Best five wins from the best contenders

Chris Byrd

1) Vitali Klitschko
2) David Tua
3) Evander Holyfield
4) Jameel McCline
5) DaVarryl Williamson

Looking at this as literal as I can, I found the Williamson bout to be more impressive for inclusion than Castillo or Oquendo because there was no calls of robbery and his wins at the time Byrd beat him were very impressive (McCall, Jefferson, Castillo) and had given a good account of himself against Wlad.

Sam Langford

1) Harry Wills
2) Joe Jeanette
3) Sam McVey
4) Gunboat Smith
5) Fireman Jim Flynn

Again, with Langford I am being literal. I am counting heavyweights only, so no Ketchel or Jack O'Brien. I excluded the wins over George Godfrey because, although good wins on paper, Godfrey was just starting out.

 

to make it easier for the OP, I will repeat my Byrd choices

Chris Byrd
1-----Vitali Klitschko
2-----David Tua
3-----Evander Holyfield
4-----Jameel McCline
5-----Eliecer Castillo

Sam Langford
1-----Harry Wills
2-----Joe Jeannette
3-----Sam McVea
4-----Gunboat Smith
5-----Kid Norfolk

There all sorts of other names, especially at lighter weights. Hard to judge the color line era black fighters as they were largely restricted to fighting each other over and over. I would say that Langford's heavyweight resume is not overpowering.

*I sometimes run into fighters who will not even make a contender thread like this, but have some interesting names on their resume. I will post them now and then just for interest.

Bearcat Wright
1-----Jack Johnson
2-----Sam Langford
3-----Fred Fulton
4-----Tiger Jack Fox
5-----Bill Tate

Wright KO'd the first four names. Other than Tate, no one was near the top of his game. Johnson and Langford were very old. Fulton on a losing streak. Fox green. But still a very interesting list of scalps. For his career, Wright went 65-20-18 with 2 NC and 38 KO's. He was never rated and lost to Johnny Risko, Mickey Walker, and Primo Carnera, plus Max Baer in his last fight. However, it is very interesting that George Godfrey could not defeat Wright in three tries. An interesting trial horse type.

 

I actually think Byrd's depth is pretty good.

1. Vitali
2. Tua
3. Holyfield
4. McCline (who himself had a lot of good wins - Briggs, Grant, Whitaker, Cole, Shufford, Boswell)
5. Oquendo
-------------------
6. Williamson
7. Castillo
8. Arthur Williams (cruiserweight world champion)

Then you have a bunch of decent fringe contenders like Bert Cooper, Jimmy Thunder, Maurice Harris, Ross Puritty, Craig Petersen, Phil Jackson, Lionel Butler, another former cruiserweight champ Uriah Grant

 

Sam;
1-Jeannette
2-McVea
3-Wills
4-Gunboat
5-Clarke

Norfolk, Flynn, Schreck. O'Brien, Ferguson,Ross, Jim Johnson, Godfrey, McMahon, Thompson, Tate...not an impressive resume? Give me a break.

 

Continuing posts of heavyweights who were not on the original list and probably will not be covered.

Paulino Uzcudun
1-----Harry Wills
2-----Max Baer
3-----Tom Heeney
4-----Pierre Charles
5-----Don McCorkindale

Uzcudun is a famous name and always gave a brave account of himself, but this list is not all that impressive compared to other contenders. The first two are great names, but Wills was 38 and at the end of the line. Baer was young and on a losing streak. The rest are interchangeable, with some depth as one could add Erminio Spalla, Jack Renault, Otto von Porat, Knute Hansen, etc. He also lost a close decision to Godfrey.

Other than Wills and Baer, a decent list but well short of a number of his contemporaries. His place in boxing history rests on the Wills and Baer wins.

 

Well, for what it's worth it's better than what Chuvalo did and most people would tell you that Chuvalo was better than him.

 

I know what you mean, some tough calls here. It's difficult to navigate through DQ's, ND's and getting the opponent at the right time to call them best wins. So for what it's worth, here are mine:

Vitali

1) Corrie Sanders
2) Sam Peter
3) Herbie Hide
4) Juan Carlos Gomez
5) Kirk Johnson

Joe Jeanette

1) Sam Langford
2) Sam McVey
3) George Carpentier
4) Battling Jim Johnson
5) Black Bill

 

Vitali:

1. Sanders
2. Peter
3. Hide
4. Gomez
5. Chisora

Johnson was good fighter, but he was in awfuil shape against Vitali. Adamek was very good at lower weights but he was badly oversized against Vitali

 

i didn’t realize Chuvalo wasn’t on your list. He needs to be. As well as Ernie Schaaf.

 

Vitali Klitschko

1----Corrie Sanders
2----Sam Peter
3----Tomas Adamak
4----Juan Carlos Gomez
5----Herbie Hide

Echo others that this is really blah for a guy who was at the top of the division for so long.

Joe Jeannette

1----Sam Langford
2----Sam McVea
3----Jeff Clarke
4----George Carpentier
5----Sandy Ferguson

*Jack Johnson--I am not going to count a fluky DQ victory. It is only okay for me if the loser fouls out to avoid a KO or bad loss, such as Wills against Sharkey. Otherwise, I am not going to credit what seems pure luck.
Battling Johnson--surprised to see him on so many lists. Was he really very good? The win over Wills seems to have been a fluke. Anyone have a different view?

Overall, a pretty good resume, with quite a lot of depth, but a bit circular between Langford, McVea, and Jeannette, with all at or near the top of each others resumes.