Third greatest heavyweight of all time?

Yep. But it looks like we're crying in the wilderness here.

That depends on the measures... and it'd still be a tough sell. Number three is quite elite though as it is.

(Lewis and Holmes over Jack Johnson is just plain goofy talk.)

 

There's no crying! We know what's crakin' here.

You got all those fans massaging Louis' 25 title defences, had one of them been Johnson and 'pop', cross over a lazy left (yes, after Schmeling the tendency still lingered), and clamp him, yes 'clamp', not clinch, Johnson was a bouncer on the inside. Move away steadily giving Louis' the hope of boxing 'with him' and 'pop', another clean pot shot, oh, and a heavy uppercut, down goes Louis. Up he gets and generally repeat for fourteen rounds.

 

:think

I just rewatched some Johnson footage on Youtube after reading this. It's an intriguing idea. Are you referring to Johnson's rules or Louis's?

 

Sam Langford

 

Janitor,

I haven't seen enough footage of Flowers to really judge his character and durability, but not only did Hearns have a shaky chin, he also owned stringy legs that appeared rubbery at times......... Hearns definately could give better than he could take.........

Lennox Lewis' chin may be questionable to a degree, but his legs were strong.......... Lewis was a complete fighter--once Steward came into the picture in 1995....... Prior to 1995 and under the eyes of Pepe Correa, Lewis was powerful but also seriously flawed........ Steward taught Lewis well.........
bbb

MR.BILL

 

Holmes, just ahead of Lewis.

 

You are easily right.

 

Jack Johnson

 

nr. 3 has to be larry holmes i believe and here are my other nr.s
nr. 4 sonny liston
nr. 5 george foreman
nr. 6 lennox lewis
my nr.s 7 to 10 change sometimes i find it hard to be consequent in this because in my opinion the nr.s 1 to 6 are way better then the following

 

Really Mr. Bill? So Mike Weaver, a 19-8 Journeyman can land right hand after right hand and take holmes to hell for 11 rounds but marciano can only take a one sided mid round TKO beating? Come on...your better than that. Larry Struggled galantly against the best opposition he faced during his prime years...and I fully expect him win or lose to recieve a tense struggle against Marciano.

 

Suzie Q,

Man, you know better than that.......... Weaver's record was deceiving because he was poorly handled as a youthful pro........ His early team threw him in there with anybody for a buck without thinking.......... Weaver had developed a lot of desire and willpower by the time he fought Larry Holmes in 1979........ Team Holmes took Weaver lightly based on his marginal pro record..... Team Holmes never considered that Weaver might actually show up wanting to really fight and do his best..... Plus, excuse or not, Holmes claimed he had just gotten over a cold and was slightly drained.....

If you look at Mike Weaver from 1979 to 1985 he didn't fight very much, but he normally won or was thought to have won (Dokes '83) during that period....... Mike Weaver PROVED to be a solid top-10 fighter in the early to mid 80s....... YES! He was screwed / iced by Dokes in '82; that's debatable on how that fight was handled, and Pinky Thomas KO'd his ass with a wicked right outta desperation in 1985, but Weaver was very capable of kicking ass..... Such as the case with his surprise KO over Carl Williams in early '86........

LOOK! The 31 year old Mike Weaver who showed up in Vegas at 218 rock hard pounds to try to get his WBA belt back from Dokes in 90+ degree heat in 1983, would be a MONSTER opponent for Rocky Marciano of 1952 or '53 in a time machine....... Cheers.....

MR.BILL:bbb

 

Jack Johnson

 

Premise of the question is bad. I do not agree that Louis was the second best heavyweight. He's not the third best, either, so I could still answer the poll, but I can't participate in any poll that assumes I agree with its premise.