Some think the 90s, not the 70s, is the golden HW decade. Give some explanation, although I think there will be a fight 90te Vs. 70s ATG 70s: Ali (from the 60s, was in the 70s), Frazier (from the 60s, was in the 70s), Foreman ("born" in the 70s), Holmes (started in the 70s, became what he is in the 80s),... ATG in the 90s: Tyson (became what he was in the 80s, in a faded version in the 90s), Holyfield in full glory in the 90s, Lewis almost in full glory in the 90s, had significant victories in the 2000s, Foreman (champion) actively participated, and Holmes actively participated...
The 90's had much greater depth, and real sized athletes plying the trade. In the 70's we had guys like Randy Neuman. Johnny Boudreaux, Stan Ward and Larry Middleton holding places in the 6-10 slots. In the 90's those places went to Tommy Morrison, Herbie Hide, even Mercer and Holmes.
1991: 1. Evander Holyfield 2. Mike Tyson 3. Riddick Bowe 4. Razor Ruddock 5 .Ray Mercer 6. George Foreman 7. Tim Witherspoon 8. Tony Tucker 9. Lennox Lewis 10. Michael Moorer Only for you will I defeat the great InMemoryofJakeLamotta
The 70s is the golden era of heavyweight boxing, if only because the biggest fights got made, with very few exceptions. That is ultimately more important than the era having the best talent. Did the 90s have and equally high potential ceiling? Quite possibly. Imagine if Bowe had fought Lewis, and the winner had squared off against Holyfield or Tyson? Then things could really have got hot in the kitchen .
To add. The big fights didn't just happen in MSQ or Las Vegas with home judges - Africa, Phillipines, Jamaica. The HW champ really meant something around the globe.
The 1990s was great for heavyweights but I will always vote for the 1970s being even greater. The best fought the best for a start.
I have to give it to the 70s, packed with great fighters and performances. The 90s were incredible though.
Objectively I think it's the 90s for talent pool but the 70s heavyweights fought eachother more so we could establish a clearer hierarchy and Ali still has the most stacked resume
The 70's obviously had Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Holmes .. that's possibly close to half the all time top ten ... nothing to remotely make light of and then throw in a prime Norton and Young .. the 90's had Tyson , Holyfield, Lewis ... I'd say Ali had more of his best left in the 70's than Tyson had in the 90's as Mike clearly peaked 86-88 .. I love Holyfield, he was great but he could very well have lost to Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Holmes , I'd say likely. Bowe never beat a puncher, rarely fought one and had one great performance in his career. Ruddock was at best no better than a Shavers or a Lyle .. Witherspoon was way past his best in the 90's .. Tucker was an underachiever and Moorer a head case who excelled based only on match up .. Lewis was a great fighter , no question but a 37 year old Holyfield , who should have lost both decisions to Lewis showed Lennox could still be brought down to Earth against a fighter with speed, a chin, a jab and a heart , skills 70's Ali and Holmes had 10X over. Lennox could flatten many people wth his size and power but he could also look ordinary as well .. that said I think those were the two best decades ... now the 80's with the Holmes that beat Ali and Cooney, a prime Tyson, had potential to be amazing if Witherspoon, Thomas, Page and Dokes actually maximized their talent instead of belonging to DK's lost decade ... all four of those fighters had nights when they could have challenged anyone and made a hell of a run ...
Frazier was toast after 16 months into the decade. Ali was out of shape half the time, faced a bunch of no hopers and relied on antics to persuade judges. Although his best performance was in the 70's, his peak was in the 80's. Foreman was a blip. A couple good wins and then toast. He was better in the 90's. Norton looked better than he was. Quarry was damaged good. Some freeswingers in Shavers and Lyle... and the rest was kinda shite. Still, a great era. Just not as great as the 90's.
No, but it was a great decade. The second greatest decade ever in my estimation. So many very good fighters and a few great ones as well constantly mixing it up. The heavyweight division has never recovered from the collective retirements of the 1990s crop, and it probably never will.