your choice on the Best Heavyweight vs entire Heavyweight division history

H2H probably Lennox Lewis

 

Might not be the most interesting choice but Ali hands down. He won't lose in his prime to the likes of McCall, Buster Douglas or Purrity.

 

yea just a bum who beat a prime cleveland williams and crushed champion patterson TWICE! A BUM WHO SLAPPED CASSIUS CLAY IN THE MOUTH AT A CASINO AND HE (CASSIUS)**** HIS PANTS AND DID NOT FIGHT BACK! A BUM WHO WAS KNOCKING THE BEST GUYS OUT AND EVERYONE FEARED! A BUM WITH A CONCRETE CHIN AND GREAT STRENGTH AND PUNCHING POWER,AWESOME JAB! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO CALL ANY ONE A BUM?

 

he slapped cassuis clay in a casino lol then got put to sleep by a slap.

 

Liston had no good power by modrn standards & an OK jab, what are you smoking man?

Anyway while Ali had those weaknesses, ALL have weaknesses. Foreman & Liston would/did have weaknesses against great boxers. Ali fought a peak Frazier, think Holmes would have beat him? Or did not have close or gift decisions too, even nearer his prime?

All these guys would do well, it is a matter of degrees. Foreman could be outsmarted or outlasted. Tyson would be near the top, at his PEAK great all around & showed no special weakness against the good 7 large boxers.

EVERYONE can be showed to struggle against some, the great sluggers even struggled against lesser competition sometimes.

 

all at their peak best they beat anybody and each other in series match ups.

for me they are...

Joe Louis
Mike Tyson
Muhammed Ali
George Forman
Jersey Joe Walcott
Sonny Liston
Jack Johnson
James Jefferies
Rocky Marcianno
Larry Holmes

I think these men have ALL the required ingredients to beat ANY Heavyweights in HISTORY including one another. Some were beautiful boxers, some more fighters, many of them knock out punchers.

These fighters are the cream for me.
Sorry if I left any out, and as to the S-HWs you can pit them against each other for a second list.

 

At their PEAK, not overall accomplishments & legacy, & not weighting KOs more heavily than decisions.

Ali
Tyson
Louis
Lewis
Liston
Foreman
Holmes
Frazier

Hard to say beyond that. But the smaller guys with significant boxing or speed flaws would likely not crack the top 10, even when ATGs. Very hard to rate guys whose peaks were ~ 100 years ago or so.

 

Probably Joe Louis, based on:

A. Consistency.
B. Having the tools to beat anybody with the right fight plan.

 

Pretty good choice.

The main problem with Ali as a choice, is that if you did find somebody who is able to consistently beat him on the cards, he doesn’t have the power of a Louis or Liston to bail him out.

 

concur.

 

I don't like Lewis' chances. the problem? His chin and I can honestly see someone like Dempsey or Baer taking out the control conscious Lewis out with a sudden but violent burst of venemous shots to the head

Foreman does better and Bowe probably does best becuz of his size and incredible, almost Marciano like stamina

Frazier doesnt have the versatility

I think Buster Douglas does well if he can enter each fight with the kind of motivation he carried into the fight with Tyson

Not only did he have the size at 6-4, 220 pounds, he had all the tools!

Holyfield on the other hand, doesnt do quite as well. he cant hang with the bigger men and was always upset by a rising heavyweight (Bowe, Moorer)