The Ipswich Express Top 50 Heavyweights of All Time List

15. "Jersey" Joe Walcott

51-18-2 (32)

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Best Wins: W15 & KO7 Ezzard Charles, W10 Joe Baski, KO3 Harold Johnson, W10 x 2 Joey Maxim, KO3 & W10 Elmer Ray, W10 Jimmy Bivins.

Best Losses: KO13 Rocky Marciano, L15 Charles, KO11 & L15 Joe Louis, L10 Ray, L10 Maxim.

Jersey Joe assembled a record of 45 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw before challenging for the world title for the first time. Walcott lost early bouts against world-class competition.

He dropped a desperately close split decision to Joe Louis for the title, having Louis on the canvas in the 1st and 4th rounds. Walcott would finally earn his glory beating Ezzard Charles for the title on points and then stopping him in the following fight.

"Jersey Joe" would be infinitely higher up the list if he had kept away from Marciano as he perhaps should have. Would be a Cruiser by today's standards, after starting his career at Middle. His wins over Ezzard Charles point to the man born "Arnold Cream's" true ability.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFX0F0qUM-Q[/ame]

 

14. Ezzard Charles "The Cincinnati Cobra"

93-25-1

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Best Wins: W10 x 3 & KO4 Jimmy Bivins, W10 x 2, W12, W15 x 2 Joey Maxim, W15 x 2 Jersey Joe Walcott, W15 Joe Louis, KO9 Elmer Ray, KO8 & W10 x 2 Archie Moore, KO2 & KO6 Lloyd Marshall, KO5 Jose Basora, W10 x 2 Charley Burley, W10 Teddy Yarosz.

Good Losses: KO8 & L15 Rocky Marciano, L10 Harold Johnson, L15 & KO7 Jersey Joe Walcott, L10 Elmer Ray, L10 Jimmy Bivins, KO8 Lloyd Marshall, D10 Ken Overlin.

Recognised by many as the great Light Heavyweight of all time, "The Cincinnati Cobra" never actually held the 175lbs crown. He began his career at Middleweight, defeating Burley and Yarosz. He was unable to gain a shot at the title, moving north to Lt Heavy where he beat Hall of Famers Moore, Marshall, Maxim and Bivens.

After serving in World War II, Charles moved to Heavyweight, beating Joe Walcott for the vacant title. He then defeated Joe Louis for universal recognition. He made 8 defenses before losing it to Walcott. He ran Marciano close twice, despite being well past his best.

It should be noted that 20 of his 25 losses were after he lost his title, with 13 of those 25 when he fought on despite suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.

He had speed, agility, fast hands and excellent footwork. Charles possessed a masterful jab and was a superb combination puncher.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQGryRCbLzU[/ame]

 

Agreed, the man was phenominal.

 

13. "Iron" Mike Tyson

50-6-1 (44)

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Best Wins: TKO6 Pinklon Thomas, TKO7 Tyrell Biggs, TKO7 & UD12 Razor Ruddock, KO1 Michael Spinks, W12 Tony Tucker, TKO5 & TKO3 Frank Bruno.

Good Losses: KO by 11 Holyfield

One of the most notable fighters of all time, and often not for all the right reasons. Tyson was dominant for an extended period of time. His resume is not as glossy as some of the other legendary Heavyweights, but that is not necessarily his fault. Had frightening power, top chin and great head movement in his prime.

Tyson rose to prominence by destroying Trevor Berbick in 1986 for the WBC version, becoming the youngest belt holder at 20 years of age. He reeled off a number of crunching knock out wins, culminating in rolling the linear champion Michael Spinks inside of a round. Tyson was a student of the game, watching film of the great fighters from yesteryear with his trainer Cus D'Amato, the same man who guided Floyd Patterson to the title and Jose Torres to the Light Heavyweight crown. Tyson's trademark look of boots with no socks and a towel instead of a robe was taken from Jack Dempsey, who did the same thing during the roaring 20s.

Tyson all but cleared out the Heavyweight division, with his only challenger being the undisputed Cruiserweight champion, Evander Holyfield. Tyson signed to fight Buster Douglas in Tokyo, Japan in 1990 with the view to fighting Holyfield afterwards. It was not to be, with Douglas scoring the most stunning upset in the history of boxing, sending Tyson crashing to the canvas in 10 rounds.

Tyson regathered momentum with a pair of KOs over Alex Stewart and Carl Williams, before beating Razor Ruddock twice. For mine, these are perhaps Tyson's best victories as Ruddock was one man that nobody in the division wanted to fight. Once more a fight with Holyfield was mooted but Tyson had to pull out with a rib injury. In 1992 before the bout could be rescheduled, Tyson was convicted of ****.

Upon his release, Tyson regained the WBC and WBA titles by belting Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon respectively. In a bout nicknamed "Finally" for obvious reasons, Holyfield took Tyson's belts by way of 11th round TKO. It was the second time Tyson had been beating in a stunning upset, as Holyfield was a 25-1 underdog.

In the rematch Tyson had a mental breakdown and was disqualified by referee Mills Lane for biting Holyfield's ears. He had one more title shot against Lennox Lewis, but was crushed in 8 one sided rounds. Sadly, for a man that earned millions upon millions of dollars he appears to be in financial strife.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtUN-qk0GTc[/ame]

 

12. Charles "Sonny" Liston

50-4 (39)

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Best Wins: KO1 x 2 Floyd Patterson, W12 Eddie Machen, KO3 Zora Folley, TKO2 & TKO3 Cleveland Williams, TKO1 Roy Harris, TKO10 Chuck Wepner

Best Losses: KO by 9 Leotis Martin

Sonny Liston is a man whose life and certain aspects of his career, are shrouded in mystery. Charles Liston does not have a date of birth that can be proven, leading many to believe that he was older than his listed age. As a child he endured frequent beatings from his father, scars that would physically mark him the rest of his days. When his father's mule died, it was Liston who was forced to plow the field. Eventually he ran away, before turning to a life of crime. He was committed for armed robbery and it was inside the big house that he learned to box.

He was an extremely strong Heavyweight with an incredible reach. It is believed that he was actually left handed, despite boxing in an orthodox stance. His left jab ranks amongst the greatest the division has ever seen - it was like a sledge hammer.

Liston was recognised as the best fighter in the division by many experts, despite Patterson holding the crown. D'Amato refused to let Patterson fight Liston, due to his mob connections. Eventually the two met, with Liston crushing Patterson twice. He lost his title to Cassius Clay and then lost the rematch in bizarre cirumstances - The Phantom Punch.

Liston continued to fight on, notching another great victory by beating Wepner in his final outing. He will go down in history as one of the most intimidating fighters the sport has ever seen.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7wuaGqQGec[/ame]

 

That's exactly why. The guy only had a few fights at Heavyweight, catching Dempsey at the end of his career. He ranked way higher in my all time list. 10th if I remember correctly.