1. Ali 2. Louis 3. Holmes 4. Holyfield 5. Lewis 6. Foreman 7. Marciano 8. Tyson 9. Frazier 10. Wlad 11. Dempsey 12. Johnson 13. Liston 14. Vitali 15. Charles 16. Bowe 17. Walcott 18. Fitzsimmons 19. Norton Tyson didn't have the heart of Bowe, or any of the names above him on that list. Coming back against one-armed Razor Ruddock doesn't count, to me the most courage he ever showed was against Lewis and yes I count that as championship heart.
I like your list. Won't even disagree that Tyson had less heart than most of the guys above him. Do think the Ruddock and Douglas fights prove plenty of heart and you need heart period to get as far as he did with his height, you have to run INTO the danger. He had at least as much heart as Lewis who's height and style let him engage less and as least as much as first career foreman, who was the definition of a bully(and if you say post Zaire foreman wasn't the same then you are proving it). And I'm not saying Lewis didn't have alot of heart, he had plenty. But now we are starting to talk about something very subjective and much more difficult to prove Frazier, holyfield, Holmes, Ali had SUPERHUMAN heart
To me that's easy to agree with, my friend. Foreman had quite the heart as well, witness the Holy fight but especially the Moorer, where he was getting so beat and won anyway. Even 70s Foreman had a big heart: witness the Lyle fight. I seriously doubt many fighters would have gone on to fight (much less win) after having the crap-slapped out of them so badly.
Yea, its hard to see any other ATG could top Holyfield that night. Holyfield was in tip top shape, he took big punches from much bigger man and keep storming back... and how the fck he could even survived that 10th round will always amazed me. I believe the size difference was definetely a big factor.... but credit to Bowe, he threw 700+ punches in their first bout!
It changes often but Muhammad Ali Joe Louis Lennox Lewis Larry Holmes Wladimir Klitschko George Foreman Jack Johnson Joe Frazier Evander Holyfield Sonny Liston Mike Tyson Rocky Marciano Ezzard Charles Floyd Patterson Max Schmeling Ken Norton Riddick Bowe Jack Dempsey Jersey Joe Walcott James J Jeffries So yes he does. But he might fluctuate between 15&25
Why Foreman? Why not Morrison? Ruddock or Mercer? Hell I'd even take Moorer but Old Foreman is probably one of the most overrated fighters on this forum. In any case Foreman ducked Bowe. To answer the question. Yes. I have Bowe in my Top 20. In fact I have him at 19.
Old Foreman was good. I don’t think people really over rate him. Most understand the younger version was better but I would say most people are better at 25 then 45. I actually have Bowe border line top ten to 13 depending on the mood lol I just think the Lennox thing hurt him more then anything. By then George really had nothing to prove With many great wins under his belt.
Sorry everyone. I just can't rank Bowe that highly. He was fulfilling his great potential early on. But after his loss to Holyfield, I saw him become more of a slugger, relying less on his boxing ability.
There's a lot to dissect here, but the one thing I want to address is the statement about Tunney. How can you say he defeated every notable HW of his era when he didn't beat Sharkey, Uzcudun, Stribling, Godfrey or Wills? I respect Tunney's skill but to place him at third, above vastly more accomplished heavies makes little sense.
To be fair Liston running through the division before he became champion, and on that basis he pretty much ran through some of top heavyweights of the late 50s early 60s. Patterson was the icing on the cake. Beating Patterson againt put Liston on a level that was only replicated by George Foreman and Mike Tyson. I have Liston in my Top 15. Ahead of Bowe.
Debating your underlined statement. the following were top ten ranked when Tunney was either a ranked contender or champion. Montgomery Keely Fitzsimmons Dorval Delaney Dekuh Munn De Mave Hansen Persson Uzcudun Gorman Sharkey Wills Godfrey Rojas Firpo Campolo He fought NONE of them! Want to check how many top ten ranked heavyweights Tunney actually fought?lol
Yes. I am aware Bowe had Holyfield's number. Numbers wise he does. But so does Deontay Wilder. Neither are nearly top 10. No. I am not aware of Tunney beating all top contenders of his time. Because it didn't happen. He didn't beat Sharkey, Wills, Stribling and Godfrey I agree. Given how poor their era's were compared to others it does not make sense to place them where you did. While I disagree with that, that does not make you right. Shut up crazy goon Oh and btw. I litterally recognised everyone on the list.