Well first off Ali isn't the greatest heavyweight of all time and Joe Louis damn sure wasn't the second. In reality Joe Louis wouldn't even be a top 100's of heavyweights of all time. He was good for 1940's era fighting a bunch of 180 pound guys with the occasionally 200 plus pound guy. Eric "Butterbean" Esch could of and would of done the same thing in that weak era Louis fought in. These old guys who live in their fantasy world where everything from back in the day equals better are just as amusing as these young boxing "fans" who get impressed by Tyson Fury running and throwing arm punches. There is no 1 single greatest fighter in any weight class. No fighter could beat every style and could beat every opponent.
What would it take ? IMO Tyson fulfilling his potential and retiring undefeated around 95-96, beating the likes of Holyfield, Lewis and Bowe along the way. If he also added guys like old Foreman, Mercer, Tua and Morrison along the way, then he'd have been the undisputed no. 1
You can only fight the fighters that are available in your respective era, and your performance against them, can Tyrell Biggs or Buster Douglas go back to 1940, be real. Joe Louis cannot go to 2021,he cannot fight Tyson Fury, who never never fights, but be realistic. I just judge on their fight performances, no brag, just fact. Sometimes posters psychologically see themselves in their heroes, or pretend to, instead of following logic. And excuses are born, shoes too big, ref had his back turned, went for a walk, just happened to bump into a Japanese street walker in Tokyo. Etc.
Your factors are interesting and I somewhat agree with them, but there are a few observations I'd like to make: - longevity and consistency depend a lot on the era in which boxers competed. My point being that is it a lot easier to have those and dominate in certain eras - resume is only relevant IMO when the top guys one beats were in their prime. For example, Marciano has Louis on his resume, but for me that's not relevant at all since Louis was past his prime when Marciano beat him. Same goes for say Tunney vs Dempsey, Lewis vs Tyson, Holyfield vs Holmes, etc. And there are countless other examples - you don't factor in at all impact on the sport. This is the main reason casuals have Ali as their no. 1 guy, and they rank him above SRR, Armstrong, Pepp, Greb, Langford, SRL, Hagler, etc - when in reality all these guys are above him in terms of career. I do not think impact on the sport should be the main criteria, but I reckon it's still important and must also be taken into account
Tyson fury could once the big dosser femi is beaten. Also I have it 1. Ali 2. Holmes 3. Marciano 4. Louis 5. Holyfield
Cool list! But I don't even put Fury in the top 15 unless he beats both Wilder and Joshua. Now THAT would impress me. I think he might just be able to do that (though I'd be rooting against him the whole time. But that doesn't have to do with my not respecting Fury's obvious great talent, I just find him more often than not a boring fighter).
Wont happen Wlad made 18 consecutive title defenses and 23 over all. Ruled for over 11 years and some ppl want to leave him out of top 10 lists. Lol. Nobody touching the top 2 guys. World is too cynical. Last guy with a chance at it was Tyson. But he lost it when he went to prison. His shadow still looms large. The next big thing would have to be viewed as better than Tyson and that isn’t happening. Certainly not in America.
Going from #12 to #5 by beating Joshua is way too big a jump. Joshua isn't a fraction of that big a scalp.
It would take the passage of time, along with a long and dominant reign, an exciting fighting style, and favorable media coverage. Believe it or not, when I was teaching in the university, I had some African-American students who did not know who Muhammad Ali was. Fame truly is fleeting, and attitudes and standards change over time as well.
That would mean Fury has beaten Wlad the best fighter of his era in Germany, put on 12 stone and tried to kill himself and then beats wilder the 1st or 2nd best fighter of his era and then Joshua. Name another heavyweight who has beaten the 3 next best fighters of there respected era?
