Best five wins thread. Lineal / Ring Magazine heavyweight champions.

That would have been poor management.

 

Joe Frazier

1-----Muhammad Ali
2-----Jimmy Ellis (unified the title against a fighter who edged Patterson, and decisively defeated Bonavena and Quarry)
3-----Oscar Bonavena (I think Bonavena should have gotten the decision in their first fight, so this was a critical fight on the way up for Frazier to prove himself and remove a blemish on his record)
4-----George Chuvalo (outpointing Chuvalo was no big deal, but Frazier was the first to stop him, an impressive feat)
5-----Eddie Machen (was on a three bout comeback run, including a one-sided win over Jerry Quarry. Big win for Frazier on the way up)

Not making the cut.
Jerry Quarry--I think overrated. He is actually being picked above Norton by many on this board. About the guys I picked above him. Ellis, Chuvalo, and Machen beat him, and Bonavena did a ton better against Ali and Frazier.
Buster Mathis--other than a decision win over Chuvalo, didn't really accomplish that much.
Joe Bugner--pretty consistently lost to the better fighters.

 

Frazier:

1. Muhammad Ali
2. Oscar Bonavena
3. Jerry Quarry
4. Jimmy Ellis
5. Eddie Machen

HMs: Mathis, Bugner, Chuvalo

One of the best resumes ever, clearly among top ones to this point (besides Ali and Louis who are untouchable).

 

Ali
Ellis
Quarry
Bonavena
Machen

 

Frazier

Ali
Ellis
Quarry
Bonavena
Machen

5th slot was difficult as Machen had best career but was in steep decline (aside from a win over Quarry) still based on entire career he edges out Mathis and Bugner

 

Frazier

1. Ali
2. Ellis
3. Quarry
4. Bonavena
5. Machen

 

Might be that Frazier was thought to be a bit declined when Ali beat him. I did however put Frazier ahead of Liston, I think.

 

But were all those ranked at the time of their fights with Norton/Quarry?

 

Frazier:

Ali
Ellis
Quarry
Chuvalo
Bugner

 

Why Chuvalo and Bugner over Bonavena?

 

Joe Frazier’s 5 best wins

1 Ali - Maybe the best win in heavyweight history
2 Quarry - The first fight
3 Ellis - He and Quarry can easily be swapped
4 Bonavena - The rematch is the better win
5 Bugner - Long time contender and a tough opponent coming after the first Foreman fight

Machen and Chuvalo could be put into the 5th spot

 

Frazier has a very good resume.

Out of all the great lineal champions we have already covered on this thread, Frazier has a better resume than Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, and Marciano (IMO)

Ali obviously has a better one. Joe Louis didn't have anything like Frazier's win over Ali but Louis beat some massive hard hitting heavyweights (Max and Buddy Baer), skilled counter punchers (Schmeling, who is better than any of Fraziers wins except Ali), slick boxers (Walcott, again who is better than Ellis, Quarry or Bugner).

Overall, I would say Louis has a better resume than Frazier even though Smokin Joe's best win is better.

However, Smoke's resume is better than any past lineal champs except Ali and Louis and slightly ahead of Liston and Rocky.

 

Close, but I think those wins were a bit more decisive.

 

Quarry may have lost a few but he has wins over Lyle, Shavers, and Patterson as well as Mathis. His overall resume is greater than Ellis or Chuvalo