My list: Ali Louis Holmes Foreman Tyson Lewis Liston Frazier Dempsey Marciano / Holyfield Guys like Charles, Walcott, Bowe could just as easily get into the lower rungs. my reason for picking Holyfield over Bowe is total achievment. Maybe Tyson, Liston and Lewis could interchange positions too.
though my list would be a little different i dont see any problems here but was wondering how your h2h top 7 would look from dempsey on?
I'd personally put Dempsey a spot or two above Marciano. 30 something more fights, and I give him massive credit for three wins over Miske.
And sitting on the title for nearly 5 years with out defended against the number 1 contender. Miske was sick in his fight with Dempsey for the title though.
Didn't seem to impact his performance, honestly. He probably did better in that fight than he did in the previous two.
Why not? liston would crush him in under 5 rounds h2h, liston beat better punches than frazier did, and beat the better young contenders than frazier did and did so more convinsingly.
You mean his no decision draw that could have gone either way against a healthy miske and 1 knockout victory over a sick dying billy miske. 30 more fights, but far more losses including a 1 round knockout loss to a 38 year old weak punching journeyman, and a decision loss in his prime to a fat C level fighter. i saw a great documentary on TV renactnment about billy miske, interview with his grandson good stuff.
Do I really need to explain to you what happened with the Flynn fight, Q? You already know the circumstances.
While Miske was sick, I don't think it effected his performance either, as he went on to defeat solid oposition.
Since everyone is clammoring to know my top 7, here's we go... based on an irrational mix of head to head and legacy status... Louis - dangerous in any era, power, combo's, and mostly beat the best of his era emphatically. moved like a dream, hit like a battleship. Ali- hard to separate the man from the myth, but a very good to great hw boxer and even better tough guy who held on longer than logic would justify. Lewis- head to head could crush any hw ever put on this earth. lapses in judgement and focus keep him from being higher and probably earn him a lower ranking. Marciano- very high against his era, not as high head to head. a difficult guy to rank because he was only a cruiser. Gets to this position based on accomplishment WITHIN his era. Holmes- again, i have problems with his competition but his skill set was incredible. and he DID defeat some excellent fighters in excellent fashion. Tyson- rapid fire, exciting, dominant for a short while. it's the brightness of his flame not the duration that excites. Dempsey- pretty much a repeat of the above with the addition that he was a revolutionary in his attack mode. other fighters i would accept arguments for... Foreman, and on a sympathetic day Liston, and that's about it.