Heavyweight Champs, That Are So Underrated?

I'm not exactly sure if the question is asking about champs who are underrated as fighters or champs who are underrated as champions. If it is the former, then guys mentioned like Berbick, Terrell and Ellis are most definitely underrated. If it the latter, then I would disagree. Between the three of them they have a total of four successful title defenses. They are more akin to the numerous alphabet champs of the 1980s. Essentially, short term blips on the long term radar.

Ezzard Charles is a whole other story. The Cincinnati Cobra, as @Rumsfeld likes to call him, is by no means underrated as a fighter but as a champion his reign is rarely brought up. Charles had eight successful title defenses during his time as champion but you don't hear much about any of his title fights other than the Walcott and Louis bouts. He stopped five of his challengers while decisioning Joey Maxim and the aforementioned Louis and Walcott

 

Most of the alphabet boys of the 80s heavyweight era are all but forgotten and were mostly rotten champions but very good fighters. I would throw Mike Weaver into the mix as he gave Holmes and Dokes life and death matches and was one of the few not named Larry to wrack up a few defences.

 

Good shout on Charles.

If underrated championship reigns are the criteria, then perhaps Tommy Burns deserves a shout, at least from a p4p perspective.

Whilst the average quality of Tommy's title fights are far lower than those of Charles; Marvin Hart, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, Fireman Jim Flynn & Bill Squires are respectable wins. His 13 wins in lineal HW world title fights (13-1-1 total record), is only bettered by Louis, Ali & Holmes.

 

If you just watch him, he looks spectacular against tyson.
He threw a roy jones style tripple left hook ducked under a hook by tyson and pivoted off the ropes at one point.

He was completely shot and came back without his legs and reflexes after a 2.5 year coke binge after that

 

Pinklon Thomas

Michael Spinks = Remembered more for the Tyson blow out and controversial decision over Holmes, but he's alot better H2H at Heavyweight than people think.

Jimmy Ellis

Trevor Berbick

 

Deontay Wilder.

Never understood why it matters if a guy was ahead or behind on scorecards when he took someone out.

The knockout is the most decisive ending and victory in all of sport — you can return the opening kickoff for a touchdown in football, hit the first pitch out of the park in baseball, score a goal out of the gate in soccer, dunk off the tip-off in basketball … and the game continues. You knock someone out at any point and nothing that happened before it matters … game over.

And Wilder did that a bunch.

 

that’s a terrific description of them , rotten champs because of a lack of focus and drive but very good fighters.

 

Dempseys now not just underrated but pretty much discounted all together. I can say the same for Johnson.

Jack Sharkey.

Joe Frazier

Pinklon Thomas. The night he beat a very good Tim Witherspoon he was a hell of a fighter. He beat a better Witherspoon than Holmes did more convincingly.

Prime Tyson. For two years , 86 - 88, he might have beaten anyone. The speed, power, strength, chin, he was off the chart. His competition is disrespected , the whole thing is absurd. He was a shooting star but at his best, insane.

 

Ezzard Charles #1 answer.

Major great with wins against Louis, Walcott, Moore#2, Lesnevich, Bivins, Ray, Layne, Maxim, Oma, Satterfield, Baksi, Brion, Reynolds...and yet he is visually forgotten.

 

Very good calls there.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

love Charles as an all time P4P great but his title opposition was very weak. Walcott aside , Maxim, Lesnavoch, Valentino, Beashore, Baroness and Oma? That’s tied w Patterson for horrendous competition when based on an all time scale. Carnera could have beaten that lineup.

 

I always thought Berbick had some undiagnosed condition possibly paranoid schizophrenia that went untreated for years. Of course the worse his career and life got worse it got.

 

Good call.

Kind of like Vitali----any guy not utilizing traditional boxing skills is or was considered about 7 kinds of poor. But if you closely watch what they are doing in there, a method to their madness clearly exists. And what matters anyway is effectiveness. And I sure like Wilder's effectiveness.

 

That is a possibility.. my uncle has it and its no picnic (but my uncle was never accused of ****)....