Prime Holmes - Impossible to knock out?

Survived and rallied back with an amazing set of skills.

We can't forget the Weaver fight, where the ref called the knockdown a slip (that wasn't a slip, he got smacked out and later admitted it). He not only came back, he knocked the bejesus out of those guys.

I love Mike Tyson, and consider him a h2h Godzilla. But, though he later proved highly noble dying on his sword with Lewis, he never came back after a devastating anything to win before that. Once Mike was down, he was on his way to being done.

Do I consider a Champion's Heart integral to being a top 10 ATG? Absolutely. No matter how incredible someone is h2h, no matter how great their skill set, they can't be considered Elite Great unless they show they have that ability. Just my opinion.

Louis, Foreman, Ali, Frazier, Marciano, Holyfield, Bowe all had that. And how about Lewis getting punched all over the ring by Briggs early on and then completely, masterfully dominating him? There are many other examples of that Level of greatness.

Sorry for the long-windedness. Prepared to be crucified by NoNeck.

 

I consider Holmes top 10 but not Tyson - I go by accomplishments only, not head-to-head, so Tyson simply doesn’t have the body of work, or at most, might barely sneak in.

Now to be crystal clear, I’m not saying Holmes wasn’t durable, just that his feats of gutsing it out when hurt don’t really amount to all that much. He passed the tests asked of him in this regard, but it’s a pretty long leap from getting hurt by Earnie Shavers to Joe Louis…to getting hurt by Renaldo Snipes, to George Foreman or Jack Dempsey. The only great puncher who was also a first-class finisher he ever faced was Tyson - too late to glean anything.

 

You don't consider prime Foreman a great finisher?

 

He never fought Foreman.