Not to dis Corbett but I see him running around the ring from first bell, to no practical end - Louis just watches and tracks him - and then with a single shot or two - it’s lights out. I actually see this happening in a round or two.
You can have Jackson but John L was in a far more decrepit state than Corbett ever was in his whole life.
To advertise a superior version of Corbett you called up his fight vs John L - a problematic example given how far gone John L was - which is why I isolated that very example.
"Corbett is one of the best defensive heavyweights ever, " This is based on what? Boxing was a rapidly evolving discipline and whilst an important figure in the history of that development it was a different beast not long after. How many rounds, rules, styles, etc? Louis was far too able, technical and experienced. Probably a very, very early knockout. It would not be competitive at all. Why don't you say what you think would have happened?
Yeah, that's a long time between drinks. Drinks meaning fights. As to literal drinking, John L was still well active.
Corbett's claim to fame was beating an inactive and grossly overweight John L Sullivan. If the MW OG scientific puncher Fitzsimmons had his way with him, the much bigger and even more technical and crafty Louis would do one better and end it considerably earlier
Joe Louis wins very easily in a one-sided beating, Joe Louis was ahead of his time, even then he was technically similar to more modern fighters...
In no chronological order, I would say Miller, Choynski, McCaffrey, Sullivan, and Mitchell. Someone who knows more about it than me may see it differently. I am assuming Kilrain was preoccupied with other problems, possibly badly out of shape, and the rule set was weird, and McCoy may have taken a dive, so I am not counting those.