I think the Rooney version Tyson was better than the Douglas version considering this Tyson's prime is questionable.
Michael Moorer: 1 - Holyfield 2 - Cooper 3 - Shulz 4 - Jirov 5 - Smith Well, that was really TOUGH, outside of the 1st place. Why Cooper at #2? Unlike Smith, he was in his prime and his resume (wins) was much better than the one of Francois Botha, Vaughn Bean or Alex Steward. Why Shulz at #3 over old Smith, Botha, Beane and Stewart? Shulz had win over old Smith and had better resume comparing to Stewart, Botha and Bean, all of whom had absolutely AWFUL resumes in the winning column. Aside of a Smith win, he KO'ed McBride plus he had 2 fights where he was blatantly robbed by the judges - against Foreman and against Botha. Shulz was also better than Botha H2H as I had him beating Botha comfortably in their actual fight. Why Jirov at #4? Well, he was former longtime cruiserweight champion, he was still in his prime and gave a hell to unbeaten heavyweight Joe Mesi in his previsous fight, knocking him down 3 times and losing the fight by the slightest margin. Moorer's win over him was considered a huge upset back in 2004. Out of Botha, Smith, Stewart and Bean I chose the latest one for my #5. Smith surely had the best resume and credentials of them all, but he was old when Moorer beat him. And among Stewart, Botha and Bean Vaughn was the one who gave Moorer the toughest fight. All three's resumes were extremely poor in the winning columns though, so I won't argue if you put old Smith ahead of them EDIT: After rethinking I decided to replace Bean with Smith at my #5. Yes, Smith was old when Moorer beat him, but his resume puts in shame the resumes of Botha, Stewart and Bean. I mean, if you put Botha's, Steward's and Bean's best wins in one list, this combined list would still be light years behind Smith's one, who beat Witherspoon, Weaver (twice), Bruno, prime Ferguson, Ribalta and Bey
Yeah, Moorer's resume isn't very deep if people put Botha in his top 5 wins. I don't think Botha would make top 15 in Tyson's, Lewis' and Wlad's resumes
Yep Moorer’s resume is weak at heavy. Botha only cracked my list because “technically” he was undefeated when he faced Moorer. Although I also felt Schulz defeated him. Botha is similar to Bean both were undefeated, but had zero name wins on their ledger when Moorer beat them. I chose Botha over Bean because Botha received more big fights and I felt defeated Briggs and did fairly well against a rusty Tyson until he was put to sleep. Cooper too he lost his big fights but hurt Holy badly and was in epic shootout with Moorer. But you know a resume is poor when guys are making top 5 on competitive fights and not actual wins over top contenders.
Moorer had only one notable win, a great one although given context it's lesser than you may think. Other than that, his resume is bad and unlike Michael Spinks, he spent a lot of time fighting at HW. Is he better than someone like Braddock, who also has one significant win?
Much better than Braddock. Moorer was an explosive combination puncher with a good jab from a southpaw stance. That would make him difficult for some fighters in any era. Moorer however also possessed a poor chin and was lethargic for long spells at heavyweight. Mixed bag and unpredictable. Braddock looked awful in many fights. However perhaps with proper nutrition and better camps after becoming champ and having some coin in the bank he realized his potential as I believe he looked his best in his losing effort against Louis.
I think that Moorer vs Braddock would be interesting. Moorer wouldn't stop him and he'd have to be vary for most of the fight because Braddock could hit hard enough to drop him.
The people have spoken. I've always found it a little hard to place Bowe. While he demolished a prime Holyfield, he never fought Lewis, or Tyson nor did he beat on older legends. At his best he was something. Bowe's top 5. Holyfield 40 points Tubbs 30 points Donald 16 points Hide 14 points Golota 13 points
Now playing, boxing first official southpaw champion. Moorer's top 5. He didn't hold the belt for long.