Best five wins thread. Lineal / Ring Magazine heavyweight champions.

British

 

Tyson: 1. Spinks 2. Tucker 3.Holmes 4.Bruno 5. Berbick
Honorable mention:Thomas,Tubbs,Smith,Ruddock.

 

I posted him as an American. Came down to him and pinklon Thomas. I went with Bruno because he had two big wins after his loss and he he gave Lewis lot of trouble. Thomas went right down hill after Tyson. But to be honest - as posters are saying many of Tyson’s opponents are in the same ballpark. I expect a wide variety of guys to be rated all over the place

 

Does anyone seriously believe Spinks would beat a Tucker? Or Ruddock? I don't think the 1988 version of Spinks beats either of those guys.

IMO Spinks is getting rated too high. He is an ATG 175lb guy but not nearly as good at heavyweight.

 

Tyson's list

1. Pinklon Thomas
2. Trevor Berbick
3. Tony Tucker
4. Donovan Ruddock
5. Larry Holmes

 

No Williams in any list yet?

 

Maybe not. But he had kept proven doubters wrong at HW until Tyson absolutely annihilated him.

 

Berbick
Spinks
Ruddock
Williams
Tucker

I have factored in how dominant the win was. Berbick really ticks all the boxes. Durable overachiever and Tyson just steamrolls him in his first appearance on the world stage.

Gave my reason for Spinks in the above post.

 

Williams was way too open to left hooks. Good fighter otherwise. Top 5? No.

 

Mike Tyson’s 5 best wins

1 Ruddock - Either win is probably fine
2 Tucker - Undefeated prime high ranking contenders are always good wins
3 Berbick - Wins over Page,Thomas, and Tate is about as good as anyone else’s on the list
4 Thomas - He and Berbick are almost even for me
5 Spinks - Great fighter, huge event, and terrific performance by Tyson. It’s hard to gauge Spinks as a heavyweight with just a few fights there

Tyson has a deep top 10 and a lot of fighters could be put in the top 5. His 6-10 would look something like:

6 Holmes
7 Tubbs
8 Bonecrusher
9 Bruno
10 Williams

Any of his top 10 wins could be moved up or down several spots without a problem

 

What has come out of this thread is, I guess, a distinction between fights which establish or cement historical standing, and fights which folks judge subjectively to be the most difficult for the fighter. We saw that with Johnson-Jeffries, Marciano-Louis, Holmes-Ali.

In Tyson's case we see it with Spinks and Holmes.

Whether one thinks of either or both as among his toughest opponents, it is these two wins which cement his historical standing.

If they had retired earlier and Tyson had never fought them, he would just be a guy who ran impressively through a series of interchangeable contenders for a short period before losing badly to another interchangeable contender. How impressive in isolation would wins over Tucker, Berbick, Thomas, or Ruddock be?

 

I think Ruddock was one of the most overrated fighters ever. His whole reputation was based on the wins over shot fighters and two losing efforts against Tyson. But even against those washed up champions, whom he has beaten, Ruddock looked impressive only against Dokes.

He barely got by past prime Weaver and while Weaver was known for a glass jaw, Ruddock beat him only by split decision.

Smith knocked him down really hard and against shot Page Ruddock looked very unimpressive as well.

I think old Holmes would school him easily - Mercer was better and tougher fighter than Ruddock and look what Larry did to him. I also think Tucker and Thomas would beat Ruddock prime for prime. Tubs and Berbick would probably beat him too.

My ranking of Tyson's best wins:

1. Spinks
2. Holmes
3. Tucker
4. Berbick
5. Thomas

 

He rocked Mike Tyson, but he beat nobody of note, except Oliver McCall!

Rocking Tyson is not a significant credential here!

You don't get a place on the list for dropping the great, never mind rocking them!