Who is the most underrated heavyweight in history and why

80% of me agrees that a guy who beat Byrd and Tua--two of of the guys I picked--could have been a legend.

20% of me thinks there is something odd about the fact that he picked the two most diminutive guys in the division and turned down Grant. Does his style require a degree of bullying?

I guess we will never know.

 

Ezzard Charles, Larry Holmes, Chris Byrd, Wladimir Klitschko.

 

I couldn't agree more, if we're talking underrated heavyweight champions definitely Frazier and I'll add Larry Holmes. Every man and his dog will tell you that Ali is the greatest but the same casual fans hardly know who Smoking Joe was. Holmes is shockingly underrated but I guess people remember the Ali debacle and hold it against him and other than Ali, they probably don't see a marquee name on his resume. His personality could put you to sleep as well. Vitali is also massively underrated. The marquee name again is missing for him.

 

I'm a hardcore pro Usyk fan but that's my conundrum. I don't rate Fury as highly as the majority and I don't rate Joshua that highly, in historical terms. So I'd be hypocritical if I had Usyk as the greatest heavyweight of all time.
However, Usyk is a different beast, victory after victory in hostile territory on the road at cruiserweight and the manner of his wins at heavyweight, he really has dug deep and reversed the course of fights. I couldn't rule him out against the greats of the past.

 

I agree
I rate usyk highly, but just can't have him goat with his resume. It's simply not stacked enough to be compared with Ali etc

 

I believe you're uncomfortable seeing a boxer from the East overwhelming Western fighters, particularly British ones, and that's why you're trying to diminish Usyk's achievements.

 

Larry Holmes. I'm not sure whether underrated is the right word or not for him but he is definitely overshadowed. Historically, very unlucky to have fought in a period hinged between the two greatest eras in HW boxing and two hugely influential boxing figures in Ali and Tyson.

Other than that, Ken Norton. He blew hot and cold and has some damaging losses but for a brief moment in time he was the absolute best and seems to be remembered as an after thought.

 

Totally and I've said that from his day dot at heavyweight. By the time he retires, his heavyweight wins will be Chaz Witherspoon, Chisora, Joshua, Fury, Dubois and maybe Parker if he remains undefeated. The undefeated thing will be the key in how he's remembered historically.
As you say though, the champions of the past have such a body of work at heavyweight. Fury, for me, was just never that good, compared to the greats of the past, Joshua is good but let's face it, his chin is made of china. Dubois has some good wins but is only ever one more quit job away from being laughed at again and that's Usyk heavyweight resume basically. I take nothing away from what Usyk has done to become undisputed heavyweight champion, the first since Lewis, that means a ****ing lot.

 

He's almost been airbrushed from history. I laugh at those stupid who goes on videos on youtube. His name's never there. Heavyweight depth of the 80's has been forgotten. The irony is, Tyson is lauded for feeding on 80's heavyweights, Holmes is forgotten.

 

I think it's fair to say among enthusiasts he is regarded among the elite. It's why I'm hesitant to say overrated, as the recognition is there...if you go looking for it. Which is the problem. He was one of the very best.

Unfortunately just so many factors go against him when it comes to his recognition. Which is ironic given the same struggles he had when he was active.

I could watch that destructive force of a left jab of his all night long if I could.

 

The flamboyance of Ali and Tyson too, seem to overshadow Larry. Let's face it, listening to Larry or watching paint dry is not an easy decision to make.

 

I was gonna mention his jab. The video will always be there. Larry's saving grace.

 

No, I am just not willing to rank a guy with less than a dozen top wins among goats, he isn't close
Don't care where he is from

Not diminishing his achievements. Top 50 is too high, I am in fact overrating him for only beating about 10-12 guys in his career, with only 2 likely to make the HOF. Manny Pacquiao has nearly as many HOF wins on his resume than Ysuk has ranked wins

Pacquaio isn't from the west and his record is WAYYYYY beyond usyk