Disagree, Louis was in prime form, he was the best Heavyweight in the world and he should of been HW champion already and was in his absolute peak physical form at 22 years old. 22 years old might seem young today but this was the great depression 1930's, life was hard and by the time you're 30 you're already viewed as an old man which many people thought about Schmeling who was 30 in their fight in Yankee Stadium. I think this win gets extremely underrated due to Hitler and Nazi Germany using it as an example of German superiority. Many people think Louis was inexperienced due to Schmeling finding a flaw in his defense but Louis had already easily knocked out 2 ex HW champions in Max Baer and Carnera, with Baer having knocked out a younger version of Schmeling 2 years earlier. No one else in the world would have come close to beating Louis at the time, he was the Golden Unicorn, looked at as a God of pugilism. Tyson unlike Louis is a fragile minded person. He's a HW who was created by Cuz while maintaining form under Rooney. Once he lost Rooney he was surrounded by yes men, doing drugs and tricking prostitutes, he clearly wasn't the same type of fighter and it was only a matter of time until someone popped that bubble.
Yeah I’m sure Mike was a virgin before he went to Japan lol. How do we know Joe didn’t have a cold or problems in his personal life or something else going on when he fought Schmeling? I’m not saying he did: I’m’ saying IF he did, we wouldn’t know about it. Whereas with Tyson we did because (a) he talked about it and made excuses and (b) he was under much more media scrutiny. We know he got knocked down in sparring but if it happened to Joe we wouldn’t. Because no one would have been around the report it — they would take writers on trips to training camps like a ‘media day’ if it was a big fight where they did all their interviews but if something had happened the day before or day after, none of those writers would have known it. Can we say with any authority that Tyson wasn’t messing around the same way before he fought Carl Williams or Frank Bruno or even Spinks? No, of course we can’t.
It's well documented that Louis slacked off in training and was playing plenty of golf and with the ladies as well. His trainer actually voiced concerns prior to the match. He certainly learnt his lesson and his professionalism from then on was immaculate.
Ali over Foreman was my most pleasurable moment in boxing but the biggest victory was Joe Frazier in FOTC. At the time these two undefeated warriors were undoubtably the two best in the world and each had a case for claiming to be THE champion going into the fight.
Yeah, the circumstance surrounding the FOTC alone is one that I dont imagine can be replicated any time soon. Modern boxers have their 0's for years and are arguably even more protected than the fighters of yesteryear. Frazier and Ali fought the top competition, while the top competition was so diverse and strong and both came out with their 0's and something to prove the night of the FOTC. I just don't think the gravitas of a fight like that can ever be reproduced.
Ali will always have his detractors but his victory over Foreman is what propelled him to cultural icon. It just seemed so improbable at the time.
Disagree. It was basically his fifth big fight with more to come, and he was also popular due to the Vietnam protest.
I see it just like you (and i voted before i saw any coment or results). But i was thinking of Ali - Foreman too. Maybe i overlooked something
Foreman vs Moore is a consideration. Not top slot but a great finish with a fantastic call by Lampley. Damn I miss you HBO boxing
That's all I was going to write. I pick Ali over Foreman because of the extreme circumstances Ali had to overcome, defeating the same man who effortlessly crushed 2 of the men to beat Ali (who was past his prime). I can't think of a more amazing signature win given the context, but I can see the arguments made for the others.
The best result in heavyweight history, might not even be a win. Mickey Walker held the lineal title at welterweight and middleweight. He held lineal heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey to a draw, at the absolute peak of his relevance, and most ringsiders thought that Walker should have got the decision. Who else did anything like that? Don't listen to people who say that Sharkey was one of the weakest lineal heavyweight champions. The worst that you could argue, is the upper end of the middle of the pack. This was a unique result!
Foreman AND Liston were seen as unbeatable going into their fights against Ali. In fact most actually feared for Ali's safety. But at least Ali showed great ability that probably was overlooked because of his mouth, and personality. Schmeling was never thought of as having great ability, and was thought of as only a tune up for Louis...... But he saw "something ". At the end of the 1st fight he proved to be right. So yeah I'll agree Schmeling ko'ing Louis is probably the best win in heavyweight history.
