Rank These Heavyweight Champs (in terms of Greatness)

#1 Sharkey. If not for Dempsey's low blow / hook to the jaw combination, he likely beats him.
#2 Ruiz. I can't stand him, but he did win his share of big matches.
#3 Hart. Too bad there is no film on him. I suspect he was a high effort fans type of fighter.
#4 Spinks, not that he was any good, but #5 Stiverene was worse.

 

All fair observations, but it is a complicated career to look at.

When you start to look into the context, you start to think, how the hell did this guy not become a great?

 

A glance at Choynski's resume shows he was on the down hill slope when Hart got him,you know as much as I about the circumstances of the Johnson v Hart bout.
Ruiz has some wins whether they are comparable to Hart beating a still a little short of his prime Johnson is open to debate and personal interpretation.

 

The DSQ win against Wills really shouldn't be devalued Wills fouled out because he was getting beat up.
Sharkey also beat George Godfrey ranked no6, as Wills and Tunney didn't want anything to do with him, that should count for something . Sharkey was ko'd by Dempsey,Louis,Carnera *[ If you accept it was kosher,] and Rojas in his 10th fight.
Sharkey has wins over
Wills
Godfrey
Loughran
Renault
Stribling
Schmeling
Carnera
That puts him at no 1 for me.

 

Sharkey is very underrated imo. His much claimed inconsistency is not borne out by the facts, even though he had some sub-par performances but that was to be expected considering the schedule he kept in his prime and the quality of his opposition. From the Gorman fight in 1925 until the Carnera loss in 1933 his record is outstanding. He lost just three times, to Risko(a split decision) Dempsey and Schmeling by disqualification when he was giving Max a boxing lesson. He beat Godfrey, Wills, McTigue, Loughran, Stribling, Schmeling, Carnera, Maloney, Risko, Scott, Gorman, drew with Walker and Heeney. A total of 28 fights, the majority against quality opposition and only three defeats, two avenged. On top of that, he is quality on film, could box, punch, good at long, mid and close range.

 

1) Ruiz - competitive and sometimes victorious over many big names of his time.

2) Sharkey - possibly screwed versus Dempsey and others. Tough guy.

3) Spinks - lots of natural talent. Would beat Hart head to head most of the time.

4) Hart - too mysterious to rate. Victory over inconsistent Johnson probably made too much of.

5) Stiverne - Chris Arreola? So what ? Not even in the conversation.

 

You've got it right here...no sense in replicating you.