The Rings Top 20 2017 All Time Heavyweights!

There's everything wrong with Dempsey ranked above Wills.

 

Lewis has a tremendous resume though, and has arguably the most dangerous punchers on it of any heavyweight.

For me the most important things are resume, longevity and in some special cases the way they won.
And there are other special cases like Foreman's comeback.

Lewis has a tremendous resume.
Holyfield too.
Wladimir has a tremendous longevity and has beaten various challengers of a long period of time.
Tyson has a very good resume too.

Sonny Liston doesn't have too much wins over ranked opposition, not as much as the previous mentioned men.
Marciano too, but he has the benefit of being unbeaten.
Frazier too, but he will always have the benefit of having Muhammad Ali on it.

I can't rank Dempsey and Johnson in the top 10.
Johnson's resume is too thin for me, and Dempsey shouldn't be ranked ahead of Wills.

Foreman has his comeback, he will forever be a legend.

Ali and Lous' resumes can't be faulted.
Both fought over 30 ranked contenders, Ali has a crazy resume.
Louis' longevity and the amount he beat is special even if it wasn't the best era. Going unbeaten for as long as Louis did fighting as much contenders as he did is just special.

 

Not a bad list, BUT

Sullivan and Corbett should be out of TOP-20

Schmeling and Patterson should be IN

Both of them have WAY BETTER resume than Corbett and Sullivan

Also I would change some places, Holy and Lennox should be in the TOP-10

 

Interesting that you group them together.

The more I have looked at Corbett, the further he has slipped down my rankings.

The more I have looked at Sullivan, the further he has risen.

Today I would say that Corbett should sit somewhere under Bob Fitzsimmons on an all-time heavyweight list, and that Sullivan should be around the same place as Jeffries.

 

I appreciate that the Ring still respects the "old timers" so many publications today act as if the division began with Ali.
Louis gets credit because it's impossible to deny him but so many others are ignored.
Every list has flaws including this one but I can respect the panel and they attempted to do a competent job.

 

Wills has the better resume though, by far.

 

Respect the judges here but they are too nostalgic . Most are stuck
in a time warp. I respect the old timers but its 2017 advances have been
made in size and conditioning .

 

Lousy list in my opinion. Are they going head to head or on accomplishments? To me, this list is too heavily slanted towards the old-timers. To me, Lewis, Foreman, Tyson, etc. would demolish all of the old antiques.

 

Doesn't make him the better fighter.

 

On what planet does Lewis rank below Dempsey? Dempsey's best wins are over an old, semi-retired Willard (universally declared one of the worst champs even when in top form) and a hot-and-cold Sharkey. Lewis has a who's who of hardpunching heavies from two decades on his ledger.

Dempsey: old, innactive Willard, Sharkey by foul, lightheavy Gibbons (who lost the title eliminator to Greb), glass-chinned Fulton, sideshow and media creation Firpo, lightheavy nobody Carpentier (who's greatest heavyweight victory was 7 years previous).

Lewis: powerpunchers Ruddock, Bruno, Mason, Morrison, Rahman, Briggs, Grant, Tua, Tyson and Vitali. Boxers hybrid types in Tucker, Mercer, Holyfield, Golota, Akinwande

If you want to bring up the million dollar gate or the roaring 20's or the paintings of Firpo knocking him out of the ring, fine. Dempsey is the greater entertainer. But please don't bring up heavyweight boxing because Lewis is on a different planet.

 

My top 10 was:

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Johnson
4. Marciano
5. Dempsey
6. Foreman
7. Liston
8. Lewis
9. Tyson
10. Holmes

I like their list a lot

 

Perhaps you can point me to the heavyweight victories of Johnson that put him so high on your heavyweight list. Others have avoided the question.