Is Jimmy Young A Top 25 Heavyweight?

He doesn't make my top 25, but I'd have him in the top 40. He's a tricky one to assess. We have a fantastic peak in which he beat or seriously troubled nearly all the other elite heavyweights of his era, but it proved ultimately to be only a short, meteoric rise followed by a precipitous fall. If you like brief periods of outstanding performance, Young is your man. If you like longevity and longterm consistency, not so much.

Speaking of the above-mentioned criteria, I don't think this is a ridiculous position. Ellis and especially Quarry dwarf Young in terms of longevity and overall consistency. Young has a better 'best' win in Foreman than they do and did better against the likes of Ali and Norton than they did, but I don't believe that to be a be-all, end-all. To illustrate, Quarry had his first real major win in '67 over Patterson, and his last at the end of '73 over Shavers, making a span of about six years in terms of performance at an elite level. Young's first official major win was over Lyle in '75 over Lyle, the last in '77 against Foreman, amounting to only a two-year time span, which could be extended to about two-and-a-half if one believes he won the Shavers and/or Norton fight. Note, also, that Quarry destroyed Shavers in one round, while Shavers blew Young out in their first encounter and had him down and hurt early in the rematch before Young rallied. I think these fighters' relative standings are very much interchangeable depending on criteria.

 

NO! Jimmy Young was slippery but he also bored people to death..... Young had a good fight but fell short against Ali in 1976, and he has a sloppy win over an exhausted George Foreman in 1977... No real biggie.... Young was battered at the tender age of 32 against Gerry Cooney later on.... NOPE! Jimmy Young was decent, and he could pull off the upset every now and then, but he's not top 25 of all-time.... NO WAY!

MR.BILL:yikes

 

I have "Ali-Young" on tape... A clean copy, as well..... In truth, Ali did NOT look like a slob at 230 pounds... Ali held the weight pretty good, but he was thicker all around the strike zone area... At worst, Ali's timing and punches were off target, yet, Ali controlled the tempo and pressed the fight... I gave Ali the nod after 15 boring-ass rds against the defensive minded Jimmy Young...... Young showed no eagerness to take charge in that '76 sparring match....

MR.BILL

 

Russell,

Jimmy Young sucked **** in that bout..... He didn't do jack **** to Ali.... The judges got the decision right...... You don't give a survivor the title.... Ali had an off night, but he was the champ and the guy making the fight..... Jimmy Young stunk to high heaven..... It was obvious that Don King and the judges, and the world of boxing wanted nothing to do with Jimmy Young as their champion..... Nuff said....

 

**** yes - easy! Jimmy would school someone like Evander Holyfield.

If Steve Farhood can place Holyfield in his top 3 behind Joe Louis and Ali, I can have jimmy in the top 20 easy.

YOu and I both know he schooled Ali that day. Okay we both know Ali had seen better days but Ali barely touched jimmy that night. He also beat some other top ranked fighters. We're not talking Jerry Quarry, we're talking Ken Norton and George Foreman. Add to that Ron Lyle.

It would sound like fantasy if you made up a fighter and said my fighter can not only beat Muhummad Ali but Ken Norton and prime George Foreman. And in case you have any doubts that his wins are flukes, throw in two wins over top ranked Ron Lyle.

The man was an all time great at his peak.

 

Of course he beat ALi. Don't doubt Russell!

Dont let people bluff you. In case you need to, do a review and you will see. No, you are not imagining it-those actually ARE right hands Jimmy is planting on Ali's jaw.

Jimmy won this fight hand down. Why do you think both Cosell and Norton sound so nervous?? They dont want to give themselves away because they know that Ali, the biggest name in the sport of boxing is losing to the average looking journeyman type, dull and without power Jimmy Young.

Ali met his match that day but that's boxing

 

the '76 -'78 Jimmy Young would NOT school the 1990 thru 1996 Holyfield.... NO WAY! Prime-time Holy was NOT a slow or stationary target, either.... Holy beats Young to a pulp over 12 rds..... Young might last the distance, but Holy clearly out-works Young for the nod....... AND! From earlier on, Tim Witherspoon was VERY GOOD when he was motivated and focused.... if a determined Spoon ever caught Young flush, it would be lights out....

MR.BILL

EXTRA:

Earnie Shavers was a great puncher with a stocky build, but his boxing skills were weak and his chin and stamina were suspect.... Earnie Shavers was very dangerous early on, but after 5 rds, Shavers was also looking for the showers and hotel room....

 

I never cared for Jimmy Young or Chris Byrd..... Too slappy; no punch... Too boring....