shape and shows some effort in the first round and a half before the hard KD's piled up.