Lionel Butler was top 10 in Lewis' era. A fat crack smoking bum who gassed in 5 rounds. He made Galento seem like a fitness fanatic.
I'm fairly certain most of those who legitimately beat Baer could beat Phil Jackson, who was also top 10 in the early 90s.
Butler was a dangerous powerpuncher. I've had two folks, one a champ, tell me he was the hardest puncher they ever faced in the ring. As far as skill and ringcraft, he was magnitudes better than Galento. That said, Butler garnered a blip of a ranking after this defeat of Tubbs, ending up number 10 in annual Ring Rankings for 1994. Galento was a mainstay in the top 10 for 4 years, maintaining a top 5, and even number 1 ranking during this run.
How many times was Baer stopped in one round, and how many first round KOs did Lewis have, against genuinely elite opposition.
Compete or much better? There's plenty that could compete but no heavyweight was much better IMO. Not as a fighter anyway, whether you think he'd lose to bigger guys, he'd be losing due to size, not because he's a worse fighter.
Ruddock lasted two rounds. Golotta probably had a panic attack in the ring. There isn't really any precedent on either side of the argument her.