Video - Who is the greatest HW since Muhammad Ali?

Ah, never said Mike would prevail!

 

Larry Holmes.

 

Holmes
Holyfield
Tyson
Lewis

 

Evander Holyfield

 

Greatest fighter, young Mike Tyson.
Greatest superiority to his challengers, Tyson.
(This includes how petrified these challengers were. The whole world wanted to see Tyson in action. He put boxing on the map with his devastating skills.)

No other champion since has done anything remotely similar.

 

Perhaps term-specification would help: greatest heavyweight champion or greatest heavyweight fighter?

This video is a mix of the two, but leans to greatest heavyweight champion. In that case, it's Holmes.

 

Wlad didn't create anything like the buzz Tyson did, but his title reign was even more dominant than Tyson's. Hardly lost a round for nine years.

As for most charismatic and famous champion since Ali it's Tyson hands down, but he didn't accomplish the most.

 

Pretty much although Holyfield has said he thinks the prime Bowe beats Lennox ..

 

maybe holyfield. he was very versatile.

 

I picked Tyson. There were many reasons why he was so popular. Holmes is right there too. Difference between the two are Tyson's upset losses to Douglas and Holyfield and the prison stint replacing Mike's prime.

Holmes/Tyson
Holyfield
Lewis
Wlad
Bowe

 

My view is that overall it's Holmes. He was the one fighter whose talent and application of it were in sync.

-Holyfield overachieved - not a modern heavy so deserves massive credit for what he did achieve
-Tyson underachieved - should have become the greatest on this list but blew it in his prime
-Lewis could be very good but was inconsistent - had all the physical advantages but didn't always apply them as well as he should have
-Bowe just flat out wasted his talent

 

Tyson had the highest potential ceiling of any of them.

He probably should have been the standout here.

 

I think it's rather Lewis that could have accomplished even more. His two losses are largely down to poor concentration, overconfidence and it also took him too long really to start meeting top opp regularly.

Tyson, for me, would probably have come unstuck on Holy in any case. And then there's Bowe and Lewis lurking around the corner. I actually think it might have helped his legacy that he didn't get to meet any of these men in his prime (and Bowe not at all, of course).

 

Larry Holmes. He spent nearly a decade as the dominant presence in the division.

Tyson would be number two. I'd say his time in jail takes away from what he could have achieved during his prime.

 

Larry Holmes