Looking for a consensus HW top100!

I still don´t agree with some picks like Bowe over Schmeling or Tyson in the Top10 but consensus does not mean everybody agrees on everything. Overall it´s okay :good

 

I never thought Chris Byrd was much of a fighter, I'm very surprised when I see people rate him in the top 30 heavyweights of all-time.

Wladimir Klitschko absolutely battered him twice, and Ibeaubuchi beat him up, crushed him in 5 rounds. I thought he got a gift against Fres Oquendo, and the win over Golota was disputable too. He got a bit lucky aginst Vitali klitschko, let's be honest.

Other than that, he outboxed Tua (his best win by far) and an ancient Holyfield (which somehow warranted him a "world title").
Byrd held a couple of paper titles, was quite inactive with the IBF title, and generally defended against second-rate also-rans - fres O, J.mccline, TOSWilliamson (who Joe Mesi had obliterated), and looked ordinary often.

I'm real trying to see what was impressive about Byrd to put him as high as the top 30, but I cant see it.

As a boxer, even Tony Tubbs impressed me more. And I dont think Tubbs was a legend by any means.

 

Byrd and Ruiz are the best hws between Lewis and Wlad, you could even make an argument that either one is the best hw after 2000 before Lewis and only behind Wlad. that should count for something.

 

Hm, I think if Sylvester can take advantage of Sturms mistake of standing stationary in his highguard instead of using his feet when under pressure he wins. If not Sturm wins. It will be a competative and entertaining fight. I take some risk and say: Sylvester TKO9 Sturm. But I may be biased because I´m a fan of Sylvester and dislike the arrogant Sturm.

Schmeling has one 1st round TKO loss at his record against Gipsy Daniels shortly before he went from lhw to hw indicating that he had some weight problems then. He has another second round and a 4th round loss to lesser fighters early in his career. But other than that he only lost to Joe Louis early. Do you really hold early career losses against him - especially when they happened at lhw and not hw what we are talking here?
All accounts I read said that Schmeling was the better fighter than Sharkey in their second fight. Even Gunboat Smith, the ref ot that fight, admitted that in "In this corner".
The Baer fight was also highly competative and about even before the last round. It also should be mentioned that most people think that this was Baer in his career best performance.
Schmeling lost to Hamas but beat him shortly after rather easily.
Schmeling also beat Walker, Young Stribling and Neusel other than the guys you already mentioned.
Schmeling has a much deeper resume than Bowe. Take Schmeling´s and Bowe´s Top10 wins and Schmeling comes out on top rather easily imo.

 

And Tubb's accomplished more then Byrd did... how?

Answer - He Didn't.

A guy who turned pro at super middle weight going to a draw with a a hot Andrew Golota is nothing to be ashamed of.

Not to mention Byrd beat a Tua that weighed 12 less pounds then he did in his losing effort against Lennox Lewis. A motivated and in-shape Tua.

Also, Byrd beat Evander a year before Toney got to him. Another solid win for Byrd.

Call him lucky or whatever you'd like to against Vitali, but he went 9 rounds with a guy who just wiped his ass with the second best heavyweight in the world over the course of the same amount of rounds at the age of nearly 40.

Byrd made said fighter miss so damned badly he hurt himself. Yeah, empty victory for Byrd, of course.

Byrd being a top 30 heavyweight isn't absurd in the least.

 

I dont think Byrd was any more "the best" than several other Hws of the time.
I've yet to see a convincing argument explaining what he did to get such acclaim.

 

Look at his resume and compare at to the others of this era and you see the light.

 

But you have to agree that Byrd must be ranked higher than Tua. Byrd clearly outpointed Tua, and Tua never held world title (unlike Byrd, who was WBO and IBF world champion).

 

I know who he fought in the era.

I thought he was gifted that win over Fres Oquendo in 2003, and I didn't think Oquendo was a top 10 contender at the time.

I didn't have DeVaryl Williamson in my top 10 contenders when they fought either.

McCline was borderline, (most people wouldn't have had him in the top 10) and most people thought him a lazy and mediocre heavyweight.

Byrd is given a lot of credit for fighting big heavyweights but it's not just me who noted that the ones he beat usually weren't the guys rated highest in the world. Byrd was always given allowances because he was naturally smaller and couldn't punch, and the reckoning is way over-compensation when he ends up being rated among the 30 best heavyweights ever.

Yes, he beat Tua. Yes, he beat an ancient (40 year old, awful-looking)Holyfield. And, yes, he beat Vitali back in '99.
The Tua win was the most impressive. But I daresay many guys from the past might have had the wits to outbox Tua. But I give him credit for last 12 rounds against such a puncher.

But he only drew with Golota. Wladimir Klitschko thrashed him twice, and Ibeaubuchi smashed him in 5 rounds.

 

I dont put much stock in those world titles, but, yes, Byrd deserves over Tua.
i thought Tua was outboxed by Rahman too, but then again he did better against Ike than Byrd did, and his win over Oquendo was far more legit IMO.

 

Good one Chris. He was actually the Number One contender with one of the organisations for a short period (around 1961) too. He had a few good wins- Folley, Mildenberger. He was certainly our best of the late 50s to early 70s.


I think my most confusing one now would be McCall's high placing. Great thread nonetheless.

 

The highlighted part happened. Sturm fought his best fight in years. Sylvester was also good but Sturm´s superior speed, skill and jab made the difference - I even cheered a bit for him in the last rounds. Good fight, look forward to a rematch
card:
118-110
118-110
119-109

On a sidenote, I f*cking hate Ploog - the commentator of the fight - he was so biased in his commentary for Sturm. He never even mentioned a good scene of Sylvester and hyped everything sturm did. Very very annoying.

 

So Tua slaughters Ruiz and a past prime Moorer in 1... But Byrd makes Tua look idiotic and hurts him to the body even but gets no credit, where as those two wins of Tua's are vaunted and cheered?

 

I know you cant be directing that at me, since I never vaunted or cheered those two wins.
I'd just like to re-iterate I give Byrd credit for beating Tua - a lot of credit, Tua's a dangerous guy - and would rank Byrd above Tua.

When it comes to the 30 greatest heavyweights of all-time, neither of them is close. In my opinion.