Coming to a Consensus on the #3 Heavyweight Champion

I voted Holmes. But Johnson, Lewis and Wlad are also in the running. And you can probably make a case for Holy, Frazier, Foreman and Tyson as well.

 

Emmanuel Steward placed Wlad at 8, Holmes at 5, Lewis at 4, Foreman at 3.

 

This thread is interesting.

We have long had a consensus on the top two, but a whole slew of guys competing to be #3.

We almost seem to be moving towards a consensus on Lewis as #3 now!

 

Two options not in the poll, who could be very effectively argued for, are Sullivan and Jeffries.

I would not feel embarrassed to make a case for either!

 

That's about it. He would have been the consensus #3 in here 10 years ago too.

 

Better than Rocky's...
Better than Dempsey's...
Better than Tyson's...
In fact it's on par with Holmes

And he did unify, multiple times. He just was never undisputed due to his brother in there.

He's got the fourth best chance on there, after Lewis, Foreman and Holmes

 

I voted Holmes. My take on his record against Lewis' is pretty simple: both guys beat a comparable level of opposition, both guys have comparable longevity as world-class Heavyweights at title level. The main difference is that Holmes during his peak or championship years avoided the kind of upsets which befell Lewis twice.