Based on their top 5 wins, which Heavyweights beat the best opposition ?

Louis, Ali, Foreman, Holyfield and Lewis have the best Top5 wins, imo.

 

Tunney:
1. Jack Dempsey---W 10 (1926)
2. Jack Dempsey---W 10
3. Harry Greb---W 15 (3rd fight-undisputed victory)
4. Tommy Gibbons---KO 12
5. Harry Greb---W 15 (2nd fight-razor close and disputed)

If top ten
6. Harry Greb---W 10 (5th bout--clear win for Tunney but this is a newpaper decision)
7. Battling Levinsky---W 12
8. Johnny Risko---W 10
9. Tom Heeney---KO 11
10. Erminio Spalla---KO 7

The Loughran fight was a split newspaper verdict--it all depends on which paper you read.
Comment--Depth at heavyweight certainly lacking. Risko was green at time of bout.

 

Lewis..

Morrison
Holyfield
Ruddock
Rahman
Golota
I select Morrison as his finest alround showing... He demanded that the public invest thier confidence in him as a reborn heavyweight that night..

Lewis was so impressive in a lot of his fights but the ones i selected were what i see as his more solid wins.. The Holyfield fight i have in mind here was the one that was scandelously declared as a draw... (wink ..wink)

what kind of **** was that........

 

Jack Johnson:
1. Jim Jeffries---KO 15
2. Bob Fitzsimmons---KO 2
3. Tommy Burns---KO 14 (or possibly won 14)
4. Sam Langford---W 15
5. Sam McVey---KO 20

If top ten:
6. Joe Jeannette---W 15
7. Denver Ed Martin---KO 3
8. Frank Moran---W 20
9. Frank Childs---W 12
10. Stanley Ketchel---KO 12

Only Ali and Louis defeated the number of name fighters Johnson did. There is a whole slew of names I left off and also duplicate victories. That said, Johnson's resume is perhaps not quite as impressive as it looks. Jeff and Fitz were not only over the hill but utterly gone. Langford and Ketchel were middles. McVey and Jeannette were green. The fighters Johnson bested who were real heavys and in their primes-Martin, Lang, Kaufman, Flynn, Moran, and Burns, are not that impressive a group.

 

Holyfield is probably behind only Ali when you look at the quality of his victories. And what about Hasim Rahman and John Ruiz?

 

Probably want the Vitali win in there.

 

Interesting that you picked the Morrison fight, not because Lewis didn't look great but because I never thought Morrison was very good (but I am no boxing expert) I thought Lewis looked very good against Tyson, but most thought Tyson was way past his best by then.....

As far as Tyson goes. I would have liked to have seen

Bowe (Bowe was a better Buster Douglas) v. Tyson

Michael Moorer v. Tyson... I am pretty sure Moorer get destroyed but might have been interesting

Ray Mercer v. Tyson

 

Mitch Green (went the distance), Trevor Berbic(WBC Champ), Pinklon Thomas, Frank Bruno, Tillman (beat Tyson twice in the amatures), Botha (tough contender at the time)

Thats just my input on Tyson....

 

Ezzard Charles:
Joe Louis
Jersey Joe Walcott
Jersey Joe Walcott
Jimmy Bivins
Elmar Ray

If were saying his overall best wins (not to mention Marshall, Lesnevich, Layne or Saterfield)

Moore
Moore
Moore
Burley
Burley

 

Ali wins this by a landslide. The HW division was by far at its best from the late 1960's to late 1970's. Ali was the premier fighter of that period of time. I think even Ali's critics would have to give him the nod here.