The Best 3 All Time Heavyweights - Primes.

MUHAMMAD ALI (1966)

JOE LOUIS (1938)

MIKE TYSON (1987)


Put those 3 guys vs each other in any order & you ARE gonna see something really special.

:thumbsup

 

Tyson
ali
louis this is based on h2h.an natural talent

 

I have it the same way. With accomplishments weighted the same as h2h it's Ali, Louis, Tyson but in a purely h2h list it's Ali, Tyson, Louis.

 

Well, my Top3 are Ali, Louis and Marciano. H2h i think Lewis edges out Ali for the number one spot and Louis coming third.

 

Tyson never beat a great HoF fighter, I don't think he would do too well against other great fighters who can stand up to him. You think Tyson would beat bigger, meaner guys like Liston or Foreman ?

1. Muhammad Ali (1966-67)

Too fast for anyone, pretty underrated power as his punches had sting and often came in rapid succession. His legendary jab and ring awarensss gave in an edge. Could also dance for more than 12 rounds if needed. His movement, lightning fast hands, his Robinson'esque footspeed, amazingly quick reflexes and something we can call his "spider sense" would confuse the opponents most of the time. Add to that, great determination, guile and toughness. He must be the greatest. :yep


2. George Foreman (1973-74)

Surprise surprise ! I know that my choice won't be liked by many people, but I feel that Foreman in his absolute prime, was able to knock out every fighter ever, except Muhammad Ali and maybe Sonny Liston. The irresistible force he showed vs Frazier, Norton and even Ali is jaw dropping. I believe that only Ali could've withstand that amount of punishment he took in The Jungle against the strong, hulking, belting beast that Foreman was. His defense and stamina are an obvious concern but most of the time, it's not a factor as he could finish the job early. A prime, focused and confident pre-Ali Foreman was effective at what he did.. chasing the opponent, towering him and laying the smackdown on him before the fatigue kicked in.


3. Joe Louis (1938-39), the best overall puncher ever at this weight, and perhaps at any weight. His punches were hard and fast and came with uncanny precision and perfect balance on the delivery. He moved in quickly and with concern. He never wasted his energy, each and every move was coldly calculated.You cannot escape his lethal charges... once there's blood in the water, there's no way out. The Schmeling rematch is the single most flawless fight we can look for. A complete shutout and utter destruction. I'm not the biggest Louis fan but he belongs here. Even his tendency to get floored and his "vulnerability" against pure finesse boxers can't make me overlook his incredible punching talent.


Tyson just missed the cut, but prime for prime, considering him "on paper" or ability wise, he must be Top 5 ever.

 

Tyson beat Spinks and Holmes both of whom are in the the HOF. Yeah, they were past their best but so was Frazier who was also tailormade for Foreman.

 

1. Joe Louis
2. Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali
3. Mike Tyson

 

1. Joseh Louis Barrows

2. Muhamad Ali

3a. Jim Jeffries

3b. Jack Johnson

3c. Jack Dempsey

4. The rest.

 

Yeah, I should've said "prime great HoF fighter in his natural weightclass"

Frazier can be tailormade for Foreman but Frazier was closer to his prime than Holmes vs Tyson.

The Ali fight just stopped what could've been a very good reign, something like 7-8 title defene and maybe more.
In that mid-60' to late 70's gap, Foreman owns them all excepted Ali and maybe Larry Holmes. He could also destroy the likes of Frazier, Norton, Quarry, Young (yeah, a prime Foreman would've done it), Lyle and Shavers, which is impressive.

Tyson got beat by the 3 best opponents he faced. An hungry and fearless Evander, a brilliant Buster Douglas and an overmatching Lewis who fought a washed-up version of Iron Mike.. Has Tyson ever showed guts to come back to win a fight ?

 

tyson accomplished alot. his 1980s title reign was one of the most dominating consistent highly decorative reigns in HW history, He arguebably accomplished more in his 4 year reign than holmes did in his 20 title defense reign.

 

It would be interesting to hear your oppinion on Lewis in this case.

 

My list is

1. Joe Louis
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Sonny Liston
with tyson a very very close 4th

 

No because baer never had a consistent 4 year window where all he did was fight the best opposition in the world and dominate everyone of them. Baer was insonsistent, he would fight great then lose to a journeyman level fighter.


Tyson from 1986-1990 mopped up 9 title defenses all against top 10 rated fighters and won all the fights cleanly and convinsingly.

baer did not beat any of the black fighters, beat only a couple top white contenders but never beat more than 2 very good fighters in a row, and suffered some emarrasing losses in there.