ESPN Classic top 10 heavyweights

I generally agree with observations made about Bert Sugar in that he was not a historian and more show than anything, but he was actually a decent writer with some unique and funny descriptions, like "he was like a fly in coffee, attracting comment and mention but hardly enjoying it"
Or "he was a good fighter in the same way a myth is a female moth."
I do miss his big fight coverage and the way he constantly pointed out the AMA's hypocrisy in his editorials.

 

Foremans comeback to win the true championship trumps anything that Frazier accomplished unfortunately. Really one of the greatest accomplishments in all of sports. He should be ranked higher all time.

 

Generally Fraziers title reign starts with his beating Ellis.

 

A 1927 Jack Dempsey one of the greatest heavyweights who ever lived? :?

 

So, he's right up there with Leon Spinks.

 

Leon did not have all time boxing skills last time I checked. Sorry you believe he did.

 

The question is what did Tunney do in the heavyweight class. Beating an inactive (and in hindsight not as good as he was made out to be) Dempsey, an old Gibbons and Heeney doesn't qualify as Top Ten for me.

He is of course one of the very best light heavies to ever live but that is not relevant to this conversation.

 

He beat one of Boxings ATG hwt champions in Dempsey. Stating Dempsey "was not as great as he was made out to be" is an ignorant statement. Tunney was technically greater than most any other hwt champion. Of course you need to know what you are looking at technically to understand this. At 190 pounds in 1926 and probably well over 200 in 2015 he is indeed a heavyweight. He won the hwt championship not the lt hwt championship. Go play in your amateur garden Seamus. I won't play your intellectually pathetic games. I see through you like a window.

 

It is ignorant to imagine a guy who cut a swathe through a lot of hasbeens on his way to the title (and distinctly avoiding fighters of color after getting a spanking from Lester Johnson), and who picked retreads and trumped up pretenders as his title defenses (most peculiarly previous victims of Harry Greb), and who lollygagged about for the better part of 3 years doing nothing to earn the title he held might... just might "not be as great as he was made out to be".

Now, if you have anything besides tired old mythology and the regurgitations of hacks and ballyhoo artists to actually refute any of what is stated above, please present it. If you are going to tell me story I have heard a thousand times before and which rings hollow given those who are on (and not on) Dempsey's record, then don't bother.

 

I refuse to educate the ignorant. Especially ignorant game players. Just understand your point of view would be beaten down easily by any noted historian. Pure rubbish

 

He had 6 title defenses and one point was considered the best HW of All-Time.

Without a doubt top 10.

Charles shouldn't be there. Tunney either.