Classic Forum Collective Top 10 All-Time Heavyweights--POLL CLOSED!

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On what criteria would Mike Tyson be excluded from the top 10 but Jack Dempsey, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Sonny Liston belong there?

Historical impact? Other than Dempsey, Tyson takes the cake. He is by far the most iconic figure of the sport since Muhammad Ali.

Reign as Champion? Tyson easily. He has the most title defenses and he also cleaned out his entire division in spectacular fashion.

Foreman's reign was dismal considering the expectation of him after beating Frazier. Tyson beat far more ranked fighters than Foreman did. Foreman resume has solid names but Tyson's resume has far more depth. Look at George's top 15 names on his resume and compare it to Tyson's. You'll see what I'm talking about.

Liston's brief reign as champ is excused on the basis that he cleaned out the division before he won the title. Fine. Tyson did the same though as champion and in the same impressive fashion beat the lineal champion via 1st round KO. In addition Tyson's resume again has more depth.

Dempsey's legend far exceeds that of Dempsey the fighter. His reign was dismal particularly because he sat on the title for a few years without defending it and considering he's a "top 10" ATG HW, he has far more blemishes on his record than Mike. His refusal to fight Wills, coupled with his quality of opposition simply counts against him. Lastly, of the 5 fighters (Tyson included obviously) that I'm critiquing in this post I think he's the most beatable.

Frazier's reign as champ was always clouded by the fact that Ali was unfairly stripped of his title. Putting that aside, Frazier's win over Ali is what establishes his top 10 status. However when Comparing the depth of his resume to Tyson, Tyson has more depth and maintained his relevance in the HW division longer than Joe Frazier. 15 years after Tyson's pro debut, he made Andrew Golota quit after two brutalizing rounds. Look at the top 15 names listed on his win column then look at the Frazier's top 15 names listed on Joe's win column. He simply beat more ranked fighters than Joe and IMO did so more impressively. There is a reason why Tyson was #1 p4p ahead of Julio Cesar Chavez thrice (save '87 when the p4p list wasnt produced but the consensus was more or less the same).
Tyson was a stellar fighter. Not taking anything away from Joe because he's top 10 himself. But Tyson was the goods.

Head to Head?
Dempsey- I rank him last on this list. He's up there but there are flaws in his game which IMO his physical attributes can't fully protect him from. I couldn't picture Liston, Frazier, Foreman and Tyson getting dropped by any LHW, no matter how good. Nor can I see a situation where they can get put away in 1 round by a journeyman.

Frazier- Never really faced any big punchers and the biggest puncher he faced put him away twice. Personally I don't think that Joe had a glass chin rather I think that Foreman was simply a stylistic nightmare for him. His reliance on his left hook seemed to limit his arsenal and his propensity to start slow may consistently put him at a disadvantage against most elite fighters.

Liston - Solid fundamentals, Great Jab and power. Not quite the monster that everyone makes him out to be considering his dimensions, technically David Haye at this point is a larger fighter but his 84 inch reach will always make his jab a factor. I rank Liston Highly head to head but I tend to give Tyson the edge based on his explosiveness, his speed, his power- which I think is better than Sonny's, his chin and his technical proficiency.

Foreman- Is a fighter who's lack of fundamentals (as the young version) is outweighed by his durability and his excessive power. George is quite possibly the strongest and hardest hitting fighter to ever live. I do think his vunerablity to boxers with great jabs and good lateral movement would probably standout if had he faced more of these types. I think if we all put together the 20 best HW's to ever live and put them in a round robin tourney where they all faced each other, I tend to think Tyson (who is not unbeatable) would end up with fewer losses than Foreman. And therefore I rank Mike ahead.

I tend to think that even if you disagree at the very least, he's a top 10 guy any way you slice it.

 

1 Louis
2 Ali
3 Lewis
4 Johnson
5 Holmes
6 Marciano
7 Frazier
8 Tyson
9 Liston
10 Foreman

 

I, like Magoo, lean heavily towards who-beats-whom so:

1 Ali
2 Louis
3 Holmes
4 Lewis
5 Tyson
6 Liston
7 Foreman
8 Marciano
9 Frazier
10 Johnson

11 Holyfield
12 Dempsey

 

yes my bad. I know 11 gets no points but I would put Jack Johnson at #11.

 

Whose supposed to be tabulating all this? I'm interested to know how it is going. What a great thread! Why not a sticky? I hate having to find it every time...

 

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Lewis
4. Liston
5. Dempsey
6. Holmes
7. Frazier
8. Marciano
9. Langford
10. Wills

 

what is the ranking as of now?

 

Maybe LHW? I've been thinking about that one alot lately myself.

 

1. Louis
2. Ali
3. Marciano
4. Johnson
5. Tyson
6. Holmes
7. Frazier
8. Lewis
9. Holyfield
10. Dempsey



Keith

 

Anyone who doesnt have Joe Louis in there top 5 heavyweights of all time should be beaten with a stick!

 

I rank my top 10 by who beats who-in ther prime only
# 1 JACK DEMPSEY
# 2 ROCKY MARCIANO
# 3 JIM JEFFRIES
# 4 TYSON
# 5 JOE LOUIS
# 6 ALI
from here on out it includes to many to pick from



# 7 lanford
#8 jack johnson
#9 jersey joe
# 10 holmes
very tough for me the top 6 get moved around sometimes the other 4 are extremley hard with others could get put in instead ,lewis should fit somewere among others