Here are my personal ratings for the decade 1910-1919, only dealing with what fighters did in that decade. Tough one after about number 20 as so many fighters fought each other so often , and with mixed results and also the lack of cross-colour bouts. 1.Langford 2.Jeanette 3.Wills 4.Johnson 5.McVea 6.Dempsey 7.Willard 8.Fulton 9.L.McCarty 10.Kaufman 11.Jim Flynn 12.Norfolk 13.Gibbons 14.Miske 15.Greb 16.Thompson 17.Carpentier 18.Clarke 19.Dillon 20.Levinsky 21.Coffey 22.Carl Morris 23.Gunboat Smith 24.Jim Johnson 25.Palzer 26.Ross 27. Thompson 28.Weinert 29.Brennan 30.Meehan 31.Moran 32.Madden 33.Pelkey 34.Dan Flynn 35.Cowler 36.Wells 37.McMahon 38.Sullivan 39.Clay Turner 40.Rodel 41.Wuest 42.Curran 43.Geyer 44.Miller 45.Anderson 46.T.McCarty 47.Bell 48.Fritts 49.Kearns 50.Burns
Performances within the decade only and against heavyweights or fighters that performed regularly at the weight class. I might think Johnson or Dempsey was the top fighter in the decade but feel that his record doesn't prove my opinion. All still a bit subjective but intelligent criticism more than welcome.
I think the big miscalculation I see here is the reality that 1915-1919 was on a different level then 1910-1914 and you're kinda treating them the same. The 1910s was like the 1980s where the 2nd half was much much better then the first half.
Well, here's the top 20, Kaufman is obviously from the first half, Johnson, Flynn, Dillon and Luther McCarty are the only ones who did their best work early in the decade 1.Langford 2.Jeanette 3.Wills 4.Johnson 5.McVea 6.Dempsey 7.Willard 8.Fulton 9.L.McCarty 10.Kaufman 11.Jim Flynn 12.Norfolk 13.Gibbons 14.Miske 15.Greb 16.Thompson 17.Carpentier 18.Clarke 19.Dillon 20.Levinsky
How does Gibbons get so high? By 1919 he only a had a handful of heavyweight fights and most of those were against fighters that like him were either not really heavyweights or were inconsequential in the division.
For sure Tommy was not really a heavyweight but neither were opponents that he performed well against, Levinsky, Miske or Greb but they all performed well up against real heavyweights. Good point on Gibbons, though, his resumee against actual heavyweight is slim to none. I'll need to revise his position.