How do YOU rank the Heavyweights?

It should certainly be a important factor in evaluation, and it is something I consider. Lewis, for example, is ridiculously overrated by many boxing fans. Because of his utter destruction by two very ordinary journeymen, I cannot see how he could be rated anything better than borderline top ten at highest, and certainly not higher than Holyfield. Tyson also ranks high because even when he lost, he was able to hang in there, he didn't get blown out.

I rank Dempsey and Marciano, in particular, quite highly in large part because of the qualities you are noting.

My list:

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Dempsey
4. Foreman
5. Holmes
6. Marciano
7. Holyfield
8. Johnson
9. Liston
10. Frazier
11. Tyson
12. Jeffries
13. Lewis
14. Charles
15. Walcott
16. W. Klitschko
17. Bowe
18. Schmeling
19. Corbett
20. Baer

 

Tyson did against Ruddock. Liston did against Williams.

 

1. Ali
2. Liston
3. Louis
4. Holmes
5. Foreman
6. Frazier
7. Dempsey
8: Marciano
9: Johnson
10: Tyson.

 

delete

 

Based on legacy:


Doink
Ultimate Warrior
Big Van Vader
Giant Gonzalez
Yokuzuna
Lex Lugar
Rowdy Rowdy Piper
Hulk Hogan
Razor Ramon
The Undertaker


Honorable mentions:

I.R.S. ,,,,,,,,, Mr. Perfect ,,,,,,,,,,,, Bastion Booger ,,,,,,,,,,, Bret Hart ,,,,,,,,,,, Shawn Michaels ,,,,,,,,,,,,, Bob Backlund

 

Your post Top 10 list is pretty bad.

Lewis and Wlad are 13th & 16th? 2 of the longer reigning champs are not in the top 10, but you have Jeffries who fought a whole 20 times at # 12?

 

Please explain why you have Liston at #2.

 

1. Louis
2. Ali
3. Marciano
4. Dempsey
5. Lewis
6. Foreman
7. Frazier
8. Walcott
9. Evander
10.Tyson
11. Holmes
12.Johnson-Jeffries
13. Charles
14.Liston
15.Tunney

 

I rank them as follows:

Overall career accomplishments 25-30%

How I think they would do H2H 20-25%

Title defenses 15-20%

Quality of competition 15-30%

Subjective bias 10%


1. Louis
2. Ali
3. Holmes
4. Lewis
5. Foreman
6. Liston
7. Dempsey
8. Marciano
9. Holyfield
10 Tyson
11 Wlad K
12 Frazier

Unlike Zak I give Lewis some slack, because I think it's better not to go down in the first place than to go down and not get up. So but for two punches, he may very well have had an undefeated career, and he avenged both losses so he gets ranked pretty high in my book, especially give the quality of comp he faced.

H2H would probably be something like this

Ali
Lewis
Tyson
Holmes
Foreman
Liston
Louis
Wlad
Bowe
Dempsey

 

1- Muhammad Ali
2- Joe Louis
3- Jack Dempsey
4- Jack Johnson
5- Gene Tunney
6- Sam Langford
7- Rocky Marciano
8- Ezzard Charles and Vitali Klitschko
9- George Foreman
10- Joe Frazier

 

Conversely one could rate fighters on beating guys who they lost to. That lets Lewis in far higher than both Holyfield, who didn't beat either Lewis, or come out on top in his trilogy with Bowe, and Tyson who never rematched anyone he lost to.

 

original thread.