Based Soley On Resume Who Ranks Higher Holyfield Or Corbett?

Mac, you know the answer.

Holy has 8 wins over 7 different HW lineal champions. I'll name them.

Douglas, Foreman, Holmes, Bowe, Tyson (twice), Moorer, Rahman.

Add to that list 15+ wins over cruiseweight world champions, HW beltholders, and TOP-10 HWs.

Then compare that list to Corbett.

But then again, no one (and you know whom I mean) will change his mind here even when he faces facts

 

I take as positive a view of the resumes of Corbett's era as anybody, and I still see the case in favour of Holyfield as unequivocal

 

Holyfield

 

if you split holyfield's career into thirds, each 3rd is better than corbett's.

 

Jim Corbett has one great win, against John L.Sullivan, who was probably WAY past his best.
He also has the 61-round draw against Peter Jackson.
Those are possibly outstanding results.

 

To be fair, you should remove Qawi and DeLeon from the list, since those matches were at cruiserweight.

 

I mean...it doesn't change the fact that Holyfield has the better resume, in my opinion...But fair is fair.

 

Yes, but the cruiserweight and LH limits hadn't been established in Corbett's time, Mac. Ergo, most of them were heavyweights. De Leon and Qawi were contested in a different weight division than heavyweight.

Anyway, to nitpick further...Thomas was considered damaged goods and Botha was beyond shot when he faced an equally shot Real Deal. These wins don't really need to be included either in order to build your case.

 

Holyfield. All day.

And no one has mentioned that Corbett was crushed in 4 out of his 5 last fights against good opposition.
Beating up an old drunk in Sullivan doesn't count for me.

I bet even Errol Flynn, who played Corbett in the movies, would have beat him up.

 

The problem is that his two best results are a draw and a win over a sublimely shot champion.

That is the kind of resume that is going to keep sliding down the rankings with every passing era.

He gave bot Fitzsimons and Jeffries a boxing lesson, but they compiled stronger resumes, got better results vs. common opponents, and of course beat him.

In the final analysis Corbett probably stacks up a lot better head to head, than he does in terms of resume.