Heavyweight top 10 based on 1 single fight

IMO based on this criteria, the number one is Joe Frazier's victory over Muhammad Ali.

 

You could change the thread title to: Greatest wins in Heavyweight history.

 

Based on 1 single fight & not using the same winning fighter twice....

1. Muhammad Ali W15 Ernie Terrell
2. Mike Tyson KO1 Michael Spinks
3. Joe Louis KO1 Max Schmelling
4. Joe Frazier W15 Muhammad Ali
5. George Foreman TKO2 Joe Frazier
6. Sonny Liston TKO2 Cleveland Williams II
7. Lennox Lewis KO1 Andrew Golota
8. Jack Dempsey TKO3 Jess Willard
9. Riddick Bowe W12 Evander Holyfield I
10. Evander Holyfield W12 Riddick Bowe II


Ps. I only used quality fighters, so no Douglas + I dont think the Buster that beat Tyson would have beat any of these winners on these nights personally.

:good

 

Interesting paradox here if we ignore how good these fighters ACTUALLY were and just rate according to a single victory:

If we rate fighters on a single fight, we'll have Buster Douglas at #1 for beating Tyson. But if Buster Douglas is #1, then wouldn't Holyfield's victory over him make him #2? After all, we're only allowed to use one fight each. Ultimately, freakish "peak" performances would push Tyson out of the top 10...thereby invalidating Buster's ranking.

On second thought, this thread is an interesting commentary on the circularity of rating "great" fighters. :think

 

Yeah, but I think people expose that problem even more clearly when they say things like "Ali must be rated number 1 because he beat three genuine all-time top 10 guys" ....... ? ...... (and then they consolidate thatr circular logic with "Frazier's top 10 because he beat Ali !" and "What Foreman did to Frazier puts him right up there!") ....

Anyway, no one's mentioned Max Schmeling KO12 Joe Louis. Massive massive win at the time because Louis was already considered a great and invincible fighter. And with what Joe Louis did afterward the magnitude of that win has increased massively.

 

I consider Schmeling's win over Louis to be the single greatest heavyweight win in history.

 

Good list, but Holyfield's first victory over Tyson should be number 10 instead of Spinks-Ali. Leon Spink's victory over Ali doesn't belong to that list.

Sure, Ali was a a legend and the GOAT, but by 1978 he was an old, washed out, tired, sick guy. Defeating him was not big deal in my book.

IMO Leon was just a regular fighter who got a lucky shot. His victory over Ali is not in the same level than, for example, Buster Douglas who defeated a Tyson that was not in top condition, but was still a young and dangerous fighter.

 

Why is Joe Frazier not #1 with the win over Ali? Tyson's win over Spinks is B+ at best, Spinks was a great 175 and only an above average heavy. And Leon ****ing Spinks? Are you serious? The only surprise was that Ali won the rematch in the condition he was in.

 

Yes, but holding a win over a green #1 heavyweight of all time--and a DECISIVE win at that, involving a sustained beating--is better than anything listed above. Douglas/Tyson and Foreman/Ali are close, though.

 

I wish more people would do a breakdown of a fighter's abilities, not only based on who beat who,but on the skills they showed between the ropes.

 

Ali-Foreman was the best heavyweight win for me.