I'll take Goddard in 1891 and 1892. And again, I follow the lineage of Goddard from his 1896 heavyweight championship victory over Smith.
my question is when did Dempsey ever prove he was better than Wills, at least prior to about 1927. He never defeated Wills and until he beat Sharkey he never beat anyone who beat Wills. The reverse is not true. Wills beat Meehan and John Lester Johnson. I would say at worst the two should be co number ones. Also I don't see ever giving a man credit for being the best when he is no longer fighting like Tunney in 1929 and 1930. Another issue is should a man be considered the best is he does not fight that year, like Johnson in 1911, Willard in 1917 & 1918, and Dempsey in 1922, 1924, & 1925. I would say no. On the other hand, I agree with you that while Fitz's victories in 1900 might be more impressive than Jeff's that year, I can't see giving Fitz the top spot when Jeff had KO'd him in 1899 and was himself beating worthy opposition. I would give either Wills or Greb 1922.
The thread asks who the best was, not the most accomplished. It’s pretty clear that Liston would’ve wiped the floor with Ingo, never mind beat him.
I wasn't around in 1959, but I imagine that my last incarnation would agree. Seriously though, it was known by many that Liston was the best heavyweight back then and Patterson personally allowed the fight to happen, to his credit, although Liston wasn't allowed a title shot until the tail end of his prime. His team would've preffered to avoid him completely.
Maybe. Neither Willis nor Dempsey proved they were better than each other. I do view Wills as the best around before Dempsey won the title, but I think Dempsey beat better competition than Wills did when he was champion. Greb is a tough argument as fought neither Wills or Dempsey and didn't beat any good bigger heavies who can punch like Wills or Dempsey. It's on Dempsey that these matches never happened, so it comes down to your best guess. If the Champion does not fight in a given year, but he's still young enough and would be considered an odds favorite over the field I give him that year.
No Ingo convincingly beat the #1 contender and the champion in 1959 both by knockout. Sonny did nothing compared to that in 1959. In 1960 Liston had a good year. His best. But he didn’t beat a champion and he hadn’t beat Machen as well as Ingo had. So Liston is second best in the world until he beats Patterson.