top 50 HW's 1980-89.

Bugner was out of shape, rusty and looked like crap vs Bruno in 87.

 

I think Tucker is a bit too high yeah he had the clean record but his only real notable win was against Douglas I think he gets a tad overrated because he went the distance with Tyson.

I'd put Berbick above the likes of Tucker he beat undefeated versions of Page, Thomas, and beat Tate.

That's a far better resume than what Tucker had in the 80s.

 

Tyson>Holmes
Thomas>Tubbs
Spinks is too low.
Cooney is too high (zero top ten contenders beaten)
Berbick is too low.
Smith is listed twice.
Douglas is too high (pre Tokyo).
Williams is too low.
Frazier is too low.
Norris is too high.
Bugner is too high.

MIA
Leon Spinks

 

@mattdonnellon I did this thread a while back looking up what all the heavyweight champs of the 1980s records were against each other (this counts fights that took place outside the 1980s so not all of it pertinent here) and thought I’d throw in the info for you and others to ponder:

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/1980s-heavyweight-champs-vs-each-other.723917/ (for anyone who wants to see the discussion)

Larry Holmes (6-3)
Mike Weaver W TKO 12, W TKO 6
Trevor Berbick W UD 15
Tim Witherspoon W SD 12
James Smith W TKO 12, W TKO 8
Michael Spinks L UD 15, L SD 15
Mike Tyson L TKO 4

Mike Tyson (7-0)
Trevor Berbick TKO 2
James Smith W UD 12
Pinklon Thomas W TKO 6
Tony Tucker W UD 12
Tony Tubbs W TKO 2
Larry Holmes W TKO 4
Michael Spinks W KO 1

John Tate (1-2)
Gerrie Coetzee W UD 15
Mike Weaver L KO 15
Trevor Berbick L KO 9

Mike Weaver (2-6-1)
Larry Holmes L TKO 12, L TKO 6
John Tate W KO 15
Gerrie Coetzee W TKO 13
Michael Dokes L TKO 1, D MD 15
Pinklon Thomas L KO 8
James Smith L TKO 1, L UD 12

Michael Dokes (1-1-1)
Mike Weaver W TKO 1, D MD 15
Gerrie Coetzee L KO 10

Gerrie Coetzee (1-3-1)
John Tate L UD 15
Mike Wever L TKO 13
Michael Dokes W KO 10
Greg Page L KO 8
Pinklon Thomas D MD 10

Tim Witherspoon (3-4)
Larry Holmes L SD 12
Greg Page W MD 12, L TKO 7
Pinklon Thomas L MD 12
James Smith W UD 12, L KO 1
Tony Tubbs W MD 15

Pinklon Thomas (2-2-1)
Gerrie Coetzee D MD 10
Tim Witherspoon W MD 12
Mike Weaver W KO 8
Trevor Berbick L UD 12
Mike Tyson L TKO 6

Greg Page (3-4)
Trevor Berbick L UD 10
Tim Witherspoon L MD 12, W TKO 7
Gerrie Coetzee W KO 8
Francesco Damiani L UD 10
Tony Tubbs L UD 15
James Smith W UD 10

Tony Tubbs (2-2)
James Smith W UD 10
Greg Page W UD 15
Tim Witherspoon L MD 15
Mike Tyson L TKO 2

Michael Spinks (2-1)
Larry Holmes W UD 15, W SD 15
Mike Tyson L KO 1

Trevor Berbick (3-2)
John Tate W KO 9
Larry Holmes L UD 15
Greg Page W UD 10
Pinklon Thomas W UD 12
Mike Tyson L TKO 2

James Smith (3-6)
Larry Holmes L TKO 12, L TKO 8
Tony Tubbs L UD 10
Tim Witherspoon L UD 12, W KO 1
Mike Weaver W TKO 1, W UD 12
Mike Tyson L UD 12
Greg Page L UD 10

Tony Tucker (0-1)
Mike Tyson L UD 12

Francesco Damiani (1-0)
Greg Page W UD 10

Of note, John Tate was only a champion in the 1980s for three months at the start of the decade before losing to Mike Weaver, and Francesco Damiani held the WBO belt (which at the time was not recognized, but I threw him in here anyway) for less than eight months at the end of the decade.

 

Is Greg Page omitted by choice or oversight?

He had a few nice wins but also a lot of losses. Still, figure he has to crack a top 50 for the decade.

(Or is he there and I need to have my eyes checked again?)

 

I believe one of the Smiths is actually Page.

 

It also should be noted that the very late 90s tournament wasn't especially important.

 

Good list, although I have no doubt that Tyson is definitely the number one heavyweight of the 1980s. He won against similar opponents, but with much better style, and unified titles. Marvis Frazier is a bit underrated, as is Ferguson. I feel like Jesse appears twice on the list. I'll have to think about the other entries. I'd definitely rank Spinks and Holyfield higher.

 

The first thing i notice is that you've forgotten Michael Dokes.

Tysons the stand out #1 of that period given he hadn't lost and had one of the most explosive reigns ever going. Unifications, lineal conquests, dominant defenses etc. He also beat the aged Holmes.

Tucker had exactly ONE win over a contender in that period. Tucker isn't top 12. I reckon Cooney had one win over a fringe contender too. He's not top 12. Both are too high. Tubbs is way too high. Page and Coetzee need moving up, they were staples of the era and tho they had losses, they had multiple wins over contenders. Ruddock miiiiles too high.

Here is KO's list for a peruse. The list was done mid 89. It's a solid list but not perfect. They have Dokes too high, the guts of what he has is a controversial KO of Weaver. Weaver has more if anything. A draw with Dokes most scored for Weaver, controversy over the KO, a huge win over the guy that dethroned Dokes via KO, a win over a contender in Tillis and he pole axed Williams who was considered hot after his razor close challenge of Holmes not long prior.

1. Larry Holmes
2. Mike Tyson
3. Michael Dokes
4. Mike Weaver
5. Pinklon Thomas
6. Tim Witherspoon
7. Greg Page
8. Gerrie Coetzee
9. Trevor Berbick
10. Michael Spinks
11. Tony Tubbs
12. Carl Williams