Larry Merchant's Top Ten All Time Heavies

Nothing that he actually accomplished in his career merits it. Best fight was an almost 35 year old Ken Norton. He definitionally cannot be #2.

 

Lol! Larry Merchant! Is this his sober list or his drunk list when he is slurring his words?

 

Holmes too high.
Same with Marciano.
Dempsey doesn't belong.
Foreman and Frazier maybe higher.

But still a decent list.

 

I have seen far worse lists. This is at least decent and sensible.

 

I think so also. I love Larry, but his wins or quality of them to me is not 2 rating.. I would rate Larry 5 at the very very most.

 

Man, i hate when people leave Liston out of a top 10

 

Merchant wrote for a Philadelphia newspaper when Liston was the heavyweight champ and based in Philly. His coverage of Liston was not positive.

Not terribly surprising that he wouldn't be enthusiastic about Liston sixty years later.

 

Seeing bias in a top 10 always breaks my heart. I really dislike ali but hes objectively great, sad liston isnt seen the same way.

 

I've always found Merchant a bit of a quirky character and it wouldn't have surprised me had he produced quite the outlandish list. But this one holds a reasonable line. The relative transposition of Holmes/Louis is the only curiosity but, other than this, it's much of a muchness.

I don't have Dempsey in mine, but I still regularly see lists that feature his name and I can't see a problem with that. Personally, I prefer Liston in favor of Dempsey (and I have Johnson, my #11, one place ahead Dempsey, too).

 

100% agree--Liston belongs in any list of all-time top 10 HW boxers.

 

I have Holmes and Lewis at 3 and 4. I could see making a case for either of them being number 3. We used to say Larry Merchant would unscrew his microphone and their would Jack Daniels underneath it.

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I'm trying to see his logic behind the rating. It can't be off the number of title defenses alone -- Joe Louis and Wlad Klitschko would be higher (and he doesn't even have Wlad on this list). So what is it giving him extra points? Perceived H2H ability? His senior career? Too much memory of Shavers 1 and Cobb, not enough memory of Witherspoon and Weaver?

 

Me too, he'd mop the floor with some on this list

 

Is there anyone on this list that Rocky Marciano would have beaten? maybe Holyfield,?

 

Or the fact that Tyson fought the better competition overall by going 22-4 against rated opponents compared to Foreman going 8-5.

Here's the kicker for me: fighting world rated Jake Paul at the tender age of 58.