I hope you don't find some old threads from 5 and 10 years ago with me going on a tear then!!! Never been too good for that but appreciate the sentiments Sometimes you just have to get in the mud with the pig mate. It might even have a ripple affect and lead to something productive. I dare say a couple of longer term posters getting irate with a certain somebody recently may have even caused his disappearance.
So based on fights from Jan 1 1980 to Dec 31 1989 (stated as otherwise certainly #2 becomes #1), and using over thirty years of hindsight (unlike The Ring ratings posted): 10: Tony Tubbs 9: Trevor Berbick 8: Mike Weaver 7: Pinklon Thomas 6: Evander Holyfield 5: Tony Tucker 4: Michael Spinks 3: Tim Witherspoon 2: Larry Holmes 1: Mike Tyson That was far harder than I thought, to get the bottom four right....
I had trouble ranking Tucker. Yea he was talented but based on what he did in the 80s, he beat James Broad (OK win) stopped Douglas (good win) and lost a decision vs Tyson. 35-1 over the course of the 80s but almost all of those fights were journeymen or way past it guys.
I was never particularly impressed with him. He had good movement, good jab...kind of an all arounder. But nothing that really stood out for me, besides the fact that he didn't look terrible going the distance with prime Iron Mike. thought guys like Thomas had way more potential, but alas Pinklon went the way of too-many-fights-he-shouldn't-have-lost. His jab was terrific, and that was one fine right hand.
Hence the high rating for me, for Tucker. But for Tyson, he did beat everything put in front of him in the 80s. Generally the usual victims, but also a couple of good wins. The only defeat was prime Tyson, and he did so in a fairly competitive fight. So he gets the rating, not so much on potential, but on not making the mistakes of more talented others.
All right, here’s my entirely subjective list. Tyson and Holmes are obviously top-tier. Witherspoon and Holyfield are in the next tier. Everyone else is after that. Five through the honorable mentions could be moved around without much argument from me. What makes a "top opponent" is also subjective, obviously. 1. Mike Tyson (37-0)(33) 2. Larry Holmes (16-3)(11) This one’s almost too close to call. I’m a bigger Holmes fan, but I’m going to give the edge to Tyson. Tyson suffered from the Sonny Liston syndrome of wiping out the division before he won the (lineal) title. Holmes has those three losses against him, obviously two to a guy Tyson obliterated and one to Tyson himself in a blowout. Holmes also had struggles against Tim Witherspoon and Carl Williams, the latter someone who Tyson obliterated. By my count, Tyson has wins over 13 or so top fighters, depending on how you define that. Tyson was never really challenged in the 1980s. Holmes has about 9 wins over top fighters. Holmes, during his heyday, had the heart of a lion, while Tyson never had his heart tested. Finally, I think that if the Tyson who fought Holmes went against the Holmes who fought Cooney, Tyson would still KO him sometime before the end of round 12. 3. Tim Witherspoon 29-3 (19) Wins against Renaldo Snipes, a still-prime James Tillis, Greg Page, Bonecrusher Smith, Tony Tubbs, and Frank Bruno. Losses against Holmes (great performance, though), Pinklon Thomas, and Bonecrusher Smith. 6-3 against top opponents. 4. Evander Holyfield 5-0 (5) Wins against Pinklon Thomas (on the downside), Michael Dokes, Adilson Rodriguez, and Alex Stewart. 4-0 against top opponents. 5. Pinklon Thomas 18-3-1 (14) Wins against James Tillis, Tim Witherspoon, and Mike Weaver. Losses to Trevor Berbick, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield. Draw against Gerrie Coetzee. 3-3-1 against top opponents. 6. Mike Weaver 13-5-1 (5) Wins against John Tate, Gerrie Coetzee, James Tillis, and Carl Williams. Losses to Michael Dokes, Pinklon Thomas, Razor Ruddock, and Bonecrusher Smith. Draw against Michael Dokes. 4-5-1 against top opponents. Add a win and a loss if you count Johnny DuPlooey. I don’t. 7. Trevor Berbick 22-5 (14) Wins against John Tate, Greg Page, David Bey, and Pinklon Thomas. Losses to Larry Holmes, Renaldo Snipes, ST Gordon, Mike Tyson, and Buster Douglas. 4-5 against top competition, and I’m not sure I should count ST Gordon. 8. Michael Dokes 24-2-2 (18) Wins against Ossie Ocasio, Tex Cobb x2, John L. Gardner, and Mike Weaver. Losses to Gerrie Coetzee and Evander Holfield. Draws against Ocasio and Weaver. 5-2-2 against top opponents, and “top” isn’t really that high in Dokes’ case, save for the controversial first Weaver fight. 9. Gerrie Coetzee 8-4-1 (5) Wins against Scott LeDoux and Michael Dokes. Losses to Mike Weaver, Renaldo Snipes (controversial), Greg Page, and Frank Bruno. Draw against Pinklon Thomas. I’m surprised at the lack of quality wins on Coetzee’s record. My memory is that he was better than that. 2-4-1 against top opponents. 10. Greg Page 22-8 (15) Wins against Marty Monroe, Scott LeDoux, a still prime James Tillis, Renaldo Snipes, and Gerrie Coetzee. Losses to Trevor Berbick, Tim Witherspoon, David Bey, Tony Tubbs, Buster Douglas, and Orlin Norris. 5-6 against top opponents, plus two loses against guys he shouldn’t have lost to. Honorable Mention: Tony Tubbs (not enough top fights), Buster Douglas, Carl Williams, Bonecrusher Smith, Renaldo Snipes, Michael Spinks, and Gerry Cooney.
After Holmes, Tyson, and Witherspoon the list is so shaky. Everybody else is about equal tier. Really, Witherspoon is not on Holmes and Tyson, he just accomplished more than everybody else.
Interesting and mostly good, though they overrate Dokes terribly. Both 'Spoon and Thomas rank above him I'd say. maybe even Weaver.
Given Witherspoon's losses, I can see this. I put Michael Spinks a bit below him though...h2h I think Witherspoon would have stopped Spinks.
