Rank 'em. Any criteria you like. For me... Floyd Patterson 1 Floyd Patterson 2 Eddie Machen Zora Foley Cleveland Williams 1 Cleveland Williams 2 Henry Clark Nino Valdez Roy Harris Mike DeJohn Other Notables Summerline 1 Summerline 2 Marty Marshall Marty Marshall 2 Chuck Wepner Roger Rischer Albert Westphal Willie Besmanoff Billy Hunter Wayne Bethea
1. Patterson 1 2. Patterson 2 3. Folley 4. Machen 5. Williams 1 6. Williams 2 7. Valdez 8. Clark 9. Harris 10. DeJohn
Thanks! Tally thus far... 1. Patterson 1 2 2. Patterson 2 2 3. Folley 2 4. Machen 2 5. Williams 1 2 6. Williams 2 2 7. Valdez 2 8. Clark 2 9. Harris 2 10. DeJohn 2
@catchwtboxing just to add your list was good there's not much to disagree with honestly. Machen could be rated above Folley but he did lose to him, and Folley was ranked number 1 i believe when Liston beat him so that's why i edged Folley over Machen. Valdez was ranked number 2 just 1 year before Liston beat him and whilst Clark had a better set of recent wins. I think historically Valdez is a more notable contender so again i gave him the edge over Clark.
I could definitely see things your way. I think I put Machen over Foley because he was #1 contender for some absurd amount of time, whereas Foley had it a comparatively short amount of time, but Foley won their head to head and the argument can be made he was the better man. Valdez over Clark is good too. I looked at it as Clark was at his best whereas Valdez was having his last run, but Valdez did historically the better work.
Patterson Patterson Folley Machen Wepner Cleveland Williams Cleveland Williams Lincoln Nino Valdes Roy Harris
Patterson 1 3 Patterson 2 3 Folley 3 Machen 3 Williams 1 3 Williams 2 3 Valdez 3 Harris 3 Clark 2 DeJohn 2 Chuck Wepner 1 Amos Lincoln 1