1980's Heavyweights Rank 1 to 5

If disregarding everything that happened past 1989 and to a lesser degree pre 1980 :


James Smith
Tony Tucker
Abdul Gerardo Aziz
Pinklon Thomas
Tim Witherspoon



James Smith
No one in history faced and beat such a list of punchers:
Tim Witherspoon, David Bey, Frank Bruno, Mike Weaver.
Over his entire career the list is even longer.
He also lasted 12 with prime Abdul Aziz.
And then, also fought Tubbs, Holmes, Witherspoon (over the distance) , Jose Ribalta, Jesse Fegusson.
I never see any appreciation to the depth of his record.


Tony Tucker
lasted 12 against prime Abdul Aziz, without going down and without cheating (anyway I believe everything is legal against a serial criminal cheater).
Stopped James Douglas, a very dangerous contender.
outpointed James Broad



Abdul Aziz
cheating heavily (elbows, wrist locks, armlocks, headbutts, punching during brakes and after the bells, initiating lots of clinches ) in most of his important fights, it must be taken as a factor that takes away a lot from the value of his wins.
It contributed to his longevity, intimidation factor, marketability and of course to the bottom line for the dummies each time.



Pinklon Thomas
Very durable fighter except against Tyson, but I doubt if the alternative here (Witherspoon) would have done any better
Tubbs did worse, and Thomas outdid Tyson vs Tillis

Tim Witherspoon
Is usually remembered for winning by MDs and SDs, but also stopped
James Broad, James Tillis, Mark Wills*2
and his list of MD and SD wins is impressive and long in itself.

edit: since I have seen lists longer than 5 items here and am usually generous with my lists here I go :

James Smith
Tony Tucker
Abdul Aziz
Pinklon Thomas
Tim Witherspoon


James Douglas
Mitchel Green
Lawrence Holmes
Frank Bruno
Trevor Berbick

Tyrell Biggs
David Bey
Renaldo Snipes
Michael Spinks
Carl Williams


Mark Wills
Tony Tubbs
Greg Page
James Tillis
Dee Collier


Mike Williams
Mike White
Gerrie Coetzee
Michael Dokes
James Tillis

 

Are we supposed to be impressed that you care about tyson's Islamic name?

 

Holmes did some of his best work in the '70's, but how is he not #2 behind Tyson? The HW champion for years, # & quality of victories, & deserved the 2nd Spinks fight.

 

Holmes
Tyson
Witherspoon
Thomas
Dokes

 

1. Pinklon Thomas
2. Tim Witherspoon
3. Larry Holmes
4. Mike Tyson
5. Mike Weaver

 

Tyson smashed two of those guys and would of smashed the other two easier.

 

They were past their best.

 

Larry at his best was in the late 70's . No version of Weaver beats Tyson.

Larry was blown out so one sided in 88 , he leaves it leaves little doubt he could win when he was at his best. Wrong style for Mike

 

While I rank Larry Holmes higher than Mike Tyson all time, I have Tyson at #1 in the 80's and Holmes at #2. My reasoning stems from the fact that Tyson unified the titles, became the youngest heavyweight champ of all time, had some more decisive performances and left the decade unbeaten. Holmes had a great run as champ, but did nothing of significant note in the 80's, got some iffy decision wins and was even stripped of a title at one point for failure to face a mandatory.. My top five goes as follows.

1. Mike Tyson
2. Larry Holmes
3. Tim Witherspoon
4. Mike Weaver
5. Trevor Berbick

*NOTE* - While Michael Spinks and Evander Holyfield deserve some mention, I can't give them a high rating due to their low level participation in the division during this time frame.

 

Holmes
Tyson
Witherspoon
Tucker
Thomas

 

Tony Tucker shouldn't be in the top five for the 80's. He was a good fighter, but that record is heavily padded. James Douglas was the only man worth anything whom he beat for the decade, and that win only went up in stock value due to Douglas's eventual win over Tyson years later. Had Tyson been prepared and dealt with Douglas accordingly, Tucker would have been remembered as a high-end version of Brian Nielson.

 

Tucker beat Jimmy Young, James Broad ( USA super heavy at the Olympics ), Mike Evans, and Dave Jaco. In the early 90's he beat McCall, and Norris, but his is an 80's thread. Maybe your right.

 

I think Tucker was a better fighter than his resume reflects. He threw good combinations, was fit in his younger years and could certainly take a punch. His credentials suffer however, especially during the 80's. Jimmy Young's better days were long behind him by the time he met Tucker in 1984. James Broad is more commonly remembered for having a good amateur career and not so much for anything he did in the pros. He had already been sparked badly by Witherspoon when Tucker decisioned him. Again, Tony was decent but his resume is very shallow.